Free Comics (Or Welcome To Pirate Von!)

Some of the more observant among you might have noticed a small change on this ol’ site. What is it? Well, for those of you visiting Von Allan Studio on a desktop or laptop computer, you might have spotted a new area of the website called “Pirate Von.” What the heck is that? Well, as much as I’ve given away many of my comics in the past, these have almost always been in the form of webcomics. You can easily find them on this site, but not all collated in the same place. The Pirate Von section corrects that! And it corrects it with gusto, because I’ve enabled easy reading in .cbz format, as well as a few other formats, too.

In conjunction with the Internet Archive, I’ve uploaded my comics to their site. One of the really lovely things about doing so is that it allows for automatic converting into various additional formats. PDF is the big one; creating PDFs on my end can be a smidgen fussy. While I’d like to present more options in that format directly created by me, the reality is that it’s fussy enough to be an obstacle to doing so (as the saying goes, there’s only so much time in the day). If you really like PDF, then the Internet Archive has you covered. Personally, I prefer .cbz, but there is definitely not a right answer for these “format wars.” Just the right answer for you, and that’s what the Internet Archive provides in spades.

Right now three of my collections¹ have been uploaded and are ready to go. You can go to the “Pirate Von” subsection and find all the links, or just visit the Internet Archive (right here) and download directly in the format you choose. The Internet Archive also provides torrenting options, so there are not only multiple format options but also multiple download options, too.

What prompted this move? Well, a number of things. First and foremost, Amazon’s decision to absolutely destroy ComiXology was a big one. I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice to say that while ComiXology was never particularly indy-friendly (in my not so humble opinion), incorporating (engulfing?!) ComiXology into the Kindle platform made independent comics basically disappear. In my own experience, even trying to search for my own comics on Amazon was an exercise in futility; you had to have the exact title as well as the exact name of the indy creator(s) to really turn anything up. I gave it the old college try, but enough was enough. I’ve now discontinued sales on all of my titles that I had “over there.” You can now have them for free. And for those who did spend some hard earned money on my work, then you still have them. My decision to discontinue those titles on Amazon does not in any way, shape, or form effect those purchases. And hell, you can even download those free versions for even more reading options, too.

What about WOLF’S HEAD? Well, having just finished the script for issue 19 (!), my plan is to start rolling the series over to the “Pirate Von” section, too. And discontinuing them on Amazon, as I discussed above. That process will be starting in the near future, so watch the “Pirate Von” section for that roll-out. And when they become available for free, I’ll be discontinuing them over on Amazon, too.

2024 Update: This has now happened! WOLF’S HEAD is rolling out!

Are there any drawbacks to losing Amazon? Well, the only one is the panel-by-panel view. However, that’s a small loss. Why? First, because creating the panel-by-panel version — something that ComiXology used to do for free, I might add — added far more work for me. Uncompensated work, I might add. And it was pretty fussy work, with very little ability to get any feedback from Amazon directly about any potential questions or even resolutions to pesky problems. The latter point was particularly annoying. I uploaded the last issue of WOLF’S HEAD, issue 18, in October. Someone complained about some issue with the panel-by-panel view and I received an automatic email from Amazon detailing that. I responded, made some tweaks, and waited to hear back from them. I have been waiting to hear back ever since! What… the… hell?! Three months just to determine if the problems have been resolved to their satisfaction? Screw that.

And honestly, you don’t need the panel-by-panel view. Why? Because there are free apps that will do it for you. For example, Fabio Bezzi’s Comic Trim app creates the panel-by-panel view automatically. I bought his app and I find that it works extremely well. It is ideal for reading comics on a cell phone, webtoon-style.

Lastly, for those of you who worry that giving away my comics hurts me, by eliminating a method of financial support, don’t. First, print copies of my work are out there and easy to find. Yup, even on Amazon. Alternatively, if you want to toss a few dollars my way, you can easily use PayPal to do that (I’m at PayPal.Me/vonallan).

And while folks buying my work means a great deal to me, sharing the love is always important. If you like my work, then sharing my comics has just become so much easier. Just download them and send them to whoever you’d like. Or pass them the “Pirate Von” link (https://www.vonallan.com/p/pirate-von.html) and they can download my comics in whatever format they want to. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

So that’s that. Free comics, no restrictions. Period. Anywhere in the world. Download ‘em, read ‘em, share ‘em.

If anything, I have one regret: I should have done this a long time ago.

Love, Laughter, and Loss—A Comics Collection now available in Hardcover

This has been a long-time coming, but I’m very pleased to announce the publication of my latest comics collection! And, for the first time, this is a premium hardcover! Titled LOVE, LAUGHTER, AND LOSS: A COMICS COLLECTION, this edition features nine short stories in full colour. The printing and colour fidelity are top-notch; in fact, I don’t think my work has ever looked this beautiful.

Cover of Love, Laughter, and Loss: A Comics Collection by Canadian comics writer and artist Von Allan

These stories have appeared in print before, mainly in two separate periodical collections that are now out of print. The first periodical was titled WIZARDS FOR HIRE — CHEAP! while the second periodical was titled STORIES! 2015 TO 2019. While I was very happy to see these two editions published, keeping saddle-stitched editions in print was, frankly, a pain. Publishing LOVE, LAUGHTER, AND LOSS is a much better way of keeping them in print. On top of it, many of these stories were recoloured for this new hardcover. And that means a number of these stories have never looked this good before. Am I happy with it? Oh yes!

