What? Free Comics by Von Allan? Yes!

For a limited time, eight of my comics formatted for Amazon’s Kindle are available for free! These are free anywhere in the world (well, at least those places that have access to Kindle). If you have been on the fence of trying my comics, this is a great way to give them a try. And, if you know people who might like my comics but have never tried them, please pass this along. Sharing is caring and all that and, of course, one can’t beat free.

The titles in question are as follows:

WIZARDS FOR HIRE — CHEAP!

STORIES! 2015 TO 2019

And the first six issues of my ongoing series WOLF’S HEAD. Oh, and please do not forget this: since the first six issues are available for free, buying the entire series in digital format (17 issues!) is now about $12.00 US cheaper than normal. In addition to that, these first six issues also make up the first collected hardcover volume, so if you’d like to try the series out but felt that the hardcover was too pricey, this is a great to “dip a toe in the water.”

I’ll put the links to both Amazon.com and Amazon.ca below. For those of you visiting from other parts of the world, please note that all you need to do is replace the “dot com” or “dot ca” with your own regional domain and you’ll be taken to that Amazon site. For example, if you are in Spain and use Amazon.es, all you need to do is replace the “dot com” part of the link (for example, my author page at https://www.amazon.com/Von-Allan/e/B002BM77EM/) with “dot es” (https://www.amazon.es/Von-Allan/e/B002BM77EM/). And voila! There’s my author page for Amazon Spain!

With that out of the way, here we go!

Amazon.com

WIZARDS FOR HIRE — CHEAP! — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089QXBYY9

STORIES! 2015 TO 2019 — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089QX5LJC

WOLF’S HEAD Issue 1 — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089V1DVY7

WOLF’S HEAD Issue 2 — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089V7356R

WOLF’S HEAD Issue 3 — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089VJYMT2

WOLF’S HEAD Issue 4 — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089X8Q7WN

WOLF’S HEAD Issue 5 — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089XFBPFL

WOLF’S HEAD Issue 6 — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089XSTJKC

WOLF’S HEAD Entire Series (Issues 1 through 17, with issues 1 through 6 free) — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MTGCS49

Amazon.ca (Canada)

WIZARDS FOR HIRE — CHEAP! — https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B089QXBYY9

STORIES! 2015 TO 2019 — https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B089QX5LJC

WOLF’S HEAD Issue 1 — https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B089V1DVY7

WOLF’S HEAD Issue 2 — https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B089V7356R

WOLF’S HEAD Issue 3 — https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B089VJYMT2

WOLF’S HEAD Issue 4 — https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B089X8Q7WN

WOLF’S HEAD Issue 5 — https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B089XFBPFL

WOLF’S HEAD Issue 6 — https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B089XSTJKC

WOLF’S HEAD Entire Series (Issues 1 through 17, with issues 1 through 6 free) — https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08MTGCS49

Teaser Images

Here are some teaser images for all eight comics!

Thoughts on Wolf's Head Book 1

As WOLF’S HEAD BOOK ONE continues to make it’s way around the world, I thought I’d take a moment and talk about what’s inside the book. At 176 pages, it’s packed full, featuring the first six issues of the digital series as well as loads of “extras” that serve as a peek behind the curtain of its creation.

Right from the beginning I tried very hard to design the series to work episodically as well as collectively. What does this mean? Well, each issue stands on its own, giving what I hope is a terrific reading experience. Probably the only exception to that is the very first issue. Why? ‘Cuz issue 1 ends on a cliffhanger! Issues 2 through 6 don’t, however, and I really wanted that to be an important of the series. This is the notion of “episodic closure” that I’ve discussed before. At the same time, I also wanted an impetus, that sense that events were building towards something. Step by step, issue by issue, events and circumstances were racing towards a strong climax. That culmination is in issue 6 and I think that payoff is incredibly exciting; when the six issues are read together, one gets a really neat story. A story full of change, reversals, and excitement! The hardcover collects all of that in one handy place. Plus its a beautiful edition, too!

That’s something I love about comics. I also love it about storytelling in general, but I especially love it in comics. That sense of “Wait! What happens next?!” WOLF’S HEAD has that in spades and I’m extremely pleased with how everything turned out.

