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Forthcoming — A Brand New Bill and Butch Short Story

I thought I’d share a little teaser of an upcoming short story — a brand new Bill and Butch¹ short story! These two crotchety wizards have their fair share of fans who have been clamouring for their return! And, I have to admit, I’ve been itching to write and draw them again. As always, the main issue was time (too little of it!) and other commitments (too many of ’em!). But I was finally able to figure out my schedule and work something out. The script is done and the first two pages (a double page splash!) are complete. And, with that in mind, I thought it would be fun to share that splash with you. I’ve included the pencils, too!

When will this little story be available to read in full? Well, the short answer is “soon.” The long answer? “Soonish.” In other words, I’ll share it when its ready! In the meantime, enjoy!

Oh, and before I forget: Professor David Beard from the University of Minnesota Duluth (he of the incredible awesome review of my work!) was lovely enough to do an interview yours truly that is now available. Interestingly, the interview touches on my very first graphic novel “the road to god knows…”² And even more interestingly, the interview appeared in the PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING STUDIES JOURNAL Volume 4.0³ (yes!), something that is fascinating to me. Why fascinating? Well, that pro wrestling is an art form⁴ should really not be a surprise to anyone. And that scholarly folks are studying it should also not be a surprise. Sadly, like much of our contemporary cultural touchstones, it is an artform dominated (at least here in the West) by a couple of large corporations, but that doesn’t undercut the fact that it is an art form all the same. Now, it is an artform that — in its current iteration — I find myself largely alienated from (partially due to the aforementioned corporations, partially due to storytelling issues, and partially due to the tremendous death toll that has taken too many wrestlers), but pro wrestling does have a lot to offer from a narrative and storytelling point of view. Why am I saying this? ’Cuz storytelling and pro wrestling is exactly what Professor Beard and I discuss. If you ever want a glimpse into some of my approaches to storytelling (not, I hasten to add, my only approach) this interview is a good overview.

As Beard noted in his forward to the Volume 4.0, “Von Allan never once depicts wrestling in his comics, but in The Road to God Knows, the child in a family that struggles with a parent’s mental illness escapes the sadness of life by watching the action in the ring. I am touched, myself — recognizing in The Road to God Knows the escape that professional wrestling also brought me as a child.”

One last note. As some of you know, this site uses MailChimp to bring new posts and updates directly to your email box. However, I find the various restrictions that MailChimp has for creators pretty onerous and the service is (in my not so humble opinion) nearly as intuitive and easy as FeedBurner’s was back in the day. As a result, I may wind up discontinuing the service, but I want to do a bit more thinking on this before I come to any final conclusions. For those who subscribe this way, it might be a problem. I would gently suggest that a better way to go is with good old RSS and a handy RSS reader. At any rate, if I do discontinue it, I will be sure to give everyone fair warning first.

Onward to my art! These pages are larger than what they appear as below, so feel free to click on them to get larger versions (ahem, in all of their glory!).

The wizards Bill and Butch faceoff against Gapoz the Magnificent in an opening double-page splash of an upcoming short story

Pencil roughs of Von Allan's forthcoming new Bill and Butch short story Duel of the Magic-Users

1 For their other adventures, you can read them for free right here on this website. Here are the links: THE COWARDLY CLERICS OF RIGEL V, TOTAL PARTY KILL!, and THE PLANET WITH NO BEER. And if you enjoy them, please share them! Sharing is caring, after all.

2 Sadly, “the road to god knows…” is now out of print. For those who are interested in some of the background to why this is, please read this short essay (with loads of art!): On Getting Stronger.

3 The full journal is crammed with all kinds of delightful interviews and explorations, too. You can visit https://pressbooks.umn.edu/pwsajournal4/ and either read it online or download it in various formats, including PDF and EPUB.

4 There was a great website called “Pro Wrestling is Art” that delved into this quite a bit, but sadly it hasn’t been updated in many years. The archive is still available at https://prowrestlingisart.wordpress.com/ and is worth your time if you’re so inclined. Editor and lead writer Leslie Lee III also is one of the folks behind the podcast “Struggle Session.”

Wolf’s Head Volume 4 in trade paperback format Worldwide!

