There’s been a certain feeling we no longer get from animated shows or graphic novels. It’s a feeling that mixes our emotions, such as laughter, intrigue, and fear until we’re left staring at the screen and wanting more. A show like Invader Zim hit all these marks with its dark stories, humor, and characters balancing perfectly between the two. As the 2000s and 10s passed, series such as these left a void that hasn’t been filled yet. Or so we had thought until we met an artist by the name of Gh0st0ken.
We had the opportunity to talk today with Gh0st0ken, an artist whose both style and writing is able to reach a perfect blend of fantasy, darkness, and a side of humor. They are creating an original series titled Don’t Play With Ouija Boards and are willing to share some of their story with us today.
Hello! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background in life and arts?
As a kid, I loved media that had a dark, unsettling vibe to it. I was raised on stuff like Tim Burton, Monster House, Coraline, and pretty much anything Halloween related I was all over. But when I found Invader Zim, that’s when I really got into drawing. I was around 6 or 7 maybe, and this ugly show about an alien that stole some kids eyes came on. I was immediately obsessed. I studied the style of the characters and the writing, and was just like, “Hey… I could do that..”
Ever since then I had a sketchbook strapped to me, and the only way you could get me to put it down was from ripping it from my cold, dead fingers.
What inspires you to create art in this unique style?
Well, someone once told me that my art looked like a mix of Invader Zim and Over The Garden Wall, and that always kinda made sense to me. I’ve always liked messy lineart, and wanted my art to have that gritty feel that you see in Works like JTHM or old Tim Burton sketches. But when it comes to my art as a whole, I’m greatly inspired by so many different stories and music pieces
What can you tell us about your series Don’t Play With Ouija Boards?
Don’t Play With Ouija Boards (DPWOB) has been a passion project of mine since early-mid 2018. It’s a Comic series about a troubled teen named Joy who gets trapped in an unfamiliar world. Her and the three other main characters try to find answers as to how she got there and how to get her home. Throughout their journey they get to experience the many cultures of their world while they’re unknowingly stalked by a dark entity. (That’s about as much as I can say without getting into spoilers haha) Anyways, the story revolves around these 4 characters, and really focuses on their character development. I’ve always been very particular about writing characters that feel as real as possible, I’m really looking forward to everyone meeting them! I’m hoping to have the first few issues out by next year, but there’s still a lot to be done to make sure the writing is to my standards.
Who’s been your favorite character to write and why?
That’s a really hard question. All of them have their own inner struggles that they have to overcome, and I’ve put a lot of thought into each of them. I really couldn’t pick honestly. Joy has to learn how to put trust in others instead of relying solely on herself while dealing with abandonment issues and the loss of her father. Juni has to get over childhood abuse as well as having beliefs that contradict his culture’s. Hope has to get through childhood traumas that have scared her from a young age, and Hazel has to learn to value herself more as a person rather than a simple servant. Simple on paper but I want their stories to really resonate with the readers.
I love how loaded that title is for the name. How did you come up with the series as a whole?
I loved fantasy stories growing up, and really wanted to see something that had a more dark, edgy sense of humor to it. As well as having a slightly more modern feel instead of sticking with a more traditional, middle age setting. Basically I just wanted a world that I could write as I please. Some of the characters are a lot older than the concept itself, and have been repurposed from other projects. Joy is the oldest I think, with the first few doodles of her being from around 2017, and Juni following shortly after. They both looked incredibly different back then of course.
Do you have any future goals for the series and yourself as a whole?
Well the dream was always to have it become an animated series one day. But for now I just hope to finish the comic and get it out there. As a comic at least I can have full control over it. As for myself, I just hope to be in a financial position where I can table at cons and get my work out there.
Any advice on how to get that grunge look to your art?
I don’t know much about grunge or aesthetics, but I always lean towards texture and good use of color. Sometimes I stick with more muddy colors, sometimes I use colors that have more of a pop depending on what the art calls for. I also like rougher line art, with more detail rather than less.
Connect Today!
You can keep up with Don’t Play With Ouija Boards on Gh0st0ken’s Instagram, Cara, or visit their LinkTree and see the progress being made on it’s development. We can tell that a series like this is going to bring out a lot of emotions and manage to balance all of them perfectly, so keep your eye out for this as time goes by!
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