Who Ya Gonna Call? An Interview With Erik Burnham

I had the absolute pleasure and honor to interview both Tom Waltz and Erik Burnham regarding their IDW series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Ghostbusters respectively. Today is part 1 of my interview, which I talked to Erik Burham about the Ghostbusters event Mass Hysteria along with some other Ghostbusters centric questions. Check back tomorrow for my interview with Tom Waltz! 

WTN- Where did you get the idea to bring in Tiamat and make her a relative to Gozer?

Erik-The idea to use Tiamat came up via research. I wanted to use a god of chaos because I didn’t want to have quite the same Big Bad goals (destruction or domination) we’ve seen in the past. When I found Tiamat (an actual, existing old-school deity) I found that they’d used her in Real Ghostbusters — I didn’t remember the episode off the top of my head, but Dan sure did. That sealed the choice.

WTN- Last we saw in Mass Hysteria the Ghostbusters tried their usual last ditch effort to stop Tiamat, but things didn’t pan out the way they were expecting. With Tiamat looking to be on a whole other level than any god level being they’ve faced so far will we be seeing new equipment from the team to take her down?

Erik-Not new equipment, necessarily, but definitely a new tactic.

WTN- I believe for a time you were not allowed to incorporate Dana Barrett and Luis Tully into the comics, if so how has it been to finally be able to write both characters?

It’s been fun! Moranis-as-Louis has been kind of tricky to get a rhythm for, but I like how he turned out. It’s nice to exploit the history these characters have with each other finally.

WTN- Seeing as both series (Ghostbusters and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) are celebrating their respective 30th anniversaries how does it feel to be writing each property?

Erik-It’s been an honor for me to be involved with the Ghostbusters (and, hey, the TMNT too!) at all, but to be in the mix during a landmark anniversary has been — there’s not a better word than blessing. I feel lucky to have played in this sandbox with these toys, and I’m grateful to IDW and Sony for the opportunity, and to Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts for the voices in my head. Icing on the cake? Working with Tom, Dan Schoening, and Luis Delgado – gents who love the franchise as much as I do. This is a long winded way to say “the best,” isn’t it?