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PRIME GHOSTBUSTERS

Coney Island! Man, I still remember reading Ghostbusters: Infestation #1 and laughing when Peter reminded Ray his miscalculations almost sank Coney Island. That was an excellent idea to have a Class 3/4 empowered by positively charged Psychomagnotheric Slime for once instead of the common negative strain. In a subtle way, it was also an interesting contrast to the Hungry Manitou's transmogrification of Fantasticland in the second story arc of Volume 1. It was interesting to learn this was the biggest repository so far from Manhattan they encountered -- but I wonder if that implies this story takes place before the August 14 case in Las Vegas from Ghostbusters International #7 which revealed a River of Slime under the city or Egon meant in New York.

Hmm, but Egon punching Ray and peeing into the slime... a one-off gag or seeding something. Last time, Egon studied himself out of concern after the Collectors arc and that quietly ended... I imagine some fans are going to be object to this portrayal of Egon even if it was just a gag since a bio already speculated he had Asperger's. Me - eh. Not any different than the gag of Egon strangling Ron's neck in Volume 1 #15.

But what a weird issue. Peck meets his Peck then is interested in one of Peter's ideas. What's going on?! I always begrudgingly admit it's cool how they've fleshed out Peck and put him in new positions over the years. This time, being threatened by the EPA. lmao. His Guam comment was perfect. heh.

And it appears to be Kylie's fault the splintered multiverse is going to get broken. Hrn. Well, better her than Kevin. Like I said earlier in the thread, seems really dumb that the Containment Unit is secured with a biometric reader but not the Interspatial Teleportation Unit... but anyway Kylie's "Kids today" was awesome. I grew up watching Stargate SG-1 and the two following series to their premature ends so I totally loved the Stargate references. And since it's fall 1997 (unofficially by my count if only), SG-1 just premiered and it makes sense it would be fresh on Evan's mind. And holy moly, a Ghostbusters comic with nods to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers!!! Who would've thunk it? Also, great callback to Ray's spirit guide when Kylie brings up insulation between dimensions. But that little cackle on the teleporter while Kylie and the teens leave... ominous.

Peter's proposal was pretty interesting. Didn't expect the idea of franchising to resurface but what a perfect idea. I wonder if this fantasy camp is how the new character on the cover fits in.

Gowanus. Gowanus. Gowanus. Gowanus. Gowanus. Gowanus. Gowanus. Gowanus.

Another great callback that the ghost being chased is a version of Ralph from the Volume 2 RGB back up story that Erik drew. And in Queens, too. But the idea of Holtzmann blowing up a ghost in an IDW comic did raise the danger meter. I wonder if there's going to be ramifications of that in their universe, like with the Ghost Smashers in the other. And that could account for the P.K.E. spike Abby was talking about and hell, could be responsible for creating the big bad.

I totally heard their respective actors' voices as I read their dialogue. Erik's captured them well, imo, but if I had to say one -- Erin, eh, maybe the weakest. Hard to say with a few panels. But Patty, Abby, and Holtzmann I felt right away. Dan's art isn't what I expected at first, but then I remembered the big deal about likenesses for the prime cast -- and I bet it's the same case here. They can't be too on model to the ATC cast -- even though we all know who they are... Mrm. But Abby's declaration of "I've dedicated my whole life to this, and no one knows more about it than me" -- oh ho ho. She's going to have such a bruised ego when the universes merge.

It was a little bit of a bummer we had only 5 pages exclusively in the ATC Universe, but it'll probably make sense story-wise since Erik and co. only have six issues. And maybe Issue #2 will switch it up and be more ATC and less Prime in page count.

While it is too bad the Haunted America files ended but like the PCOC files, all good things must come to an end... and be replaced by something just as cool. Through the years, various entities have been classified and we got some theory on the classification system but an official Primary Spectral Classification Chart for the IDW canon at long last! Looking forward to what's next, probably a rundown of basic equipment like the Proton Packs, Traps, and P.K.E. Meters.

I could totally imagine Ray reading (and going off on long winded tangents) this to Cait, Zoe, and Evan for an hour and a half, lol. Dug the little details as well as the big - specifying it's a 7-level system and the classes aren't strictly organized by way of psychokinetic power. The most interesting one for me was the Class 4. The bit with replicas of memories, they know who they are, and the simple explanation of Vigo being a Class 4 with Class 7 power because of the slime. As I read, I was hoping to see an explanation of why some Class 3/4's had a Class 6 reading during the ongoing because of the ambient P.K.E. level spike but I suppose it's a similar situation. They draw on the ambient energy and display enough power to rival a standard Class 6. It was intriguing for the Class 3 section to note helping a ghost learn it's identity can be detrimental, too. I don't think we've seen that yet in the comic, and that could be Erik seeding again. And in Class 7, it's noted they can be godlike beings, demons, and other powerful manifestations. I suppose 'other' includes elevated remnants like Shandor.

