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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
