Mad #290 (Nick Meglin and John Ficarra) - Ghostbusters Issue - October 1989

The first Ghostbusters movie received a very short parody treatment ("Ghost-Dusters") in Mad #253, an issue that was devoid of Mort Drucker drawings.  However, they got it right with the sequel ("Grossbusters II") featuring a six-page Drucker classic and the front cover by Sam Viviano.  Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver et al. get the full Drucker treatment but Weaver's son looks a lot like Linus van Pelt.  Other children in the article are Charlie Brown, Lucy van Pelt, Peppermint Patty, Dennis Mitchell, Hans Katzenjammer and a female student of Miss Peach.  Drucker's villain for the movie parody is Ayatollah Khomeini (1902-1989).  New York Mayor Ed Koch made two appearances and a framed photograph of New York Governor Mario Cuomo looms above the judge in the courtroom as Marlon Brando (1924-2004) and Al Pacino crash the movie.  It seems that the Mad editor Al Feldstein underestimated the popularity of the Ghostbusters series in 1985. [JAM 11/6/2011]

The toupee of Burt Reynolds is exposed in "The ABC Misery Movie" (page 30); Groo is in boot camp (page 43).

Departments:
The Second Slime Around - Grossbusters II
The Contraptions Are Coming More Frequently - Mad's Modern Rube Goldberg Inventions
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Expose Can You See - Cutaway Cross-Sections of Everyday Items
Draining the Tubs - Mad Visits a Fat Farm
Tales From the Duck Side - The Alarming Alien Atrocity; The Dreaded Dental Debacle
Hypocritic Oafs - Didja Ever Notice the Same People Who
Card Shocks - Some Real "Scruples" Questions We'd Like to Ask Some Real People
Three Men And a Body - The ABC Misery Movie
Coming to a Debt End - Mad's Suggestions for Reducing the National Deficit
Frank on a Roll - Ten College Athletes
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side
Serge-In General - A Mad Look at Basic Training
Mannequin Depressives - Politically Inspired Dolls

Fold-In - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle