Covers
Cover A
Cover B
Incentive Cover
Stories
Haunted America Part Four
"Haunted America" concludes here. The Ghostbusters hit the last leg of their tour of the country, pulling into the Pacific Northwest and the city of Seattle just in time to bear witness to a rock and roll return. A ghostly guitarist is stalking the Emerald City and it is up to the guys to put an end to his ectoplasmic encore.
Peter Venkman had been separated from the rest of the team on the road to Seattle (the circumstances are told in full in the companion backup story). He reunites with Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore, and Egon Spengler in the city, where Fire Chief Bales and Officer Foley are managing the aftermath of paranormal disturbances tied to Seattle's music scene. The primary ghost is Dante Barnes, a musician connected to the city's rock history, with a surviving witness, Shelly, providing backstory on his death. The team investigates through a series of Seattle landmarks, gathers intelligence from DJ Fever at KBIB radio, and tracks Barnes to Pioneer Square for a fiery climax. Afterward, the Ghostbusters collect payment from the Mayor of Seattle at City Hall.1
Characters: Dante Barnes (ghost), Fire Chief Bales, Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore, Egon Spengler, Peter Venkman, Officer Foley, DJ Fever, Shelly, Mayor of Seattle
Equipment: Ecto Goggles, Globuscope, Proton Pack, Particle Thrower, P.K.E. Meter, Ecto Monocle, Ecto-1a, Ecto-2, Ghost Trap
Locations: Seattle, Space Needle, Charon's Patisserie, Pequod's, Pike's Place Market, LaSalle Hotel, Paramount Theatre, Pioneer Square, Seattle City Hall
Who Killed Laura Parr? Part Four
The final chapter of the backup serial reveals what Peter was doing while separated from the Ghostbusters on the drive to Seattle. At Devil's Bend, Peter assists Laura Parr in confronting the Phantom Truck Driver aboard the Phantom Big Rig. Peter directs Laura to activate the Super Slammer Muon Trap, bringing the mystery to its conclusion.1
Characters: Peter Venkman, Laura Parr, Phantom Truck Driver
Equipment: Phantom Big Rig, Ecto-1a, Slime Blower, Proton Pack, Particle Thrower, Super Slammer Muon Trap
Location: Devil's Bend
Development
The covers and interior art for this issue were developed across several months of public updates from the creative team.
On March 21, 2012, Tristan Jones tweeted that his cover had been revised. He posted a teaser image on May 8, hinting the following day that it contained many music references, with a newspaper article possibly referencing his favorite band. The unlettered version of his cover was posted on May 23.
On June 12, Jones delivered the first page of "Who Killed Laura Parr? Part Four" for coloring. He posted additional page teasers on June 13 and June 16 and continued working through early July, tweeting he was drawing the issue at 5 AM on July 3. On July 6 he noted that page 24 would blow minds and that he had seen it colored. On July 24 he confirmed seeing the last two colored pages of the backup story.
On June 20, 2012, Dan Schoening confirmed he was actively penciling the main story.
On July 26, Erik Burnham publicly hinted that Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, and one other deceased Seattle rocker would be referenced in the issue but not depicted as ghosts.
On August 17, the front cover of the collected Ghostbusters Volume Three revealed a female character would appear in issue #12. On August 27, a preview was posted containing Cover A, the credits page, and the first seven pages. On August 28, Burnham teased that the finale involved Pioneer Square with fire. On the release date of August 29, Luis Delgado posted unlettered versions of pages 2, 17, and 18.
Trivia
Cover Notes
Cover A uses the Diamond Order Code JUN120354. Seattle landmarks appear throughout, including Pike's Place, the Paramount Theatre, and the Space Needle.
Cover B features Kylie Griffin with a Ray's Occult Books employee badge in the upper left corner. Embedded in the letters of "SEATTLE" are several Extreme Ghostbusters characters: the Grundel in the "S," an Ecto-Clone from "Back in the Saddle, Part 1" in the first "E," Crainiac of the Vathek from "Deadliners" in the "A," Piper from "The Pied Piper of Manhattan" in the first "T," and Luko from "The Infernal Machine" in the "L." Below "SEATTLE" is S.I.D.N.E.E. from "Back in the Saddle, Part 2." The concert ticket references Vince Braggs Promotions from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Banshee Bake a Cherry Pie?" and WBOO the Big Boo from "Station Identification." Citizen Dick, named on the ticket, is a fictional band from the 1992 film "Singles."
Cover RI references the iconic final scene of the 1986 film "Platoon."
Story Notes
Page 1: The opening text box references Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and Andrew Wood, Seattle rock musicians who died prematurely. The Space Needle is visible in the establishing shot. The Pequod's coffeehouse is located at 1912 Pike Place, the address of the first Starbucks. Charon's Patisserie references Charon from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Hanging By a Thread." Kurt Cobain appears with his back to the reader outside Pequod's, and Lloyd Dobbler from the film "Say Anything" stands nearby. The Glick Brothers from The Real Ghostbusters episode "The Devil to Pay" are exiting Pequod's.
