Characters
- Doctor Kruger (villain; carries over from issue #1)
- Erin Gilbert
- Abby Yates
- Jillian Holtzmann
- Patty Tolan
- Kevin Beckman
- Dean Thomas Shanks
Creative Team
| Role |
Name |
| Writer |
Kelly Thompson |
| Penciler |
Corin Howell |
| Colorist |
Valentina Pinto |
| Letterer |
Neil Uyetake |
| Editor |
Tom Waltz |
Covers
Cover A (Diamond Order Code: SEP170501) by Corin Howell, colored by Russell Badgett. Holtzmann is depicted in the leather jacket and overalls outfit from the 2016 film. Surrounding her are her weapons and gadgets: the Proton Blaster at the top, the Ghost Chipper and Ion Shield Pistol concept above her head, the P.K.E. Meter under her right arm, the Proton Glove to her right, two Proton Pistols near her left heel, and the Proton Pack with thrower by her right knee.
Cover B by Emma Vieceli and Luis Antonio Delgado. The full team, including Kevin and Ecto-1, are shown outside the Firehouse.
Cover RI (Retailer Incentive) by Corin Howell. A close-up of Holtzmann walking toward the Firehouse, sourced from Chapter 5 of the 2016 film.
Development
The five-issue mini-series was announced on July 18, 2017, with Kelly Thompson as writer and Corin Howell as artist.2 At the Ghostbusters 101 panel on July 21, 2017, editor Tom Waltz confirmed the series follows up on events from the Ghostbusters 101 crossover and that the Answer the Call team incorporates techniques learned from the original Ghostbusters, including new approaches to containing ghosts rather than destroying them. Cover B by Emma Vieceli was announced alongside two Cover A images at the series announcement.
August 2017 solicitations established the tentative release date and the issue's logline. Corin Howell began layouts for issue #2 on October 10, 2017, and shared a series of in-progress images through the end of October: a WIP of the city (October 12-13), the team (October 16), Ecto-1 (October 18), Holtzmann (October 25), a background (October 27), a character named Shrecky (October 31), and a clown (November 6). A WIP of a cubicle room was posted November 7.
Tom Waltz posted two unlettered interior pages on November 2, 2017, followed by an unlettered page of Erin on November 3. Colorist Valentina Pinto shared a photo of her coloring Holtzmann that same day. IDW Publishing posted a completed page on November 30, 2017.
On November 22, 2017, Waltz confirmed a release delay caused by disruption from recent hurricanes, pushing the date to December 27, 2017. A cover, credits page, and five-page preview were posted January 2, 2018, ahead of the final release date of January 3, 2018.
Notes
Page 2: A news anchor alludes to either the Mercado Hotel incident from the 2016 film or the Dimensional Bleed incident from the Ghostbusters 101 mini-series. The toaster atop the shelf in panel 2 is a nod to the Animated Toaster from Ghostbusters II, consistent with a similar visual in issue #1. Patty references the team's first fight with Kruger at the Firehouse in issue #1.
Page 3: Abby recalls both Kruger's possession of her in issue #1 and Rowan North's possession of her during the events of the 2016 film.
Page 4: Kevin is wearing his white shirt and black vest outfit, first seen in Chapter 12 of the 2016 film. Patty's description of a "weird sewer clown" is a direct nod to Stephen King's It.
Page 5: Holtzmann's rallying speech quotes the final lines of the St. Crispin's Day Speech from Henry V, Act IV, scene iii, lines 18-67.
Page 9: Erin appears in her professor outfit from the opening of the 2016 film. Her nightmare is rooted in her ongoing need for credibility within the scientific community. The bees are a nod to an on-set incident during filming at the Zhu's Authentic Hong Kong Food location, where a bee interrupted a take involving Kristen Wiig.
Page 12: Abby finds herself in Dean Shanks's office at the Kenneth P. Higgins Institute. The nameplate has an "M" where the "S" should be. In panel 1, the red balloon from It appears in a portrait to the right of the dean. In panel 2, Abby alludes to the public's broader awareness of ghosts following the Mercado Hotel incident.
Page 13: The dean transforms into a clown loosely based on Pennywise from It. The nameplate now reads "You'll Float Too," a direct quote from the novel and its adaptations. Abby admits she is afraid of clowns. The overall structure of the Ghostbusters' situation in this issue parallels the children's ordeal in It: a powerful spirit separates the group, terrorizes each person through their individual fears, puts victims into a catatonic state, and forces the heroes to confront and overcome their fears.
Page 14: Patty is surrounded by dolls in panel 4, a callback to being chased by the Mayhem-possessed mannequin in the 2016 film.
Page 16: The signs in Holtzmann's cubicle nightmare read "obey, consume, reproduce, and conform," drawn from the subliminal messages featured in John Carpenter's 1988 film They Live. Holtzmann stealing a printer is a reference to the film Office Space.
Page 17: A robot in panel 2 mentions "TPS Reports," a second nod to Office Space.
Cross-issue references: The cover preview on page 21 of issue #3 reuses an image of Kruger and the Empire State Building from this issue's page 1. In issue #5, Holtzmann's craving for scrambled eggs is a callback to her discovery about the Dream Machine's capabilities in this issue. Also in issue #5, Erin alludes to Kevin unplugging his phone during this issue.
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
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Ghostbusters: Answer The Call #2 (IDW Publishing, January 3, 2018). Written by Kelly Thompson; art by Corin Howell; colors by Valentina Pinto; letters by Neil Uyetake; edited by Tom Waltz.
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Bleeding Cool, "2016 Ghostbusters To Answer The Call Again In New Mini-Series By Kelly Thompson And Corin Howell From IDW" (July 18, 2017), https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/07/18/2016-ghostbusters-answer-call-new-mini-series-kelly-thompson-corin-howell-idw/