*Regular Cover
**This is the first of a set of interconnected covers.
**On the cover are Peter, Erin, and an unnamed new character.
***On December 21, 2016, Erik Burnham confirmed the new character is not the IDW Canon version of Roland Jackson but was considering renaming him since Dan Schoening wanted to draw Roland.
***On March 20, 2017, the character's name was revealed to be Garrett Parker, son of one of Peter's old psych classmates.
**Erin is holding her Proton Blaster.
**The map credit references:
***Sigourney Weaver
***Rick Moranis
***Annie Potts
***Joe Medjuck
***Ivan Reitman
**On the map is a reference to Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka of Orion's Belt.
*Subscription Cover A
**The cover is a homage to "Back to the Future".
**On the cover are Egon and Holtzmann with their P.K.E. Meters. Holtzmann appears to have on a new type of Ecto Goggles.
**In place of the DeLorean is the Ecto-1a.
**An original and alternate version of the cover initially appeared with March solicitations that had Ecto-1a's front shown originally or the ATC Ecto-1 respectively.
**The original version was shown in solicits and Diamond's Previews January issue.
*Subscription Cover B
**On the cover are Patty, Kevin, Zuul, and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
**Zuul plays the role of Kevin's pet dog Mike Hat.
*Retailer Incentive Wraparound Cover
**A PR photo of the ATC team is used as the cover.
*Convention Cover
**The original version of the cover had a PR photo from the first movie of the prime team at Gozer's altar.
*Credits Page
**In the air, on the left, is a thrown Proton Grenade (Air Filter) from the 2016 movie.
**Taking the prime Ecto-1 on a joyride are prime Slimer, ATC Slimer, and Lady Slimer.
***In the 2016 movie, the ATC Ecto-1 was hijacked by ATC Slimer and Lady Slimer later joined him.
**The Ghost Corps logo is featured for the first time on the credits page.
*What Came Before Page
**Alluded to are:
***Gozer
***Psychomagnotheric Slime
***Sandman from Annual 2015
***The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
***The Real Ghostbusters
***The Bay Ridge Ghost from Annual 2017's "Ghostbusters 101 Prelude"
**Mentioned are:
***Chicago
***The FBI
***Hell
***The events of Annual 2017's "Ghostbusters 101 Prelude"
**"It's a never-ending battle" refers to the never-ending battle between good and evil phrase popularized in comics.
*Dramatis Personae
**Ray's bio alludes to Jenny Moran, who is now a ghost.
**Egon's bio alludes to Loftur Þorsteinsson
**Janine's bio mentions she enjoys pilates on Thursdays
**"Ghosts of Our Past" is mentioned in Abby and Erin's bios.
**Holtzmann's bio mentions she loves to mess with high-strung people. In the 2016 movie, she did so with Agent Rorke in the Mayor's office.
**Kevin's bio mentions Mike Hat.
*Title Card Page
**The style of the card is a nod to the episode title cards from Batman: The Animated Series.
**Egon is holding his P.K.E. Meter and Holtzmann is holding her Proton Pistols.
**The story title references "Through The Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There" (1871), the sequel to "Alice in Wonderland." The story revolves around a world beyond a mirror and parallels events in this issue.
**In the March solicitation for this issue, released on December 21, 2016, the title then was "Let's Do The Space-Warp Again".
*Page 1
**Luna Park was one of three original iconic parks built on Coney Island.
**The fire mentioned was the first of three that ruined Luna Park. It took place on August 12, 1944.
**Coney Island was mentioned in Ghostbusters: Infestation #1 by Peter. Ray made a set of miscalculations that almost sank the island.
**Right of Jonas is Luna's Electric Tower.
*Page 2
**In panel 1, in the upper left is Luna's Whirl of the Whirl.
*Page 3
**Egon remarks having not seeing a Psychomagnotheric Slime repository of such size quite so far away from Manhattan. In Ghostbusters International #7, a river of Psychomagnotheric Slime was discovered underneath Las Vegas on August 14. Ray also used a Proton Grenade to neutralize the slime but in concert with a Slime Spritzer filled with positively charged slime. It appears this issue takes place before the Las Vegas incident.
**Egon references Loftur and his death seen in Ghostbusters International #7.
**Ray asks for a grenade, alluding to the Proton Grenade.
*Page 5
**Ray mentions the Proton Grenade.
**In panel 3, Luis Delgado's 15 easter egg is on the hydrant.
*Page 6
**The EPA representative mentions Guam, an island and American territory in the Pacific Ocean.
**In panel 5, still mounted on the wall are Peck's framed accolades of two Pacific Monthly articles and the B.U.F.O. award referencing the TV edit nickname Wally Wick.
*Page 7
