Plot
Viva La Louvre
The Louvre Museum in Paris has a long documented history of supernatural disturbances, from a mummy believed to be the spirit of Belphegor to Red Men of the Tuileries and the ghosts of fallen warriors. When open ectoplasmic hostility breaks out, the Ghostbusters descend into the Paris Catacombs alongside Lieutenant Philip Constantin, a self-described cataphile who previously accompanied them in issue #4. The lieutenant alludes to the cataflics, the police unit that patrols the catacombs after it was made illegal to enter them in 1955.
Back in his apartment, Egon Spengler works his cold case: a thread connecting the Poveglian Artifact, the Rauoskinna (a legendary Icelandic book of black magic spells), Bishop Gottskalk Nikulausson, and the sorcerer Loftur Þorsteinsson. Egon's whiteboard is covered in authentic Icelandic magical staves, including the Ægishjálmur (Helm of Awe), and notes referencing the legendary Black School near Wittenberg. Egon reveals to the ghost in his Paranormal Containment Research Tank that the Rauoskinna was the original inspiration for his invention of the PKE Meter. He is also weighing whether to join Special Agent Melanie Ortiz on a Puerto Rico case, which he alludes to as potentially involving a dangerous entity (later revealed in issue #6 to be Esme Torres).
Inside the Louvre, Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Winston Zeddemore face a building siege. The animated artworks include the Mona Lisa, Michelangelo's David, the Venus de Milo, and the Code of Hammurabi. The ghost Jean l'Ecorcheur ("Jack the Skinner") manifests: according to local legend he was a butcher hired as an assassin by Catherine de Medicis, Queen of France in the 16th century, executed after learning too many royal secrets. Ray references prior Gozerian incidents when assessing the Code of Hammurabi, and notes the Psychomagnotheric Slime is self-replicating, a property first identified in Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Peter and Winston note that Egon and Ray had theorized the Eiffel Tower functioned as a primitive French Containment Unit, a nod to the RGB episode "The Ghostbusters in Paris."
The issue closes with Erland Vinter and Kaia May, whose arc continues through the series.
Haunted America Case Files
Special Agent Melanie Ortiz and the Chicago Ghostbusters, including Ron Alexander, Dani Shpak, and Lou Kamaka, investigate Ghost Buffalo activity on Highway 287 in Laramie, Wyoming. The Denver field office is referenced. This installment marks the largest number of Chicago Ghostbusters fielded on a single case, and a special agent character is named after series colorist Luis Delgado. Kylie Griffin is mentioned.
Covers
Regular Cover (Dan Schoening): Features Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Winston Zeddemore inside the Louvre, with the Mona Lisa reaching out behind them. To the right of the Mona Lisa is a Unicorn Tapestry referencing the return of the paintings at the end of The Real Ghostbusters episode "Hard Knight's Day." To the left appears to be an early Vigo the Carpathian design. Ray holds the standard PKE Meter on the cover, though he uses the RGB-style animated version inside the issue.
Subscription Cover (Corin Howell, Maria Santaolalla): Features Special Agent Melanie Ortiz among a herd of Ghost Buffalo.
Development
Erik Burnham announced on January 26, 2016 that he was writing the first half of issue #5. He turned in the completed script on March 17, 2016. On January 26 he also noted the Rauoskinna cold case plot would develop further in this issue. On April 22, Burnham teased in a podcast that Egon would make an unusual expression in reaction to one of the ghosts, prompting the remark "I didn't know you knew that gesture." On April 28, he hinted that Dan Schoening's creepiest design in the issue was something like "Attack on Titan, then grosser."
On May 24, 2016, a cover, credits, and five-page preview were posted. Erik Burnham confirmed the Code of Hammurabi would appear. On November 16, 2016, Luis Antonio Delgado posted an unlettered version of page 5.
Trivia
- Gottskalk Nikulausson was a real Bishop of Holar in northern Iceland, living from 1469 to 1520 and serving as bishop from 1496 until December 8, 1520. He carried the historical nickname "Nikulausson the Cruel." Loftur Þorsteinsson and the story of his search for the Rauoskinna and being pulled underwater from a fishing boat are from actual Icelandic legend; he was never heard from after 1722 by record.
- The Rauoskinna ("The Redskin") is an actual book of legend said to contain powerful black magic. The Galdrabók spell book also appears on Egon's whiteboard.
- The issue misspells Loftur's last name with a "B" instead of "Þ," along with minor lettering issues with other Icelandic terms. This is an acknowledged production error.
- Lieutenant Constantin is visually based on actor Jean Reno.
- Ray carries a PKE Meter from The Real Ghostbusters in the Catacombs, a model Dan Schoening specifically wanted to draw. Erik Burnham was unable to change the relevant dialogue from issue #4 in time, where Ray had said he would switch to a pocket-sized model.
- Egon's gray vest ensemble in the apartment scenes matches his look from the first film.
- The ghost in Egon's Paranormal Containment Research Tank is visually based on the Gulper Ghost from Kenner's Classic Hero Egon action figure.
- Jean l'Ecorcheur also reportedly appeared to Napoleon Bonaparte before his defeat at Waterloo in 1815, to Queen Marie-Antoinette in July 1792 while she was imprisoned, to Louis XVIII before his death in 1824, and was last sighted on May 23, 1871 during the fire that destroyed the Tuileries Castle.
- A Pizzalicious box in Egon's apartment references the Pizza Ghost from The Real Ghostbusters' Season 4-5 intro sequence, and the TV screen shows Stage 2 of The Real Ghostbusters Data East video game. A portrait in the apartment pays homage to the famous Einstein photograph, with Einstein visually based on the dream version from the RGB episode "Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream." Twinkies appear on the desk.
- In panel 4 of page 4, a Ghostbusters promotional pen that came with ticket sales of the 2016 film in Japan is visible below the Twinkies.
- The Eiffel Tower being a primitive French Containment Unit is a recurring nod to the RGB episode "The Ghostbusters in Paris."
- Peter's nickname for Lieutenant Constantin, "Clouseau," references Inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther film franchise.
- Peter alludes to Dana Barrett having worked as an art restorer in Ghostbusters II.
- Peter references Nat King Cole's 1950 single "Mona Lisa" when addressing the animated painting.
- The bones in the Catacombs scene reference the ossements arranged by Louis-Etienne Hericart de Thury, head of the Paris Mine Inspection Service from 1810.
- The Ghostbusters' flashlights in the Catacombs are visually based on a model used in the RGB episode "The Grundel."
- In the Louvre, behind Peter, the painting "Liberty Leading the People" is visible. An Anubis statue referencing the RGB episode "The Ghostbusters in Paris" appears on the left in one panel.
- The events of this issue are acknowledged in later issues: Ghostbusters International #10 includes a newspaper headline reading "Priceless art destroyed at the Louvre," and the recorder that captures Egon's research notes plays back in Ghostbusters International #8.
References
Ghostbusters International #5 (IDW Publishing, May 2016). Stories: "Viva La Louvre" and "Haunted America Case Files." Written by Erik Burnham, art by Dan Schoening, colors by Luis Antonio Delgado, letters by Neil Uyetake, edits by Tom Waltz.
