Ivan the Unbearable

I’ve very rarely spoken about the true origin of how Ivan came to be. In fact, I don’t have any known old drawings of the stubby viking anywhere. But it all goes back to the days of Junior High, where I was first introduced to an animation program on the Amiga Computers.

Ya see, Ivan used to be a ghost…

Yep, you heard me, Ivan was originally a ghost with absolutely no features other than his gloves, shoes, eyes, a vest and his top hat. As years went by, I started to dabble with the concept on Ivan’s past life, like; who he was when he was alive? This started to bring up all sorts of weird ideas, but the one that stuck on me was a Nordic background, a viking so to speak, where he himself was constantly bombarded with other ghosts. Ivan then became, “Ivan the Haunted”, and years afterward, he became known, today, as “Ivan the Unbearable” holding a much different concept than originally intended.

Ideas develop over time, and the best ones stick to us through a lifetime. It’s all about keeping those ideas, coming up with inventive ways to portray a story, characters and background as we move on. There is always time to develop a concept as long as it’s given enough thought. Oddly enough, If I never came up with Ivan as a ghost, he never would have become a viking.