Stories
Trains, Brains and Ghostly Remains Part One
With the original Ghostbusters back in Manhattan after their escape from the Collectors' limbo, the team tries to pick up where they left off. Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler throw themselves into research, anxious about whether their dimensional escape will have lingering effects on the world. Meanwhile, a past decision Janine Melnitz made while leading the New Ghostbusters catches up with her, and her relationship with Roger Baugh continues to develop. On the operational side, Peter Venkman and Kylie Griffin travel to Mamaroneck to investigate a ghost train terrorizing a local station.
The Mamaroneck Ghost Train and Phantom Train Conductor. The ghost train that menaces Mamaroneck is a spectral construct driven by the Phantom Train Conductor, a ghost visually modeled on Casey Jones from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Last Train to Oblivion." (Peter, reaching for the only railroad reference he can summon, calls the ghost "Casey Jones" to his face.) The spectral locomotive is based on an actual steam train from the 1800s and bears the number 15, one of colorist Luis Delgado's recurring easter eggs throughout the series. Venkman ends the threat efficiently: one blast from the Proton Bazooka disperses the train, and without its construct to hide behind, the Conductor is easily trapped. Page 11 shows Doc Brown's miniature train model from "Back to the Future Part III" tumbling in the debris after the locomotive is destroyed.
Also appearing in the main story are Walter Peck, Winston Zeddemore and Tiyah Clarke (seen in Central Park near the Jagiello Grunwald Monument), Special Agent Melanie Ortiz, Special Agent Jim Savage, Jack Hardemeyer (who is fired again for overreaching his authority), Jenny Moran, and Draugar. Slimer appears, and the Firehouse is the central base of operations. The script connects explicitly to the previous arc: Ray references the Collectors, Egon still has the Gris-Gris he received at the end of Volume 1 Issue #10, and the Ghost Smasher gun from Volume 1 Issue #14 remains attached to the Paranormal Containment Research Tank.
The New Ghostbusters Stripped
The backup feature consists of two short one-page strips, one focusing on Kylie Griffin and one on Ron Alexander, originally teased by Erik Burnham on social media in early May 2013. Kylie's strip sees her squaring off against a Sandman, a ghost type previously encountered in the Real Ghostbusters episode "Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream." Ron's strip is played as a sight gag. The Chicago Ghostbusters and the Rookie also appear in this section.
Covers
Two covers were produced for this issue. Cover A, by Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado, features Peter Venkman and Kylie Griffin confronting the ghost train in Mamaroneck; the train displays the number 15 as one of Delgado's easter eggs. Cover B was illustrated by Adam Archer. Editor Tom Waltz approached Archer for the cover after being impressed by one of Archer's pieces featuring the Hulk and the Invisible Woman. A seven-page preview, along with cover art and a credit page, was posted online on June 25, 2013.
Development
On March 8, 2013, Erik Burnham confirmed he was writing Issue #5. On March 18, he hinted that Jenny Moran would return to the series but not within the first arc of Volume 2. On March 23, Burnham noted he had chosen Mamaroneck as the setting for the next script because, like Schenectady, "it is fun to write and say."
On April 5, 2013, Dan Schoening posted a preview of the regular Cover A showing Peter Venkman and Kylie Griffin battling the ghost train. The following day, Burnham clarified that the ghost train was invented for the story and had no basis in actual local history; Schoening noted he was just beginning pencils at that point.
On May 1, 2013, Burnham described the backup feature as a one-page gag strip for each of Kylie Griffin and Ron Alexander. He posted a teaser panel from Ron's strip on May 2 and one from Kylie's strip on May 3. On May 9, Schoening shared a work-in-progress thumbnail of the regular cover. Following publication, Luis Antonio Delgado posted unlettered versions of pages 6 and 20 on August 6, 2013.
On May 28, 2013, Burnham revealed the title for the second arc, "Trains, Brains and Ghostly Remains," as a riff on "Trains, Planes and Automobiles." He explained the three words correspond to the three issues in the arc: "Trains" refers to the ghost train in Issue #5, "Brains" refers to the story set inside Janine's mind in Issue #6, and "Ghostly Remains" refers to the ghost ship story.
Trivia and Easter Eggs
This issue continues the series' practice of layering in references across the full Ghostbusters franchise. Selected highlights:
- Page 1: Outside Pequod's, the Male Student (from the ESP test in the first film) and Ron Jeremy (who had a cameo in the first film) both appear. The Slimed Restaurant Patron and Slimed Patron's Date from Ghostbusters II are also visible. The salon next door is a callback to the Shears of Fate from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Hanging By a Thread." Ray wears the green off-duty outfit his animated counterpart wears in The Real Ghostbusters.
- Page 1: The "witch doctor on Bleecker" mentioned by Ray is a reference to Dr. Strange of Marvel Comics.
- Page 1: Sitting behind Ray is Chip Hanson from the Extreme Ghostbusters episode "Witchy Woman," who, in that episode, also first appeared in a coffee shop.
- Page 2: Janine reads a Celebrity Magazine from The Real Ghostbusters episode "The Devil in the Deep." Her outfit and headset are modeled on her appearance toward the end of Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Realistic Versions).
- Page 3: Ray wears the head gear from the Mood Slime experiment in Ghostbusters II. The Slime Scoop from Ghostbusters II appears on a shelf behind him. A box of Dick's Pizza references the Chicago location visited by the Ghostbusters in Volume 1 Issue #13.
- Page 4: Winston Zeddemore wears his Jaguars shirt from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Night Game." Winston mentions Dana Barrett.
- Page 6: All vehicles visible in the New Mexico panels are from the television series "The Greatest American Hero."
- Page 7: Parked near the Ecto-1b is the Venkmobile from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Afterlife in the Fast Lane." Kylie uses a PKE Meter based on the Extreme Ghostbusters version.
- Page 8: The ad inside the train car references Casey Jones from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Last Train to Oblivion." Kylie references Jesus Garcia, a Mexican railroad brakeman killed in 1907 trying to stop a dynamite-laden train from exploding near Nacozari de Garcia, Sonora.
- Page 10: The Proton Bazooka's design is based on the weapon Peter conjured in The Real Ghostbusters episode "Mean Green Teen Machine," with original coloring.
- Page 11: Doc Brown's miniature train from "Back to the Future Part III" is visible in the falling debris.
- Page 14: Jack Hardemeyer is again fired for overstepping.
- Page 15: Roger Baugh's apartment is located at the Washington Mews, between Fifth Avenue and University Place. A wine bottle references Les Oiseaux Fine Wines from the Sedgewick Hotel in Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Realistic Versions).
- Page 16: Roger settles on Channel 15, another of Delgado's number-15 eggs. "Zealous Ladies" on television is a parody of Designing Women, a series in which Annie Potts starred from 1986 to 1993.
- Page 17: The P.K. Frequency Scanner from the Extreme Ghostbusters episode "Dog Days" sits on a shelf near the Slime Scoop. A file for Mee-Krah from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Standing Room Only" is visible on a computer screen.
- Page 18: The Ghostfruit Tree from Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Realistic Versions) appears in the corner.
- Page 20: Egon uses the shield from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Doctor, Doctor" and carries the claw from a Robo-Buster from The Real Ghostbusters episode "Robo-Buster." He attempts to use the Gris-Gris from Volume 1 Issue #10.
- Page 22: Kylie Griffin encounters a Sandman, the type seen in The Real Ghostbusters episode "Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream."
References
