Plot
The time has come. Gozer's energies are coalescing around Manhattan, waiting to reform, and Ray Stantz has been captured in an attempt by the forces of darkness to modify the Destructor's form. Is it the end of the world again, or can Ray keep it together until help arrives?
Cast
Equipment
Locations
Covers
Cover A
Cover B
by Nick Runge
Incentive Cover
Development
The P.C.O.C. (Paranormal Contracts Oversight Commission) backup section in this issue was written by Tristan Jones.1 The section focused on Stay Puft Marshmallow Man documentation, with Jones tweeting in-progress photographs of Stay Puft imagery throughout October 2011 as he assembled the material.
A timeline of key development notes sourced from creator social media and blog posts:
- June 6, 2011: Tristan Jones hinted at a mention of the B.U.F.O. from the Real Ghostbusters episode "Big Trouble With Little Slimer."
- June 10, 2011: Erik Burnham announced he would be doing a cover for issue #4.
- July 27, 2011: Burnham tweeted he had submitted a first draft and a potential cover to editor Tom Waltz.
- August 17, 2011: Burnham confirmed the colors on his variant cover were approved.
- August 24, 2011: Editor Chris Ryall tweeted Nick Runge's Cover B, revealing it was based on U2's fifth album The Joshua Tree.
- August 25, 2011: Nick Runge blogged that Cover B would be printed black and white on the front and in color on the back. Burnham also revealed his own cover, a Brady Bunch homage.
- August 26, 2011: Burnham confirmed his script for issue #4 was approved.
- August 30, 2011: Dan Schoening announced he planned to begin penciling the issue the week of September 5th.
- September 2, 2011: Burnham shared an uncolored early version of his variant cover showing characters in different positions from the final.
- October 3, 2011: Schoening confirmed he was working on page 16 and teased "there is something sugary on the loose."
- October 12, 2011: Ghostbusters Fans posted the first look at Cover A.
- October 14, 2011: Tristan Jones tweeted that issue #4 was ready to move into final art.
- October 21-31, 2011: Jones tweeted multiple photographs of Stay Puft imagery prepared for the P.C.O.C. section, including a Zombie Stay Puft rough.
- October 31, 2011: Burnham hinted at a nod to the Rookie from Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
- November 12, 2011: Jones tweeted that issue #4 reveals names for the Ghostbusters rookies, noting "you gotta look hard."
- November 19, 2011: Burnham teased that his favorite "prop" would appear in the issue.
- December 27, 2011: Luis Delgado posted unlettered versions of pages 9, 13, and 19.
- July 14, 2013: Dan Schoening posted roughs of unused cover concepts for issue #4.
Trivia
Page 3
- Idulnas mentions a Jabberwock. The Real Ghostbusters also featured a Jabberwock caught with Slimer in the episode "The Grundel." According to the creators, this was a coincidence.
Page 4
- A clipping of Lieutenant Frump (as seen in the Real Ghostbusters episode "The Headless Motorcyclist") is held to the wall by a magnet shaped like the host body Killerwatt made at the end of the episode "Killerwatt."
- The Ghost Beacon from "Darkness at Noon, Part 1" is visible on the table where Egon is working on a pack.
Page 5
- Peter refers to the Rookie and his victory over Stay Puft in the Times Square level of Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
- Winston mentions Twinkies.
- The Proton Grenade is visually based on the Ghost Bomb from the Real Ghostbusters episode "The Boogieman Cometh."
Page 6
- Framed articles on Peck's wall and his speed dial reference the B.U.F.O. from "Big Trouble With Little Slimer," Jack Hardemeyer from Ghostbusters II, and the EPA's role in shutting down the Ghostbusters in the first film.
- Speed dial labels also include Mayor Lenny, Jock Mulligan, and the Parkview Psychiatric Hospital.
Page 7
- Janine's file lists Mrs. Rogers and the address 1313 13th Street in Levittown, referencing the Real Ghostbusters episode "Mrs. Roger's Neighborhood."
- An Imp can be spotted next to Janine's flowers.
Page 8
- The color scheme of the helicopter matches the one Ray piloted in the Real Ghostbusters episode "You Can't Take it With You."
- The miniature plane with a Skeleton Pilot Ghost is from The Real Ghostbusters promotional pilot.
- Egon's friend appears to be visually based on Roger Murdock from the film Airplane!, as portrayed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Page 10
- Idulnas mentions a Sloar, first referenced by Vinz Clortho in Ghostbusters (1984). A Juvenile Sloar appeared in Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Realistic Version).
- Idulnas mentions Grendelspawn, a nod to the Grundel.
Page 16
- Luis Delgado's Easter egg is a framed copy of The Pacific Monthly showing "15" as the issue number in the first panel.
Page 17
- Ray enters room 2206, which is Dana Barrett's apartment number from Ghostbusters (1984).
- The person Ray encounters in that room is based on John Candy's take on Louis Tully from early script drafts: a German man with two Doberman Pinschers. Dan Schoening modeled the figure visually on John Candy's character Dr. Tongue from SCTV.
- The two Dobermans are named Artemis and Hera. In Greek mythology those names belong to the sister of Apollo and the wife of Zeus, respectively. The dogs' names are a roundabout reference to Apollo and Zeus, the names of the Dobermans on the TV series Magnum, P.I., an obscure connection inserted by Erik Burnham.
- The original Ghostbusters commercial is playing on television in room 2206.
Page 22
- A newspaper article mentions the Ghostbusters hiring three new operatives: Maddie Collins, Chad Fuller, and Bryan Welsh. These names were created by Tristan Jones: Maddie represents the Female Rookie, Chad the Stylized Rookie, and Bryan the Realistic Rookie. Jones had conceived the name "Maddie Collins" before the ongoing series began; the other two names were developed as he wrote the P.C.O.C. material.
- Marty Tillis' name appears in a Stay Puft video. The character was head of the Stay Puft Company in the Real Ghostbusters episode "Sticky Business."
- Tobin's Spirit Guide is partially visible in the bottom left corner.
Page 23
- "The Architect," Ivo Shandor, is mentioned.
- The Infestation event (from Ghostbusters: Infestation) is referenced as having occurred "last year."
- A partial Ghostbusters phone number is visible: "212-555-631."
- A map displays locations from the first film: 550 Central Park West (Dana's apartment), Lincoln Center (where Peter made a date with Dana), Tavern on the Green (where Louis was possessed), and Columbia University. This map originated from the book Making Ghostbusters, page 26.3
- A photo of Zombie Stay Puft from Ghostbusters: Infestation is included.
- A photo and file on the Marshmallow Mini from The Video Game are visible.
- A partial shot of a Stay Puft Marshmallows bag is visible.
Cross-issue references
- Two scenes from this issue are reused for Ray's memories in Volume 2 Issue #19, page 12.
- In Ghostbusters: Deviations, the "What Really Happened" page uses an image of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man taken from page 14, panel 2 of this issue.
Comic
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
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Ghostbusters #4 (IDW Publishing, December 21, 2011). Story by Erik Burnham; P.C.O.C. section by Tristan Jones; pencils by Dan Schoening; colors by Luis Antonio Delgado; letters by Neil Uyetake; editor Tom Waltz.
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Spotlight/ABDO Publishing (August 15, 2016). Ghostbusters Volume One: The Man from the Mirror, Part 4. ISBN 978-1-61479-488-2. Library binding reprint of Ghostbusters #4, IDW Publishing. ABDO Publishing, Minnesota USA.
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Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA. ISBN 0918432685. p. 26.
