Even the supernatural can get the heebie-jeebies, as evidenced in Peter Ricq's new illustrated book Ghosts Are People Too. To celebrate the launch of the book's official Kickstarter campaign, we've been provided with an exclusive excerpt that shows how even the supernatural can get a case of the heebie-jeebies when around the living.
To give you an idea of what to expect in Ghosts Are People Too, here are exclusive comments from Ricq:
I wanted to do something with a positive message and yet still keep that playful fascination with the paranormal, an obsession I've had from a very young age.
The books that inspired the look of GHOSTS ARE PEOPLE TOO were mostly the images from an old french book called "LES CHEFS-D'OEUVRE DE L'EPOVANTE" and the English classic "Gashlycrumb Tinies" from Edward Goey's.
Crowdfunding/self-publishing is important to me because so I can keep full control. The art, the story, and the quality of the final product is all important to me and I want to offer my readers, my viewers the best product possible. When I look up the work I've released in the past, I found through the ratings and reviews that my people would agree.
To learn more about Ghosts Are People Too, visit the book's official Kickstarter page, and check out our exclusive excerpt in the gallery below!
Press Release: (October 19, 2020) - The award-winning writer, director, musician, and cartoonist Peter Ricq is bringing his first ever illustrated prose book to Kickstarter. GHOSTS ARE PEOPLE TOO is a 40 page illustrated book, written and drawn for spooky living people of all ages, about a simple ordinary ghost named Ethan Alby.
Ethan has a family—just like you. He likes playing with toys and his dog, Mini Ricky. Sometimes, though, Ethan gets scared. In GHOSTS ARE PEOPLE TOO, Ethan shares what scares him, how difficult it is to share a home with a living girl he's fallen for (when she doesn't even know he exists), and why we shouldn't be afraid of one another.
“This book is a helpful guide to getting along with ghosts,” said living author Peter Ricq. “Ghosts are people just like you and me, and they can be afraid of us just as much as we are from them. We should take the time to learn from one another and become friends. And, really, this should be applied with real living people and not only the supernatural.”
GHOSTS ARE PEOPLE TOO is a charming spooky book for readers of all ages, especially young readers, adolescents and adults who love Tim Burton’s books and films, as well as the novels and picture books written by Neil Gaiman, and most especially fans of Edward Gorey's The Gashlycrumb Tinies. “I should warn you, “ said Ricq. “This book is a lot more light-hearted than Gorey's book!” GHOSTS ARE PEOPLE TOO contains seven surefire ways to find a ghost and three true, friendly ghost stories.
GHOSTS ARE PEOPLE TOO is the first ever illustrated book by Peter Ricq. Readers may already be familiar with Peter Ricq for his acclaimed animated show “The League of Super Evil” which aired on Cartoon Network and Disney XD. Or maybe they've seen his directorial debut “Dead Shack” which screened around the world and was awarded the Silver Prize for the Best Canadian Feature at Fantasia. Or, perhaps, they are a fan of his band HUMANS which played SXSW and were nominated for a JUNO for their full length debut in 2015. Or, it could be, they’re a fan of his three graphic novels, all of which have been funded on Kickstarter. But there’s nothing that can prepare them for the haunting charm of GHOSTS ARE PEOPLE TOO.
“Halloween season has been my favorite season since I was a child,” said Ricq. “It had a sense of danger and adventure and that feeling has never dissipated since. I remember watching Fright Night and The Thing from Outer Space coming home from Trick or Treating when I was around 7 years old and those moments of counting your treats along with the excitement of monsters on the TV was so magical, more so than any other holiday. I've since always had a touch of horror, danger, and adventure in my work since."
For updates, follow @PeterRicq.
To support the campaign, visit Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/peterricq/ghost-are-people-too
Peter Ricq is an award-winning creative force. Besides his work as a Visual Artist, he is also a Television Producer, Writer, Art Director, Designer, Director, Music Composer and Performer. Even before completing his BFA in film animation at Concordia University in Montreal, Ricq was well on his way to creating a name for himself. In 2005, the artist and his partners sold their first animated TV series: “The League of Super Evil” (YTV, CBBC, NICK) which ushered him into his role as Art Director in 2007. Ricq went on to co-create several other animated series with his creative collaborator Phil Ivanusic-Vallee including “Oh No! It’s an Alien Invasion” (Teletoon, ABC3, Canal J) and “Freaktown” (Teletoon, Cartoon Network Asia, Disney SEA). His band “HUMANS”, with partner Robbie Slade, released their first full-length in 2015 which was nominated for a JUNO that year and they followed up with a tour that included Osheaga, Coachella, SXSW and many more. The music video ‘Tell Me’ which he directed for HUMANS has been awarded a Leo Award and ‘Water Water’ was awarded a MMVA nomination for best MuchFact video. Peter has released a graphic novel, Once Our Land, in 2016 and Once Our Land 2 in 2019. The books have been well received by critics. He’s currently turning Once Our Land into a feature animated film. He made a feature documentary film entitled ‘Come Together’ which he co-produced and co-directed in 2015. DEAD SHACK, a horror/comedy, was his narrative feature debut as a film director. Dead Shack has been screened at Sitges, London Fright Fest, VIFF, NIFFF, Toronto After Dark and Fantasia where it was awarded the Silver Prize for the Best Canadian Feature. Peter Ricq currently lives and works out of Vancouver Canada.