Plot
Tiamat's chaotic presence continues to be felt across New York City. The Ghostbusters find themselves at wits' end: she is clearly too powerful to capture, and destroying her may be impossible. With those options closed off, the team must consider whether only the most drastic course of action remains open to them. Meanwhile, Vigo resurfaces as another thread in the mounting crisis, and allies both old and new are drawn into the conflict.
Characters
The main cast in this issue includes Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler, Winston Zeddemore, Janine Melnitz, Kylie Griffin, Louis Tully, and Dana Barrett. Slimer also appears.
Returning characters from across the "Mass Hysteria!" arc include Jenny Moran, Special Agent Melanie Ortiz, Ron Alexander, and Tiyah Zeddemore. Fan-community characters Kas Gibbons and Dani Shpak and Lou Kamaka of the Chicago Ghostbusters also appear.
Antagonists and entities featured include Tiamat, Vigo, and Gozer (taking the form of the Spider Witch from Ghostbusters: The Video Game). Mot and Aetil appear alongside the Terror Birds. Ghost Smashers and the Hart Island Ghosts round out the supernatural cast.
Covers
The issue was published with three covers:
Regular cover by Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado, featuring Vigo. Dan Schoening posted a finished preview of this cover on April 23, 2014.
Subscription cover by Tristan Jones. Posted on April 23, 2014, Jones described it as his Harold Ramis tribute cover. The cover depicts Egon Spengler surrounded by characters and creatures drawn from Egon's history across the Ghostbusters franchise, including: the Sphinx from the Extreme Ghostbusters episode "The Sphinx," Edward Kirilian from the Extreme Ghostbusters episode "Heart of Darkness," a Werechicken from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Poultrygeist," the Clock Ghost from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Three Men and an Egon," Loci from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Egon's Dragon," the Boogieman from The Real Ghostbusters, Copycat from The Real Ghostbusters episode "The Copycat," and the Gulper Ghost from Kenner's The Real Ghostbusters toyline (included with Egon Spengler in the Classic Hero set).
Variant cover by Roberto Goiriz.
Development
- March 26, 2014: Tristan Jones posted a teaser of his upcoming subscription cover.
- April 19, 2014: Dan Schoening posted a work-in-progress image of Vigo.
- April 23, 2014: Tristan Jones posted his completed subscription cover, identifying it as his Harold Ramis tribute. Dan Schoening posted the finished regular cover featuring Vigo.
- May 7, 2014: In an interview conducted April 25-27, Erik Burnham confirmed Vigo would return in issue #18.
- June 9, 2014: At a panel held May 31 at Alabama Phoenix Festival, Dan Schoening confirmed he was currently working on issue #18.
- June 19, 2014: Erik Burnham teased a heartbreaking scene between Peter and Dana.
- July 28, 2014: Cover art, credits, a recap page, cast list, and a five-page preview were posted publicly.
- October 22, 2014: Luis Delgado posted unlettered versions of pages 5 and 15.
Easter eggs and continuity notes
Schoening and Burnham are well known for densely layering film, cartoon, toy, and fan-community references into backgrounds and dialogue. Issue #18 is particularly rich in this regard.
Vigo and Ghostbusters II callbacks
- Ron Alexander shoots Vigo point blank with his Boson Caster (page 2), echoing the same move from the Mass Hysteria prelude in Volume 2 issue #12.
- Ray references the Ghostbusters' fight against Vigo in Ghostbusters II, and one panel frames a zoom on Vigo's red eyes as a homage to the same shot in the film when Ray is possessed.
- The Vigo painting is shown covered in graffiti: a cat (nodding to Peter's "Carpathian Kitten Loss" line), "Bonehead" (from Peter's trash-talk during the final battle), and "Butch" (from Peter's "Vigo the Butch?" quip at the museum). Underneath the table is an Imp from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Chicken, He Clucked."
- Peter holds a snow globe on page 15, mirroring the moment in Ghostbusters II when he enters Dana's apartment.
- Winston's handkerchief bears the Sedgewick Hotel logo, just like the one used by the hotel manager in the first film.
- Peter wears his orange jacket from the first film when meeting Dana outside the Lincoln Center (page 14).
- Peter inquires about human sacrifice (page 19), echoing the Ghostbusters' Mass Hysteria speech to Mayor Lenny in the first film.
Gozer and the Video Game
- On page 4, Gozer takes the form of the Spider Witch from the Realistic Versions of Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Also present in the vision are Spider Crawlers and Spectral Spawning Husks from the same game.
- The chalkboard features Proton Stream equations from the Realistic Versions of Ghostbusters: The Video Game (page 15).
- The "Come Visit..." poster from Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Realistic Versions, is hanging by the stairs (page 15).
- The daily special board at La Fleur French Cafe references Chef Sargossa from the Stylized Versions of Ghostbusters: The Video Game (page 12).
- The Phantom Craftwork from the Stylized Versions also appears as a portrait on the cafe wall (page 12).
The Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters references
- Ray is seasick again on page 6, as he was in Volume 2 issue #7.
- Peter's yellow raincoat (page 6) echoes his animated counterpart in The Real Ghostbusters episode "The Devil in the Deep." The power source Peter used for his Particle Thrower thermal blaster attachment in that same episode also appears.