**In panel 2, on the table on the right, the book on top of the pile references Andrew Shaffer, author of the Three Rivers Press printing of "Ghosts From Our Past"
***The title of the book "How to Create Cults and Influence People" is a nod to "How to Make Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie.
**In panel 2, on the table are a Slinkie and toaster - nods to Ghostbusters II.
**In panel 2, on the table behind the teenagers is the Spooks Illustrated pull-out article seen at the end of The Real Ghostbusters episode "Ghostbuster of the Year".
**In panel 2, in the upper right corner on the drawing board is Dan Schoening's model sheet for the Boogieman from Ghostbusters: The Board Game (tweeted on May 1, 2015: https://twitter.com/dapperpomade/status ... 8747620354)
**Ray has on his pair of glasses from Ghostbusters II.
**In panel 3, on the shelf behind Ray is the Kenner Ecto-Plazm box.
**Ray appears to be holding a copy of Tobin's Spirit Guide.
**In panel 4, in front of the Ecto-Plazm, is a box of Spiffies which were introduced in Annual 2017.
**In panel 4, on the right, is:
***A Blody can
***The "Ghostbusters" song 30th anniversary edition.
*Page 8
**In panel 1, in the box on the armchair, is the Ghostbusters II Soundtrack CD longbox back cover.
**Janine has on a variation of an outfit from the first movie, when she first appeared.
**Egon has on his gray vest outfit from the first movie.
**The Ghostbusters revel in the irony of Peck being threatened with a shutdown by an EPA representative like he did to them in the first movie.
**In panel 3, behind Peter, is the I Love New York ceramic pig seen behind him in Chapter Two of the first movie when he administers electric shocks.
***The pig previously appeared in Volume 1 Issue #7 page 4 and 9 behind the Hungry Manitou.
*Page 9
**In panel 2, behind Egon, is part of the Vigo portrait can be seen.
**In panel 3, the Ghostbusters II Poster Book is on the shelf above Peter's head.
**Peter talks about getting back to expansion. It's apparently been on his mind since Volume 1 Issue #9 of the ongoing series when he mentions it in Part 1 of the Haunted America back up story, "Who Killed Laura Parr?"
*Page 10
**Evan mentions Gowanus, a neighborhood in Brooklyn.
*Page 11
**In panel 1, on the console is the Containment Unit Monitor from The Real Ghostbusters episode "X-Mas Marks the Spot".
**In panel 2, on the console above the button Kylie pushes is a Mini Flux Capacitor from "Back to the Future"
***Erik Burnham originally scripted the Time Circuit but Dan Schoening drew the capacitor instead.
**In panel 5, on the right, is the Aldridge Mansion Museum.
*Page 12
**Evan likens the Interspatial Teleportation Unit to the Stargate, a device that allowed for instantaneous travel to other planets across the universe and a franchise of MGM Pictures.
**Evan mentions MacGyver. The actor who portrayed MacGyver originally was Richard Dean Anderson. He later portrayed Jack O'Neill in the three Stargate television series. The first series, SG-1, started on July 27, 1997.
**Zoe alludes to Kurt Russell, who portrayed R.J. MacReady in "The Thing" (June 25, 1982) and Jack O'Neil in the original "Stargate" movie (October 28, 1994).
**Zoe mentions unicorns, which appeared on The Real Ghostbusters episode "Hard Knight's Day" and a similar realm she describes incidentally appeared in "Surely You Joust"
**Zoe asks if there is an Earth with robots that turn into cars, a nod to Transformers which is another license held by IDW Publishing.
***While Transformers and Ghostbusters never directly crossed over, they both participated in the Infestation company-wide event.
***Erik Burnham intended it as a nod to fans who have asked him for a Transformers/Ghostbusters crossover over the years: https://twitter.com/erikburnham/status/ ... 5738394625
*Page 13
**Kylie alludes to Donatello and the events of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters mini-series.
**Kylie mentions Peter saw the Jets win the Super Bowl twice. In reality, the Jets only won once in 1968.
**Zoe mentions Barcelona, Spain.
**Kylie mentions they observed a bunch of very similar Ghostbusters. Several versions were glimpsed at the end of Ghostbusters Get Real #2. They worked alongside the Real Ghostbusters in the entirety of the Get Real mini-series.
**In panel 3, the park that Evan sees in the ATC universe is near the Boston filming for Aldridge Mansion Museum exteriors on 225 Bay State Road. The park is at the intersection of Bay State Road and Granby Street.
*Page 14
**In panel 2, the ghost is a version of Ralph from the Volume 2 #1 to #4 "In The Box" back up stories.
*Page 15
**Kylie mentions insulation between dimensions. Ray's spirit guide first brought this topic up in Volume 1 Issue #14.
**Kylie mentions an open portal can lure ghosts. This was evidenced in Ghostbusters International #8.
**In panel 1, on the screen is the Crypto-Smasher v3.10 used by Gary and Wyatt in "Weird Science" to hack the military.
*Page 18
