Stories
The Closing of the Year
The end of the year is a hectic time for most businesses, and the Ghostbusters are no exception. Beset from all sides by a surge in spectral activity over a particularly busy season, the team looks forward to a break once the new year hits. But recent supernatural symptoms gripping New York City are coming to a head, and the Bogeyman has arrived to claim the city's future.
Egon Spengler tracks an escalating pattern of paranormal incidents linked to fears and nightmares, connecting events from previous issues back to the Rhinebeck case (Issue #11). The team learns that Rodefhiri, a supernatural entity that feeds on fear, is working in concert with Sinterklaas and Krampus to harvest the city's dread on New Year's Eve. The climax sends the Ghostbusters to the roof of a 25-story building in Times Square for a confrontation that mirrors the rooftop battle of the original film. The Bogeyman's final trap is sealed in cement inside a crate, echoing a strategy attempted by the animated Ghostbusters against Harry Houdini in The Real Ghostbusters.
Special Agent Melanie Ortiz and Agent Edward Norris return alongside the core team. Peter Venkman and Ortiz pay a visit to the Gypsy Witch, a psychic whose business card appeared in Ray's Occult Books back in Issue #11. Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore, Egon Spengler, Kylie Griffin, and Slimer all appear. Egon's research board includes photographs and press clippings from Issues #7 through #11, summarizing the arc's investigation thread.
Equipment used in this story includes Polarity Rectification Tripods (their debut in the ongoing series, previously seen in Ghostbusters II), Proton Packs, Particle Throwers, PKE Meters, a Proton Pistol, Ghost Traps, and the Marine Ecto-8.
Field Trip (Backup Story)
The six-page backup introduces a story set in Chicago, starring the Rookie and Ron Alexander alongside Ilyssa Selwyn, making her debut in the comic continuity (she was previously established in Ghostbusters: The Video Game). The story is set at the Field Museum of Natural History and centers on a World of Gozer exhibit. Ron references Gozer and the events of the video game; Selwyn mentions Ivo Shandor. The backup is explicitly described as a prelude to the eight-part "Mass Hysteria!" arc beginning in Issue #13, and ties back to the backup story printed in Issue #10.
Erik Burnham confirmed in November 2013 that the backup would be six pages and that at least one character from Ghostbusters: The Video Game would appear. Erik Evensen illustrated the story and posted several preview images and teasers on his social media between October and December 2013. The backup features Gozerian Alphabet text, which first appeared in Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Ron's weapon attachment in the story loosely resembles the Plasma Caster from the Predator film franchise.
Development
On August 21, 2013, Erik Burnham confirmed Issue #12 would involve New Year's Eve. Burnham later noted on November 29, 2013, that the initial plan for the issue had changed. He also confirmed on January 2, 2014, that Ron Alexander's tinkering with equipment would continue in this issue.
Erik Evensen, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, posted work-in-progress art and teasers throughout November and December 2013, including designs for the Rookie, Ilyssa Selwyn, and a two-headed creature animating similarly to the Terror Dogs from the first film. The University of Wisconsin-Stout published an article about Evensen and his work on the issue on January 31, 2014.
On December 13, 2013, Burnham announced work on Issue #12 was completed. A preview of seven pages along with cover and credits ran on January 24, 2014. On January 29, 2014, the day of release, Burnham revealed that Dan Schoening had specifically requested a cockroach gag over what was originally scripted. Evensen posted unlettered line art of the "Mass Hysteria!" prelude the same day. On June 24, 2014, Luis Delgado posted unlettered color versions of pages 8 and 14.
A page from this issue (Volume 2 Issue #12, page 15, panel 3, showing the team after trapping Rodefhiri atop Times Tower) was later reprinted in Ghostbusters 101 #6 with Jillian Holtzmann replacing Peter Venkman in the panel.
Trivia and Easter Eggs
This issue is one of the most reference-dense entries in the IDW ongoing run. Cover A alone contains numerous hidden items scattered in litter across the scene, including a Pequod's coffee cup, New Year's hats from Ghostbusters II, a bottle of Yuppie Water from the Real Ghostbusters episode "Short Stuff," a bottle of Les Oiseaux Fine Wines from Ghostbusters: The Video Game, a Hasty Pastry Bakery box from "The Joke's on Ray," a Ghost in a Can, and a can of Blody from a Times Square ad in "The Halloween Door" episode.
Selected page-by-page references from the main story:
- Page 2: The Polarity Rectification Tripods from Ghostbusters II make their ongoing-series debut. Killerwatt from "Killerwatt" appears on an electric panel; Slimer eats a Triple Caramel Crunchie bar from "The Two Faces of Slimer."
- Page 3: Egon mentions Rhinebeck, which the team visited in Issue #11.
- Page 6: Egon's research board includes a photograph from the Central Park finale of Issue #9, images of Nevermore Elementary School from the "Visitation" backups in Issues #7 and #8, a Devil's Night newspaper clipping from Issue #9, a photo of the slimed house in Rhinebeck from Issue #11, and a portrait of a child in the bed identified as Megan Carter from the Real Ghostbusters episode "The Boogieman Cometh." On the refrigerator are two bottles of Singing Slime from Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
- Page 7: Egon's board also includes a Slimer "Warning Slime Zone" door hanger that came with a version of Ghostbusters Cereal, a Kenner Real Ghostbusters ID Card, a take on Goya's "Que viene el Coco" (c. 1797), an early Boogieman sketch by Dan Schoening from October 2008, and an early rendition by Tristan Jones. Post-It Notes on the board reference the air date, DVD episode number, and production number for "The Boogieman Cometh" and note that Louis Tully appears to be living in Florida. Peter references 550 Central Park West in jest. On the table are Phil Connors' alarm clock and Ghostbusters Cereal advertising the Free Ghost Flyer and Slimer Toothpaste items.
- Page 8: Peter wears the same outfit as Phil Connors from Groundhog Day. The Gypsy Witch's residence sits at First Avenue and East 6th Street, with exterior details based on a real building. The Reluctant Reading Lamp from Ghostbusters: The Video Game appears on a table next to Ortiz. The table and chair are based on Madame Leota's from the Haunted Mansion attraction.
- Page 9: The Times Square spread is intentionally anachronistic for the mid-1990s setting, as several buildings depicted were not yet constructed. Packed into the scene are references to Extreme Ghostbusters, The Real Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II, the Ghostbusters: Legion miniseries, Doctor Who, and the Wayne's World film. The Tenth Doctor appears in the crowd between Egon and Ray.
- Page 10: Harry and Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber appear in the crowd. Dick Clark can be spotted to the far left. Luis Delgado's recurring "15" easter egg appears on a stairwell sign.
- Page 11: The Ghostbusters' fears are used against them by the Bogeyman. Egon's fear is of the Boogieman from The Real Ghostbusters; Ray's fear is of the Vigo possession from Ghostbusters II; Peter's fear is of cockroaches, likely referencing his animated counterpart's fear in "Drool, the Dog Faced Goblin."
- Page 12: Winston's fear involves not being able to save Tiyah Clarke.
- Page 16: The warehouse holds a DeLorean from Back to the Future Part III and a Lao Che Air Freight plane from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (last seen in Issue #7).
In the backup story, Erik Evensen uses Fresh Prince of Bel-Air lyrics as placeholder text on the Man-Eaters of Tsavo exhibit panels instead of lorem ipsum, a recurring habit. The Man-Eaters of Tsavo are a historically real pair of lions responsible for the deaths of construction workers on the Kenya-Uganda Railway from March through December 1898; their skins were sold to the Field Museum in 1924 for $5,000.
