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.
Other Links
- Overview of my Comics: http://www.vonallan.com/p/comics.html
- Wolf’s Head (My Ongoing Comic Book Series): https://wolfs-head.vonallan.com/
- Von Allan Studio Shop Page: http://www.vonallan.com/p/von-allan-studio-shop.html
- RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Von_Allan_Homepage
- Mailing List Sign-Up: https://vonallan.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=f6d06612e90503db886a31a24&id=7642c19478
1 These include WIZARDS FOR HIRE — CHEAP!, STORIES! 2015 TO 2019, and SHEBA THE GREAT!
What? Free Comics by Von Allan? Yes!
UPDATE! While the Amazon deal described below has expired, I have decided to start making my comics freely available to all. Please visit https://www.vonallan.com/p/pirate-von.html for more information and download links!
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!
Other Links
- Overview of my Comics: http://www.vonallan.com/p/comics.html
- Wolf’s Head (My Ongoing Comic Book Series): https://wolfs-head.vonallan.com/
- Von Allan Studio Shop Page: http://www.vonallan.com/p/von-allan-studio-shop.html
- RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Von_Allan_Homepage
- Mailing List Sign-Up: https://vonallan.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=f6d06612e90503db886a31a24&id=7642c19478
Thoughts on Wolf's Head Book 1
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
Spain
France
Germany
The Digital Series
- 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 in Print and Digital Formats
I just wanted to take a moment and point out that the WOLF'S HEAD mini-site (https://wolfs-head.vonallan.com/) is slowly but surely building out. While I would like to include more content, there is quite a bit there already and more is still to come. So you haven't taken a peek, please do.
I'm currently hard at work on issue 13 (about halfway through illustrating it as I type this). For those who read my previous update on the state of WOLF'S HEAD, not too much has changed. However, one thing I did want to add to it is the great community support I receive here in Vanier (for those who don't know, I live in Ottawa, Ontario and Vanier is a large neighbourhood inside it). The support from Vanier has been wonderful; not just from my neighbours, but from people in the broader community, too. Given the pandemic times we live in, it has been a key part in keeping my spirits up. That spirit or "joie de vivre" is really something to see.
In addition, I also wanted to take a moment and briefly touch on serialized storytelling. While I love the medium of comics in any form, there is something about serialization—the way story after story becomes more than the sum of its parts—that I truly love. One of the great joys I've found in WOLF'S HEAD is exactly that. And that means the story has taken me in directions I wasn't expecting. It also means that it's continued to delight and surprise me as I start writing each issue.
Eventually, WOLF'S HEAD will be collected into hardcover editions—this is something I've wanted to do right from the beginning—that will enable individual issues to be collected into a thematic unit (kinda like what a season of a TV series feels like on DVD or Blu-Ray). I've been very pleased, despite all of the difficulties I've faced, in presenting the series in a serialized format first.
The current storyline has also allowed me to explore horror and that's been something I've been wanting to do for quite some time. Andrea Subissati from RUE MORGUE did a great video that explored a definition of horror that I find pretty useful. And fun! And it's been a great deal of fun to take Lauren, the current star of WOLF'S HEAD, from an action/adventure-style series and move her into a more horror-style tale.
See? That's what I love about serialization. You can do things like that with it. You can play with tone, with theme, with style. And by exploring these things you can also push the characters into different and unexpected directions. And push and explore yourself, too. I find that incredibly exciting. There's no formula. There's no "story engine." There's just questions… and the answers help to shape and form the narrative.
That's fun! That's what good serialization can bring to the table. What happens next? Let's find out together!
Other Links
- Overview of my Comics: http://www.vonallan.com/p/comics.html
- Wolf’s Head (My Ongoing Comic Book Series): https://wolfs-head.vonallan.com/
- Von Allan Studio Shop Page: http://www.vonallan.com/p/von-allan-studio-shop.html
- RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Von_Allan_Homepage
- Mailing List Sign-Up: https://vonallan.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=f6d06612e90503db886a31a24&id=7642c19478
Wolf's Head Launches Today on Kindle
I'm very pleased to announced that the digital comic book version of WOLF’S HEAD has now launched on Kindle. The link to the first issue is at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089V1DVY7
I should add that Kindle has received and approved issues 2 through 10, so I expect that subsequent issues will be released regularly.
The link to the series is at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MTGCS49
What's it about? WOLF’S HEAD is the story of Lauren Greene, a young woman who quits her job as a police officer in Detroit and consequently struggles to pick up the pieces and find her place in society. After her mom makes an astounding discovery at a research facility, Lauren must fight for their lives against forces that will stop at nothing to stop them. I think the series is a great deal of fun and also contains the best writing and comic book art I've ever created.
The print editions of WOLF’S HEAD have been making their way to bookstores and comic book shops (both online and off) for awhile now, but this is the first time that WOLF’S HEAD will be available in a digital version. For those who don't know, each volume of the print version contains two issues (making each volume approximately 60 pages in length). The digital version is a single issue and that means the page count for each digital issue is approximately 25 to 30 pages in length.
There's a dedicated website for the series at https://wolfs-head.vonallan.com/. This site includes previews, frequently asked questions, a complete media kit, links to the print editions, and more! https://wolfs-head.vonallan.com/ will also be updated in the near future with Kindle links to each issue, too.
I think that covers it! I'm very pleased to have WOLF’S HEAD out in this format. It's going to be a great deal of fun to have the series roll out on Kindle. Come with me, won't you?
Short Story - The Street
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!
I was recently going through some older stories and came across this one from back around 2015. While I would approach a few things differently now (both in terms of writing and art), it dawned on me that I never coloured it. And since I had a bit of a spare time, I decided to do so!
With that out of the way, here we go!
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.
Other Links
- Overview of my Comics: http://www.vonallan.com/p/comics.html
- Wolf’s Head (My Ongoing Comic Book Series): https://wolfs-head.vonallan.com/
- Von Allan Studio Shop Page: http://www.vonallan.com/p/von-allan-studio-shop.html
- RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Von_Allan_Homepage
- Mailing List Sign-Up: https://vonallan.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=f6d06612e90503db886a31a24&id=7642c19478
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