Plot Summary
The issue opens at Washington Square Arch, where both Ghostbusters teams deploy to neutralize the Manhattan Ley Lines using the plan devised at the end of Issue #5: positively charged Psychomagnotheric Slime.1 The 101 student cadets assist in the operation, carrying a mix of classic and newer slime equipment.
Special Agent Melanie Ortiz arrives from Missouri to support the combined effort. She reconnects with Jillian Holtzmann, recognizing her as a fellow agent, a callback to the Salem Witch Museum incident from Ghostbusters International #8. Ortiz quotes Special Agent Dale Cooper's "Damn fine cup of coffee" line from Twin Peaks, and Holtzmann compares their respective counterparts to Bizarro and Agent Scully.
While the main team works the Ley Lines, the 101 students and their families are seen in the margins: Garrett Parker's father appears, and Evan Torres reflects on how the internship has benefited his college applications. Janine Melnitz mentions having spoken to the Queen of England. Kylie Griffin, serving as den mother to the cadets, owns up to her role in the dimensional incident and shows them the Interspatial Teleportation Unit from Issue #1.
The plan succeeds. Abby Yates uses a trigger device to fire the solution, and Holtzmann cheers "Two for two," marking the 2016 team's second time saving the world.1 Peter Venkman notes that the teams have now crossed the streams twice with no major after-effects, alluding to the battles with Ivo Shandor and Tiamat in past stories. Ray Stantz references Shakespeare's Henry V, punning on "Once more unto the breach." The 2016 Containment Unit, damaged in a prior issue, is promised a rebuild by Ray Stantz.
Page 18 delivers an extended visual montage that recasts iconic moments from across the Ghostbusters franchise with the two teams swapped into each other's scenes: the Library ghost encounter from the first film, the Gertrude Aldridge scene from the 2016 film, the Hart Island battle against Vigo, Patty and Erin at the Seward Street Subway Station, Ray Stantz lowered above the River of Slime from Ghostbusters II, the Stonebrook Theatre bust with Mayhem, the Times Tower confrontation, the Statue of Liberty sequence, the Stay Puft rooftop battle, and the cleaned Vigo portrait.1
After the goodbyes, Rebecca Gorin makes a brief appearance, recounting her own experience of the dimensional merger as Escher's Relativity lithograph. Peter Venkman alludes to Zuul possessing her counterpart Dana Barrett. The issue closes with Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates looking out over the city, mirroring the final scene of the 2016 film.
A Certificate of Completion for the 101 program appears on page 22, designed along the lines of the Certificate of Achievement in Antioch Publishing's The Official Ghostbusters Training Manual.1
Characters
Original Ghostbusters
2016 Ghostbusters
101 Students and Associates
- Garrett Parker
- Evan Torres
- Cait Banner
- Zoe Zawadzki
- Mr. Parker (Garrett's father)
- 101 Cadets
Ghosts and Supernatural
Other
Equipment Appearances
Both teams' gear appears throughout. Classic equipment includes the Proton Pack, PKE Meter, Ecto Goggles, Ghost Trap, Slime Blower, the Containment Unit, and the Ectomobile (Ecto-1). The 2016 team's gear includes the Proton Pack (2016), P.K.E. Meter (2016), Containment Unit (2016), Proton Box, and Sony 4K Camcorder.
Cadet equipment in page 2 is drawn from across the franchise: the standard Slime Blower from Ghostbusters II, the Miniature Slime Blower introduced in the IDW ongoing Volume 2 Issue #10, packs loosely based on the Theo Klein Firefighter Water Back Pack toy, Kenner's prototype Ecto Charger Pack (worn by the blonde cadet), and a sprayer based on the Nickelodeon Super Slimer toy. Garrett Parker wears Kenner Ecto-Goggles in panel 3 of page 3.
Specialist items include the Ultimate Mobile Trap (its roof array visually based on Trendmasters' Extreme Ghostbusters Ecto-1 toy), the Long-Range P.K.E. Scanner, the Ecto-2 motorcycle, and the Interspatial Teleportation Unit. The NES Advantage Controller also appears.
Locations
The issue spans multiple New York City locations: Washington Square Arch (the primary action site), Central Park, the Firehouse, the Firehouse (2016), Times Square, Duffy Square, Zhu's Authentic Hong Kong Food, the New York City Public Library, the Aldridge Mansion Museum, Hart Island, the Seward Street Subway Station, the New York Pneumatic Railroad, the Stonebrook Theatre, Times Tower, and 550 Central Park West. Pequod's (the coffee chain from the ongoing series) and Movieland Theater (from Ghostbusters II) are visible in signage.
