Stories
New Ghostbusters Part Two
The ghost of Gareth Dibello, a notorious killer whose name translates from Greek as "Collector," has begun haunting New York City, resuming his old methods. The New Ghostbusters, led by Janine Melnitz and Kylie Griffin, respond alongside FBI Special Agent Melanie Ortiz. Their search brings them to Central Park, near the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. Ron Alexander accompanies the team, and Jack Hardemeyer and Walter Peck's office are also drawn into the investigation. Kylie consults Tobin's Spirit Guide and the PKE Meter to track Dibello, while the team deploys Proton Packs, a Slime Blower, and a Giga Meter. The confrontation with Dibello takes place on Bridge #24, near the South Gate House of the reservoir.
Separately, Kylie visits Dr. Cleese at the Parkview Psychiatric Hospital to consult on Janosz Poha, who has been a patient there. Poha has been painting an arcane design on his wall that bleeds through each new coat of paint, and Kylie confirms it represents serious supernatural danger. Dr. Cleese called the Ghostbusters after hearing them mentioned on the radio. Meanwhile, Janine meets Tiyah Clarke at Pequod's coffee shop on Broadway near West 112th Street, and Ron Alexander works on reassembling a dismantled Proton Pack. In the background, Vigo's canvas and Janosz Poha's connection to the entity Idulnas shadow the issue's subplot.
In The Box Part Two
Inside Collectors' Limbo, the original four Ghostbusters, Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler, and Winston Zeddemore, compare notes and attempt to piece together how to escape. Slimer and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man are also present in the limbo. Meanwhile, Ralph, one of the contained ghosts, can see the full population of the Containment Unit around him, including Samhain, Granny Gross, Hard Hat Horror, Tombstone Tackle, Mail Fraud, X-Cop, Terror Trash, the Bug-Eye Ghost, Zonk, and the orange ghost of the Mini Traps from the Kenner line. An Ecto-1 and a PKE Meter also appear in the limbo-side scenes.
Covers
The issue was published with a Cover A and a Cover RI (retailer incentive) variant, both by Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado.
Cover A is visually based on the opening photograph in the Rolling Stone Issue #553 (June 1, 1989) article "Return of the Money-Making Slime," which featured Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson arranged in a human pyramid. Cover RI is visually based on the cover of Giant-Size X-Men #1.
A preview of Cover A was posted by Dan Schoening on March 6, 2013. On March 12, 2013, the front cover, credits, and a seven-page preview were published. An unlettered version of page 19 was posted by Luis Antonio Delgado on March 13, 2013, and an unlettered version of Cover RI was posted by Dan Schoening on March 14, 2013.
Development
On December 15, 2012, the March solicitations revealed the synopsis and Cover A. Five days later, Erik Burnham tweeted that Issue #2 contains some of his favorite lines in the series.
On January 4, 2013, Burnham hinted that another employee of the PCOC besides Walter Peck would be appearing in Issue #2. On January 18, 2013, in an interview, he hinted that readers will want to punch Ron Alexander in the face "more than once." On January 23, 2013, Burnham announced receiving a colored page featuring Granny Gross from Luis Antonio Delgado.
On February 12, 2013, the regular cover and four pages were revealed. Burnham posted his writer's commentary for Issue #2 on March 15, 2013.
Trivia and Easter Eggs
- Page 1: The jogger is visually based on the Jogger Ghost from Ghostbusters II. Erik Burnham had originally written Gareth Dibello to appear shadowy like Death, but Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado instead rendered him in blood red.
- Page 2: Janine's civilian outfit is drawn from The Real Ghostbusters and was last used in Volume 1, Issue #7. The character Mitch the Photographer was originally conceived as a recurring gag character who would appear working various jobs around New York; an earlier plan had him as the hot dog vendor in Volume 1, Issue #14, but Burnham scrapped that version.
- Page 3: A box from Hasty Pastry Bakery, a business first seen in The Real Ghostbusters episode "The Joke's on Ray," appears on the coffee table. The entry title for Dibello in Tobin's Spirit Guide is the Greek word for "Collector," and the body text, also in Greek, references Abaddon. Kylie Griffin mentions Jamestown, Amelia Earhart, and the hijacker D.B. Cooper as historical vanishings.
