Covers
Incentive Cover
- Cover A (Dan Schoening/Luis Delgado): Depicts the Ghost Shark encounter from the Rookie's point of view, echoing the player-perspective framing of Ghostbusters: The Video Game. The Ghost Shark itself is based on an unused entity from that game's Realistic Version who killed Pappy Sargassi.
- Cover B (Tristan Jones/Luis Delgado): An homage to the title sequence of Extreme Ghostbusters. Jones began roughing the cover on May 8, 2012, and it was confirmed as the B variant on May 24, 2012.
- Con Cover (Nashville Comic and Horror Festival 2012/ComicCollectorLive.com variant): Features Winston Zeddemore in a scene evoking the Manhattan Museum of Art sequence from Ghostbusters II. Limited to 1,000 copies.
Plot
Who Ya Gonna Call? Part One
After a quick stop in Chicago to help The Rookie bust a Ghost Shark along North Lake Shore Drive near the John Hancock Center, the four Ghostbusters return to New York expecting a backlog of cases. Instead they find things suspiciously quiet. The reason soon becomes clear: the Ghost Smashers, a slick rival paranormal investigation and elimination team run by the opportunistic Ron Alexander, have been stealing their calls. Alexander's crew, which includes Jenny Moran, Dani Shpak, and Lou Kamaka, drives a blacked-out "Ghostmobile" and carries Proton Packs with Particle Throwers that look like NES Zappers.
Meanwhile, Janine Melnitz is accompanying Roger Baugh to the opera at Lincoln Center when they encounter a ghost causing havoc in the theater. Egon Spengler, Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Winston Zeddemore respond, but the Ghost Smashers show up and poach that call too, with their flashy gear and camera crews in tow.
The story also revisits Parkview Psychiatric Hospital, where Janosz Poha is a patient and is painting a mural that ties back to Vigo and the events of Ghostbusters II. Ismael, a villain from Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime, appears painting the mural that will later become the portal to Dumazu's realm, with photos of the Relic of Nilhe and the Cult of Dumazu scepter visible nearby.
Who Killed Laura Parr? Epilogue
A two-page coda written by Tristan Jones closes out the "Who Killed Laura Parr?" subplot that ran through the Haunted America arc.2 The epilogue delivers what Jones described as a "WOAH" moment for readers who followed that storyline.
Characters
Main story: Egon Spengler, Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore, The Rookie, Janine Melnitz, Roger Baugh, Janosz Poha, Vigo, Ismael, Loretta, Ron Alexander, Jenny Moran, Dani Shpak, Lou Kamaka (Ghost Smashers), Ghost Shark, Phantom of the Opera, Nurse Urdahl.
Epilogue: Laura Parr, Peter Venkman, Mrs. Parr.
Development
Erik Burnham began scripting Issue #13 around June 16, 2012. He hinted beforehand that threads from Issue #3 and Issue #8 would resurface, and on July 27, 2012 confirmed Chicago and a Rookie cameo.
The cover B came together separately: Tristan Jones started roughing it May 8, 2012, posted a work-in-progress on May 14 noting it was based on the Extreme Ghostbusters title sequence, submitted lines on May 15, and posted the unlettered inked version May 23. Jones and Luis Delgado confirmed it as the B variant the next day. On July 7, 2012, Jones confirmed the "Who Killed Laura Parr?" epilogue would appear here. On August 19 he confirmed it publicly.
On August 29, 2012, Dan Schoening revealed the Ghost Shark on Cover A is visually based on the unused Video Game entity, and that it was Burnham's idea to bring that design into the comic.
The Nashville/ComicCollectorLive Con Cover was revealed September 16, 2012, with its 1,000-copy print limit confirmed October 7, 2012. An unlettered preview of pages 15 and 17 was posted by Luis Delgado on October 1, 2012.
On July 14, 2013, Dan Schoening posted a rough of an unused alternate cover for this issue.
Trivia
Covers
- The Ghost Shark on Cover A is based on the unused entity from Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Realistic Versions) who killed Pappy Sargassi. The framing mirrors the first-person perspective of the Video Game.
- Cover B is an homage to the Extreme Ghostbusters title sequence.
- The Con Cover depicts Winston Zeddemore in a scene from the Manhattan Museum of Art sequence in Ghostbusters II.
Page-by-page Easter eggs
Page 1. The Ghost Shark battle takes place along North Lake Shore Drive near the John Hancock Center in Chicago. A bottle of Yuppie Water (from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Short Stuff") is tossed about during the fight. Younger versions of Al Capone and Manny from The Real Ghostbusters episode "The Ghostbusters Live! from Al Capone's Tomb!" run from the scene. Peter's "You got him! You got him!" mirrors Ray's line from Ghostbusters II when Peter traps Nunzio Scoleri.
Page 3. Ray implicitly refers to Lake Michigan. Winston uses "Youngblood," one of The Rookie's nicknames from Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Chicago was one of the franchise cities the Rookie could choose at the end of that game.
