Wolf's Head Issue 11 on Kindle

Eleven issues? Who would have ‘thunk’ it? Not me! When I was first brainstorming what would become WOLF’S HEAD, I had the first six issues roughly locked down. I had some loose ideas for what could come next, but these weren’t ‘firmed up’ plans. Of course, many of these did find their way into issues 7 through 10. That, however, was that. I had nothing written for what came after those loose plans.

Scary? A little. Exciting? You bet! That’s one of the great joys in storytelling, regardless of the medium. Letting the story take you in different, unexpected, and weird directions. There is a great deal of fun to be had in that. Not to mention some nervous moments, too. I always feel like I’m juggling raw eggs; not only might they all tumble down on top of me at any moment, but I’ll have literal (ahem… if you’ll excuse the metaphor) egg on my face, too.

I’m very pleased to say, though, that I love how this issue turned out. The first ten issues were set in Detroit, Michigan and I tried very hard to root those issues in place. This issue the story changes focus entirely to Alaska. And that means new situations, new challenges, and new characters. The reasons for the move, hinted at last issue, was something that Lauren decided to do deliberately. Will it work out for her? Time will tell. That’s fun, too! Join me, won’t you?

The quick pitch: “Lauren Greene, her dog Sankō, and the young artificial intelligence she recently befriended have left Detroit and have ventured north to Flat City, Alaska. As Lauren attempts to restart her life, she’s confronted with the frustrations of trying to make ends meet in a tough economy. At the same time, she’s forced to keep a very low profile in order to safe guard the artificial intelligence from the grasp of the people who want it back… at any cost.”

Here are the usual links!

• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B49C6ZD
• https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08B49C6ZD
• https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08B49C6ZD
• https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08B49C6ZD
• https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B08B49C6ZD
• https://www.amazon.es/dp/B08B49C6ZD
• And so on!
  

Recent Podcast Interviews with Von Allan

I've recently been a guest on three different podcasts chatting about comics, art, COVID-19, and mental illness. In no particular order, here goes:

I was interviewed by Tim Midura and Kyle Welch on their Pages and Panels Podcast. This is a wide-ranging discussion of comics, my ongoing series WOLF'S HEAD, the situation at Diamond Comic Distributors, the documentary film I AM STILL YOUR CHILD, and on and on! I really enjoyed this one and I think you will, too. The interview can be found at https://pagesandpanels.squarespace.com/blog/2020/6/12/pages-and-panels-vol-2-23-von-allen-and-wolfs-head or downloaded directly as a MP3 right here (just right click to download).

Not to be outdone, I was also interviewed on the Out of the Basement podcast. Out of the Basement is a local podcast from here in Ottawa, but with social distancing due to COVID-19, it was handled remotely. This chat ranges from comics to D&D and was a lot of fun. This interview can be found at https://outofthebasement.ca/pod/ootb/out-of-the-basement-podcast-episode-91/ or downloaded directly as a MP3 here (again, just right click to download).

Lastly, the always lovely Kevin Midbo had me on to chat about the early stages of COVID-19 and how it was effecting folks in my neighbourhood here in Ottawa. Kevin is great and the discussion, while short, was terrific. It can be found at https://www.vancouverislandmentalhealthsociety.org/artist-and-comics-creator-von-allan-on-life-during-covid-19/ or downloaded directly as a MP3 right over here.

Wolf's Head out on Amazon's Kindle!

Hot on the heel's of yesterday's announcement that WIZARDS FOR HIRE - CHEAP! is now available on Amazon's Kindle ebook reader, comes the big news! Hey, how 'bout we let the series star share the news?

Yes, that's right! The first ten issues of WOLF'S HEAD are now available on Kindle! A lot of work went into ensuring the series works on that device and I think the results are pretty terrific. Like WIZARDS FOR HIRE - CHEAP!, the series can be read on larger devices like tablets, but I've also worked hard to make sure that the series fully supports a "panel to panel" view. Looks pretty sharp if I do say so myself.

