Ghostbusters International #4 is the fourth issue of the Ghostbusters International series, the third volume of the IDW Publishing ongoing Ghostbusters comic. Written by Erik Burnham and illustrated by Dan Schoening with colors by Luis Antonio Delgado, the issue shipped on April 27, 2016, with some retailers receiving it the following week on May 4, 2016. The Diamond order code is FEB160405. The issue is split between a main story set in Paris and a back-up Haunted America Case Files story set in Savannah, Georgia.
Main Story: "The Plot Thickens"
Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Winston Zeddemore continue the Ghostbusters' worldwide consultation tour, arriving in Paris. There they encounter Unknown Soldier Ghosts near the Arc de Triomphe, rescue a local from the manifestation, and are drawn into a larger haunting at the Olympia Restaurant near the Louvre. Meanwhile, back in New York, Janine Melnitz and new hire Kevin Tanaka manage the Firehouse while Special Agent Melanie Ortiz coordinates field operations with Egon Spengler and Kylie Griffin, who continue studying the Poveglian artifact recovered in the previous issue.
The Olympia Restaurant ghosts are visually based on the cast of the recurring Saturday Night Live "Olympia Cafe" sketch: one ghost represents Pete Dionasopolis (portrayed by the late John Belushi, the diner's owner), another is based on Sandy the waitress (Laraine Newman, from season 3, episode 14, originally aired March 18, 1978), and the third is based on George Dionasopolis (Dan Aykroyd, a cook and Pete's cousin, from season 3, episode 11, originally aired January 21, 1978). The in-story ghost's line "No fries, cheeps!" echoes a catchphrase from the sketch, where "cheeps" were one of only three things successfully ordered off the menu.
The issue closes on the Louvre, where the building begins manifesting paranormal activity. The scene is reminiscent of the Psychomagnotheric Slime sequence from Ghostbusters II. During production, the original intent was for the Louvre to be shown bleeding blood, but Sony/Ghost Corps requested the blood be removed before the printing deadline in response to a mass shooting in France.
Lieutenant Philip Constantin, the French police officer who aids the Ghostbusters, is visually based on Jean Reno, who played Inspector Jean-Paul Cardon in the 1995 film French Kiss. The man rescued by Ray near the Arc de Triomphe is also based on Kevin Kline's character Luc Teyssier from the same film.
Egon is shown using the Arm Mounted Proton Pack variant, which had last appeared in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters mini-series. Ray also mentions a pocket-sized PKE Meter, later revealed in issue #5 to be an animated-continuity leftover from the events of Ghostbusters: Get Real. Egon references a Scandinavian spell book he is looking into, later identified in issue #5 as the Rauoskinna.