Part Two: Down Is Up
With the embodiment of chaos having turned its attention toward Earth, Newtonian physics begin to break down across New York City. Gravity fails, vehicles float, and inexplicable phenomena multiply faster than the Ghostbusters can respond. The story cuts between two simultaneous threads: Peter Venkman and Ray Stantz investigating the mounting gravitational anomalies on the street, and Kylie Griffin and Special Agent Melanie Ortiz visiting Dana Barrett at her apartment to brief her on the supernatural threat posed by Tiamat. Meanwhile, Winston Zeddemore and his new wife Tiyah are at their wedding reception, accompanied by both their families, when the chaos begins to encroach on the celebration. Egon Spengler and Janine Melnitz hold down the Firehouse. Ray delivers a scene-setting explanation of the ancient Tiamat-Marduk conflict and its connection to Gozer's own history, drawing on material first established in audio displays from the Museum of (Super)Natural History level of Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
Characters
The core four Ghostbusters all appear: Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler, and Winston Zeddemore. Supporting cast includes Janine Melnitz, Dana Barrett, Kylie Griffin, and Special Agent Melanie Ortiz. The supernatural antagonists Marduk, Tiamat, and Gozer are depicted or discussed. Roland Jackson from Extreme Ghostbusters appears as a wedding guest. The issue also features a pair of Talking Pigeons as a recurring background element. Winston's parents (Mr. and Mrs. Zeddemore) and Tiyah's parents (Mr. and Mrs. Clarke) appear at the reception.
Equipment
Equipment appearing in this issue includes the PKE Meter, the Giga Meter, the Slime Scoop, and the KUD Meter. The Ghost Taser is mentioned in dialogue only.
Locations
The issue spans several New York City locations: Central Park and its Loeb Boathouse, the Firehouse, a Pequod's coffee shop at Columbus Circle (at the southeastern tip of Central Park), the AOL Time Warner Center, the Waltz-Partington Hotel (the wedding reception venue), and Dana Barrett's apartment. The phenomenon of Blood Rain is among the supernatural events occurring during the issue.
Development
Cover reveals for the A and Subscription variants were published in an interview on November 21, 2013. Through December 2013, Burnham noted publicly that he was writing the Venkman-Melnitz conversation and later confirmed the completed script was delivered to editor Tom Waltz on December 29, 2013. On January 1, 2014, Burnham issued a cryptic tweet about Issue #14 using hashtags for flask, rain, gravity, and pigeons, each of which turned out to be a direct reference to story content.
Dan Schoening began posting preview art in January 2014, including Kylie Griffin thumbnails on January 16 and a work-in-progress of Janine on January 25, the latter captioned with a nod to The Legend of Zelda. On February 1, 2014, Luis Delgado hinted publicly that he would appear as a character within the issue. On March 5, 2014, Schoening posted a sneak peek that was erroneously labeled as Issue #15; Burnham confirmed the following day that the scene was set inside a Pequod's. Further preview art of the Peter-and-Ray gravitational investigation followed on March 14 and March 18. A full preview including cover, credits, recap, and the first five pages was posted on March 25, 2014, one day before release. On June 24, 2014, Delgado posted an unlettered version of page 1.
Trivia and Easter Eggs
Issue #14 is notably reference-dense even by the standards of the IDW ongoing run. Luis Delgado embedded fifteen hidden easter eggs throughout the issue, with Dana's apartment unit number "15" and the ABS News channel number both serving as additional instances of his recurring "15" motif.
Selected page-by-page references:
- Page 1: The DJ at the wedding reception is Moon Man from The Real Ghostbusters episode "The Ransom of Greenspud." Peter carries the flask he had in the first film, in the chapter following the team's removal from Columbia University.
- Page 2: In the background, Dixie from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Til Death Do Us Part" is visible speaking to a guest. The woman in the pink dress near Peter is visually based on Rashida Jones. Peter alludes to the "Those who can do, do; those who can't, teach" idiom while teasing Janine.
- Page 3: Roland Jackson's appearance makes him an explicit continuity link between Extreme Ghostbusters and the IDW ongoing. Also present are Frank Eggelhoffer (Martin Short's character from "Father of the Bride") and Rosetta LeNoire as Estelle Winslow from "Family Matters." When Peter intervenes between Winston and Tiyah, Erik Burnham and Luis Delgado can be spotted together in the background near the cake.
- Page 4: Peter wears his attire from chapters 19 through 24 of the first film and carries a Pequod's coffee cup. The shelf near Egon holds the Recovery Coax Catalyst from Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Nintendo DS version). Behind Egon is the box of contaminated uniforms from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Citizen Ghost." Kylie's Journal from the Extreme Ghostbusters episode "Ghost Apocalyptic Future" rests on the table beside Egon.