Page 4. The Ghostbusters eat at Dick's Pizza, a reference to Dick Giordano (famous comic writer, penciler, and inker); the restaurant is visually modeled on Chicago's Giordano's Pizza. On the walls: a Pates Baroni pasta advertisement (1921, by Leonetto Cappiello); a portrait of the ghost of Al Capone standing in front of his Mount Carmel Cemetery tomb (as seen in "The Ghostbusters Live! from Al Capone's Tomb!"); one of Al Capone's gang members from that same episode visible over Ray's shoulder; two frames of the Blues Brothers done as commissions by Dan Schoening; and a reference to the Le Chat Noir 19th-century Parisian cabaret. A Toga Ravioli frame nods to John Belushi's John Blutarsky from "Animal House." Peter refers to Walter Peck.
Page 5. Almost all vehicles on the bridge are from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Troll Bridge." The tugboat is from "Ghosts R Us."
Page 6. Janine wears one of her Ghostbusters II outfits. Peter wears the outfit he had on before the Sedgewick Hotel bust in Ghostbusters. To the far left of Ecto-1a is a box of contaminated jump suits from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Citizen Ghost."
Page 7. Roger Baugh wears the white tuxedo Egon wore in The Real Ghostbusters episode "A Fright at the Opera." Imps from "Janine's Day Off" appear near Ray and Winston. Roger mentions Don Giovanni (a two-act opera blending comedy, melodrama, and the supernatural), and teaches at City College of New York, the real-world basis for the fictional college Egon taught at in Extreme Ghostbusters.
Page 8. Another Imp appears on Janine's computer in the last panel.
Page 9. Parkview Psychiatric Hospital is the same institution the Ghostbusters were involuntarily committed to in Ghostbusters II. Ismael (a main villain from Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime) is seen painting the mural that later becomes the portal to Dumazu's realm; photos of a shard of the Relic of Nilhe and the Cult of Dumazu scepter hang above. Loretta and two attendants visible here also appear in the opening cutscenes of Sanctum of Slime. Janosz Poha and the Psychiatric Doctor from Ghostbusters II make their debuts in the ongoing series.
Page 10. Janosz has painted a take on Da Vinci's "The Last Supper." He recounts several events from Ghostbusters II: Vigo possessing Ray, checking on Dana Barrett during the blackout, Ray embracing him at the end, and Peter attempting to paint kittens on Vigo.
Page 11. Dr. Perkins and the children's hospital from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Sticky Business" appear on a giant poster at the Met. Marty Tillis and his twin assistants are in the audience. Janine and Roger reference Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries," which also went badly in "A Fright at the Opera."
Page 13. The T-shirt on display references the Bass Masters show mentioned by the Manhattan Museum of Art security guard in Ghostbusters II. Egon hands the bill to Artie Grendel from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Lights! Camera! Haunting!" The depiction of Giovanni's Ghost is an homage to a statue outside the Teatro di Praga in Prague, where the opera was first performed.
Page 14. The ghost is an homage to Lon Chaney's portrayal of the Phantom of the Opera. Three audience members in the upper rows are based on members of the Ghostbusters of British Columbia fan franchise.
Page 15. The Phantom of the Opera from "A Fright at the Opera" appears in the upper rows. Jason Fitzsimmons of Ghostbusters News and his wife Amanda are in the row below the Phantom. Members of the Ontario Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters of British Columbia are also present.
Page 16. Ron Alexander's Particle Thrower is visually based on the Nintendo NES Zapper. The three female Ghost Smashers are visually based on Donna Dixon, Vanessa Angel, and Halle Berry. Ron Alexander himself is visually based on Chevy Chase.
Page 17. Joe Magic from The Real Ghostbusters episode "The Cabinet of Calamari" is in the audience.
Page 19. Ray calls the Ghost Smashers' vehicle a "Ghost Buggy," a nod to the vehicle name used in Filmation's Ghost Busters. A Slimer sticker appears on a utility box at a crosswalk. Ray also references Candid Camera.
Page 20. The Ghost Smashers' name is taken directly from Dan Aykroyd's original movie script, which was titled "Ghost Smashers."3 Their all-black car evokes the original all-black concept for Ecto-1, which was ultimately rejected because it would not photograph well at night. The license plate "BTH BALL" references Chevy Chase's line "Be the ball" from Caddyshack. Egon's line about energy not being destroyed is a reference to the Law of Conservation of Energy; his animated counterpart made the same point in The Real Ghostbusters episode "Robo-Buster," when Paul Smart's Robo-Buster claimed to "destroy" ghosts. Luis Delgado's recurring "15" Easter egg appears where the "5" should be on the clock face above the Ghost Smashers.
Clock. Luis Delgado's "15" Easter egg replaces the "5" on the clock face above the Ghost Smashers.
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
Comic