Covers
Cover A (Regular): The sixth and final interconnected cover in the series. Features Jenny Moran, Jillian Holtzmann, and Melanie Ortiz. Holtzmann wields her Proton Pistols; the back of Kevin Beckman's Ecto-2 motorcycle is visible on the left. Ortiz's Proton Pistol is visually based on the version from Extreme Ghostbusters and matches the one she used in the IDW ongoing Volume 2 Issues #17 and #18.1
Cover B (Subscription): A full cast shot with the original P.K.E. Meter, Firehouse, Ecto-1, Proton Pack, Trap, and Ecto Goggles. The left side features Egon Spengler, Janine Melnitz, Erin Gilbert, Abby Yates, Ron Alexander, Kylie Griffin, and the Rookie. The right side features Kevin Beckman, Patty Tolan, Peter Venkman, Melanie Ortiz, Holtzmann, Winston Zeddemore, and Ray Stantz.
Cover C: Features Slimer in the background.
RI Wraparound Cover: The front depicts Kevin Beckman as seen in Chapter 7 of the 2016 film, pointing out that Patty is present. The back depicts Janine Melnitz from the 1984 film in Chapter 8, during her conversation with Egon Spengler.
Development
- May 24, 2017: August solicitations included four covers and a logline for Issue #6.
- May 31, 2017: Dan Schoening revealed in an interview that he planned to finish Issue #6 in four to four-and-a-half weeks.
- June 5, 2017: Erik Burnham finished writing Issue #6, noting it took slightly longer than expected because there was "so much to get in."
- June 13, 2017: Burnham saw Schoening's thumbnails for the issue and hinted that he had called for a "Mondrian" layout.
- June 14, 2017: Dan Schoening posted work-in-progress images of Zoe Zawadzki and Evan Torres.
- June 21, 2017: Schoening posted a work-in-progress image of Kylie Griffin.
- August 25, 2017: A cover, credits, and five-page preview were posted publicly ahead of the August 30 release.
Easter Eggs and References
Issue #6 continues the series' tradition of dense background references spanning all corners of Ghostbusters continuity.
Page 1: Washington Square Arch was briefly seen during the second montage of Ghostbusters II. In panel 2, Stacy's Department Store from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Killerwatt" and Pequod's coffee chain from the IDW ongoing series appear in the background.
Page 2: The 101 cadets are visually based on members of the Alberta Ghostbusters fan franchise. Specifically: one cadet is based on Micah Agard (with the Slime Blower), one on Jordin, one on Kristi, one on Candace Schneider (with the Slime Charger Pack), and one on Jordan Hayes (with the Slime Sprayer).
Page 3: Garrett's reference to Ray's classes helping his college applications goes back to his Dramatis Personae bio in Issue #1. Garrett wears Kenner Ecto-Goggles, last used in the 2015 Annual.
Page 4: Luis Delgado's recurring "15" easter egg appears on Melanie's license plate. Melanie's recognition of Holtzmann as a fellow agent calls back to Ghostbusters International #8.
Page 5: Holtzmann references Bizarro (DC Comics) and Agent Scully (The X-Files). Melanie quotes Dale Cooper's "Damn fine cup of coffee" from the second episode of Twin Peaks (1990). X-Files is also mentioned in the Three Rivers Press edition of Ghosts From Our Past in relation to Erin and Abby's undergraduate years.
Page 6: The Ultimate Mobile Trap's roof array is visually based on the Trendmasters Extreme Ghostbusters Ecto-1 toy. Kylie mentions making the horn sound like the band DeBarge, whose song "Rhythm of the Night" plays when the 2016 team moves into the room above Zhu's. On top of a foot locker is the box for Milton Bradley's 100-piece The Real Ghostbusters jigsaw puzzle, "The Ghostbusters Being Chased by Stay Puft."
Page 8: The posted map of Manhattan from Kevin Beckman's desk at the end of Chapter 16 of the 2016 film is visible. The trap inside the Ultimate Mobile Trap is visually based on the trap in the Ecto-Garbage Truck from the Extreme Ghostbusters episode "Back in the Saddle, Part 2." Kylie's pose is a nod to Marty McFly from Back to the Future.
Page 9: Kevin alludes to Slimer, whom he named "Kevin Jr." in Issue #3. Kylie mentions Ron Alexander of the Chicago Ghostbusters.
Page 10: Garrett's father is visually based on Reginald VelJohnson. The EMF reading also contains the "15" easter egg.
