Plot
Egon Spengler investigates the source of abnormally high PKE levels across New York City, tracking a paranormal entity with a connection to his past. The case takes him from Arbutus Place Rest Home to the home of Mr. Visitor and his son Eugene, where the nature of the entity is revealed. Along the way, Egon crosses paths with Janine Melnitz and her boyfriend Roger Baugh. Burnham designed the issue as largely standalone: there is an initial bust handled with the full team, then Egon pursues the mystery alone. The issue plants subplots that carry forward into the second arc beginning with issue #9.
The issue also contains a seven-page backup story titled "The Man Who Sought Death," written and drawn by Tristan Jones, presented as a secret chapter of Tobin's Spirit Guide. Set in 1912 Siberia, it follows John Horace Tobin and Mikhael Gallon, drawing on the Russian/Romanian folk tale "The Soldier and Death" (also known as "The Story of Ivan Turbinca" by Ion Creanga2). The story involves a Mystical Sack, a meeting with Vladimir Belascu, and events connected to the Tunguska Blast of 1909. Jones initially planned to explore more of the science behind Death and the sack but ran out of pages; he views Death in the story as a particularly nasty kind of spirit and has expressed interest in expanding on psychopomp creatures in a future story.
Cast
- Egon Spengler
- Peter Venkman
- Winston Zeddemore
- Ray Stantz
- Janine Melnitz
- Roger Baugh (Janine's boyfriend; see Trivia)
- Mr. Visitor, Eugene Visitor
- Old Lady Myrtle, Dinah the Cat
- Harlan Bojay, Robert Learned Coombs
- Death, Violinist
- Vigo (painting)
- P.C.O.C. backup: John Horace Tobin, Mikhael Gallon, Vladimir Belascu, Chekaren, Witch of Krasnoyarsk, The Undying Soldier, The Strange Beggar, Grundel, Underworld Horde
Equipment
The issue features proton packs with particle throwers, ecto goggles, a PKE meter, a ghost trap, a proton pistol, a radio, Tobin's Spirit Guide, the Spates Catalog, a Dimensional Frequency Scanner, and a Mystical Sack. The vehicle is the Ecto-1a.
One detail of note to prop builders and collectors: the trap depicted on page five is identifiable as a Matty Collector Ghost Trap replica. The giveaways are the orientation of the red label on the side and the thickness of the hose connector.
Covers
Cover A
Cover B
Incentive Cover
Cover A, by Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado with aging and lettering contributions from Tristan Jones, depicts Egon with a paranormal entity in the style of a pulpy detective novel cover. It carries the taglines "The Man Who Holds the Hands of Death" and "An Egon Spengler Mystery." Burnham gave Schoening a rough concept for the cover, Delgado colored it, and Jones aged the artwork.
Cover B is by Nick Runge and references The Doors' "Morrison Hotel." It also features Gozer.
The incentive (retailer incentive) cover is by Gale Eltaeb.
A copy of Cover A appears in the "Who You Gonna Call: A Ghostbusters Retrospective" featurette on the Ghostbusters 1 and 2 Gift Set Blu-ray (2014) at the 5:04 mark.
Development
Erik Burnham and Tristan Jones tracked the development of the issue publicly over several months.
On October 30, 2011, Burnham revealed issue #8 would be a "done in one" story, with a second four-part arc following in issues #9-12. On December 4, he confirmed the issue would focus on Egon Spengler.
On December 6, 2011, Jones and Burnham posted Cover A. On December 7, Burnham blogged about the cover's evolution: he gave Schoening a rough idea for a pulpy detective cover featuring Egon, Delgado colored it, and Jones aged the artwork and contributed ideas for the lettering. Burnham also noted Egon would be narrating throughout.
On January 21, 2012, Burnham noted he had to restart the script three times. By February 19, he described the story as mostly standalone: there is a bust, then Egon goes off and solves something on his own. The issue plays into the second arc but does not require reading the two back-to-back to follow either story. On February 23, he confirmed Janine Melnitz's boyfriend Roger would appear, and on February 26, Jones teased "People gonna learn a thing or two about Tobin's Spirit Guide."