Of course, you don’t have to own the hardcover to get that thrill. The digital series does the exact same thing, just in a slightly different format. While I think the hardcover is great for curling up and reading, reading on a tablet or even your phone can offer the same kind of experience. When it comes to my own reading habits, I’m not an elitist. I read paper books, I read on a tablet, and I read on my phone. And I read all sorts of stuff, including comics on all of these platforms. For digital, I tend to prefer reading on a tablet, but I’ve had lovely experiences reading on my phone, too. For the digital series of WOLF’S HEAD, I worked very hard to ensure that even for those reading on their phone the experience would still be really smooth and intuitive.

So, what’s next? Well, I’m hard at work on issue 18 and that should be out in the not-too-distant future. And I’d also like to collect the second story arc into a matching hardcover, too. There’s no firm date for that yet, but it’s coming.

In the meantime, please enjoy WOLF’S HEAD in whatever form suits you best. The whole idea was to offer readers a lot of different ways to enjoy the series. If it’s the hardcover, terrific! It’s the digital versions, great! Whichever way suits you best works just fine for me!

Oh, and if you’re brand new to the series and would like to learn a bit more, here’s the ol’ Elevator Pitch for BOOK ONE: “Lauren Greene is an ex-police officer who turned her badge in after becoming frustrated with the police force’s corruption. She’s had enough of violence and is thinking about packing her bags and hitting the road to see how she can make a difference out in the larger world, when her mother Patty shows up at her door with a complication. It turns out that Patty’s employer — a secretive military corporation — has created an artificial intelligence to fight humanity’s wars. Unfortunately for the corporation, the AI fell in love with Patty’s humanity and orchestrated its own escape through her. Giddy with excitement, Patty brings the AI straight to Lauren for help, not realizing the danger she’s putting herself and her daughter in. But Lauren has dealt with people like this; she knows what they’re capable of and she is terrified. Her fears are realized when she and her mother are confronted by corporate goons who want the AI for themselves and are willing to do anything to get it. As Lauren does her best to keep herself, her mom, and her family safe, the tensions over the AI erupt into violence… and suddenly Lauren is on her own. The new little life form doesn’t want to go back to the corporation and Lauren realizes it cannot be forced to live out its life as a war machine. There is already enough corruption, inequality, and violence in the world; the AI has to have a chance to help humanity — peacefully — while figuring out its own existence. Together with the AI, an eccentric cast of friends and family, and her dog, Lauren must figure out her next steps… while keeping herself alive.”

Where To Buy

Here are all of the key purchasing links for the hardcover:

United States of America

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1989885179/
• Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wolfs-head-von-allan/1140522403?ean=9781989885178
• Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Wolf-s-Head-Wolf-s-Head-Book-1-We-All-Want-To-Change-The-World-Series-1-Hardcover-9781989885178/211731780
  
• Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/books/wolf-s-head-book-1-we-all-want-to-change-the-world/9781989885178
• IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781989885178
• Powell’s: https://www.powells.com/book/wolfs-head-9781989885178
• Books-A-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Wolfs-Head/Von-Allan/9781989885178?id=8407101058475

Canada

• Amazon.ca: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1989885179/
• McNally Robinson: https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/9781989885178/von-allan/wolfs-head?blnBKM=1

United Kingdom

• Amazon.co.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B089V1DVY7
• Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/wolfs-head/von-allan/sam-boswell/9781989885178

Mexico

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B089V1DVY7

Spain

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B089V1DVY7

France

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B089V1DVY7

Germany

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B089V1DVY7

The Digital Series

Don’t forget that the series page for the digital version of WOLF’S HEAD on Kindle can be found using the following links:

• The United States of America: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MTGCS49
• Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08MTGCS49
• The United Kingdom: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08MTGCS49
• Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B08MTGCS49
• Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B08MTGCS49
• France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B08MTGCS49
• Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08MTGCS49
• Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B08MTGCS49
• And so on!

Wolf's Head Issue 17 on Kindle

I’ve very pleased to announce that WOLF’S HEAD 17 is now available worldwide on Amazon’s Kindle platform. As I’ve noted before, there’s a great deal of changes going on with ComiXology/Kindle and it’s difficult to note how everything will play out. For now, though, I’m very pleased to have the latest issue published. As always, you can find the full series on Amazon.com at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MTGCS49. Oh, and a handy tip: if you are shopping from somewhere other than the United States, simply replace the amazon.com part of that link with your preferred domain. For example, in Canada the "dot com" becomes "dot ca" — therefore, the series can be found at https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08MTGCS49. Easy!

It’s a bit of a milestone for the series, too. While 17 issues probably doesn’t seem all that special, creating 17 issues of a full-colour independent series really is. Honestly, it hasn’t been easy; getting reviews for my work has never been easy, but it’s become much harder over the past few years. I’m not sure why this is (and there are notable exceptions, of course), but it’s a struggle. One of the things I’ve long-loved about comics was that both creators and the media that covered them had a punk/do-it-yourself kinda mentality. I think this partially stemmed from the fanzine roots of comics media combined with how disparaged (at least in the West) comics as a medium often were. Here I’m thinking of Fredric Wertham, the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency hearings on comics books in 1954, and the subsequent creation of the Comics Code Authority. I personally find this history pretty repugnant; the idea that comics books could have a potential impact on juvenile delinquency has always struck me as extremely narrow-minded view and, more importantly, certainly not a fact-based view. However, this mentality remained pretty dominant right into the 1990s (one only has to look at Mike Diana’s legal troubles for one concrete example), though fortunately seems to have faded since then. One advantage of all this, though, is that I’d argue many comics creators as well as journalists had (broadly speaking) a sense of solidarity. My feeling, and it’s only just that, is that this solidarity has dissipated over the past few decades.

That’s not to say that there can’t be “good” corporate comics; obviously there can be and certainly are. However, it is to say that the space for independent work seems to have shrunk. Or rather, the space to review and celebrate independent work seems to have shrunk. At the same time, the coverage of corporate comics is all-encompassing and difficult to penetrate.

What can you do? Here are some ideas:

1. If you like my work, then certainly buying it is a good first step.
   
   
2. More broadly, reviewing it and telling people about it is, in some ways, even more important. If you like it, tell your friends and family about it!
   
   
3. And lastly, if you have a favourite comic book site or even a favourite journalist, drop them a line and tell them about WOLF’S HEAD. Despite my best efforts, many people don’t know the series exists. You can help change that!
   

Share the love… because without that, the series will eventually die. Sad, but true.

Wolf’s Head on Kindle

As many are no doubt aware, Amazon’s ComiXology app has been integrated into Amazon’s Kindle app. This has created a surprising number of headaches for regular users of the ComiXology app and it’s difficult to know exactly how this will play out. For now, there’s been quite a bit of coverage of the problems this transfer has entailed (here and here, for example).

Technically speaking, I submitted my titles to ComiXology through their Submit program (aka “ComiXology Submit”). With this option eliminated, all previous ComiXology Submit titles needed to be uploaded to Kindle via Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing platform. When this move was first announced, I scrambled to convert my titles to Kindle format. I’m pleased to say that this went pretty smoothly and all of my titles that were previously available through ComiXology are available for digital reading using the Kindle app. No problems there.

The one problem I can’t resolve is Amazon’s curious decision (well, curious to me, at any rate) to discontinue subscriptions to a series for all non-Americans. For my ongoing series WOLF’S HEAD, this is a thorny issue and one I can’t solve on my own. The Amazon.com Kindle Store page for WOLF’S HEAD (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MTGCS49) does not offer a subscription option that I can see; of course, I’m Canadian and I’m probably “geo-locked” out of any subscription option that might otherwise be available to American users. For Canadians, the Amazon.ca Kindle Store page for WOLF'S HEAD (https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08MTGCS49) clearly doesn't offer any subscriptions options at all.

I’m hoping that a subscription option will be made available for digital comics worldwide, but as of this writing I have no idea if that’s even being considered let alone knowing what a potential timeline would be. See? Irritating, right?

The other significant issue is “discoverability.” Lower profile creators (ahem, like yours truly) are not easy to find. Searching the Kindle Store is a frustrating experience. That’s also true for the new ComiXology “store” page. How that will effect lesser known and/or indy creators is anyone’s guess, but I suspect the results will not be positive. Again, irritating.

Given this situation, here’s what I can suggest:

1. If you enjoy my comics and want to show support, then please consider purchasing the digital versions of my titles (WOLF’S HEAD can be found at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MTGCS49,  WIZARDS FOR HIRE — CHEAP! can be found at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089QXBYY9 and STORIES! 2015 TO 2019 can be found at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089QX5LJC).
   
