Plot
The Collectors' Limbo is narrated from the perspective of Darius Dun and Bronson. Bronson warns that intensely negative vibes in the dimensional space could prove dangerous, a note that echoes the concept of psychomagnotheric energy central to the Ghostbusters II film.
Peter Venkman and Michelangelo continue their time in Zoo Amsterdam, the dimension of anthropomorphic animals introduced in Issue #2. There Peter is captured and coated with slime by the Ghostbusturtles, the alternate-universe Turtle team whose role mirrors the way the Peoplebusters captured humans in The Real Ghostbusters episode "Flip Side." The Ghostbusturtles are named after Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson, combined with each Turtle's first name. Erik Burnham had intended to change a line about "Ernie being out sick," but it remained in the final issue; as a result, the fourth Ghostbusturtle is implicitly this universe's version of the Rookie rather than a Turtle named Ernie. Michelangelo manages to surprise Peter, echoing the vanishing act Michelangelo performed on Peter in the original crossover's Issue #4. Peter admits to having once dated a woman who was addicted to scrap-booking. The Ghostbusturtles' equipment mirrors the standard Ghostbusters loadout but adapted for their universe: their pack, Ecto Goggles, trap, Containment Unit, and an Ecto-1 based on the Turtle Van.
Ray Stantz and Raphael share a quieter arc in this issue. Ray, using the Experimental Mental Communications Device, discovers that Raphael suffers from deep loneliness, even around his own family, a wound that traces back to Raphael growing up alone and homeless before finding the Turtles early in the IDW TMNT run. Raphael in turn confronts survivor's guilt, a mental condition arising from living through traumatic events that others did not. The exchange is one of the more psychologically grounded scenes in the mini-series.
Egon Spengler and Donatello work together at the Warehouse on the Trap-Gate, a device intended to retrieve the scattered teams. Their scenes draw on the parallel near-death histories of both characters: Egon was dead from Ghostbusters International #7 through #11, and Donatello was mortally wounded by Bebop and Rocksteady in TMNT #44, his soul briefly split between his body and the Metalhead robot. Donatello also mentions remembering a garden where he met his mother Tang Shen after dying, as depicted in TMNT #45. A Mouth Critter Ghost, visually modeled on the Trendmasters Extreme Ghostbusters Mouth Critter toy, appears during their session. Egon alludes to a forced out-of-body experience he underwent in IDW's first Ghostbusters mini-series, The Other Side. He also mentions the Gjenganger: corporeal ghosts from Scandinavian folklore, associated with the spirits of those murdered, those who died by suicide, or murderers. Egon first studied Gjenganger in college, as documented in Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #6.
Winston Zeddemore and Leonardo, still traveling the post-apocalyptic battleworld Tadd Galusha described in pre-release interviews as a place where "every corner they go around they end up encountering a whole new antagonist," face the Frogs in this issue. The Frogs are mutant frog characters loosely inspired by the Punk Frogs from the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series. According to Galusha's concept art, they are named Punk, Metal, Grunge, and Glam, all after rock music subgenres. Leonardo makes a meta observation about beings across dimensions always being able to speak English. Winston reveals that he took boxing as a child, a detail that connects to the August 5, 1983 draft of the first Ghostbusters film, in which Winston's resume listed 15th degree Black Belt in Wing Chun Boxing.
Covers
Cover A (Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado): The regular cover. The ghost on the right appears to be based on Thor, and the hammer in the lower right corner resembles Thor's mythical Mjolnir.
Cover RI (Tadd Galusha and Chris Johnson): The retailer incentive cover depicts Donatello wearing Ecto Goggles; Slimer makes a cameo on the cover.
Development
Pre-release teasing for Issue #3 was again led primarily by penciler Tadd Galusha, beginning in late June 2017.
On June 29, 2017, Galusha teased a variant cover for Issue #3, and returned with a second tease on July 7. On August 8 he posted a Leonardo concept sketch, followed two days later by a robot antagonist concept and a Winston concept. On August 22, Cover B, the RI cover, and a logline were included in a first-look release. On August 30, Galusha shared his cover process art.
On September 4, 2017, Galusha posted a teaser showing Winston and Leonardo running. On September 19, he announced he was wrapping up work on the issue and posted concepts of the Frogs. On September 26, Erik Burnham noted in a post that he had seen a PDF of the completed Issue #3 and that one of his jokes had survived into the final version.
On November 2, 2017, Galusha confirmed in an interview that Winston and Leonardo end up in the post-apocalyptic battleworld with mutants. On November 14, he posted two uncolored pages from the issue, and a cover, credits, and five-page preview were released. The issue went on sale November 15, 2017.
Trivia
- The opening recap (What Came Before) references Darius Dun's death in TMNT #64, Splinter, the Collectors, the Battle Bots from Issue #2, the Trap-Gate that Egon and Donatello are building, and the Containment Unit.
- The Ghostbusturtles' Containment Unit appears to be modeled on the version from The Real Ghostbusters, consistent with the prime team's current model in the IDW comics.
- On page 10, the street sign outside the Warehouse reads Kent Street, restored to that name as a nod to late Ghostbusters fan Ryan Kemp, who was honored in Ghostbusters Annual 2015. Egon mentions Red Hook, with the Warehouse's location first established in Ghostbusters 101 #2. Egon also references Ghostbusters 101 as Peter's "fantasy camp."
- In panel 2 of page 10, Ecto-3 from The Real Ghostbusters is visible on the left side of the Warehouse. Just to the right of it is Luis Antonio Delgado's recurring "15" easter egg on the wall. In panel 3, part of the Lao Che plane from "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" appears on the left. The trap slot design is loosely based on the trap slot in the Containment Unit from the first Ghostbusters film.
- The Mouth Critter Ghost appearing on page 11 is visually based on the Mouth Critter figure from the Trendmasters Extreme Ghostbusters toy line.
- Ray's discovery of Raphael's loneliness on page 9 is grounded in Raphael's IDW origin: he grew up alone and homeless before meeting his family early in the series.
- Donatello's reference to being in a garden on page 14 points to TMNT #45, where he met his mother Tang Shen after being mortally wounded. His offenders, Bebop and Rocksteady, are named on page 11. The Metalhead robot, which housed Donatello's digital consciousness during his recovery, is mentioned on both pages 11 and 14.
- Donatello's discussion of survivor's guilt on page 15 is consistent with his arc following the physical and spiritual trauma he endured in the IDW TMNT continuity.
- Page 2 notes that the manner in which Peter is ensnared by slime mirrors the technique used by the Peoplebusters in The Real Ghostbusters episode "Flip Side."
- Winston's childhood boxing is mentioned on page 19. The 8/5/83 draft of the first Ghostbusters film listed Wing Chun Boxing on Winston's resume.
- Winston alludes on page 19 to the pun he made in Issue #2, page 2.
- Leonardo makes a meta comment on page 17 about all beings across dimensions being able to speak English.
References
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters II #3 (IDW Publishing, November 2017). Written by Erik Burnham and Tom Waltz, pencils by Dan Schoening, Pablo Tunica, Mark Torres, and Tadd Galusha, colors by Luis Antonio Delgado, letters by Shawn Lee, edits by Bobby Curnow.