- Page 5: The Pequod's is specifically located at Columbus Circle. Crossing the street is Mr. O'Toole from the Extreme Ghostbusters episode "The Luck of the Irish." Three men outside Pequod's are from The Real Ghostbusters episode "The Scaring of the Green." Professor Dweeb's van is parked outside, dressed as a fake ice cream truck as seen in the Real Ghostbusters episode "Deja Boo." A background advertisement for a new mocha drink bears the image of the Leprechaun from "The Luck of the Irish," with the drink named after the Leprechaun's weapon of choice, the Shillelagh. Janine wears her fur jacket from Ghostbusters II. Dana mentions Oscar is with his father.
- Page 6: Janine asks Dana whether she is back with the New York Philharmonic, picking up a minor plot thread from Ghostbusters II.
- Page 7: Professor Dweeb's van, now in the floating exterior version seen in The Real Ghostbusters episode "The Slob," drifts past outside. A Hasty Pastry Bakery from The Real Ghostbusters episode "The Joke's on Ray" appears across the street.
- Page 8: The St. Patrick's Day Parade banner on a lamppost features the IDW continuity's Mayor alongside a picture of the Mayor's Wife from the Real Ghostbusters episode "The Scaring of the Green." Peter and Ray examine a DeLorean from the Back to the Future franchise. Peter's joke about Ray's "Belo Horizonte reference" echoes Ray's Mass Sponge Migration and Philadelphia Mass Turbulence of 1947 lines from the first film.
- Page 9: The bus crashing down is visually based on the one Peter captures the Bus Ghost in at the start of The Real Ghostbusters episode "Ghostbuster of the Year." Behind the bus is the USS Maine Monument, which also appears in the first film during the "Keymaster" scene before the possessed Louis Tully addresses the horse.
- Page 10: Dana's apartment unit number is 15, one of Delgado's fifteen hidden easter eggs. Her front door matches the design of the Shandor Building doors from the first film. Kylie is equipped with the Slime Scoop and KUD Meter as seen in Ghostbusters II. Melanie references Dana's past with Zuul; Dana concedes that Oscar was the supernatural target in her second encounter.
- Page 11: Melanie also notes Dana's role in the Ghostbusters' first case. Kylie brings up the Psychomagnotheric Slime and the Dana-Peter relationship.
- Page 12: Dana's kitchen still contains items carried over from Issue #13, including a black fruit snack box referencing the Ghostfruit Tree from Ghostbusters: The Video Game, a Freaky Flakes cereal box with a Super Duper Spy Kit ad from the Slimer! episode "Dr. Strangedog," a box based on Ghost Toasties (a West End Games RPG item), and the wooden hand prop from Dana's apartment living room in the first film. Dana likens Tiamat to Medusa.
- Page 13: The hotel name "Waltz-Partington" is a partial nod to IDW editor Tom Waltz. A Karate Championship flier from Issue #13 reappears on the refrigerator.
- Page 14: Among the vehicles floating through the street are Roland Jackson's Mustang from Extreme Ghostbusters, Sherlock Holmes' Motor Car from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Elementary My Dear Winston," the Spengler Speedster from "Afterlife in the Fast Lane," and the Winnebago Eagle-5 from "Spaceballs" (with its "I Heart Uranus" bumper sticker visible).
- Page 15: The Ray Runner from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Afterlife in the Fast Lane" floats between a taxi cab and a police car. The police car is the one used by the Blues Brothers. Ray references events from the Eduardo Rivera and Ray's Occult Books backup story printed in Volume 2 Issue #11.
- Page 16: Ray recounts the classical Tiamat-Marduk conflict and discusses Gozer's banishment, drawing on lore from the Museum of (Super)Natural History level of Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
- Page 17: The Waltz-Partington Hotel is visually modeled on The Plaza, with flags based on the ones at the Smalldorf Hotel in The Real Ghostbusters episode "Ghosts R Us." The ABS News broadcast references the network and anchor Eldon Bromo from the Real Ghostbusters episode "Egon on the Rampage." The news ticker reads "Darkness! Earthquakes, Volcanoes," a portion of the classic "mass hysteria" speech from the first film. To the left of Tiyah is the Seiko travel clock from the deleted "Honeymooners" scene in the first film. Above the bed are the Unicorns Tapestry and Genevieve Tapestry from the Real Ghostbusters episode "Hard Knight's Day."
- Page 20: The red lamp near Dana matches the one from her bedroom in the first film. The nightstand holds a baby photo of Oscar in clothes from Ghostbusters II. A note by the phone references Maria, whose last name "Cruise" was taken from the actress who played her in Ghostbusters II, Yvette Cruise. A light fixture on the wall behind Dana is based on the one above her piano in the first film.
The Retailer Incentive cover for this issue was later reprinted on page 22 of Ghostbusters: Dia de Los Muertos.
