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Real Ghostbusters: NOW Comics Volume 1 Issue 16

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NOW Comics Vol. 1 #16 is the sixteenth issue of the NOW Comics run of The Real Ghostbusters, published in December 1989. Written by James Van Hise with art by Jim Wisniewski, this issue concludes the two-part Spike and Nurtog storyline begun in issue 15. The Ghostbusters travel to a prehistoric world to face the tyrannical T-Rex ghost Nurtog in person, rather than the mental projection they encountered in New York.

Publication Details

Field	Detail
Title	NOW Comics Vol. 1 #16
Publisher	NOW Comics
Release Date	December 1989
Story Writer	James Van Hise
Penciler	Jim Wisniewski
Inker	Rich Rankin
Letterer	Dan Nakrosis
Art Director	Michele Mach
Editor	Katherine Llewellyn
Chief Editor	Tony Caputo
Cover Artist	Jim Wisniewski

Real Ghostbusters: NOW Comics Volume 1 Issue 16 - GBFans.com Wiki | GBFans.com

Cast

One-Off Characters

Spike (full name Spikorouleusdennummale) is a red humanoid dinosaur-like being who first appeared in issue 15 after escaping his prehistoric homeworld. He sought the Ghostbusters' help against Nurtog, a tyrannical T-Rex ghost who had conquered his land.

Nurtog is the arc's antagonist: a T-Rex ghost who had been dormant for eons, with only a mental projection of himself capable of manifesting in the present day. That projection was what the Ghostbusters encountered in New York in issue 15. The real Nurtog, at full power, dwells in the prehistoric world.

Plot

The Ghostbusters and Spike prepare to return to Spike's prehistoric homeworld to confront Nurtog directly. Winston Zeddemore notes that the geographical evidence places this world near the North Pole, which he surmises could explain longstanding reports of sea serpents and the Loch Ness Monster.

Upon arrival, Spike is devastated to find his home destroyed and his people gone. He stays behind to hold off Nurtog's troops while the Ghostbusters push forward to face Nurtog himself.

It is revealed that Nurtog had been in a sleep lasting eons, with only his mental image projecting outward. Peter Venkman manages to wake Nurtog fully, which proves to be the key to defeating him: Nurtog's physical body has atrophied severely from centuries of disuse, leaving the tyrant far weaker than he believed. A cave-in then buries Nurtog beneath his fortress, apparently ending the threat.

Spike chooses to remain in the prehistoric world to search for survivors of Nurtog's conquest and rebuild his civilization. The Ghostbusters offer to help with the reconstruction. The final pages reveal, however, that Nurtog is alive within his buried fortress, setting up a potential return in a future issue.