   I put a lot of effort into converting these to read very smoothly on digital devices (tablets and cell phones) and I’m very pleased with how they turned out. One drawback to losing ComiXology Submit was they themselves created the Guided View technology that allowed for panel-to-panel viewing. This now needs to be created by individual publishers using Kindle Create, Amazon’s software for creating ebooks of any format. I think I did a pretty good job and hopefully you’ll agree.
   
   
2. For those who prefer print editions, then the first hardcover of WOLF’S HEAD (collecting issues 1 through 6 of the digital series) can be found at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1989885179/. And my hardcover collection of short stories LOVE, LAUGHTER, AND LOSS (which contains both WIZARDS FOR HIRE — CHEAP! and STORIES! 2015 TO 2019) is available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1989885160.
   
   And, of course, both hardcovers are also readily available through bookstores and comic book shops worldwide. If your local store happens to be out, then these can easily be ordered by the store. Ordering times are pretty quick. Both hardcovers look beautiful in print, too. Really, really sharp. If you’d like to see some evidence of that claim, then please visit https://www.vonallan.com/2021/12/wolfs-head-book-1-in-hardcover-worldwide.html and https://www.vonallan.com/2021/05/Love-Laughter-Loss-Comics-Collection-by-Von-Allan.html).
   
   Also, there have been some really lovely reviews! For example, Frank Plowright over at The Slings & Arrows Graphic Novel Guide has reviewed both (here and here).
   

Okay! This describes the current situation, at least from my point of view. How long it will remain this way is anybody’s guess. For my purposes, regaining subscription options for non-Americans is a key goal. In the meantime, you can obviously purchase individual digital issues easily enough. And if you’d like to keep on top of future releases, there’s always the handy-dandy RSS feed for this site (https://feeds.feedburner.com/Von_Allan_Homepage) as well as the dedicated WOLF’S HEAD “mini-site” (https://feeds.feedburner.com/Wolfs-Head).

WOLF'S HEAD on Kindle with Guided View

As many of you probably know, ComiXology announced their recent decision to discontinue their ComiXology Submit program. As of September 15th, 2021, publishers are no longer allowed to publish their titles through ComiXology Submit. As I write this, titles published prior to September 15th are still available, but my understanding is that the ability to purchase any of these titles will eventually be “turned off” sometime during the fall. Exactly when that will occur is anyone’s guess.

For me, this was an unfortunate but not unexpected turn of events. One of the problems with ComiXology Submit is that titles available on that platform are not “discoverable” on Amazon. In other words, readers already keen on comics and already using ComiXology were fine. Other readers— perhaps not diehard comic book fans but those who still read comics — would not be able to easily find digital comics. In a sense, ComiXology was a “closed ecosystem,” appealing to current fans but not proactively cultivating new readers. Maybe.

There was always a bit of a weird schism between fans of digital reading in general (often using Amazon’s various Kindle devices and/or using Amazon’s Kindle app) and fans of digital reading through ComiXology. In my experience (and it’s just that: my experience), digital readers struggled to find comics on Amazon’s main website. Using my own digital comics as an example, if you searched for “Von Allan” or “Von Allan Studio” on Amazon prior to 2020, you would only find my print comics and graphic novels. None of my digital comics would be found at all. Based on that — as well as some conversations with my wife — I made the decision in late 2019 to begin jointly publishing my digital comics on Kindle as well as ComiXology, via Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform.

At the time, I was using Amazon’s KDP software “Kindle Comic Creator” to create the Kindle versions of my comics. This was inferior to ComiXology’s versions, mainly because the KDP software required a lower maximum resolution. And, of course, with comics the art does matter. It was frustrating, but at the time I wasn’t aware of any workarounds.

Fast-forwarding to today and given ComiXology’s decision to end their Submit program, I’ve spent the last couple of weeks reformatting all of my digital comics using the newer KDP software “Kindle Create.” This new software matches ComiXology — at least the files I had submitted to ComiXology —  and are also set up for Guided View. In other words, the Kindle versions of my work look just as sharp as those on ComiXology, something I’ve wanted for quite some time.

Since ComiXology Submit will eventually disappear, the Kindle versions of my work will be the only digital versions available through Amazon. As ComiXology themselves noted, “In the coming months, the Kindle Store will replace www.comixology.com as the primary avenue for fans to purchase new comic content.” Not knowing exactly when this will occur is frustrating and was a big part of why I decided to go ahead and make the changes now. I suspect other publishers are doing the same thing.