**Abby mentions Queens. In the Volume 2 #1 to #4 back up stories, that version of Ralph also originated in Queens.
*Page 19
**In the 2016 movie, the first specimen trapped was Mayhem but Erin let it go before it could be studied.
**In panel 1 is Kevin's pet dog Mike Hat.
**In panel 3, Holtzmann's Nutcracker from the end credits teaser of the 2016 movie is present.
**Erin mentions Bhangra, a traditional folk dance of Majha from India.
**Erin mentions the Mashed Potato dance from 1962. It was popularized by James Brown.
*Page 20
**In panel 3, on the table are:
***In the upper right, is Kevin's drawing of a female ghost logo
***In the upper right, above Kevin's drawing, on a post-it note is Kevin's hot dog logo
***Above Rowan's sketch, is a little blue paper - it is the faux cover of Kemp's Spectral Field Guide
***Below the faux cover is Rowan's sketch of the Ghostbusters' No Ghost logo seen in Chapter 9 of the 2016 movie
***Right of Rowan's sketch, the book Abby looks at features pages from two different books.
****The left page is the excerpt about vengeful spirits in "Ghosts From Our Past" seen in Chapter 13 of the 2016 movie. It was opposite of the drawing of Rowan electrocuting himself.
****The right page is page 48 from Three Rivers Press' "Ghosts From Our Past" that talks about when "X-Files" premiered during Abby and Erin's undergraduate years.
***Above Abby's book is a stack of three copies of "Ghosts From Our Past"
***The post-it note on the bottom of the stack has the note "Check with Paul" - a nod to director/co-writer of the 2016 movie Paul Feig who also consulted on Three Rivers Press' "Ghosts From Our Past"
***The post-it notes on top of the stack are a nod to Abby's discount price labels "Now 5.99" and "Special! Going like Hotcakes" seen in her lab at Kenneth P. Higgins Institute of Science.
***Right of the three copies of "Ghosts From Our Past" is the headgear Holtzmann wore at the end of the last chapter of the 2016 movie in the Firehouse.
***Right of the headgear is a copy of "Mushroom and The Cross" obscured by Abby's word balloon. It was a book from 1970 by John Marco Allegro that centered on the linguistics of early Christianity and fertility cults in the Ancient Near East and psychedelic cult practices like ingesting magic mushrooms.
***Right and below "Mushroom and The Cross" is a copy of "Kemp's Spectral Field Guide." The front cover is in the style of "Tobin's Spirit Guide" and sports a capital K.
***Right of Kemp's is the photograph of Abby and Erin at their high school fair, seen in the Extended Edition and deleted scenes of the 2016 movie.
***Above the photograph, obscured by Erin's word balloon, is a copy of "A Demonology of History" from 1987 by Eustace Mullins. It discussed the role of Satan in historical events.
***The book near Erin are pages 6 to 7 of the "Who You Gonna Call?" novelization of the 2016 movie.
***On top of "A Demonology of History" is Abby's "If You See Something..." fliers.
***To the right of the flier is the photographs of the Rivera Ballroom and staff of the Mercado Hotel from the company website seen in the 2016 movie when Patty identified Rowan.
***Below the Mercado photographs are the Ley Line maps from the 2016 movie.
***Left of the Ley Line map is a copy of "The Witness of the Stars" from 1893 by E.W. Bullinger. It theorized constellations, especially signs of the Zodiac, are a perversion of the 12 signs known as Mazzaroth by God in the Book of Job intended as a set of three heavenly books about God's plan for mankind's redemption. It integrated Hebrew and Greek, ancient astronomy, and current scientific data at the time.
***Below the Ley Lines map, is the catalog card for Erin and Abby's second book "A Glimpse Into The Unknown..." posted online on July 19, 2016.
***Left of "The Witness of the Stars" is the Upper West Blooms business card given to Abby by Agent Hawkins in the 2016 movie.
***Under "The Witness of the Stars" and the Ley Line map are two drawings from Rowan's cork board in Chapter 5 of the Extended Edition 2016 movie.
**Abby mentions the barrier to the spectral ether breaking and saving the world, both happened in the 2016 movie.
**In panel 4, behind Abby is a bowl of Zhu's wonton soup from the 2016 movie.
*Page 23
**Mentioned are:
***Vigo
***Psychomagnotheric Slime
***Vigo's bond to the slime in Ghostbusters II
**Alluded to are:
***Slimer
***The Paranormal Containment Research Tank
**The "In theory" note is a nod to Annual 2017's "The Origins of Slimer" when several theories about Slimer's origin were presented.

TO BE IDENTIFIED

1) Page 11, Panel 1: Words on two screens left of Kylie.