Page 2: Fire Chief Bales is visually based on Charlie "C.D." Bales as played by Steve Martin in "Roxanne." The "5" on his hat references the Firehouse Five Plus Two jazz band. Winston is wearing and using the Ecto-Headphones with Radar Blaster accessory from Kenner's Weapon Action Figure line.
Page 3: It is acknowledged that Peter was separated from the others on the way to Seattle; the backup story "Who Killed Laura Parr?" shows what he was doing. Yakima, a city southeast of Mount Rainier, is referenced.
Page 4: Officer Foley, whose badge reads "M. Foley," is visually based on Matt Foley as portrayed by Chris Farley on Saturday Night Live. He realizes Peter was riffing on King County with "King's County," located in Brooklyn. Count Vostok's car from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Transylvanian Homesick Blues" is parked across the street.
Page 5: A salon behind Peter and Foley references Makoveris Lotsabucks from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Janine, You've Changed."
Page 7: Officer Foley invokes the "Stop, drop, and roll" rule when Peter's suit catches fire.
Page 8: The demon in the ambulance is from the prologue of the 1983 film "Twilight Zone: The Movie," originally portrayed by Dan Aykroyd, who reappears as an ambulance driver at the film's end. The attending paramedic is visually based on Jane Curtin, who was on Saturday Night Live alongside Aykroyd and Bill Murray.
Page 9: Kenner's Wicked Wheelie toy from the Haunted Vehicles line is parked outside KBIB. The station appears to broadcast on 99.5 and 100.3. "Surimuchan" is a reference to Erik Burnham's sister. Peter is wearing the gray jumpsuit that debuted in Ghostbusters II. A poster of The Bus Boys (who recorded "Cleanin' Up The Town") and a picture of Ray Parker, Jr. wearing a No Ghost logo shirt are visible. Below Parker's image is a picture of the Alessi Brothers, who recorded "Saving the Day." The DJ is visually based on Dr. Johnny Fever as played by Howard Hesseman in "WKRP in Cincinnati."
Page 10: A Jackie Wilson poster and an Air Supply poster hang on the club wall. The DJ references Yoko Ono in connection with the end of the Beatles. Shelly's triangular necklace is a symbol associated with fire. The DJ's mug matches the one Fever uses on WKRP. On the shelf behind the drummer is the Singing Slime from Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Realistic Versions), and below it is a doll of Loci from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Egon's Dragon."
Page 11: The partial band name on the drum appears to begin with "Pyro." A photograph of the Possessed Bell-Bottom Jeans from Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Realistic Versions) is visible to Peter's left.
Page 12: Pequod was the original name for what became Starbucks, itself named after the ship in Moby Dick whose first mate was Star Buck. The Paramount Theatre advertises a showing of the 1983 film "Christine," whose car previously appeared in issue #8. The logo of the Central Flower Market from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Standing Room Only" appears to the right of the neon sign. Ray is using the Proton Electroencephalograph from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Venk-Man!"
Page 13: Ray mentions a Banshee, an entity type that appeared in both The Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters.
Page 14: The team arrives near Pioneer Square's Tlingit Totem Pole. A storefront references Persefineathious from Extreme Ghostbusters' "Mole People." Ecto-1a's billboard displays the 1-800-555-2368 number from the first film's commercial montage.
Page 19: The man who walked into frame during the first film's montage appears in the crowd. Dewey Lamort from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Ghost Fight at the O.K. Corral" is also visible. A sticker on City Hall's front door features the pizza, pork chop, and watermelon accessories from Kenner's Green Ghost toy. Ray is wearing an outfit from early in the first film. Winston's T-shirt reads "Big Ed," a reference to Edward Zeddemore from The Real Ghostbusters episode "The Brooklyn Triangle." Peter's outfit is based on what Bill Murray wore in "Zombieland." Seattle's Corporate Seal is displayed behind the Mayor, who is visually based on Norman Rice, Mayor of Seattle from 1989 to 1997.
Page 20: Luis Delgado's "15" easter egg appears to the left of the doorway above Peter's gesturing hand. The Flag of Seattle is visible as the team walks to their vehicles.
Page 22: The Slime Blower is set to the Slime Tether setting from Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Realistic Versions).
Page 29 (backup): Peter instructs Laura to activate the Super Slammer Trap from Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
A copy of Cover A appears in the "Who You Gonna Call: A Ghostbusters Retrospective" featurette included in the Ghostbusters 1 and 2 Gift Set Blu-ray (2014) at the 5:04 mark.
Comic
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
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Ghostbusters #12 (IDW Publishing, August 29, 2012). "Haunted America Part Four": writer Erik Burnham, pencils and Cover A colors Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado. "Who Killed Laura Parr? Part Four": writer and artist Tristan Jones, Cover B colors Mike Henderson and Mickey Clausen. Shared credits: letterer Neil Uyetake, editor Tom Waltz. Diamond Order Code JUN120354. ISBN 978-1-61479-496-7. Also issued as library binding by Spotlight as "Ghostbusters Volume Three: Haunted America, Part 4."
