Plot
"What Dreams May Come," Part 5. Grand Finale.
The team makes one last venture into Schreckgespenst's nightmare-scape, choosing to defeat the Class 7 entity on his own turf rather than endure an endless assault on their fears. Leaning into everything that unites them, including the trust they have built across the previous four issues, they turn the tables on "Schrecky." Doctor Kruger, the entity's human-world persona, is also confronted. Meanwhile, Kevin Beckman's long-running question of whether he can be a genuine Ghostbuster (or just wears the outfit very well) finally gets an answer.1
Locations in this issue include the Empire State Building, the Nightmare-Scape, and St. Paul's Chapel. Equipment deployed includes the 2016-era Proton Pack, the Dream Machine, and Holtzmann's JH Modified Trap.
Cast
Development
On October 17, 2017, editor Tom Waltz posted a preview of the Jeffrey Veregge variant cover.
On November 22, 2017, February 2018 solicitations revealed the logline and an originally planned February 21 release date.
On February 1, 2018, Corin Howell inked a cover incorporating a reference to Ghostbusters II. Waltz posted a Cover A preview on February 6 and a work-in-progress of the team firing their throwers on February 8. Howell began sharing production work-in-progresses on February 9, continuing through February 24, when she announced she was halfway through the issue.
Howell continued posting work-in-progress pages through early March. On March 14, Waltz shared colored art of Dr. Kruger. On March 16, Howell posted a work-in-progress of a suited-up Kevin and then announced she had finished all her work on the issue and the series. Waltz posted a colored panel on March 30 and a completed page on May 1, 2018. The issue released May 9, 2018.
Trivia
- Cover A features Erin in her professor outfit as seen in the 2016 film.1
- Peter Venkman's line "Hairless pets. Weird." from the Ghostbusters II television segment "The World of the Psychic" is quoted within the issue. Ira, the character who appears at the end of that segment, also makes a cameo.12
- Cover RI depicts Erin as she appeared in Chapter 2 of the 2016 film, visiting Abby and Holtzmann's lab.1
- Page 1 recaps each Ghostbuster's core fears as established in Issue #2: Abby fears clowns and that her Ghostbusting life is not real; Patty fears creepy dolls and being alone; Erin fears bees, public speaking, and being a complete failure nobody believes; Holtzmann fears corporate conformity and losing her ability to create. (Abby's entry contains a typo in the original printing: "and be a Ghostbusters" instead of "and be a Ghostbuster.")13
- Holtzmann's preoccupation with scrambled eggs in this issue connects to her discovery of the Dream Machine's capabilities in Issue #2 and the scrambled eggs she made with it in Issue #3 (which only she and Abby liked).134
- Page 5: Erin appears in her professor outfit.1
- Page 13: Holtzmann quotes the "Yippee-ki-yay" catchphrase from the film "Die Hard" and alludes to Hans Gruber, the villain who quoted the line as he fell to his death.15
- Page 16: The Dream Machine headbands are no longer visible on the Ghostbusters in the real world.1
- Page 19: The scene echoes The Real Ghostbusters episode "Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream," in which the antagonist dismisses the secretary who then helps the heroes capture him.16
- Page 20: Kevin alludes to Ecto-1 and Ecto-2. Erin alludes to the incident in Issue #2 in which Kevin unplugged his phone. Holtzmann references the scrambled eggs from Issue #3.134
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
-
Ghostbusters: Answer The Call #5 (IDW Publishing, May 9, 2018). Writer: Kelly Thompson; Art: Corin Howell; Colors: Valentina Pinto; Letters: Neil Uyetake; Editors: Tom Waltz, Elizabeth Brei. Diamond Order Code: DEC170468.
-
Ghostbusters II (1989), Columbia Pictures. Director: Ivan Reitman. Screenplay by Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd. "The World of the Psychic" is a television segment within the film hosted by Peter Venkman (Bill Murray); Ira appears at the segment's conclusion.
-
Ghostbusters: Answer The Call #2 (IDW Publishing, January 3, 2018). Writer: Kelly Thompson; Art: Corin Howell; Colors: Valentina Pinto; Letters: Neil Uyetake; Editor: Tom Waltz. Diamond Order Code: SEP170501. Source of the core-fear sequences and the Dream Machine discovery that Issue #5 refers back to.
-
Ghostbusters: Answer The Call #3 (IDW Publishing, February 7, 2018). Writer: Kelly Thompson; Art: Corin Howell; Colors: Valentina Pinto; Letters: Neil Uyetake; Editors: Tom Waltz, Chase W. Marotz. Diamond Order Code: OCT170470. Source of the scrambled-eggs scene that Issue #5 references.
-
Die Hard (1988), Twentieth Century Fox. Director: John McTiernan. Screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Steven de Souza. "Yippee-ki-yay" is John McClane's recurring catchphrase; Hans Gruber, the villain, mockingly repeats the line to McClane moments before being shot and falling to his death.
-
The Real Ghostbusters, "Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream" (Season 1, Episode 7, 1986). DiC Entertainment / ABC. Written by J. Michael Straczynski. The Sandman antagonist dismisses Janine (the Ghostbusters' receptionist), who then joins Winston in capturing him.
