New Ghostbusters Comic Issue 11
6 min read
Ghostbusters (IDW Volume 2) #11 is the eleventh issue in the second volume of the ongoing IDW Publishing Ghostbusters comic series. It was written by Erik Burnham, with primary art by Dan Schoening and colors by Luis Antonio Delgado. The issue was released on December 18, 2013, under Diamond order code OCT130376. It is the third installment of the four-part "Happy Horror Days" arc (Issues #9-12) and features a holiday-themed ghost story set in upstate New York, along with a six-page backup story that sets up the eight-part arc beginning in Issue #13.
Main Story: "Sinterklaas"
Every December, the town of Rhinebeck, New York holds a celebration honoring Sinterklaas, the Dutch winter figure whose legend is one of the inspirations for Santa Claus. In this issue, the Sinterklaas appearing in Rhinebeck is no costumed man; it is a sinister spirit punishing the town's children. The Ghostbusters, joined by Special Agent Melanie Ortiz, are called in to deal with the threat.
Ray Stantz and Kylie Griffin research at Ray's Occult Books, consulting Tobin's Spirit Guide, the Spates Catalog, and the Moreci Bestiary (a reference from the Extreme Ghostbusters episode "The Sphinx") to identify the entity. Their research draws connections between the Sinterklaas legend and the Norse god Odin, tracing the bogeyman lineage of the spirit. Writer Erik Burnham later elaborated that the Sinterklaas ghost was evolving into a bogeyman-type spirit, with its goblins (the Zwarte Pieten) being manifestations rather than independent entities.
Peter Venkman, Egon Spengler, Winston Zeddemore, and Ortiz respond to the haunting in Rhinebeck, where the spirit of Sinterklaas targets children it deems "naughty." Krampus, the punishing companion of the Sinterklaas legend, appears briefly on the regular cover but has only a shadowy cameo in the story itself. The Brownstone Boy from Ghostbusters II is among Krampus's targets. The story wraps at Rockefeller Plaza, where Janine Melnitz and the rest of the team gather at the Firehouse for the holidays.
Characters
Ghostbusters: Peter Venkman, Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore, Kylie Griffin, Janine Melnitz, Special Agent Melanie Ortiz
Others: Tommy, Wally, Sheriff Frank Kelly, Odin, Sleipnir, Sinterklaas (the spirit), Sinterklaas Ghost, Krampus (cameo), Brownstone Boy
Equipment
Proton Pack, Particle Thrower, PKE Meter, Ghost Trap, Tobin's Spirit Guide, Spates Catalog, Moreci Bestiary, Spectral Almanac, Sinterklaas's Boat