All of these stories have also been released on this very website in webcomic form. In other words, there’s no need at all to guess on what’s included in the collection. All of these stories can be found at https://www.vonallan.com/p/comics.html — and you can navigate from there to find each individual story. The stories included in this hardcover collection are as follows (with links to make direct navigation even easier):

I just want to reiterate how pleased I am with this edition. I was actually pretty nervous about it; I’ve never printed a hardcover before and there were a few logistical issues that I ran into that slowed production as I took my time ensuring the best quality control possible. I was holding my breath when the physical proof copy arrived and I was pretty nervous when I “unboxed” it. My fears were misplaced; everything turned out beautifully.

If you love comics, especially independent/small press comics, I think you’ll fall in love with this edition. I know I have — and that’s saying something!

Links to Purchase

LOVE, LAUGHTER, AND LOSS: A COMICS COLLECTION is still “propagating” out there, but here are some initial purchasing links that I know of for sure. More will be added as they appear.

Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1989885160;
Amazon.ca: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1989885160;
Amazon.co.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1989885160;
Amazon.de: https://www.amazon.de/dp/1989885160;
Amazon.fr: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/1989885160;
Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/3fkS3Ca;
IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781989885161
Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/books/love-laughter-and-loss-a-comics-collection/9781989885161
Bookfinder: https://bit.ly/2Rn9nhT.

Photos of the Graphic Novel!

Love, Laughter, and Loss cover by Von Allan

STORIES! 2015 TO 2019 released on ComiXology and Print

Short Stories 2015 to 2019 Written and Illustrated by Von Allan

2021 Update

When I initially wrote this post, STORIES! 2015 TO 2019 was simultaneously released in print and digital. However, the comic book edition is now out of print, although the Kindle edition is still available. But! All the stories that were contained within it plus all the stories that were in the print edition of WIZARDS FOR HIRE - CHEAP! are now contained in a deluxe hardcover titled LOVE, LAUGHTER, AND LOSS: A COMICS COLLECTION. It's a beautiful edition that is now available world-wide. You can find more information about this new hardcover on the studio's shop page or simply by visiting here.

STORIES! 2015 TO 2019

So, what's inside STORIES! 2015 TO 2019? Well, this is a lovely collection of five short stories that have appeared right here on this website as short webcomics. The collection includes the following stories (and links to read them for free as webcomics are provided, too). Altogether there's about 40 pages of stories plus a few other bonuses. I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out.

"The Street": https://www.vonallan.com/2019/07/short-story-street.html

"Bubbles": https://www.vonallan.com/2019/07/short-story-bubbles.html

"Bushido Bob": https://www.vonallan.com/2019/06/short-story-bushido-bob.html
"I Was Afraid For My Life": https://www.vonallan.com/2017/08/i-was-afraid-for-my-life.html

"When I Find You Again...": https://www.vonallan.com/2017/08/when-i-find-you-again-it-will-be-in.html

Stories! 2015 to 2019 cover by Von Allan

Please consider purchasing a copy! And if you have friends that you think might enjoy them, please share this with them!

Thanks!

Short Story - Bushido Bob!

UPDATE! While you can always read the short story below, I have decided to start making my comics freely available to all for easier digital reading. Please visit https://www.vonallan.com/p/pirate-von.html for more information and download links!

Bushido Bob Page 1 Written and Illustrated by Von Allan

Bushido Bob Page 2 Written and Illustrated by Von Allan

Bushido Bob Page 3 Written and Illustrated by Von Allan

Bushido Bob Page 4 Written and Illustrated by Von Allan

Bushido Bob Page 5 Written and Illustrated by Von Allan

Bushido Bob Page 6 Written and Illustrated by Von Allan

Bushido Bob Page 7 Written and Illustrated by Von Allan

Bushido Bob is a short story I originally drew in 2015. While I certainly would do a few things differently now, the main reason I haven't shared it before was that there was actually problems with the colours. This is a similar situation to another short story I did in the same year titled "When I Find You Again, It Will Be In Mountains."

To put it as simply as I can (Warning! Technical details ahead!), there were a few problems:

First, the colour palette I used was not optimized for SWOP (Specifications for Web Offset Publications); actually, even that's not totally true. SWOP uses an ink limit restraint of 300%, but the print specifications I need to use have a total ink limit of 240%. I needed to fix that.

Second, the way I approached digital colouring was to primarily do it in Photoshop but use the Brush Tool. While you can create certain beautiful effects with the Brush Tool, the problem is that it doesn't allow much editing. Colouring with the Pencil Tool does. Since I had moved on to other problems, tweaking certain effects that I had originally done with the Brush Tool was going to be a headache to fix. Fortunately, I recently figured out a short cut that allowed very quick editing and that allowed me to tweak the colours simply. The above is the result.

As I noted, I think I've grown quite a bit as a draftsman and artist since I did this story (see my recent work on WOLF'S HEAD), but it's neat to finally get this story online. And I still like the spirit of it, too.

This story first saw print in the comic book titled STORIES! 2015 TO 2019 back in 2019. Unfortunately, the print edition is out of print (though you might be able to find a copy using Bookfinder). But! This story — as well as a boatload of others — were collected into a beautiful hardcover edition titled LOVE, LAUGHTER, AND LOSS: A COMICS COLLECTION. More information about that edition can be found right here.

In addition, there is also a digital comic book version of STORIES! 2015 TO 2019 on Kindle that can be read anywhere in the world. That edition is available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089QX5LJC.

Free Comics (Or Welcome To Pirate Von!)

Other Links

Love, Laughter, and Loss—A Comics Collection now available in Hardcover

Links to Purchase

Photos of the Graphic Novel!