On March 3, Burnham confirmed he had just turned in the script, with hints of other subplots woven in. On March 11, Jones revealed he had done story and art for a seven-page backup. On March 12, he posted a teaser for "The Man Who Sought Death," confirming it is set in 1912 Siberia, features one character from France and one from East Germany, and includes a tapestry nodding to the Genevieve Tapestry from the Real Ghostbusters episode "Hard Knight's Day."
On March 19, 2012, editor Chris Ryall announced his daughter Lucy's fan art would appear in the issue, and posted the first look at Cover B. On April 6, Burnham noted Roger's introduction would not reveal much, but that he does something that annoys Egon, inspired by an actual friend's habit that annoys Burnham as well.
On April 16, a preview of the credits page and first seven pages was posted. On April 17, Jones described his backup pages as "a secret chapter of Tobin's Spirit Guide history." On May 18, Burnham noted a truck accident had delayed shipment in parts of the United States, including Texas.
Trivia
This issue contains a notably dense set of background references to the wider Ghostbusters universe across animated episodes, the video game, and earlier IDW issues. The following are organized by page.
Cover A:
- A Crunch bar in Egon's pocket references his love of junk food.
- The flier for "The Hound of the D'Urbervilles" combines the Sherlock Holmes novel "The Hound of the Baskervilles" (Holmes also appeared in the Real Ghostbusters episode "Elementary My Dear Winston") with Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the d'Urbervilles."
- Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street appears in a garbage can.
Cover B:
- References The Doors' "Morrison Hotel" and features Gozer.
Page 1: Three Ghost Actors from "Lights! Camera! Haunting!" appear among the senior citizens waiting outside the rest home. The hallway portraits include Charles Foster Hearse from "Ghostbuster of the Year" and the woman from "Mrs. Roger's Neighborhood." Room number panel 15 is Luis Delgado's easter egg. Peter walks near the Painting of the Trustees from Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Behind Ray is a portrait of the Hotel Boudreaux from "Play Them Ragtime Boos."
Page 2: The door knocker from the Doomsday Door ("Knock, Knock"), without its nose ring, appears on one of the doors. A melting clock dimension painting from "The Cabinet of Calamari" hangs in the hallway.
Page 3: On the mantle are the Stone Angel Head from Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Realistic Versions), the Statue of Liberty torch lamp from Peter's apartment in Ghostbusters II, and the Whistling Bust of Mausch from Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
Page 4: Winston references his "Yes!" line from the first film and the bust from issue #2.
Page 5: The ghost trap is identifiable as a Matty Collector Ghost Trap by the orientation of the red label on the side and the thickness of the hose connector.
Page 7: Egon references the events of the first arc (Gozer and Idulnas). The guestbook is open to a page showing the infamous bad-English text from the end of the NES Ghostbusters video game.
Page 8: Power Guy from "Station Identification" is on one of the arcades. The Ghostbusters arcade game is nearest to Egon. A Slimic Net from "Adventures in Slime and Space" stands upright nearby, alongside Zedikiah Spengler's hat from "Egon's Dragon." Above Egon's head is Harold Ramis' signature. Obscured by Zedikiah's hat is Jones' Tobin art of the Scoleri Brothers. Egon's poster board includes PCOC file photos from previous issues, photos of the Mandala nodes from Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Egon's initial critique of the firehouse from the first film, and the names of Containment Unit parts Egon recited in "Citizen Ghost." Peter wears the robe his animated counterpart wore in "Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream." Winston references the Da Vinci Sleep Cycle (Egon names it the Polyphasic Schedule), mirroring a line in Ghostbusters: The Video Game where Egon notes he sleeps an average of 14 minutes a day. Peter's mug references "The World of the Psychic" from Ghostbusters II.