So, if you’re a fan of independent digital comics (“indy digital”? “indydigy”?!), Kindle is a great way to go. And with that in mind, here are links to all of the current issues of WOLF’S HEAD on Kindle. I’m thrilled with how great they look and the Guided View works extremely well.

Give them a shot, won’t you?

           

           

                       
                       
                       

Wolf's Head Issue 15 on Kindle

First, the elevator pitch: “Lauren Greene has left Alaska in an old VW Bus, headed for Detroit with her dog Sankó and the young artificial intelligence they’ve befriended. Hoping that her return to Michigan will finally secure the AI’s safety, Lauren is shocked to discover that she’s being tailed. Mustering up her courage, Lauren challenges the ‘tailers,’ only to uncover a far greater danger to both her and the AI.”

This issue can be found at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GHFZTB8; as always, if you’re living somewhere aside from the United States, simply change the domain to reflect where you live. For example, I’m in Canada, so I just need to replace the “dot com” with “dot ca”; in other words, the link becomes https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09GHFZTB8! Easy!

I truly love issues like this. Why? Well, last issue resolved a lot of the action and intrigue that Lauren Greene was experiencing in the mysterious town called Flat City in Alaska. This issue picks up some time later and spins the story in a different — and hopefully fun! — direction. Not out of the blue or out of character or anything like that, but taking the logic of the previous issues and continuing to build both the world and the characters. That’s something I find incredibly rewarding… and damn exciting, too!

My feeling is that if I’m excited, that will be something that the reader will pick up on, too. I hope so, anyway! Doing the research on this issue was also a great deal of fun; while I know a number of people from the north, I have never been to Alaska myself. To do it properly takes some research and adds, I think, a certain “verisimilitude” to the story. I actually learned a few things, which is part of the fun of doing research.

One of the inspirations of this issue is the just unbelievable artwork of Hasui Kawase (川瀬 巴水, born May 18, 1883 and died November 7, 1957). If you’re not familiar with him, Wikimedia Commons has a decent collection of his artwork online. Take a peek and I think that you, too, will be blown away. See if you can spot his influence in this issue of WOLF’S HEAD — it shouldn’t be hard!

Wolf's Head Issue 14 on Kindle

This is a big one! With this issue, we close the book on the third story arc of WOLF’S HEAD. That actually kinda blows my mind; when I was initially brainstorming the series, I had no idea it would ever get this far. Nor did I have any of this fully planned out. One of the wonders of episodic storytelling is just this: seeing where and how the story takes you. And often being delighted in the unexpected directions it goes!

This issue also features some special guest stars! Chuck Freight (of course!), but also Maggie Vraic, Fang Ting Him, and the effusive Foolbert Bong! What?! YES! I had a blast writing and drawing them and I dearly hope you enjoy getting to know them, too!

This issue also marks the end of the third story arc in WOLF’S HEAD, which is pretty remarkable from where I sit. It is amazing to think back to that very first issue and compare where Lauren, Sankō, and the AI are now to where they were back then. It is one of the things I love the most about comics; that notion of real change, of issues building on what came before, and leading into new directions. I won’t lie; it’s a lot of work and often very challenging to do, but it is truly rewarding. I hope feel the same way, too!

As always, here’s the pitch: “During an attempt to rescue a group of people who disappeared into an abandoned gold mine, Lauren Greene broke her arm… and still couldn’t find them at all. Lauren is now faced with pain, bills, and the pesky fact that the people she was looking for are still lost. If there’s any hope of finding them, Lauren has to learn to ask for help. But trusting others is the one thing that is not easy for her. With time running out, will Lauren enter the mine alone? Or can she get over her issues, find a team to go back into the mine, and face danger… together?”

And, of course, here are the usual links:

• Wolf’s Head Official Site: https://wolfs-head.vonallan.com/
• United States of America: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GFN87DY
• Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09GFN87DY
• United Kingdom: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09GFN87DY
• France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B09GFN87DY
• Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B09GFN87DY
• Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B09GFN87DY
• 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 Germany, changing the “dot com” to “dot de” means that the series can be found at https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08MTGCS49. See? Easy!

Lastly, issues 11 through 14 of WOLF’S HEAD form the third story arc of the series! Loads of great characters, tons of real change, boatloads of drama, a great deal 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!