Ghostbusters: Times Scare!

Ghostbusters: Times Scare! is a standalone mini-comic published by IDW Publishing on October 31, 2012. Released exclusively for Halloween ComicFest 2012, a promotional event modeled after Free Comic Book Day, the book is 16 pages long and printed at approximately 5 1/4 x 8 1/4 inches, noticeably smaller than a standard comic book. All four original Ghostbusters appear, making it one of the few IDW one-shot specials tied to a specific retail holiday event.

Publication Details

Credit	Name
Story	Brian Lynch
Pencils	Marcelo Mueller
Colors	Edmilson Alex
Letters	Robbie Robbins
Editors	Kris Oprisko, Tom Waltz
Publisher	IDW Publishing
Release Date	October 31, 2012
Format	Mini-comic (16 pages, 5 1/4 x 8 1/4 in.)
Event	Halloween ComicFest 2012

Publication Details

Credit	Name
Story	Brian Lynch
Pencils	Marcelo Mueller
Colors	Edmilson Alex
Letters	Robbie Robbins
Editors	Kris Oprisko, Tom Waltz
Publisher	IDW Publishing
Release Date	October 31, 2012
Format	Mini-comic (16 pages, 5 1/4 x 8 1/4 in.)
Event	Halloween ComicFest 2012

A long-dead gangster has returned to haunt Times Square, terrorizing a toy store that now occupies the building where his old speakeasy once operated. The ghost opens fire with ectoplasmic bullets, sending patrons fleeing. Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz, Peter Venkman, and Winston Zeddemore respond to the call, arriving in the Ecto-1 with their Proton Packs, P.K.E. Meter, Ecto Goggles, and a Ghost Trap to bring the speakeasy spook in.

Peter Venkman
Winston Zeddemore
Egon Spengler
Ray Stantz
Tommy-gun Ghost (the antagonist, a gangster-era spirit)
Smiley Reporter
Toy Store Employee

The mini-comic was announced on June 16, 2012 as part of the Halloween ComicFest 2012 bundle. IDW produced it specifically for the event, which distributes free and low-cost comics through participating retailers each October, much as Free Comic Book Day does in May.

The issue has an interesting pre-history. It was originally conceived as a mini-comic to be included with Ghostbusters: The Video Game, intended to explain why the Rookie was hired. All references to the game were subsequently removed before the comic reached print in its Halloween ComicFest form.

The cover artwork also has a prior life: it was originally used in 2008 as the Graham Cracker Comics-exclusive variant cover for Ghostbusters: The Other Side #1.

The comic packs in several callbacks and franchise nods across its 16 pages:

Peter riffs on reality TV show titles, invoking "So You Think You Can Dance?" and "America's Next Top Model."
A bystander appears in a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man costume.
Peter uses the 555-2368 phone number (KL5-2368) from the original 1984 film.
Peter references the New York mayoral clean-up efforts of the 1980s and 1990s, naming Mayors Ed Koch, David Dinkins, and Rudolph Giuliani and their measures to develop Times Square.
Egon peers into the Trap after capture, echoing a shot from the first film.
A late-issue exchange sees the Ghostbusters make meta nods to the franchise's various formats: video games, mobile apps, and comics. Egon's line also winks at the comic's longstanding practice of not depicting exact likenesses of the actors.
Egon gets in a characteristic reference to his interest in spores and fungus.
Peter uses his "We're the best... we're the beautiful... we're the only... Ghostbusters!" line from Ghostbusters II.

GBFans.com was directly involved in distributing this book at launch. On September 26, 2012, the site announced that it had the Halloween ComicFest bundle in stock and would be including a copy with every order placed. This made GBFans.com one of the easier places to obtain the book for fans who missed local Halloween ComicFest retailers.

IDW Publishing Comics: Ghostbusters: Times Scare! (Fandom wiki corpus)

Publication Details

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Plot

Cast

Equipment Depicted

Development

Story Notes

At GBFans.com

References