Covers
Cover A (by Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado): A preview of Cover A appeared on page 23 of Issue #3. The cover features Lou Kamaka, Peter Venkman from The Real Ghostbusters with his thrower, Slimer from Extreme Ghostbusters, Bridget Gibbons, Ecto-4WD, and Geoff.
Cover B (by Tim Lattie): A densely packed scene referencing multiple eras of Ghostbusters. Psychomagnotheric Slime flows from the roof. The Junior Ghostbusters from The Real Ghostbusters appear on the upper level, alongside a human-form representation of Kenner's Granny Gross figure. On the lower level are Gertrude Aldridge (Ghostbusters 2016), Vigo (Ghostbusters II), Fenris (EGB "Slimer's Sacrifice"), and Achira and her appendage minions (EGB "Darkness at Noon"). In the display is the Scarab of Apshai from the RGB episode "20,000 Leagues Under the Street." Dana Barrett's surname appears near Vigo, and the Harold Ramis bust from outside the Dean Harold Filmore's office in the 2016 film is also present.
Cover RI (by S.L. Gallant): Features Slimers from all four main Ghostbusters continuities: Answer the Call, The Real Ghostbusters, Extreme Ghostbusters, and the prime universe. Lady Slimer and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man are also present. The Icon Ghost appears on the bibs of the RGB and EGB Slimers.
Plot
The multi-dimensional plan seemed sound: the Ghostbusters of Many Worlds would each pursue the ghosts that escaped from the Containment Unit into whichever dimensions those ghosts sought refuge in. Straightforward, effective, and without apparent complications. But something goes wrong. The disruption appears minor at first, yet it hints at the presence of a chaotic being that Peter Venkman, Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz, and especially Winston Zeddemore had hoped never to face again: Tiamat.
Across several dimensions, individual teams navigate encounters. A field team tracks an escaped ghost in Dimension 75-B, whose location is anchored around the visually striking Helsingor Brewery (the gate and exterior modeled on the Wonka Factory from the 1971 film "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"; the gate references Helsingor, Denmark, the same city that inspired the Elsinore Brewery in "Strange Brew"). Egon 68-R alludes to the Trap-Gates and to Tiamat's earlier action of erasing Winston Zeddemore and Tiyah's wedding from the prime timeline.
In another dimension (00-D), styled after Disney's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," the teams encounter the IDW version of the Headless Horseman, described on page 32 of Insight Editions' "Tobin's Spirit Guide." The Real Ghostbusters had previously trapped their own version in "The Headless Motorcyclist." A related pursuit leads to a Chinatown-adjacent dimension where an alternate version of the Bone Dragon from EGB "Eyes of a Dragon" appears. Dan Schoening confirmed the ghost is similar to but not the same entity.
A standout sequence involves Winston Zeddemore and his RGB counterpart (Winston 68-R). The prime Winston references his Marine Corps service; Winston 68-R references Air Force service, a divergence first revealed in his virtual trading card released February 27, 2018. Eduardo Rivera of 68-E briefly mentions his father, a callback to the EGB episode "Rage," which intimated his father had already passed.
The most distinctive single scene is a chess match between Egon Spengler and Death, rendered in black and white and referencing Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" in multiple ways: the black-and-white format, the design of Death's sickle, and the chess-match-for-a-life premise. The connection runs deeper: "The Seventh Seal" starred Max Von Sydow, who later portrayed Vigo in Ghostbusters II. Eduardo Rivera mistakes Death for Gandalf, citing the "Lord of the Rings" phrase. Death references Aibell resurrecting Egon in Ghostbusters International #11; Egon and Winston acknowledge Death had previously appeared at the end of Volume 1, Issue #15, when it took the Megaspook.
The issue ends with the teams shuffled and Tiamat's P.K.E. signature detected, setting up the complications that carry into Issues #5 through #8.
Cast
The issue features an unusually large ensemble drawn from across Ghostbusters continuities:
Prime Universe: Peter Venkman, Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore, Special Agent Melanie Ortiz, Kylie Griffin, Evan Torres, Zoe Zawadzki, Garrett Parker, Cait Banner
The Real Ghostbusters (Dimension 68-R): Egon Spengler 68-R, Winston Zeddemore 68-R, Peter Venkman 68-R
Extreme Ghostbusters (Dimension 68-E): Eduardo Rivera 68-E, Kylie Griffin 68-E, Roland Jackson 68-E, Egon Spengler 68-E
Answer the Call (Dimension 80-C): Jillian Holtzmann 80-C, Abby Yates 80-C, Erin Gilbert 80-C
Slimer! (Dimension 50-S): Bridget Gibbons 50-S, Alan Crendall 50-S, Samuel Hazer 50-S
Dimension 68-V: Mike the Golem 68-V, Robo-Buster 68-V
Dimension 35-N: 8-bit Ghostbusters (four-member team)
Entities: Tiamat, Death, Headless Horseman (IDW version), Bone Dragon (alternate version)
Note: Several characters appear in the Dramatis Personae pages but do not appear in the issue itself: Jenny Moran, Janine Melnitz, Gabriel Sitter, Garrett Miller, Rookie, RGB Ray Stantz, Patty Tolan, Lou Kamaka, Ron Alexander, Dani Shpak, Kevin Beckman, Walter Peck, Kevin Tanaka.
