Bored Panda reached out to the creator, who told us more about himself.
“Hi, I'm Greg Eales! The animator and the writer/artist behind Positively Ghostly. At my core, I'm a dad to three wonderful kiddos who are my daily inspiration for everything I do in life. I love art and have been a lifelong cartoon and comic fan. My walls are adorned with everything from Peanuts to Dragon Ball Z."
We were curious to learn more about the inspiration behind creating Positively Ghostly and its adorable protagonist, Oliver. Greg wrote: “Oliver was born during the pandemic in 2020. Around that same time, I was suffering from really bad depression and working from home. I think the stress of the pandemic, coupled with the state of everything going on at that time, had my mental health really down.
It was after a really stressful day I dived into my sketchbook to decompress and doodle out some random drawings when Oliver popped into my head and onto a page. He wasn't like any of the other characters or fan art I had drawn before. He was this floaty ghost figure wearing fancy clothes with a caption that said 'so bored'. I think he was the manifestation of everything I was feeling at the time. Feeling a little dead inside, but craving some spark of happiness."
Greg also explained to us how he came up with the concept of the Positively Ghostly series.
“Positively Ghostly started with just Oliver. He was floating around the Realm of the Dead trying to inspire these otherworldly beings who seemed like they needed some positivity in their afterlife. A reflection of our own world in many ways.
From there, I built a cast of characters around Oliver each with a personality aspect of my children. Like every other dad, my kids are so inspiring to me that I wanted to bring them along on this journey.”
Greg continued: “Milly is a vampire that only drinks knowledge. She was inspired by my curious daughter Lux, who loves science and all things history. Cham is a bunny reaper that takes after my quiet, but introspective son Atticus, who is always ready to crack a joke. And Sally Boo is a water demon that's much like my daughter Avalon, who is kind, sweet, sensitive, and always ready to make a friend. From there, the rest of the characters - and everything else - just seems to build on itself so naturally."
We asked Greg to share the challenges that he faced in pursuing his mission to inspire and uplift people. He replied: “I think my biggest challenge is keeping positive. I'm not always happy, like a lot of people, I really struggle with my mental health and it can be kind of hard to overcome.
But one of the things I do is think about how Oliver would solve a problem, or how Oliver would respond to an issue and that helps me write the comic in an uplifting way.
It's not easy to keep coming up with content, but I really feel like it's important. So many people struggle with their own unique challenges, and I just want to be something they can smile about even if it's just for a minute or so while they read the comic.”
Further, Greg named some of the major influences in his life.
“My grandpa Mac. I was partially raised by my grandparents in a quiet old farmhouse full of the most laughter and love. My grandpa turned 100 this year and he is full of the best stories. As a boy, I thought of him as 'walking sunshine'. He never had a negative word about anyone, even at 100 years old, he charms everyone he meets with his fascinating stories of growing up on a farm.
My other influence would have to be my childhood. The 1980s and '90s to me were some of the best and biggest times for comics and cartoons. From Smurfs, Peanuts, Blondie, He-Man, X-Men, I was infatuated with it all. I knew if I wanted to do anything in life, it was to create something that brings love and laughter to people of all ages,” wrote Greg.
Regarding the future of Positively Ghostly, Greg shared whether there are new initiatives or projects in the pipeline that align with his mission.
“I see Positively Ghostly continuing to grow indefinitely. I love drawing comics, interacting with the fans, and making content that uplifts and makes people smile. I would love to create even more content like graphic novels, books, and maybe even a cartoon of my own someday,” shared Greg.
And lastly, Greg added: “Keep going! Even if it's hard, and even if you don't want to, just keep going. I care about all of you. You are all perfectly imperfect, unique, and important! Help me spread some much-needed positivity to those who need it. Let's make this world better than we found it!”