Page 9: Egon wears his Senn University sweater (Harold Ramis attended Senn High School3, which appeared on this same sweater in issue #5). A bulletin board has a notice for free Jaguars tickets (the baseball team animated Winston watched in "Night Game") and an ad for The Great Strazinski from "You Can't Teach an Old Demon New Tricks." Egon uses Belascu shaving cream, referencing Belascu's Unruly Beard from Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
Page 10: The Law Offices of Ballard Wright (Tainted Love one-shot) and Casey Jones' Coffee and Books (the ghost from "Last Train to Oblivion") recur from earlier issues. Janine's relatives from "Janine's Day Off" walk by, with Grannie Melnitz visible behind Roger and Janine. Dewey Lamort's car from "Ghost Fight at the O.K. Corral" and the ice cream truck from "Troll Bridge" are parked on the street. The Violinist (The Stiff) from the first film stands with his back turned. Janine mentions the racquetball court at Delgado's, a hobby established in the first film. Roger Baugh is visually based on the Extreme Ghostbusters design of Egon Spengler; his surname is a tribute to Fritz Baugh of The Ectozone website. The Party Troll from "Troll Bridge" and Ecto-Junior from "Halloween II 1/2" also appear.
Page 11: Anne Lawson and Posey from "The Revenge of Murray the Mantis" cross the street. Ray Cooger from "Rollerghoster" is in the crowd. Ned Ryerson, played by Stephen Tobolowsky in Groundhog Day (a Bill Murray film), is also in the crowd. The two bums from the deleted scenes of the first film are present. Janine's car is parked nearby. A taxi advertisement is for MJN Studios from "Lights! Camera! Haunting!"
Page 12: The little girl resembles Irma from "The Halloween Door." The old man in a suit is the bystander Egon prodded in the Sedgewick Hotel hallway in the first film. Three trash cans reference: the Extreme Ghostbusters episode "Grease" (featuring a Gremlin), Killerwatt from "Killerwatt," and the Shubs (a race destroyed by Gozer, mentioned by Vinz Clortho in the first film).
Page 13: A sticker references WUGH FM, the radio station from "Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream." The Vigo painting appears in full view.
Page 14: Mr. Visitor's house is visually based on Mrs. Roger's house from "Mrs. Roger's Neighborhood." The giraffe topiary may be a tribute to Edward Scissorhands.
Page 16: Wagner's Occult Shop from "The Collect Call of Cathulhu" appears behind Egon. The car that hits Eugene is based on Christine from Stephen King.
Page 17: Mr. Visitor is visually inspired by Mr. Tummel from "You Can't Take it With You." A Limburger's Special Recipe Mac & Cheese box references Charles Von Limburger's business from "The Hole in the Wall Gang." A portrait of the Ghost Actors appears in the first panel.
Page 19: The blue figure above Eugene's "Goodbye" dialogue bubble is one of the Hole Ghosts from "The Hole in the Wall Gang."
Page 20: Precious from "Mrs. Roger's Neighborhood" flies above the house.
Page 21: The translator's name is an amalgam of uncredited writer Jean-Marc Lofficier and character Monsieur Lucien from "The Ghostbusters in Paris." The last panel of Tobin, seen only in Ghostbusters: Total Containment, shows a Werechicken illustration from a work in progress Jones created around March 19, 2010. Jones confirmed that in the story, Tobin was writing the Werechicken entry at the moment he met Gallon.
Page 22: Tobin's exposure of a fraudulent spiritualist mirrors the career of Sam Hain referenced in a PCOC file from issue #5. The exposed figure resembles Dr. Bassingame from The Real Ghostbusters. Tobin encountered a Grundel (from the RGB episode "The Grundel" and Extreme Ghostbusters "Grundelesque") and met Vladimir Belascu (Belascu's Unruly Beard, Ghostbusters: The Video Game). Their meeting led to the Tunguska Blast of 1909, referenced at the end of the first film. The folk tale underpinning the backup story is "The Soldier and Death," also known as "The Story of Ivan Turbinca," a Moldovan/Romanian tale by Ion Creanga, in which a soldier captures imps and eventually Death itself using a blessed bag.2
Page 23: The beggar is a nod to The Storyteller, portrayed by John Hurt. The sorcerer from the west is Vigo.
Page 24: Leon Zundinger, whose work was researched in Ghostbusters II, is mentioned. The Genevieve Tapestry from "Hard Knight's Day" is visible in the soldier's room. Tobin is shown holding Tobin's Spirit Guide.
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
