Plot
With the inter-dimensional teams still shuffled and scrambled from the previous issue, the Ghostbusters are managing a Firehouse overrun with Slimers from multiple dimensions. Walter Peck and Jenny Moran field the administrative chaos while the teams are deployed across several missions simultaneously.
One team encounters the Headless Horseman and a haunted location tied to the Wander Hills Orphanage, which burned down in 1920 after lightning struck and caused a fire. Another crew investigates the Helsingor Brewery in Dimension 75-B. In a supernatural game of chess, Eduardo Rivera of Dimension 68-E faces Death, with the opening move being the Queen's Pawn to D4 (the Queen's Pawn Game). Egon Spengler and the team must also contend with the Hungry Manitou conjuring the Giant Murder Clown and Fire Goblins menacing another front.
Meanwhile, the larger threat comes into focus. Tiamat, who previously made a deal to leave the Ghostbusters' earth, is looking for loopholes in that agreement. Her father Koza'Rai appears and warns her she will regret her decision, referencing the Ghostbusters' victory over him during the events of Ghostbusters: Displaced Aggression. Koza'Rai reveals that Tiamat's attention was caught by the capture of The Collectors in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters Volume 2 #5. The issue closes with Holtzmann being grabbed and Ron Alexander injured.
Characters
Prime Dimension
Dimension 68-R (The Real Ghostbusters)
- Peter Venkman of 68-R
- Ray Stantz of 68-R
- Egon Spengler of 68-R
- Winston Zeddemore of 68-R
- Slimer of 68-R
Dimension 68-E (Extreme Ghostbusters)
Dimension 80-C (2016 Film)
Dimension 50-S (Sanctum of Slime)
Other / Multi-Dimension
- Slimer of 68-Q (from the Slimer! cartoon)
- Kevin Tanaka
- Ghostbusters of Dimensions 11-W, 68-M, 68-Q
- Vigo (seen in painting)
Antagonists
- Tiamat
- Koza'Rai
- Headless Horseman
- Death
- Hungry Manitou
- Giant Murder Clown
- Fire Goblins
- Moose Ghost
- Terror Birds
- Wander Hills Children (spirits)
Equipment Appearances
- Proton Pack (prime dimension and multiple variants: 80-C, Animated)
- Particle Thrower (prime and animated variants)
- PKE Meter (prime and animated variants)
- Paranormal Containment Research Tank
- Ghost Trap (Trap-Gate variant)
- Proton Pistol (80-C and 68-E variants)
- Compact Pack
- Proton Grenade
- Proton Canister
Covers
Cover A (Diamond Order Code: MAY180714, regular cover): Depicts Samuel Hazer from Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime, Kylie Griffin from Extreme Ghostbusters, Jenny Moran, Winston Zeddemore, Mike the Golem from Dimension 68-V, and the Marine Ecto-8 from Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
Cover B (subscription): Features Abby Yates with her helmet from the 2016 film (her flightsuit carries the Ghostbusters II logo), Egon Spengler, the Real Ghostbusters Egon, the Extreme Ghostbusters Egon, and Roland Jackson from Extreme Ghostbusters. The cover also showcases Kenner collectibles: the Ecto-Plazm set and three included ghosts, the PKE Meter that came with the Proton Pack, and the unreleased Kenner Egon's Lab toy.
Cover RI (retailer incentive): Features Egon Spengler and Slimer from The Real Ghostbusters alongside Jillian Holtzmann from the 2016 film. Holtzmann is holding her modified Ghost Trap as seen in the Answer the Call comic.
Development
- February 8, 2018: Tom Waltz posted a cover in progress by Emma Vieceli for Issue #5.
- April 22, 2018: The July 2018 solicitations revealed the logline (with a mention of Tiamat), the original release date of July 25, and the RI cover.
- May 22, 2018: Tom Waltz posted a black and white page featuring Walter Peck, Kevin Tanaka, Jenny Moran, and a large number of Slimers.
- May 30, 2018: Tom Waltz posted three work-in-progress images showing Jillian Holtzmann confronting Ellen Gold, Peck being kissed by Slimers, and another team covered in ectoplasm.
