Plot
Is Mr. Stay Puft finally reforming after the battle with his doppelganger during the Infestation? Is that what's causing the huge PKE uptick in New York? As Winston Zeddemore and Peter Venkman take care of the annoying and familiar spook haunting the Crendall household, Ray Stantz receives a visitor at the firehouse, and this visitor could be what his prophetic dream was trying to warn him about.
The issue also includes a P.C.O.C. (Paranormal Contracts Oversight Commission) backup story written by Tristan Jones.
Cast
Equipment
Locations
- Ghostbusters Firehouse
- Queensboro Bridge
- East River
- Wander Hills Orphanage
- Empire State Building
- Bowling Green
Development
Preview covers for issue #2 were first revealed on June 17, 2011. Around the same time, Tristan Jones confirmed via Twitter that Nick Runge had submitted his variant cover.
On July 26, 2011, Dan Schoening announced he had finished penciling the issue, hinting it would be "full of Ghostbusting, Slime and Kittens." The following day, IDW revealed that Schoening's variant cover is titled "We're Ready to Believe You," a reference to the television advertisement from the first Ghostbusters film.
Tristan Jones completed the bulk of his P.C.O.C. work in late August 2011 and noted that the Ghostbusters invoice appearing in the backup story was partly inspired by a prop invoice Dan Schoening drew into the main story. Erik Burnham teased in late August and early September 2011 that the issue would include "More PCOC, more behind the scenes sketches, more fan art, oh, and a bear of an ending!" and confirmed the team travels to Queens. A preview containing the covers, table of contents, and seven pages of the main story was released on October 10, 2011.
A second printing was announced on November 9, 2011, with new cover art by Jones and Delgado paying homage to "Army of Darkness." The original concept called for Peter Venkman in the center with Zuul/Dana Barrett at his feet, but since Dana Barrett is off limits in the IDW comics, the idea was reworked. The final cover features the backdrop of Vigo's painting, imps from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Janine's Day Off" poking at Egon's feet, Psychomagnotheric Slime, and hidden cameos that Jones later confirmed include the Gulper Ghost, Terror Dogs, and Zombie Taxi Driver.
On July 14, 2013, Dan Schoening posted rough sketches of unused cover designs for this issue.
Covers
Cover A
by Dan Schoening
Cover B
by Nick Runge
Incentive Cover B
by Dan Schoening
Trivia
- Winston Zeddemore references the Sedgewick Hotel and the team's first case from the original Ghostbusters film (page 1). A door nearby is marked Room 1221, the same room number occupied by the Spider Witch in Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
- On Egon Spengler's clipboard is an excerpt from Leon Zundinger's "Magicians, Martyrs And Madmen," a book used for research on Vigo in Ghostbusters II (page 4).
- Part of the Vigo painting appears beside Jim Silver on page 5. Silver mentions the Stay Puft Marshmallow Corporation (who also appeared in The Real Ghostbusters episode "Sticky Business") and wears a Stay Puft tie pin. Silver also identifies Ray Stantz as the Selector of Gozer's Destructor Form.
- Winston mentions Louis Tully and his time in law school, both references to Ghostbusters II (page 7).
- Janine Melnitz's invoice references Wilhelm von Homburg, who played Vigo in Ghostbusters II (page 8).
- Ecto-1a drives past Axel Foley, the star of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise and portrayed by Eddie Murphy, who was the original choice for Winston Zeddemore in Ghostbusters.2 Luis Antonio Delgado's recurring #15 easter egg is hidden on Axel's car license plate: "LAD" corresponds to Delgado's initials (page 8).
- Peter Venkman mentions the World of Gozer exhibit held by the Natural History Museum, as seen in Ghostbusters: The Video Game (page 9). A Twinkie sits on the Ecto-1a dashboard, referencing Egon's metaphor from the first film. The Highway Haunter from Kenner's Haunted Vehicles toy line also appears in the opposite lane.
- Behind Jim Silver stands Gorgar in human form, from the RGB episode "You Can't Teach an Old Demon New Tricks," and to his right is Silk Hatton from the Ghostbusters Sega video game (page 10). The father and daughter in the crowd are Dan Schoening and his daughter Paige in a cameo; the daughter holds a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man doll.
- Silver shoves Geoff Adams of the Ghostbusters of British Columbia aside in page 11. The bronze bear statue in the scene is based on the Charging Bull sculpture in Bowling Green Park near Wall Street.
- A Bog Hound head from the RGB episode "The Scaring of the Green" is mounted inside the Wander Hills Orphanage (page 13).
- The Wander Hills children behave similarly to the Echoes in Ghostbusters: The Video Game (page 15).
- Page 16 features a Globuscope from Ghostbusters II. The chalkboard references Chef Sargossa and Hotel de Gustav from Ghostbusters: The Video Game, and the recipe for Chickenbane Soup from the RGB episode "Poultrygeist." The word "ROSEBUD" is imprinted on an oven, referencing the ghost of Charles Foster Hearse from the RGB episode "Ghostbuster of the Year."
- Page 19 includes several background cameos: the Headless Horseman from "The Headless Motorcyclist," Baby Egon from "Three Men and an Egon" (now holding a Giga Meter from Ghostbusters II), Cyrus Spengler from "Cry Uncle," and the Pallo Mansion ghosts from "Look Homeward, Ray." Zac's backpack reads Miskatonic University, a location from "The Collect Call of Cathulhu" and "The Hole in the Wall Gang."
- Although the series is set in the 1990s, the camera visible on page 20 has an SD card.
- Egon mentions the Tardis Effect from Doctor Who on page 23.
- Cover A appears in both the "Who You Gonna Call: A Ghostbusters Retrospective" documentary (at the 5:04 mark) and "Time Is But A Window: Ghostbusters II and Beyond" (at the 12:05 mark) in the Ghostbusters 1 and 2 Gift Set (2014) special features.3
- Events in this issue are referenced in Ghostbusters Crossing Over: Ellen Gold and her psychiatric history (introduced in this issue's P.C.O.C. file) are mentioned on pages 8 and 9 of Crossing Over Issue #6, and the chalkboard and Were-Chicken from page 16-17 of this issue reappear in Crossing Over Issue #7.4
Comic
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
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Ghostbusters #2 (IDW Publishing, October 12, 2011). Written by Erik Burnham with pencils by Dan Schoening, colors by Luis Antonio Delgado, letters by Shawn Lee, and editing by Tom Waltz. ISBN 978-1-61479-486-8. Also issued as a library binding edition by Spotlight under the title "Ghostbusters Volume One: The Man from the Mirror, Part 2."
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Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA. ISBN 0918432685. Michael Gross (associate producer): "The original concept for Winston's character was younger and hipper. At one point, we were talking with Gregory Hines about playing the part. We also considered getting a young black comedian -- somebody like Eddie Murphy."
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Ghostbusters 1 and 2 Gift Set (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2014, Blu-ray). Special features: "Who You Gonna Call: A Ghostbusters Retrospective" at the 5:04 mark; "Time Is But A Window: Ghostbusters II and Beyond" at the 12:05 mark.
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Ghostbusters: Crossing Over Issue #6 (IDW Publishing, 2018), pp. 8-9 (Ellen Gold's psychiatric history); Issue #7 (IDW Publishing, 2018), pp. 1, 3 (Were-Chicken and chalkboard callbacks to this issue).
