"Trains, Brains and Ghostly Remains" Part Two
The Ghost Ship
A spectral vessel named the Applegon roams the waters off Long Island, trailing supernatural cold and leaving fear in its wake. The governor contacts the Ghostbusters for assistance. Kylie Griffin, Peter Venkman, and Ray Stantz take the call and pursue the ghost ship, deploying aboard the Ecto-1. The ship and its crew are drawn from Norse mythology: the supernatural sailors are Draugar (the Norse walking dead), and the vessel is connected to a wider set of mythological figures, including Grendel, the world-serpent Jormungandr, the wolf Fenrisulfr, and the realm-goddess Hel. One ghost aboard the ship is visually based on Tyr, the Norse god who lost his hand to Fenrisulfr, its missing hand serving as an in-panel identifier. The Viking combatant opposing the Grendel is styled after Thor.
Egon Spengler references the Gjenganger, a Swedish revenant, and later names the Draugar to Roger Baugh, establishing the mythological framework for both plot threads. He also misquotes a famous line from Hamlet; Roger corrects him. A ghost character mentions Valhalla. Egon additionally references the Hungry Manitou from Volume 1 Issues #5-7, situating the events within the series' growing mythology. The Wall-Trap, a modified Super Slammer Muon Trap from Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Realistic Versions), is employed during the mission; its passcode is a nod to the Boston Red Sox and the Boston-New York Yankees rivalry.
Rescuing Janine's Spirit
While the others pursue the ghost ship, Egon Spengler and Roger Baugh find themselves working together, a pairing Erik Burnham had been developing since early 2013. Egon's focus is on the Paranormal Containment Research Tank, where Slimer is being kept, and on tracking the theft of Janine Melnitz's soul. The supernatural abduction of Janine's spirit involves several Norse mythological entities, and the situation forces Egon to enter her memories and inner world to find and retrieve her.
The journey through Janine's past is the emotional core of the issue. Her memories include her time before the Ghostbusters: a job at a Big Greaser fast-food restaurant (matching her appearance in The Real Ghostbusters episode "Something's Going Around"), her senior prom, and critically, her original job interview at the Ghostbusters' firehouse. The job interview sequence fills in a gap between scenes in the first film, showing how Janine was actually hired. Peter Venkman conducts the interview holding a Weaver Hall mug, a nod to the Columbia University building where he, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler previously worked. Behind Janine during the sequence is the car that would become Ecto-1, already purchased by Ray. The choir of angels around Egon in this flashback sequence are based on the Stone Angels from Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
Subsequent memory panels draw from key moments of the first film: Egon emerging from Janine's desk during his early days at the firehouse, their shared conversation about hobbies, Janine's premonition that Egon is going to die (interrupted by Peter calling the firehouse), and the reunion between Egon and Janine as the Ghostbusters emerge from the Shandor Building. Page 14 establishes Janine's awareness of the Collectors' Limbo, referencing the events of Volume 2, Issues #1-3. Egon and Roger also end up in Peter's apartment, placing them during the Ghostbusters II timeline when Louis Tully and Janine briefly hook up.
Egon dons the Refined Prototype Pack, first seen in Volume 1 Issue #3, in page 15 to confront the supernatural threat to Janine's spirit. Throughout the issue, Roger Baugh refers to Janine by his pet name for her, "Twinkle," even amid the gravity of the situation.
The issue reveals that Janine's senior prom took place on June 16, 1977, placing her age at approximately 35 at the time of the comic's events. Her 1977 high school graduation year aligns with the detail established in The Real Ghostbusters episode "The Brooklyn Triangle." Janine's P.S. 47 grade school (mentioned in The Real Ghostbusters episode "Rollerghoster") appears via a classroom poster on page 8. Two boys standing to Janine's left in that classroom are Dan Narvali and Adam Skinner, from the fan-run radio show Cross the Streams; Narvali is the blonde-haired boy with glasses and the bowtie, and Skinner is the dark-haired boy.
Characters
Equipment and Locations
Equipment: Paranormal Containment Research Tank, Aura Video-Analyzer, Ron's Proton Pack, Wall-Trap, Ecto-1, Proton Pack, Particle Thrower, Compact Pack, Boson Pack, Refined Prototype Pack.
