Ghostbusters: IDW 20/20

Ghostbusters: IDW 20/20 is a one-shot comic book published by IDW Publishing on January 16, 2019. Written by Erik Burnham with principal art by Dan Schoening and a backup story illustrated by Tim Lattie, the issue was produced as part of IDW Publishing's 20th anniversary celebration. It stars the Ghostbusters of Dimension 50-S, a junior team first introduced in the Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime video game and later established as a recurring part of the IDW comics multiverse through the Crossing Over maxi-series. The Diamond Order Code is NOV180616.

Stories

IDW 20/20

Set twenty years in the future of the IDW continuity, the main story follows Bridget Gibbons, Samuel Hazer, Gabriel Sitter, and Alan Crendall, the Dimension 50-S Ghostbusters, as they return home after the events of Ghostbusters Crossing Over. The senior team, Egon Spengler, Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Winston Zeddemore, delegates an assignment to the junior team: a seemingly routine haunted house call at a version of Mrs. Rogers' house. The ghost Wat, presented as an old woman with a yellow canary, turns out to be far more than the team bargained for. Janine Melnitz assigns the case from the Firehouse.

The main story draws heavily on the The Real Ghostbusters episode "Mrs. Roger's Neighborhood," reinterpreting Wat's form and behavior in the IDW context. Symmetrical Stacking, referenced by Samuel, mirrors a phenomenon seen at the New York City Public Library in the original film. The climax involves the junior team tapping into the city power grid, triggering a city-wide blackout similar to what the original team caused in Ghostbusters II. Egon uses a Giga Meter to scan Alan's flightsuit after the encounter.

A detail in the Dramatis Personae page reveals that the Dimension 50-S version of Kylie Griffin holds a doctorate and has relocated to Minneapolis.

Equipment used in the main story includes the PKE Meter, Proton Pack with Particle Thrower, Ecto Goggles, Giga Meter, Ghost Trap, a Pocket-Sized Grenade, a Camcorder, the Ecto-1, and the Ecto-4WD.

Down The Basement Stairs

The 24-page issue length came about after Burnham was initially told the issue would be 20 pages; when the actual page count was confirmed as 24, he wrote a backup story to fill the space. The backup is illustrated by Tim Lattie and features Alan Crendall and Bridget Gibbons responding to a call at the Calvin home, where they encounter Vigo and ultimately identify the entity as a Sandman. Behind Vigo in this story is the Genevieve Tapestry from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Hard Knight's Day." The Sandman as a backup antagonist had appeared in the IDW continuity before, in Ghostbusters Volume 2 issue 5.

The Icon Ghost from The Real Ghostbusters appears in this story as well. Equipment includes the Ecto-4WD, Ecto Goggles, Proton Pack with Particle Thrower, PKE Meter, and Ghost Trap. The Psychomagnotheric Slime phenomenon is referenced.