Plot
A harried young mother in Astoria, Queens, is dealing with a steady stream of otherworldly visitors paying respects to her half-demon toddler daughter, Zara. The visitors are heralds and cultists tied to Sahaq, a Class 7 entity and the child's demonic father. When the supernatural activity escalates toward Sahaq's arrival, the mother calls Abby Yates, Erin Gilbert, Jillian Holtzmann, and Patty Tolan for help. Kevin Beckman also appears.2
The team finds itself mediating what amounts to a supernatural custody dispute. The mother's apartment is in Astoria off 30th Avenue, which Erin identifies as Queens. The confrontation with Sahaq moves to New York Harbor. By the issue's end, the team apparently traps their first Class 7 entity, using a C-7 Trap. Equipment deployed includes the Proton Pack, P.K.E. Meter, and standard Ghost Trap.2
The story's title, "In Loco Parentis," is a Latin legal phrase meaning "in the place of a parent," fitting the custody-battle framing of the plot. The villain Sahaq and his half-demon daughter Zara loosely mirror the DC Comics relationship of Trigon and Raven, as well as Koza'Rai and Rachel Unglighter from the same mythology.2
Cast
- Erin Gilbert
- Abby Yates
- Jillian Holtzmann
- Patty Tolan
- Kevin Beckman
- Zara's Mom
- Zara (half-demon toddler)
- Nunu
- Sahaq's Herald
- Sahaq (Class 7 entity)
- Cult of Sahaq
Development
In December 2018, editor Tom Waltz announced that IDW would mark the Ghostbusters 35th Anniversary with a four-issue weekly event in April 2019. Each issue would feature a different creative team writing a different Ghostbusters incarnation. Issue 3, releasing April 17, 2019, was assigned to writer Devin Grayson and artist S.L. Gallant, with colors by Luis Delgado, and would star the Answer The Call team.1
Waltz shared rough thumbnails of the incentive cover and uncolored retailer exclusive cover on December 11, 2018, and additional story thumbnails on December 12 showing the team chasing a "doglike entity." Dan Schoening posted the rough thumbnail of the retailer exclusive cover on December 16.
Between January and February 2019, Waltz posted a series of work-in-progress pages and colored panels on social media, showing the team inside the Firehouse, at an apartment, interacting with civilians and an entity, and a Holtzmann close-up. Luis Delgado posted additional colored panels through April 2019.
A five-page preview was posted on April 16, 2019. On release day, April 17, Gallant posted pencil and ink pages for the regular cover and interior pages; Delgado posted a panel depicting a portal opening in the client's room.
In July 2019, IDW announced all four anniversary convention cover variants would be sold as a bundle at San Diego Comic-Con (Booth 2729). The convention variant for this issue was released July 18, 2019.
Trivia
- The regular Cover A features Slimer and Lady Slimer alongside the Answer The Call team.2
- The IDW Convention Variant Cover features Lady Slimer, Rowan North (human and ghost forms), all four Ghostbusters, Ring Leader Ghost, Portal Mirror Ghost, Gertrude Aldridge, Electrocuted Ghost, Slimer, Subway Ghost Rats, Mayhem, Ecto-1, and a Proton Pack.2
- Page 1: A billboard uses the "Who You Gonna Call?" credo via a "Pet Flushers" parody advertisement.
- Page 2: The doll seen in the apartment is visually based on Maurice from the 1989 film "Little Monsters."
- Page 3: Holtzmann makes a reference to the Containment Unit. Kevin Beckman's character design follows his look from Ghostbusters 101 issues 3 through 6.
- Page 5: A blue Post-It note in the background reads "call Tom," a nod to editor Tom Waltz.
- Page 13: Patty says "we hired" Kevin, even though in the 2016 film she had not yet joined the team when Kevin was brought on. Patty also states it has been two years since the events of the 2016 film.2
- Page 15: Patty delivers a take on the "We're gonna need a bigger boat" line from the 1975 film "Jaws."
- Page 19: The team traps what appears to be their first confirmed Class 7 entity.2
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
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Bleeding Cool, "IDW Plans Weekly Ghostbusters Event for April with 4 Teams" (December 14, 2018), https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/12/14/idw-plans-weekly-ghostbusters-event-for-april-with-4-teams/
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Ghostbusters 35th Anniversary: Answer The Call Ghostbusters (IDW Publishing, April 17, 2019). Writer: Devin Grayson; Penciler/Inker: S.L. Gallant; Colorist: Luis Antonio Delgado; Letterer: Neil Uyetake. Diamond Order Code FEB190642.