Items: Gris-Gris, "The End of the World" (from Ghostbusters II, seen on a stand), The World of the Psychic pen, Pin-Up Calendar of Doom (from Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Realistic Versions), Hohman's Black Low-Rise, Blody, Yellow Slime.
Locations: Atlantic Ocean (Long Island waters), the Firehouse, Peter's apartment.
Covers
Cover A is a densely composed Janine-centric piece by Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado, showing Egon Spengler and Roger Baugh surrounded by items representing Janine's history across every Ghostbusters continuity. Notable elements include: the Conrad's chocolate valentine from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Ghosts R Us"; the Imp from "Janine's Day Off"; Janine's bikini top and bottom from "The Devil in the Deep"; her old TV set from "Station Identification"; a Ghostbusters Mug and Balloon set from Ghostbusters II; the photo album from "Janine, You've Changed" (rephotographed with scenes from the IDW comics); the whale figurine from Janine's desk in the first film; the typewriter from the first film with "We got one!" typed on the paper; a note to call Aunt Bella (from "Rollerghoster"); a Spengler coverall; Janine's lucky coin from a deleted scene in the first film; Janine's circular glasses from Ghostbusters II; the geranium from "A Ghost Grows in Brooklyn"; milk and cookies from "Mrs. Roger's Neighborhood"; Janine's pointy glasses from the early Real Ghostbusters seasons; a racquet ball set; the lamp from "Janine's Genie"; the Li'l Earth postcard from the Extreme Ghostbusters episode "A Temporary Insanity"; a New York Today newspaper with the Grendel story from Volume 2 Issue #3; Roger Baugh's rose from Volume 1 Issue #13; tickets to the Metropolitan Opera House; and the Scorpio symbol representing Janine's astrological sign (established in the Extreme Ghostbusters episode "The Crawler"). The Gris-Gris from Volume 1 Issue #10 rests under Egon's left hand.
The regular cover originally planned for Issue #6 was moved to Issue #7. Dan Schoening posted the reassigned cover on May 17, 2013, alongside a preview of the new Issue #6 cover. An unused rough cover for Issue #6 was also posted on July 14, 2013. A seven-page preview, with covers and credits, was posted on July 23, 2013.
Development
Erik Burnham began publicly discussing elements of this issue in early 2013. On March 8, he revealed he was planning an issue where Egon Spengler and Roger Baugh would be forced to spend extended time together. On March 29, 2013, in an interview, he confirmed more details about the #5-8 arc: Egon would be trying to prevent a ghost from abducting Janine's soul while Kylie Griffin would be hunting a ghost ship alongside Peter and Ray.
On April 11, 2013, the July 2013 IDW solicitations were released, confirming plot details and crew. On April 12, Dan Schoening posted an untitled version of the regular cover. On April 17, Burnham noted that Issue #6 was developing into more of a character piece than he had originally expected. On April 28, he disclosed that he had cut a scene he genuinely liked from the script.
On May 10, Dan Schoening teased the issue with a Led Zeppelin reference: "I have a suspicious feeling Led Zeppelin will be fueling the muse for Ghostbusters #6..." and added "I'd hate to give up the 'ghost' for the issue, so you'll have to be patient." On May 17, he announced that the cover initially planned as the regular Issue #6 cover would move to Issue #7, and posted a preview of the new Issue #6 cover. On May 27, Burnham disclosed that Schoening had drawn Janine with her haircut from the first movie rather than the Real Ghostbusters/movie canon hybrid he had been using, which became a continuity choice to note.
On May 31, 2013, in an interview with Cross the Streams Radio Show, Schoening revealed he was at that point drawing page seven of Issue #6. On July 14, he posted a rough of an unused alternate cover. On July 20, he posted an uncolored preview of the Grendel and Janine together. On July 23, further uncolored art of Fenrisulfr was posted alongside the full preview. On July 27, Schoening posted uncolored art of the Draugr. On July 31, he published a behind-the-scenes article on his art process, using page 12 as the example. On August 6, 2013, Luis Antonio Delgado posted unlettered versions of pages 1 and 11.