- June 8, 2018: Dan Schoening posted a preview of Cover A.
- June 12, 2018: Tom Waltz announced Issue #5 was off to the printers and posted a completed page.
- June 15, 2018: Tom Waltz posted finished panels of Holtzmann firing at Ellen Gold.
- July 27, 2018: Tom Waltz posted four finished panels.
- July 31, 2018: Tom Waltz posted a full page from the Ellen Gold confrontation.
- March 7, 2019: Luis Antonio Delgado posted an unlettered version of page 20.
Continuity and Trivia
- Slimers from the Slimer! cartoon (Dimension 68-Q), the stylized video game version (Dimension 11-W), and Lady Slimer and Slimer from the 2016 movie (Dimension 80-C) make their first appearance in the IDW comics with this issue, joining the Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters Slimers already established in the series.
- The Fire Goblins are visually based on Bob and Doug McKenzie, the SCTV characters played by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis, who starred in the 1983 film Strange Brew.
- The chess pieces in Eduardo's confrontation with Death are modeled on those from Ingmar Bergman's 1957 film The Seventh Seal.
- Ray Stantz mentions that he used to be a Boy Scout, a detail also established for the Real Ghostbusters version of the character in the episodes "Camping it Up" and "The Brooklyn Triangle."
- The possessed design of the Real Ghostbusters version of Peter Venkman is visually based on his possession by Wat in the Real Ghostbusters episode "Mrs. Roger's Neighborhood."
- Koza'Rai is identified as the father of both Gozer and Tiamat and was the principal villain of Ghostbusters: Displaced Aggression, the second IDW mini-series. He displaced three of the four Ghostbusters across time; they later united to banish him.
- The Hungry Manitou conjuring the Giant Murder Clown references events from IDW's ongoing Volume 1 Issue #7. The Murder Clown's jack-in-the-box is visually based on the one used by the Toy Ghost in The Real Ghostbusters episode "Ghosts R Us."
- In panel 4 on page 18, the white popcorn bag features Cheap Thrills Amusement Park and its clown face from the Real Ghostbusters episode "Rollerghoster."
- Ron Alexander refers to Garrett Miller as "Hot Wheels," a reference to the toy brand.
- The Vigo painting appears in the background behind Peck in panel 4, page 2.
- A license plate on page 1 reads "SHLB," a nod to Robin Shelby (the performer inside the Slimer suit in the original films).
- Kevin Tanaka's shirt color was chosen by Ghostbusters Wiki administrator Mrmichaelt on June 6, 2018. The selected shade is "High Risk Red," Pantone Color Code #18-1763 TCX.
- Walter Peck incorrectly states that the Ghostbusters 101 pilot team is being supervised by the prime Egon; the actual supervisor is Egon Spengler from Dimension 68-E, who arrived in Issue #3.
- The memo on page 21 confirms the Extreme Ghostbusters' dimension designation as 68-E, first revealed on Virtual Trading Card #5 (March 6, 2018). The Fire Goblins and Moose Ghost were first revealed on Virtual Trading Card #44 (July 17, 2018).
- Janine Melnitz mentions memory-erasing technology in a nod to the Men in Black (another Sony property) referenced earlier in the issue.
- Garrett's wheelchair in Dimension 68-E is specifically modified to compensate for the thrust of the Proton Stream.
- The events of this issue, including Garrett 68-E and Peter 68-R being possessed and Holtzmann being grabbed at the end, are referenced in the "What Came Before" recap pages of Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issues #6 and #7.
- In the Crossing Over trade paperback collection, an additional panel on page 9 shows Kevin Beckman by the staircase on the far right.
References
- IDW Publishing, Ghostbusters Crossing Over #5 (August 1, 2018). Writer: Erik Burnham; Penciler: Dan Schoening; Colorist: Luis Antonio Delgado; Letterer: Neil Uyetake; Editors: Tom Waltz, Elizabeth Brei.
- Ghostbusters Wiki (Fandom), "IDW Publishing Comics: Ghostbusters Crossing Over 5" -- source for character appearances, cover details, page-by-page trivia, and development timeline.
