The Ghostbusters' growing public notoriety is starting to complicate their personal lives. Trevor Spengler channels his energy into planning a "friendiversary" celebration for himself and Lucky, while Phoebe Spengler struggles to find genuine connection beyond her social media following and meets someone who might become a real friend. Meanwhile, a cursed ghostly saber surfaces at an art museum in the Upper East Side and summons the ghost of the infamous Captain Kidd. With a spectral pirate threatening to transform all of Manhattan into a 17th-century ghost pirate town, the team has to set personal matters aside.
The following characters appear in this issue:
On April 10, 2024, writer David Booher announced during an interview (approximately 55 minutes in) that additional 4-issue mini-series were planned following Ghostbusters: Back in Town, and that he would be writing the next one.
On January 23, 2025, the series was formally announced under the title Ghostbusters: Dead Man's Chest. The announcement confirmed Aviv Or as artist, with Cris Peter (colorist), Jimmy Betancourt (letterer), and David Booher (writer) all returning from Back in Town. The series was confirmed to be set between Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, following the same continuity window as the previous mini-series. Regular and variant covers for Issue #1, along with two interior pages, were revealed at that time. The official series synopsis and a quote from Booher about his research into Captain Kidd's historical connection to lower Manhattan were also released.
On April 14, 2025, a five-page interior preview was posted publicly ahead of the May 21 release.
The following references and callbacks appear throughout the issue, drawn from page-by-page annotations:
