Plot
Issue 1: October 2008
Cover art by Nick Runge and Edemilson Alexandre. Lettered by Chris Mowry. Inked by Drew Geraci.
While breaking up a meeting between Yakuza ghost enforcers and American crime syndicate ghosts, the Ghostbusters suffer a catastrophic setback: Peter Venkman's soul is forced out of his body, and a gangster ghost named Fred seizes control of it. Winston Zeddemore knocks Venkman out in an attempt to force Fred out; the ghost escapes and Venkman is left in a soulless but living state. Back at the Firehouse, Egon Spengler theorizes that Venkman's displaced soul has fallen into a dark void, while Ray Stantz researches Purgatory as the likely destination.
Fred reports to his four crime boss superiors: the ghosts of Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky, Lucky Luciano, and Al Capone. Capone orders the Ghostbusters eliminated. In the street, the possessed Venkman body leads the team into an ambush by a mob of gangster and sailor poltergeists armed with real tommy guns. Zeddemore is gunned down first, trying to buy time for Stantz and Spengler to escape. Spengler attempts to negotiate but is also killed, as is Stantz.
Trivia from this issue: Fred implies he was killed by Japanese during World War II. Venkman's soul references the Iron Butterfly song "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (1968). Egon compares Venkman's empty body to King Kong. Fred dismisses Gozer and Vigo as "Tooth Fairies" compared to his bosses.
Issue 2: November 2008
Cover art by Nick Runge. Lettered by Neil Uyetake.
Fred, still occupying Venkman's body, disposes of the three corpses by loading them into Ecto-1 and dropping it in the East River. He then announces to the crime bosses that he is quitting: with a physical body again, he no longer fears them. The three dead Ghostbusters arrive in Purgatory, a barren rocky wasteland populated by souls awaiting judgment. They are quickly attacked by other Purgatory residents, including an aggressive grandmother figure leading a mob of souls.
Stantz and Spengler escape into the crowd, and Zeddemore recognizes and pursues Janelle, an old girlfriend who had died. The two are separated from their partners. Stantz and Spengler are chased up a steep hill, where a large border demon confronts them for attempting to cross into a forbidden zone. Before it can act, Venkman arrives and dispatches the demon, having survived in Purgatory and gathered a small group of new allies.
Trivia from this issue: Ray compares Purgatory to a "karmic Containment Unit." Ray also wishes aloud that he had Tobin's Spirit Guide with him.
Issue 3: December 2008
Cover art by Fabio Mantovani. Inked by Tom Nguyen and Jon Alderink. Lettered by Chris Mowry.
The crime boss operation is revealed: they have been bribing the demon border guards with innocent souls, allowing other ghosts to slip through the Pipeline back to the living world. Venkman's new allies are introduced as federal lawmen: the ghosts of Elliot Ness, Jelly Bryce, and J. Edgar Hoover, dispatched from Heaven to investigate the border crossings. Together they observe the syndicate's operation. The group rescues a boy named Jiff from being handed over to a lion-headed border demon, with Venkman fighting the demon himself. Stantz and Spengler theorize that Venkman has extraordinary power in Purgatory because he was displaced from his body without actually dying, creating a loophole in the cosmic order.
Meanwhile Zeddemore has found Janelle, the old girlfriend whose death had left a lasting absence in his life. Venkman locates Zeddemore and the Ghostbusters reunite with their plan: shut down the Pipeline from the Purgatory side to draw out the crime bosses.
In the living world, Fred (still as Venkman) searches the Firehouse for ghost traps. Janine Melnitz arrives to find the office trashed and, not realizing Fred is an impostor, tells him where the traps are stored, before Fred knocks her unconscious. Fred demonstrates Ghostbusters equipment to the crime bosses in an unused subway tunnel. The bosses intend to send Fred and an army of ghosts through the Pipeline into Purgatory to destroy the Ghostbusters.
Trivia from this issue: Janine references the Containment Unit when directing Fred to the traps. Peter admits he is "a walking Deus ex Machina." Elliot Ness foreshadows the appearance of Angels in the next issue.
Issue 4: January 2009
Cover art by Nick Runge. Lettered by Neil Uyetake.
The boss army invades Purgatory. Fred uses a Proton Pack to capture Venkman in a trap, neutralizing his supernatural powers. Three of the four bosses retreat through the Pipeline; Capone stays to wrestle with Ness. As Stantz is caught in a Proton Stream and Spengler and Zeddemore are surrounded, young Jiff smashes the trap with a rock to free Venkman. Venkman flies to Heaven seeking angelic reinforcement, but the angels are barred from entering Purgatory. Returning, Venkman knocks Fred out of his body, retakes physical form, and forces Fred's surrender.
A two-headed demon emerges, claiming Venkman as payment: the crime bosses had arranged for it to deliver Venkman into Purgatory, and in exchange the demon gets to torture him eternally. Fred realizes the bosses betrayed him. Stantz argues that the deal was for the soul inhabiting Venkman at the time of delivery, which was Fred. The demon dismisses the distinction and attacks. The group struggles to find the trap as Venkman holds the demon back with a fully cranked Proton Pack. Fred, holding the trap, agrees to hand it over in exchange for help busting the bosses who sold him out. Zeddemore opens the trap and the demon is contained.
With the demon's power gone, the now-human Venkman cannot survive in the oxygenless Purgatory. The group rushes him through the Pipeline; he passes out, but angelic voices intervene to help him through.
A week later, the three surviving bosses have reconvened and recruited a new fourth member, John Gotti. The Ghostbusters, alive and back in their bodies, arrive and bust all four. At the Pipeline exit, Zeddemore bids farewell to Janelle, who returns to Purgatory with Jiff. The four Ghostbusters leave with a renewed appreciation for mortality, and celebrate with deep dish pizza.
Trivia from this issue: Al Capone mentions the Prohibition Era while fighting Ness. The Angels refer to God as "The Lord." Peter nicknames Ness, Bryce, and Hoover "the Mod Squad of God," referencing the 1968-1973 television series. Egon references the Containment Unit after the demon is trapped. Ray quotes the film "Poltergeist" while passing through the Pipeline. A copy of this issue appears briefly in the "Time Is But A Window: Ghostbusters II and Beyond" documentary in the 2014 Ghostbusters 1 and 2 Gift Set Blu-ray, at the 11:52 mark.
Trade Paperback
The trade paperback edition collecting all four issues was published by IDW Publishing in May 2009. It was edited by Justin Eisinger and designed by Neil Uyetake (ISBN 1600104266). The collection belongs to IDW's line of Ghostbusters content alongside the later "Displaced Aggression" and "Haunted America" TPBs.
Creative Team
Keith Champagne (writer) was born August 4, 1970. He is known for work on DC Comics titles including JSA, Green Lantern Corps, and World War III as a writer, and JSA, Firestorm, and Superboy as an artist. "The Other Side" was his sole Ghostbusters writing credit.
Tom Nguyen (penciler) illustrated all four issues of the series. IDW's early Ghostbusters titles made a deliberate choice not to use photorealistic actor likenesses, which reduced approval times and allowed the artists to work in their own style throughout.
Moose Baumann (colorist) colored all four issues.
Nick Runge provided cover art for issues 1, 2, and 4. Issue 3's cover was by Fabio Mantovani. The issue 1 cover had additional work from Edemilson Alexandre.
Release Events
Graham Cracker Comics Release Party
On Wednesday, October 15, 2008, the Graham Cracker Comics store in Wheaton, Illinois hosted a release party for "Ghostbusters: The Other Side." Artist Tom Nguyen attended, signing copies and drawing sketches for fans. Photos from the event were taken by Eric Christenson, and include a one-of-a-kind Ray Stantz sketch Nguyen drew for him. A Peter Venkman sketch drawn by Nguyen at the event was also circulated via Ghostbusters.net.
References
- IDW Publishing, Ghostbusters: The Other Side issues 1-4 (October 2008 - January 2009)
- IDW Publishing, Ghostbusters: The Other Side TPB (May 2009, ISBN 1600104266)
