Plot
Thanks to the results of their latest adventure, P.C.O.C. chief Walter Peck punishes the Ghostbusters by using the contract the team signed with the city to bar them from doing their jobs, at least until they meet his "reasonable physical requirements" for ghostbusting work. While they groan about having to lose weight and look for a loophole to Peck's authority, strange things are brewing outside Schenectady.
Peter Venkman and Egon Spengler attempt to satisfy the fitness requirements at Delgado's Gym while Ray Stantz visits his occult bookshop, where he encounters Kylie Griffin as a customer for the first time. Meanwhile, a young boy named Scotty and his parents Jeremy and Cindy visit Fantastic Land, an amusement park near Schenectady. Scotty becomes possessed by the Hungry Manitou, a dangerous entity with a psychopompic nature, escalating the situation from a routine fitness complaint into a full supernatural crisis. The Ghostbusters, loophole in hand, scramble to respond.
Characters
Ghostbusters: Peter Venkman, Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore, Janine Melnitz
Supporting: Walter Peck, Kylie Griffin (debut in IDW ongoing), Eugene Visitor, Neal, Bav
Featured entities: Hungry Manitou, Bat Spectral Constructs
Civilians: Scotty, Jeremy and Cindy (Scotty's parents)
Equipment
Equipment appearing in this issue includes the Proton Pack (notably revised to be more movie-accurate starting here), Ecto Goggles, Giga-meter, and the Proton Grenade. Books from Ray's Occult Books include Tobin's Spirit Guide, the Roylance Guide to Secret Societies and Sects, and the Spates Catalog, among others.
Covers
Cover A
by Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado
Cover B
by Nick Runge
(homage to Blondie's self-titled debut studio album)3
Retailer Incentive Cover
by Jose Holder (listed in Previews #278 as the "New Years Bash Cover")
Development
On October 12, 2011, Ghostbusters Fans posted the first look at Cover A and Cover B, both without lettering or text.
On October 15, 2011, Erik Burnham hinted that a clown would appear in Issue #5. Two days later, Burnham confirmed he had finished writing the issue, describing "a level of weirdness that even Ghostbusters fans haven't seen yet."
On October 10, 2011, Jose Holder announced he would be doing a variant cover and offered a sneak peek.
On October 30, 2011, Tristan Jones hinted that a character appearing in the issue might be controversial to fans, and that this character would help give solid verification that the ongoing series is not in continuity with The Real Ghostbusters or Extreme Ghostbusters. This character was later revealed to be Kylie Griffin. On January 15, 2012, Jones confirmed that Kylie is part of the supporting cast and, per Erik Burnham at the time, would not be picking up a Proton Pack soon, at least through Issue #16. Jones pushed for the use of this character.
On November 2, 2011, Previews #278 listed Jose Holder's variant as the "New Years Bash Cover."
On November 9, 2011, Tristan Jones posted an early mock-up he made for the variant cover and concept art for the clown character.
On November 22, 2011, Jones tweeted: "Pretty sure what I just drew for Ghostbusters #5 is one of the best things I've ever drawn."
On December 7, 2011, Ghostbusters News posted Cover B and identified it as a homage to Blondie's first self-titled studio album.
On January 10, 2012, Dan Schoening posted an unlettered, black-and-white preview of page 13 featuring the Ghostbusters and Walter Peck in the Firehouse. On January 13, a preview of the index page and first seven story pages was posted. On January 18, Luis Delgado posted unlettered versions of pages 19 and 20.
Also noted at the January 15 preview: the Proton Packs were revised to look more similar to the movie versions starting with this issue. Burnham revealed that Dan Schoening asked for a quick in-story gag to acknowledge the packs were not as streamlined as they had been in the first arc.
On July 14, 2013, Dan Schoening posted rough sketches of unused cover concepts for Issue #5.
Trivia
Page 1 (Fantastic Land):
- The Shandor Soda Shoppe is a reference to Ivo Shandor.
- P.J.'s Chicken and the two-ton plaster chicken from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Chicken, He Clucked" are visible in Fantastic Land.
- Big Greaser from the RGB episode "Something's Going Around" is present.