Page 11: The Coming Soon advertisement references William T. Deutschendorf and Henry J. Deutschendorf II, who played Oscar in Ghostbusters II and later pursued martial arts careers. Abby and Holtzmann stop at Duffy Square (previously seen in Volume 2 Issue #3). The background signage includes references to Granny's Yum Yum Candy and Granny Candy mascot ("Egon's Ghost"), Time magazine ad ("Three Men and an Egon"), El's Diner ("The Man Who Never Reached Home"), Tri Kuppa Bro ("The Old College Spirit"), ABS Studios ("Egon on the Rampage"), WUGH-FM Studio ("Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream"), EBS Broadcasting (Mars Attacks The Real Ghostbusters), Melon Spirits, Blody and Caste ("The Halloween Door"), Magic Window logo (from The Real Ghostbusters VHS releases), Toy Tower ("Busters in Toyland"), Pequod's, Movieland Theater (Ghostbusters II), and Zhu's Authentic Hong Kong Food signage.
Page 12: The back of Egon's device references TV World from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Future Tense." In panel 4, the ATC team's Containment Unit references Dana Barrett and Vinz Clortho (from the 2016 film), and screens from the Ghostbusters Activision Video Game for the first film appear. The yellow Ghost Trap decal originated from the trap slot of the Containment Unit in the first movie.
Page 13: A GI sign in panel 6 references Grossjuck Industries from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Robo-Buster."
Page 14: The trigger Abby uses is based on a strip found on the Proton Pack's charging wall in the first headquarters in Chapter 13 of the 2016 film. Ninja Dry Cleaners from the TMNT 1987 animated series "Turtle Tracks," Molta from Extreme Ghostbusters "Darkness at Noon, Part 1," Bright Wave High Tech Industries (Extreme Ghostbusters "Heart of Darkness"), Hasty Pastry Bakery (The Real Ghostbusters "The Joke's on Ray"), and IDW Publishing signage appear in panel 5.
Page 15: Ecto-4's use in sealing the breach in Issue #4 is alluded to. Peter's remark about crossing the streams twice with no major after-effects alludes to the battle with Ivo Shandor in Ghostbusters: The Video Game and with Tiamat in Volume 2 Issue #16.
Page 16: Ray's pun adapts King Henry's line from Act III of Henry V: "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more."1
Page 17: Holtzmann references the Hulk's alter ego Bruce Banner and his gamma radiation exposure. Kevin mentions becoming "one with the universe again," echoing the end of Issue #2 when he briefly saw Peter and Ray on the stairs.
Page 18: The remixed montage substitutes characters across continuities: Erin and Patty replace Peter and Egon at the Library ghost scene; Winston replaces Abby at Aldridge Mansion; Abby replaces Ray at Hart Island; Ray replaces Erin at Seward Street Subway Station; Patty replaces Ray above the River of Slime; Peter replaces Patty at the Stonebrook Theatre with Mayhem; Holtzmann replaces Peter atop Times Tower; Holtzmann, Patty, and Abby replace Peter, Winston, and Ray at the Statue of Liberty; Abby replaces Ray firing at Stay Puft; and the ATC team with Kevin (holding his saxophone) replace the original team in the cleaned Vigo portrait.
Page 19: Patty wears her shirt from Chapter 16 of the 2016 film (the TGI Fridays celebration). The stack of discounted copies of Ghosts From Our Past from Abby and Holtzmann's lab at the Kenneth P. Higgins Institute appears right of Patty. Holtzmann wears her overalls from her first appearance in Chapter 2 of the 2016 film.
Page 20: Rebecca Gorin's brief cameo mirrors her role at the end of the 2016 film. She references Bonnaroo Music Festival and describes the dimensional experience as Escher's Relativity (first printed 1953).1
Page 22: The Certificate of Completion issued to 101 graduates echoes the Certificate of Achievement in Antioch Publishing's The Official Ghostbusters Training Manual.1
The cadets depicted in page 2 of this issue are explicitly modeled after members of the Alberta Ghostbusters fan franchise, a GBFans.com-affiliated fan group. The visual tributes to Micah Agard, Jordin, Kristi, Candace Schneider, and Jordan Hayes represent one of the more direct acknowledgments of organized fan franchise groups in IDW's Ghostbusters publishing run. The cadet gear mix, which includes prop-accurate slime equipment variants, has drawn interest from GBFans.com members who build Ghostbusters II-era slime equipment.
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
-
Ghostbusters 101 #6 (IDW Publishing, August 30, 2017). Written by Erik Burnham; pencils by Dan Schoening; colors by Luis Antonio Delgado and Anna Chher; letters by Neil Uyetake; edited by Tom Waltz. Diamond order code: JUN170597.