And don't forget that you can learn more, a lot more, about WOLF'S HEAD by visiting the series' dedicated mini-site over at https://wolfs-head.vonallan.com/.

'Wizards for Hire - Cheap!' out now on Kindle

After releasing WIZARDS FOR HIRE - CHEAP! on ComiXology a few months back, I'm very pleased to announce that the Kindle version is now available! And with full panel-to-panel functionality for phones and the like, too. It also looks pretty damn good in black and white on devices like the Kindle Paperwhite.

You can find WIZARDS FOR HIRE - CHEAP! for Kindle by visiting https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089QXBYY9/ or by clicking the image of Bill above. And, of course, you can also read them for free as a webcomic, too. Start at https://www.vonallan.com/2017/08/short-story-cowardly-clerics-of-rigel-v.html and navigate from there!

I'm currently converting both my recent short story collection* as well as WOLF'S HEAD for Kindle, so expect to see them released shortly.

* Psst: in fact, STORIES! 2015 TO 2019 is out now for the Kindle, too. I just haven't prepped any graphics to celebrate its release yet.

Wolf's Head Issue 10 on Kindle

This is a very special story! Why? Well, ten issues in, we see Lauren coming face to face with the antagonist that she’s been dealing with for the past number of issues. And this forces her to make a critical decision, one that will play out over the next few issues.

One of my goals since the series started was to deal with racism in a different way than is usually depicted in comics as well as other media. What do I mean? Well, since Frank McRossiter’s introduction way back in issue 1, I wanted him to be racist without directly saying so. In other words, it’s his deeds that make him a racist, not just his words. At the same time, I wanted it to be relatively subtle; Frank doesn’t wear a Klan outfit. He also doesn’t attend racist rallies, write racist screeds, or any of that. But he is racist and that’s influenced how he’s treated Lauren right from the get-go. In some ways he’s the most heinous antagonist that the series has seen so far and his racism played a key role in that. He’s simply unable to see Lauren as the human being she is. And this is despite the fact that she saved his life back in issue 6.

I’ll leave it to you to judge how I did. I will say that coming up the twists and turns in this issue was a great deal of fun! And I think it pays off a number of plots and character points that I had established earlier. As always, that’s part of the fun of creating comics. Establishing little threads and then paying them off later on. I think (hope!) that it rewards careful reading and works on a lot of different levels.

Elevator Pitch: “Lauren Greene, her dog Sankō, and their young Artificial Intelligence (AI) friend are on the run from a bounty killer with a contract to kill Lauren. Hiding at a friend’s place, Lauren gets a phone-call from a potential new ally named Super Bob Sanchez; he has information that will rid Lauren of her villainous pursuers once and for all, put some money in her pockets, and give her a way out of Detroit… if she can trust him. But before Lauren can sort out her next steps, she discovers that an old foe has kidnapped her best friend; he’ll trade that life for Lauren’s. If Lauren refuses, her friend dies. If she accepts, she dies. Faced with an impossible situation, Lauren must make a terrifying and heartbreaking decision before time runs out.”

Here are the usual links:

• Wolf’s Head Official Site: https://wolfs-head.vonallan.com/
• United States of America: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B3CP3M2
• Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08B3CP3M2
• France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B08B3CP3M2
• Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08B3CP3M2
• Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B08B3CP3M2
• United Kingdom: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08B3CP3M2
• And so on! 

And don’t forget that the series page can be found at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MTGCS49; and you can just change the “dot com” part of the url with your specific top-level domain. In Canada, changing the “dot com” to “dot ca” means that the series can be found at https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08MTGCS49. See? Easy!

Lastly, issues 7 through 10 of WOLF’S HEAD form one terrific story arc, full of great characters, loads of change, and a lot of fun… plus, as always, a little bit of heartache, too. If you love the series and know someone who likes great comics, please consider sharing that love along!