- The clown is visually based on Pennywise the Dancing Clown from Stephen King's "It."
- Scotty wears a Dopey Dog T-shirt in the style from "Who're You Calling Two-Dimensional?"
- Behind the glass is the Glutton Ghost from "Egon's Ghost."
Page 2:
- Scotty's parents Jeremy and Cindy are based on characters from the RGB episode "Ragnarok and Roll."
- One of the costumed workers is Conqueror Duck from "Who're You Calling Two-Dimensional?"
- A storefront is Conrad's Chocolate from the RGB episode "Ghosts R Us."
- Another storefront is Sargassi's from Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Realistic Version), complete with Pappy's fishing rod and the Crabs slogan from a Panic in Times Square billboard.
Page 4:
Page 5:
- DyTyllio from "Ragnarok and Roll" appears as a park visitor or worker.
- Possessed Scotty's line, "There is no Scotty," is a direct homage to the famous line in Ghostbusters: "There is no Dana, only Zuul."
Page 6:
- Aunt Lois from "The Spirit of Aunt Lois" waits for the NYC bus.
- Professor Dweeb exits a taxi cab.
- Doc Brown and Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy appear by the cab.
- Olivia Stewart and her fiance Jon from "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Ghost?" are present.
- Delgado's Gym, where Peter and Egon work out, is named after colorist Luis Antonio Delgado.
- Egon wears a Senn University sweatshirt; Harold Ramis was an alumnus of Senn High School in Chicago.4
- Luis Delgado's "15" easter egg appears on the side panel of the bus.
Page 7:
- Delgado's Gym sits next to the law office of Ballard Wright, the ghost from the IDW story "Tainted Love."
- Casey J's Coffee and Books nearby is named after Casey Jones from "Last Train to Oblivion."
- The 489 address indicates the gym occupies the same 5th Avenue building as Manhattan City Bank from the first Ghostbusters film; the Manhattan City Bank logo is visible over Egon's right shoulder.
- Among the crowd are the Mayor's Wife from "The Scaring of the Green," Dr. Crowley and Fairweather from "The Halloween Door," Archbishop Michael from Ghostbusters, one of Captain Jack's pirates from "Sea Fright," Alice Derleth from "The Collect Call of Cathulhu," and Wat as Mrs. Rogers from "Mrs. Roger's Neighborhood."
Page 9:
- Celine and Bess from Extreme Ghostbusters "Witchy Woman" are in the crowd.
- Edward Zeddemore from "The Brooklyn Triangle" appears.
- Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston are in the crowd.
- J. Portman Plump from "Deadcon 1" and Professor Phil Dendron from "A Ghost Grows in Brooklyn" also appear.
- Peter references the "Where's Waldo" book series.
Page 10:
- The house in the park appears to be based on Phantom Manor, the Disneyland Paris version of the Haunted Mansion.
- The Rollerghoster from the RGB episode "Rollerghoster" is visible.
Page 12 (Ray's Occult Books):
- Ray's Occult Books from Ghostbusters II is still open for business.
- The Necronomicon is in the storefront display.
- The phrase "Burn in Hell Venkman" is partially visible outside the store.
- The Doomsday Door from "Knock, Knock" is on a flier; episode titles "Apocalypse -- What, Now?" and "Cold Cash and Hot Water" appear on other fliers.
- "Magicians, Martyrs and Madmen" from Ghostbusters II and "Pagan Rituals and Ceremonies" from Extreme Ghostbusters' "Casting the Runes" are for sale outside.
- A Captain Steel comic from The Real Ghostbusters is visible.
- Leopold from "A Fright at the Opera" appears on fliers.
- Kylie Griffin makes her IDW ongoing debut as a customer.
- Cubby from "Chicken, He Clucked" is also a customer.
- The Orb of Moldova from "The Unseen" and the magic talisman from "The Crawler" are on the bookshelf.
- A Bird of Kildarby statue references the entity from "The Bird of Kildarby."
- "Bestiary" from "The Sphinx" and "Magical Paths to Fortune and Power" from Ghostbusters II are visible by Kylie.