Equipment
Equipment appearing in this issue spans several continuities. From the prime universe: the Proton Pack, Particle Thrower, PKE Meter, Ghost Trap, Trap-Gate, Interspatial Teleportation Unit, and Proton Cannister. Animated/RGB and EGB versions of the Proton Pack, Particle Thrower, PKE Meter, Ghost Trap, and Proton Pistol appear as well. The Remote Portal Access Band and the Answer the Call Proton Pack (80-C variant) also feature. The Trap-Gate is referenced in dialogue; Egon notes its first model was constructed during the TMNT/Ghostbusters Volume 2 mini-series.
Development
The pre-publication development timeline was extensively documented by the creative team:
- February 2, 2018: Tom Waltz posted a cover-in-progress by S.L. Gallant for Issue #4.
- March 22, 2018: June solicitations revealed the initial logline and a June 27 release date (later shifted to July 4), plus the finished Cover RI by S.L. Gallant and confirmation that Cover B is by Tim Lattie.
- April 17, 2018: Tim Lattie posted a work-in-progress teaser of Cover B.
- April 20, 2018: Erik Burnham received Dan Schoening's thumbnails and called the issue "maybe the biggest, craziest, most fun issue we've ever done."
- April 25, 2018: Tom Waltz previewed the first page.
- May 1, 2018: Tom Waltz posted a work-in-progress of Jillian Holtzmann and Bridget Gibbons.
- May 3, 2018: Tom Waltz posted a work-in-progress featuring Eduardo Rivera, Abby Yates (80-C), RGB Winston Zeddemore, prime Winston Zeddemore, Alan Crendall (50-S), and prime Egon Spengler.
- May 10, 2018: Tom Waltz posted a finished page featuring Mike the Golem, Robo-Buster, and the 8-bit Ghostbusters of Dimension 35-N capturing an escaped ghost, and noted the issue was about to be sent to print. Waltz also posted a finished panel of Holtzmann, Bridget, Peter Venkman, Melanie Ortiz, Egon/Animated, and Roland Jackson in another dimension.
- May 22, 2018: Tom Waltz posted two finished panels featuring Samuel Hazer, Kylie Griffin (prime), and Kylie Griffin 68-E.
- June 7, 2018: Dan Schoening posted a colored panel from page 1.
- July 5, 2018: Tom Waltz posted Crossing Over Virtual Trading Card #40 with extra details about Issue #4.
- July 10, 2018: Tim Lattie posted the production process for Cover B.
- March 7, 2019: Luis Delgado posted unlettered versions of pages 2 and 14.
Trivia and Notes
- The Bone Dragon appearing in this issue is similar to but not identical to the one from the EGB episode "Eyes of a Dragon," confirmed by Dan Schoening.
- Page 4 contains a continuity error: Roland Jackson incorrectly appears among the field team in Dimension 75-B. The TPB edition (page 118 of the Ghostbusters Crossing Over trade paperback) corrected this by replacing Roland with Alan Crendall in that panel.
- The monitor screens on page 18 show PKE Meter readouts from specific RGB and EGB episodes, including "The Magnificent Five," "Ghost Fight at the O.K. Corral," "Darkness at Noon, Part 1," and the Extreme Ghostbusters intro. Luis Delgado's recurring "15" easter egg appears on Garrett's box in that same scene.
- Page 21 introduces the Dimension 68-M Ghostbusters, visually modeled on the Penguin-Hunters from the Tokyo ESP anime, and mentions Dimension 68-Q, whose Ghostbusters are based on the Slimer! animated series. Their names are rendered in Japanese katakana.
- Kylie Griffin 68-E stating she loves ponies on page 12 is a nod to the fact that Tara Strong, who voiced Kylie in EGB, later joined the cast of "My Little Pony."
- Peter Venkman's near-death at the end of Crossing Over Issue #1 and Ron Alexander and Holtzmann's Remote Access Teleportation Unit are referenced in dialogue.
- The prime Ghostbusters had previously encountered Wander Hills Orphanage and Ellen Gold in Volume 1 Issues #2 and #20.
- The chess match with Death references "The Seventh Seal" (1957). Bill and Ted's Bogus Adventure featured a similar parody with Death.
- Page 15 mentions Tarrytown by name. Tarrytown is a real village on the eastern shore of the Hudson River in Westchester County, New York.
- The TPB edition's page 13 (panel 1) includes Kevin Beckman above Erin on the left, a detail not present in the original single issue.
- Events from this issue, including the team shuffling, the chess game, and the Headless Horseman encounter, are referenced in subsequent issues: What Came Before pages of Issues #5, #6, #7, and #8, as well as dialogue on page 17 of Issue #6 and page 19 of Issue #7.
References
- IDW Publishing, Ghostbusters Crossing Over #4 (July 4, 2018). Writer: Erik Burnham; Penciler: Dan Schoening; Colorist: Luis Antonio Delgado; Letterer: Neil Uyetake.
