Plot
Roach-infested ooze floods the Ghostbusters' firehouse as malevolent apparitions swarm through New York City. Phoebe, Callie, Trevor, and Gary confront Madame Malveaux above Times Square as she unleashes chaos on the city. The full team, including Janine Melnitz, Ray Stantz, Lucky Domingo, and Winston Zeddemore, must work together to put down the spectral crisis and stop Malveaux in the series' climactic finale.1
Cast
Entities, Equipment, and Locations
The issue features returning antagonists from earlier in the mini-series: Madame Malveaux (the primary villain), Cockroach Acolytes, and the Green Slime Ghost first introduced in issue #1. Equipment on display includes Proton Packs, Particle Throwers, a Ghost Trap, a Remote Trap Vehicle, and the Containment Unit. The Ecto-1 also appears. The action takes place across the firehouse, Times Square, and broader New York City. Green Super Slime and Psychomagnotheric Slime (Mood Slime from Ghostbusters II) are key environmental elements.1
Story Annotations
The issue is dense with callbacks to the Back in Town mini-series and to the broader film continuity.1
Page 1: Gary alludes to the fire pole being broken by the first Green Slime Ghost in issue #1.
Page 2: Phoebe compares the flooding ooze to Moses parting the Red Sea. Callie recalls that Trevor and Gary restored the firehouse electricity in issue #1.
Page 3: The Green Slime Ghost captured in issue #1 is released.
Page 4: Trevor references SnapMaps, a Snapchat feature introduced on June 21, 2017 that lets users share real-time locations with friends.2 Phoebe notes that Madame Malveaux's parlor was in Hell's Kitchen.
Page 5: The bird ghost from issue #2 returns. Callie refers to it as "Big Bird," the Sesame Street character.
Page 6: A billboard Callie shoots during the fight is for Walter Peck's mayoral campaign. Peck is established as mayor of New York City in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.3
Page 7: Madame Malveaux invokes Vigo. Phoebe alludes to Vigo being weakened when New Yorkers sang together outside the Manhattan Museum of Art, referencing Ghostbusters II Chapter 27.4 Gary calls Malveaux "Maleficent," the villain from Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959); Phoebe used the same nickname in issue #3. Gary also reveals he loves karaoke.
Page 11: An elderly bystander mentions she survived the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man's rampage in the first film.
Page 12: Phoebe again references Vigo. Gary alludes to the entranced Trevor shooting at him in issue #3.
Page 14: Callie mentions the Times Square McDonald's, located at 1528 Broadway.5
Page 18: Janine mentions that the original Ghostbusters team once fought a Troll under the Brooklyn Bridge. Lucky references the troll folklore of demanding a riddle from anyone who tries to cross. Lucky is wearing her necklace from Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Page 19: Callie references Gary's to-do list from issue #1. Janine's healthy smoothie from issue #2 returns, and Gary considers trying it. Ray's tattoo, visible in Ghostbusters: Afterlife Chapter 11, can be seen.6 Phoebe calls Ray "Dr. Ray," the same way she addresses him in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.3 Notably, Janine's name is misspelled when Ray asks whether she is upset with the team; this error was corrected in the Ghostbusters Volume 1: Back in Town trade paperback.7 Both Callie and Lucky are wearing their necklaces from Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Page 20: The couple walking their dog who appeared in the opening of issue #1 makes a final cameo appearance.
Development
Before the June 26, 2024 release date, a five-page preview was posted publicly.8
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
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Ghostbusters: Back in Town #4 (Dark Horse Comics, June 26, 2024). Written by David Booher; art by Blue Delliquanti; colors by Cris Peter; letters by Jimmy Betancourt; cover A by Claudia Balboni; cover B by Colin Lorimer. Diamond order codes MAR241076 (Cover A), MAR241077 (Cover B). Available at https://www.darkhorse.com/comics/3011-018/ghostbusters-back-in-town-4/
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TechCrunch, "Snapchat launches location-sharing feature Snap Map" (June 21, 2017), https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/21/snap-map/
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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024), Columbia Pictures / Ghost Corps. Walter Peck is depicted as mayor of New York City throughout the film; Phoebe addresses Ray Stantz as "Dr. Ray" in the same film.
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Ghostbusters II (1989), Columbia Pictures. Chapter 27, "The Fifth Ghostbuster": Vigo is defeated after New Yorkers gather and sing together outside the Manhattan Museum of Art.
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McDonald's, "Fast Food in New York, NY at 1528 Broadway (Times Square)," https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/location/ny/new-york/1528-broadway-times-square/39147.html (accessed June 13, 2026).
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Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), Columbia Pictures / Ghost Corps. Chapter 11: Ray Stantz's left-arm tattoo (Revelation 6:12) is visible on screen.
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Ghostbusters Volume 1: Back in Town (Dark Horse Comics, November 5, 2024). Collects Ghostbusters: Back in Town #1-4. ISBN 978-1-50673-527-6. "The misspelling of Janine Melnitz's name on page 19 in printings of Issue #4 was corrected."
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Gary Collinson, "Ghostbusters: Back in Town #4 - Comic Book Preview," Flickering Myth (June 24, 2024), https://www.flickeringmyth.com/comic-book-preview-ghostbusters-back-in-town-4/