- The Ritual Mask of Bad Advice, Portrait of G. Sedgewick, Swiss Death Clock, Featherwell's Stalking Chair, and Cursed Musket of Cecil Starkey, all from Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Realistic Version), are in the store. The Spider Witch appears on the store's calendar.
- The Little Black Box from "The Joke's on Ray" is visible.
- The Spates Catalog symbol hangs in the storefront window.
- Pagan, Kylie's cat from Extreme Ghostbusters, rests near the Stalking Chair.
Page 13:
- Peter wears a golfing glove, a callback to his golfing line from Issue #1.
- "The End of the World" by Milton Angland references one of Peter's guests from the Ghostbusters II "World of the Psychic" show.
- Case files stamped "Mrs. Rogers" reference "Mrs. Roger's Neighborhood."
- A bag of Wise Natural Potato Chips from Peter's office in Ghostbusters is visible.
Page 15:
- The Atlantic issue from the Ghostbusters montage is on the wall.
- Two Sam Hain articles from "What in Samhain Just Happened?!" are present.
- A "Missing Chickens" article references "Chicken, He Clucked."
- Articles reference RGB episode titles "Citizen Ghost," "Ghosts R Us," and "Slimer, Come Home."
- The Ghostbusters travel by plane based on the GB4 plane from "Take Two."
- Ray holds a Tobin's Spirit Guide in the black-and-orange scheme seen in The Real Ghostbusters.
- Books include the Roylance Guide to Secret Societies and Sects, the Spates Catalog of Nameless Horrors (both from the original Ghostbusters), and the Church of Gozer Songbook from Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
Page 16:
- "Magic of the Runes" from "Casting the Runes" is in the stack of books.
Page 17:
- Lieutenant Frump is seen near a police barricade.
- The Proton Packs are visibly more movie-accurate in this issue. Dan Schoening requested a quick in-story gag to acknowledge the change from the first arc's more stylized versions.
Page 19:
- Samhain's Fortress from "Halloween II 1/2" is visible in the park.
Pages 22-23 (P.C.O.C. backup):
- The P.C.O.C. case file features Sam Hain; Peter's note makes light of the "What in Samhain Just Happened?!" title.
- In the "Type" section, the term Psychopomp is used, referring to entities whose prime responsibility is escorting the newly deceased to the afterlife.
- References include events from Ghostbusters: The Video Game and the Black Slime, plus Samhain from The Real Ghostbusters.
- Artie Lester, John Tobin, Tobin's Spirit Guide, and Tobin's Mansion (from "What in Samhain Just Happened?!") are mentioned.
- The 212-555-6311 number is from the Ghostbusters II invoice prop.
- The Sam Hain poster from "What in Samhain Just Happened?!" appears behind the case file.
Media appearances of Cover B:
A copy of Cover B appears in a bookcase in both the "Who You Gonna Call: A Ghostbusters Retrospective" and "Time Is But A Window: Ghostbusters II and Beyond" featurettes included in the Ghostbusters 1 and 2 Gift Set (2014).
Continuity:
- On page 19 of Ghostbusters: Crossing Over Issue #8, Egon uses subliminal messaging on Jillian Holtzmann and Ron Alexander so they cannot remember how to build another teleportation unit, connecting this era's events to the Crossing Over storyline.
- A photo of the panel showing the Ghostbusters entering Fantastic Land appears on the front page of a newspaper Janine is reading on the Subscription Cover of Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #1.
Comic
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
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Ghostbusters #5 (IDW Publishing, January 18, 2012). Writer: Erik Burnham (main story), Tristan Jones (P.C.O.C. backup). Pencils: Dan Schoening. Colors: Luis Antonio Delgado. Letters: Neil Uyetake. Editor: Tom Waltz. Covers: Dan Schoening/Luis Antonio Delgado (Cover A), Nick Runge (Cover B), Jose Holder (Retailer Incentive).
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Spotlight, Ghostbusters: Volume Two: The Most Magical Place on Earth, Part 1 (library binding edition, August 15, 2016). ISBN 978-1-61479-489-9.
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"Blondie (album)," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blondie_(album). Blondie's self-titled debut studio album was released December 1976 on Private Stock Records.
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"Harold Ramis," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Ramis. Ramis graduated from Nicholas Senn High School in Chicago in 1962.
