Ghostbusters International #3

Ghostbusters International #3 is the third issue of the Ghostbusters International ongoing comic series published by IDW Publishing, released on March 30, 2016. Written by Erik Burnham with art by Dan Schoening, colors by Luis Antonio Delgado, lettering by Neil Uyetake, and editing by Tom Waltz. The issue carries Diamond order code JAN160421.

The issue contains two stories: the main feature "Help Wanted," in which Janine Melnitz wrestles with filling the New York office while the team pursues a dangerous artifact on the haunted island of Poveglia; and a backup "Haunted America Case Files" following Special Agent Melanie Ortiz's team at the Alamo in San Antonio.

Help Wanted

With the core Ghostbusters team split between Berlin and Venice investigating a series of anomalous psychokinetic readings, Janine Melnitz is left managing the New York Firehouse and attempting to hire temporary staff. The hiring montage brings in an eclectic parade of applicants that Kylie Griffin and Jenny Moran help evaluate.

On Poveglia, Peter Venkman, Winston Zeddemore, and Ray Stantz investigate near the island's bell tower lighthouse, encountering a Plague Doctor ghost. Ray draws a parallel between the Plague Doctor and Moby Dick. A blood moon hangs over the island during the investigation. The Plague Doctor tells Ray "Devi Andre" (meaning "You must go"), echoing the same warning the Venetian Shop Ghost gave Peter in the previous issue and mirroring reports from real visitors to Poveglia who claim to hear a voice saying "Leave immediately and do not return."

Meanwhile, Egon Spengler is in Stockholm researching the readings he first obtained near the United Nations Building in Issue #1. He has a history with Sweden: the "What Came Before!" recap page establishes that he learned Swedish while researching Gjenganger as an undergrad. Draugar, which appeared in Volume 2 Issues #3, #5, and #6, are also referenced in the recap. On Poveglia, the Ghostbusters recover a Poveglian Artifact: a parchment inscribed with a Galdrastafir (Viking rune) designed for the powerful binding of a prisoner. Ray drops the artifact into a Ghost Trap to transport it, prompting Peter to chide him for trapping a solid object, though this is not unprecedented: in The Real Ghostbusters episode "Hanging By a Thread," the team used a Trap in the same manner for the paranormal Shears of Fate.

Erland Vinter and Kaia May are present in the storyline, with the issue hinting that more will be revealed about Vinter going forward. The Grossjuck Industries logo visible atop the Bahn Tower at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin is a callback to The Real Ghostbusters episode "Robo-Buster" and was already used on the building where the Ghostbusters met Vinter in Issues #1 and #2.

Back in New York, the Paranormal Containment Research Tank (the Firehouse containment unit) still holds the Gulper Ghost, which is visually based on the Kenner Egon Classic Hero action figure. The Skull of Ivo Shandor, a cursed artifact from Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Realistic Version), appears on a table near Kylie, placed exactly as it sits in the Firehouse when it is collected by the Rookie in the game.