- The Robobot from the Extreme Ghostbusters episode "The Infernal Machine" sits on a shelf behind a Terror Bird (page 8).
- On page 8, the flight suits of The Real Ghostbusters are visible on a rack.
- Above Egon on a white locker (page 11) is the Sandman's bag and blowgun from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream." A copy of the misspelled Weird Fiction magazine from that same episode appears in a cardboard box on page 14.
- Kylie jokes about the "young priest and an old priest" aspect of The Exorcist (page 11).
- La Fleur French Cafe (page 12) is from the Extreme Ghostbusters episode "The Crawler," where Janine and Samsa go on a date.
- Poso's file from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Partners in Slime" is on the computer (page 15).
- Egon holds the Standard Ghosts and Demons Identification Test cards (Protoplasmic Manifestation Type 6 and Recreational Zombie Haitian Variety) from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Hanging By a Thread" (page 15).
- Egon also holds copies of "Rottweiler on Olfactory Manifestations" from "Ghostbuster of the Year" and "Golden Grimbor" from "Loathe Thy Neighbor" (page 15).
- The magnet holding a party flier on the chalkboard is based on Killerwatt's host body from the episode "Killerwatt" (page 15).
Egon's footlocker Harold Ramis tribute (page 9)
The footlocker is dressed as an extended Harold Ramis tribute by Schoening and Delgado. Items visible include: Cheez-Its (nodding to the first film's interview scene with Dana), a Slinky (from Ghostbusters II when Egon and Ray examine Oscar's bedroom), the Ghostbusters II logo, a Mood Slime jar, a PKE Meter, a framed "Pacific Monthly" (a nod to the Atlantic Monthly in the first film's montage), a package of Twinkies, an annotated Tobin's Spirit Guide, and a Ghost Trap. Beneath the Trap are three bottles labeled "Spores," "Mold," and "Fungus," echoing Egon's hobby description to Janine in the first film.
Fan community and cross-franchise cameos
- The Dock Supervisor and his co-worker from Ghostbusters II walk outside La Fleur Cafe (page 12). The Supervisor wears a Pier 34 hat, a nod to where they appeared in the film.
- On the wall between Kas and Tiyah is a portrait of Luigi from Slimer! (page 12).
- The blonde woman at the cafe is Doreen Mulman, a late Ghostbusters superfan, and the man is Rolo from the Ghostbusters of Mexico fan franchise (page 12).
- Above Rolo's head is the "Today Eastside Theatre Guild Midnight Buffet" plaque from the Sedgewick Hotel (page 12).
- The Etc. piece on Louis' apartment wall appears again in a panel (page 13).
- The waiter in panel 1 (page 13) is visually based on Ghostbusters fan Tyler Gerard; the waiter in panel 2 is based on Gerard's friend Kyle.
- Kas' credit card is with the Manhattan City Bank from the first movie, and her surname (Gibbons) is revealed here; this is the same last name as Bridget from Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime, and Kas is later established as Bridget's mother (page 13).
- A business card (page 15) nods to Frank Bannister, Michael J. Fox's character in The Frighteners.
- The Proton Shotgun on a shelf belongs to Deuce of the Louisiana Ghostbusters fan franchise. Also on the shelf: the back of the box for Kenner's Proton Pack toy and Kenner's Fright Features Egon action figure (page 15).
- The chalkboard party flier is "Parties of the Universe," a He-Man theme nod to the birthday party scene at the start of Ghostbusters II. The top note reads "Does kid parties?" and the bottom note echoes Ray's "ungrateful yuppie larvae" line from that scene (page 15).
- A Zalinsky Auto Parts flier (page 16) references Tommy Boy; the company's owner, Ray Zalinsky, was portrayed by Dan Aykroyd.
- The poster on page 17 nods to Marc and Saxon of Following the Nerd.
- The chalkboard behind Dana (page 17) includes a Back to the Future Part II-styled informal timeline (referencing past, 1985, and future), noting on "Future Us?" the future versions of the four original Ghostbusters seen in Volume 2 issue #16; references to Tiamat's mythological role as a monster of chaos and goddess of the ocean; a reference to the Chaoskamf (the mythological struggle against chaos); references to Marduk (seen in Volume 2 issue #14); and notes on Chicago and Ilyssa Selwyn from Ghostbusters: The Video Game, including Selwyn's phone number (312-922-9410, the Field Museum of Natural History).
- The Pin-Up Calendar of Doom is again visible in the tank, this time open to March. The calendar girl for March is based on Evilyn of the Ghostbusters of British Columbia fan franchise. Two "15" easter eggs are hidden in the issue.
- The computer in the firehouse (page 18) displays the Occult Reference Net results on Vigo from the second film.
- An Imp from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Janine's Day Off" hides under the computer (page 20).
References
- IDW Publishing, Ghostbusters Vol. 2 #18 (July 30, 2014). Written by Erik Burnham; art by Dan Schoening; colors by Luis Antonio Delgado; letters by Neil Uyetake; edited by Tom Waltz.
- IDW Publishing, Ghostbusters Vol. 9 trade paperback ("Mass Hysteria! Part 2"), December 2014. ISBN 978-1-63140-171-8.