- Page 4: Mitch the Photographer is visually based on Boris Mealey from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Ghost Fight at the O.K. Corral." One photo homages a Ghostbusters II group pose; another echoes the Rolling Stone #553 cover used for Cover A. Ron wears Griswold's pig costume from National Lampoon's European Vacation.
- Page 5: The inside of Kylie's locker is based on the profile screen from Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Stylized Versions), including the Male Rookie's ID card, a "Zuul!" poster, and a "Who Ya Gonna Call?" sticker. The door displays a poster of Shanna from the RGB episode "Banshee Bake a Cherry Pie?" A shelf holds the PKE Meter from Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Stylized Versions).
- Page 6: Peter Venkman makes a Star Trek reference: "The Final Frontier."
- Page 7: Peter Venkman references the term "Protonic Reversal" from Ghostbusters (1984).
- Page 8: The New Ghostbusters end up searching near the reservoir, echoing the Ghostbusters II river chase. The South Gate House at the edge of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir is visible, with Belvedere Castle in the far-right background. Janine references the female Ghost Smashers.
- Page 9: The female jogger is visually based on Margaret Prandish from the RGB episode "If I Were a Witch Man."
- Page 10: Spanish-language dialogue was provided by Luis Antonio Delgado.
- Page 11: The jogger's jacket references Lewiston Girls Academy from the RGB episode "If I Were a Witch Man." The sloped glass wall of the Egyptian Art Gallery of the Metropolitan Museum of Art appears in the background.
- Page 12: Wall sketches of the Gozerian dimension are visible, sourced from the production document "Making Ghostbusters." Dr. Cleese is visually based on Doctor McCatheter's human form from the RGB episode "Something's Going Around," and was named by Burnham after the 1980s film "A Fish Called Wanda," co-written by and starring John Cleese.
- Page 13: The Ghostbusters battle Dibello on Bridge #24, located near the South Gate House.
- Page 16: The "fallacy of shorts" is Burnham's editorial comment on management decisions made without firsthand knowledge of a job.
- Page 17: A Punk Cinema prop from the RGB episode "Short Stuff" appears inside the limbo.
- Page 18: Dr. Cleese's shelf holds The Dragon's Eyes statue from Extreme Ghostbusters episode "Eyes of a Dragon," and a copy of "Baby Steps," the self-help book from the Bill Murray film "What About Bob?" A message on Janine's computer instructs Kylie to call her Great Grandma Rose, a character from Extreme Ghostbusters.
- Page 19: A store sign to the left of the salon references Lorenzo Music, one of the voice actors for the animated Peter Venkman. The salon references the Shears of Fate from the RGB episode "Hanging By a Thread." Janine and Tiyah meet at Pequod's, located at 112th Street and Broadway, standing in for Tom's Restaurant. Outside are the human forms of the Kenner Haunted Humans ghosts: Hard Hat Horror, Mail Fraud, Granny Gross, X-Cop, and Terror Trash, reading left to right. Janine's drink is chamomile, her stated favorite from Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Realistic Versions).
- Page 20: The disassembled Proton Pack is visually based on the Modified Charged Particle Accelerator and the soldering gear from the RGB episode "Play Them Ragtime Boos." The corner of the pack references Killerwatt from the RGB episode "Killerwatt."
- Page 23: Ralph observes Stay Puft, Hard Hat Horror, Tombstone Tackle, Mail Fraud, X-Cop, Terror Trash, Bug-Eye Ghost, Zonk (from the RGB episode "Ghosts R Us"), the orange ghost of Kenner's Mini Traps, and Granny Gross inside the Containment Unit.
Page 20 of "New Ghostbusters Part Two" contains a notable acknowledgment of the GBFans.com community: the dismantled Proton Pack depicted in that panel shows the GBFans.com welded aluminum Injector Tubes and HGA (Hydrogen Gas Actuator), and the blue bargraph lights are drawn to match how that component actually appeared inside the original Proton Pack screen-used props. This reflects real-world research and documentation done by GBFans.com members on the construction of the original prop hardware, incorporated directly into the comic's artwork by Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado.
References
Comic
