If you weren’t already aware, the wonderful folks at Mattel (via MattyCollector.com) have brought every Ghostbusters fan’s dream to life by announcing a line of 6″ and 12″ Ghostbusters action figures bearing the respective likeness of Ernie Hudson, Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray.

Although MattyCollector announced a limited edition 6″ “Slimed” Egon Spengler during San Diego Comic Con this year, the line officially begins with 12″ and 6″ versions of Ray Stantz.  There have been several reviews of the action figures including this Action Figure insider review of 12″ Ray Stanz which includes some great photos of the removable / light up Proton Pack. I leave you with video reviews of 6″ and 12″ Ray Stantz from TNTS, but not before mentioning that (during time of publication) there are only 2,869 12″ and 9,219 6″ Ray Stantz figures left and they are going fast.  Be sure to get yours before they are gone forever.

Earlier in the week Art Asylum, makers of Minimates and other fine things, announced a line of Ghostbusters Minimates.

Update (2/8/09): Thanks to Dan Liberg (Ghostbusters.net member Dr. Venkman) for the Ghostbusters Minimates poster he sent to tips [at] ghostbusters [dot] net.  Click for higher resolution.

Comic Book Resources has a 5-page preview of the new issue of Ghostbusters: The Other Side, which is available at your local comic shop today.  I just picked mine up after walking several snow-laden Chicago blocks to get it.  Go, now!

Writer Keith Champagne and artist Tom Nguyen will complete the series next month with issue #4.  There has been talk of future Ghostbusters comics from IDW.  I’m not sure if it will be a continuation of the current series or a new series altogether, stay tuned.

What do you think of the new issue of Ghostbusters: The Other Side? Please post your thoughts on the Ghostbusters Message Board.  Thanks to Ghostbusters.net member Doctor Venkman for the confirmation.

For all of you who have pre-ordered the Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection DVD set from Time Life, check your email.  Many of those who placed pre-orders are receiving notifications that their sets have shipped, while others received a pleasant surprise in their mailbox this afternoon.

I received my advance copy of the DVD set on Friday and it is simply outstanding.  I’m working on my extensive review, which will be published here by the end of the week.  Until then, please check out the following hands on reports.

• Proton Charging
• Spook Central
• RealGhostbusters.com
• CinemaBlend

For the curious who are waiting for their DVD sets to arrive, head over to the Official Real Ghostbusters DVD Q&A Thread at the Ghostbusters Message Board.

RSVP on Myspace or Facebook.

Ghostbusters.net and Graham Crackers of Wheaton, Illinois — part of the greater Chicagoland area — are excited to inform you that on October 15th we will host a Ghostbusters event in honor of the Graham Crackers Comics Exclusive cover to Ghostbusters: The Other Side #1 and the long-awaited return of Ghostbusters to the world of comics!

This day long event will begin with a midnight opening for the impatient masses, as the store will be open from midnight until 1 am in the morning Wednesday, Oct. 15.  The day events listed below will take place between 11 am - 8 pm at night on Wednesday, Oct 15 at the Graham Crackers in Wheaton.

• Ghostbusters: The Other Side artist Tom Nguyen will be here doing an in-store signing!
• Exclusive screening of The Real Ghostbusters DVD Collection sponsored by Ghostbusters.net, including special features never before seen and fully restored episodes of The Collect Call of Cathulhu and Take Two.
• Ghostbusters.net / 80’s Tees, Cereal Geek Magazine w/ The Real Ghostbusters on the cover, and The Real Ghostbusters Promo DVD in-store giveaways.
• Day long Ghostbusters movie marathon-including episodes of the Real Ghostbusters.
• A Classic Ghostbusters video game tournament.
• Coloring contest for kids of all ages-including prizes
• Replica of the Ghostbusters Headquarters being built in store

For all of those in Chicagoland looking to sample The Real Ghostbusters DVD special features, pick up the first edition of Ghostbusters: The Other Side and meet the artist behind the comic, this is the event to attend.  Who knows, you might even come home with some great Ghostbusters swag in the process.

RSVP on Myspace or Facebook now!

For more on Ghostbusters: The Other side, check out Newsarama’s exclusive first look at the new comic series.

I reached a new level a geekdom. Luckily for me, it’s a healthy dose (no pun intended, of course).

Late in the summer, I purchased a vintage Raleigh 10 speed bicycle off of Craigslist. This was the end of a long search. You see, I am 6′ 7″ and an XL bike frame isn’t easy to find… let alone a used one! And to find one that is in good shape and not ugly as sin is nearly impossible! Yet fate dealt me a good hand and I found a bike that was the right size, in great condition and a fun color scheme of white, red and chrome.

It’s that color palette that first caught my attention. It reminded me of the Ecto-1. After a little research, I also discovered that the bike was made in 1984, the same year Ghostbusters was released. With that in mind, I had no choice but to flush out the Ghostbusters theme and turn this old 10 speed into an Ecto-10 Speed.

I purchased a pair of vintage WW2 khaki bicycle saddle bags off of ebay for cheap, as well as a Ghosbusters logo and Venkman name tag patch to sew on the bags. I mounted the saddle bags to a chrome rear wheel rack (to match the chrome fork in front) with a glossy red wood shelf down the center that I added (to add extra support for the saddle bags and continue the color scheme).

With some khaki handlebar tape, and a hand sewn top tube pad to bridge the color gap between the front and back of the bike, I now have an Ecto-10 Speed.

If you combine Ghostbusters and Bicycling, the official colors would be red, white and green!

Whether I riding in the city streets, or on bike trails, I am always representing the Ghostbusters community on two wheels.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game may be without a publisher at the moment, but there should be little doubt the game will be arriving sometime in 2009 to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the original Ghostbusters film.  Despite the recent news regarding GameStop’s blanket pre-order refund / exchange policy, there is new hope for crestfallen fans, this time in the form of a lanyard.

That’s right folks, the official lanyard of the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) is a glow-in-the-dark lanyard that reads “Ghostbusters: The Video Game”. Nothing further was printed on the lanyard, but we will have more as it develops.

Real Ghostbusters Online takes us down memory lane with this wonderful unboxing video of the Real Ghostbusters Firehouse by Kenner.  The firehouse,  which has been in storage for nearly 22 years, was factory sealed is opened for the first time during the video.

Also, a friendly reminder, only 5 days remain to pre-order the Real Ghostbusters DVD collection before the 10% discount expires.

A trip down memory lane as we wait for Activision to decide how it should flush their only chance at redeeming their long history of publishing sub-par Ghostbusters video games.

Thanks to Lionheart from the Ghostbusters Message Board for spotting this new Ghostbusters t-shirt design, now available at Hot Topic.

While the shirt is not currently available online (only in Hot Topic retail stores), it may very well be added soon.

08/19/08 UPDATE: You can now order this shirt online at HotTopic.com.  Thanks to Ghostbusters.net members Edge and JamesCGamora for the tip.