Tag: H.P. Lovecraft

How Many New or Old Editions of Tobin’s Spirit Guides Do We Need?

Tobin’s Spirit Guide is a must for any collector of Ghostbusters lore, but which edition is considered definitive?

Tobin’s Spirit Guide Front CoverFans of Ghostbusters now have three versions of Tobin’s Spirit Guide to explore the film’s paranormal lore. One is an out-of-print role-playing game supplement by West End Games, designed for gameplay and organizing ghosts by country of origin. The other two are recent editions: one attempts to be a comprehensive reference sorted alphabetically, while the abridged version categorizes entries by ascending danger. The foreword in the latest Insight Editions version notes that this pocket guide provides the essentials for those haunting New York City and the Eastern Seaboard.

For anyone hoping to tackle the authoritative edition, consider it a “sanity roll” (as in Chaosium Inc.’s Call of Cthulhu RPG) to avoid prematurely aging while absorbing the massive 35-pound tome from which these editions are derived. Between the smaller volumes, each entity’s origin and classification are included, and for the bold, locations are listed—though only the fearless need apply.

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Charles Band on the Remastering of The Lurking Fear & Upcoming Full Moon Titles

charlesbandFilmmaker Charles Band listenins to his fans, and in response, he is re-releasing his catalogue of old classics from his Empire/Full Moon days onto Blu-ray. The trend has been going on for a while now, starting with Doctor MordridCharles Band, and this producer will keep it going. C. Courtney Joyner’s The Lurking Fear, inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, is now available (released Jun 15, 2016).

Band kept the original 35mm prints of many of the films he’s either produced or directed. In what he gets done, there’s hardly ever any pixelation. Of course, there will be the usual dust and scratches, and to get all that fixed takes time. No Photoshop plug-in can do the job. Like a film projectionist, each frame has to be analysed and colour corrected for the best image possible. He notes that it’s really expensive to go back to the original negative in order to make an high-definition (HD) master, but unless you have fantastic technical talent who truly appreciates the work — to bring the product back to its original lustre — the thought of putting it out to HD for those collectors is a gamble.

“The key ingredient to any of these transfers is to have an excellent colorist,” noted Band. “We have a guy who has been doing most of our work for the last 4-5 years. When he’s busy, I wait because he’s the only guy I trust.”

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