Ghostbusters Volume 2 #19 is the nineteenth issue of the second IDW Publishing ongoing Ghostbusters series, released August 27, 2014. It is the seventh chapter of "MASS HYSTERIA!," the 8-issue maxi-event celebrating the Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary, making it the penultimate installment of that arc. Written by Erik Burnham, with pencils by Dan Schoening, colors by Luis Antonio Delgado, letters by Neil Uyetake, and editing by Tom Waltz. The Diamond order code is JUN140354.
Story: "...At Least Two"
With Tiamat proven too powerful to destroy and her growing fixation on humanity threatening catastrophe for New York City, the Ghostbusters are running out of conventional options. The issue's title carries a deliberate double meaning: Ray Stantz becomes possessed by both Gozer and Tiamat, and the phrase echoes a line Peter Venkman delivers when he first encounters the possessed Dana Barrett in the original film.
Throughout the issue, Gozer and Tiamat cycle through a succession of forms drawn from Ghostbusters mythology and The Real Ghostbusters. Gozer appears as a Torb (referenced but unseen in the first film), then as Hob Anagarak from the RGB episode "Cold Cash and Hot Water," then as the human form of Proteus from "Janine Melnitz, Ghostbuster," then as a rejected Robert Kline advance concept for a third Gozer form (visible in the book "Making Ghostbusters," page 155), and finally as a Sloar. Tiamat mirrors this escalation, taking the forms of Necksa from the RGB episode "The Devil in the Deep," the snake form of Proteus from "Janine Melnitz, Ghostbuster," and Quetzalcoatl from the RGB episode "The Treasure of Sierra Tamale."
The team's attempt to use the Containment Unit is thwarted when Ray, under possession, is rejected by the biometric failsafe, which the series has previously established was incorporated from the RGB episode "Mrs. Roger's Neighborhood." The issue culminates in Tiamat pulling Gozer's consciousness from the Sloar form, with Black Slime (from Ghostbusters: The Video Game) visible during the extraction. Peter alludes to Ray's earlier possession-like experience in Volume 1 Issue #7 and to the Proton Bazooka from Volume 2 Issue #5 as the team works through their options.
Characters
The core team of Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler, and Winston Zeddemore is joined by Janine Melnitz, Louis Tully, Dana Barrett, and Kylie Griffin. Antagonists include Gozer (appearing in multiple forms: Torb, Hob Anagarak, Proteus human form, a Robert Kline concept form, and Sloar) and Tiamat (Necksa, Proteus snake form, and Quetzalcoatl). Vigo and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man are also referenced or present.
Equipment
The team deploys or references the Proton Pack and Particle Thrower, the Arm Mounted Proton Pack, the Compact Pack, the Aura Video-Analyzer, the Megatrap, Ecto-1b, and the Containment Unit. Psychomagnotheric (Pink Mood) Slime is knocked from a jar during the story. Black Slime appears during the issue's climax.
Locations
The primary settings are the Firehouse (including the basement, which had not been seen since Volume 1 Issue #3), Tiamat's Dimension, and 550 Central Park West (Dana Barrett's apartment building), with the opening continuing directly from the prior issue's scene outside the Lincoln Center.