Today on Ghostbusters News, we’re featuring a unique crossing of the streams from artist Nick Ross, who has cast the iconic Ghostbusters in settings similar to some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters in a series of imaginative oil painting pastiches.
Before we get into each of these frame-worthy pieces, let’s start with a brief introduction, as Ross recently finished a 300-page graphic novel passion project inspired by the original Ghostbusters film series. The mashups have been designed as potential cover art, and while we’re eager for Ross‘ entire body of work to become accessible to fellow fans, be sure to keep posted to Ghostbusters News, as in the coming weeks, we’ll be highlighting even more within this series, dubbed Ectocism.
First, we’ve got an incredible marshmallow-group shot that pays tribute to John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club, with the heroic foursome being joined by a suited-up Dana Barrett. The concept works extraordinarily well, with each character striking a familiar pose, even giving Egon Spengler his go-to accessory, a PKE Meter.
When you need to phone home, who you gonna call? In this wink at Steven Spielberg’s enduring classic, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the otherworldly becomes the spectral, with a proton beam illuminating the night sky, emanating from the airborne Ecto-1, in pursuit of the gluttonous green spud, Slimer.
Keeping with unlicensed nuclear accelerators, remember when Ray Stantz shot that dude in the epididymis? No, neither do we, but that doesn’t stop the heart of the Ghostbusters from being used as a stand-in for Robocop, stepping outside of the tricked-out Cadillac.
A slightly more subtle homage is this one of Poltergeist, centered around a clever nod to the original and in-universe Ghostbusters commercial. There’s also a number of Easter eggs to be found, among them a plushy of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and carpeting ripped straight from The Shining‘s Overlook Hotel.
Taking it back to the 1970s, I think we’re going to need a bigger ecto-containment unit, as a ruthless and menacing Terror Dog takes the place of the great white Jaws. Luckily, the mayor doesn’t need to worry about shark-infested waters but may want to look into the psychomagnotheric mood slime-filled subway system, which Ray has been lowered into, unaware of the terrifying threats that lurk below!
Last but not least, set atop a New York City high-rise, far, far away, Egon Spengler displays the force of a Proton Pack while Egon, Peter, and Ray watch on. Unfortunately for them, it’s the ghosts that have the high ground, with Slimer, a Terror Dog, and the Library Ghost getting paired with Gozer’s chosen form, as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is spotted within the foreground.
For more art from Nick Ross, you can find him on both Facebook and Instagram, and as a reminder, keep checking back to Ghostbusters News for a follow-up feature highlighting more big-screen mashups!