As I previously noted, the WOLF’S HEAD trade paperbacks are back in print in brand new editions! Today features the release of Volume 4, collecting issues 7 and 8 of the ongoing digital series. This is a full colour series and is 60 pages in length. This volume was a great deal of fun to do and represents a narrative change as we see Lauren, after dealing with the losses she experienced over the past two volumes, start to take control of her life.

The cover of Wolf's Head Volume 4 Graphic Novel written and illustrated by Von Allan

The full wraparound cover of Wolf's Head Volume 4 Graphic Novel written and illustrated by Von Allan

As always with my work, these are available in better bookstores and comic shops worldwide (and for why I say “better,” please read this commentary). Volume 4’s ISBN is 978-1-9898852-6-0. If you don’t see it at your local store, then you can easily order it using that ISBN. Additionally, it is already starting to show up at various online retailers, too. For example:

Please remember that I can’t control exactly when and where this volume will become available, but hopefully the above links are a good start. Be patient and don’t be afraid to ask your retailer for help! Volume 5 will be released in February 2025, with subsequent volumes appearing throughout 2025.

And, of course, there is a dedicated website for WOLF’S HEAD at https://wolfs-head.vonallan.com with all kinds of additional information!

The Elevator Pitch

Lauren Greene begins working with the young AI, but is having a difficult time creating a bond. The AI, similar to a child, either does not understand or simply cannot comprehend everything that Lauren is asking it to do. Desperate for help, Lauren reaches out to an ex-scientist, Jack Dhillon, who has a very personal hatred for the AI's creator. Lauren hopes that Dhillon will teach her to work with the AI, but can she convince him to help? At the same time, Lauren realizes that her friends are in danger simply for knowing her and she decides to protect them as best she can... with difficult results.

This volume also introduces a new character, Super Bob Sanchez, a truck driver who is not (under any circumstance!) a hero.

Read for Free

As many of you know, I’ve also begun serializing the comic book series for free on the Internet Archive (https://www.archive.org) as part of my “Pirate Von” initiative. As I mentioned above, WOLF’S HEAD Volume 4 consists of issues 7 and 8 of the ongoing series. While you can find the links to both on the Internet Archive as well as the “Pirate Von” section of this very website, to make it easier the links to both issues 7 and 8 are below.

Oh, and please remember! If you enjoy them and would like a physical copy, you can purchase Volume 4 in stores — both online and off — around the world!

TEASER FOR WOLF’S HEAD VOLUME 4

And here’s a little teaser image to help cement the idea. Two digital comics inside one trade paperback volume!

Wolf's Head Volume 3 teaser image featuring the cover of Volume 4 as well as the covers for issues 7 and 8 of the ongoing comic book series

Diamond Comic Distributors, Wolf's Head, and Me

As those of you who follow the Direct Market know, Diamond Comic Distributors has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. Long time watchers of the comic book industry will understand just how surprising of a development this is. For those that don’t, I’ll try and explain.

Once upon a time, Diamond was the distributor for comics in North America and the United Kingdom. That was after the distribution market consolidated around Diamond in the 1980s; prior to that, there was a great deal of regional distribution with comics. Distributors such as Sea Gate, Pacific Comics (both as a publisher and a distributor), Capital City, and — here in Canada — Styx, Andromeda, and Multi-Book among others. Even when Diamond had a quasi-monopoly (and they were actually investigated back in 2000!), other distributors still tried to come and go. My personal favourite was Cold Cut, who I ordered from pretty regularly back in my bookstore days. Another was FM International. Both Cold Cut and FM International were pretty quirky, distributing indy and small press titles that Diamond either didn’t distribute or tended to disappear in their cavernous catalogues. And both are long gone now.

Due to Diamond’s Chapter 11 situation, a number of writers have written extensively on what Diamond was and what the changes in Direct Market distribution since June 2020 have wrought with the company. I don’t want to retread that ground. Instead, I wanted to discuss my own experiences with Diamond, partially because I think it shows some of the problems that Diamond had with small accounts and partially because some of these issues go back prior to 2020.

As a publisher, I have an account with Diamond and have had one since 2010. My Purchasing Brand Manager at that time was Jay Spence. Jay was awesome and quite supportive; with his help I was able to get my two-book graphic novel series, STARGAZER, into Diamond’s catalogue Previews. (Book 1 in the November 2010 issue with item code NOV101057 and Book 2 in the August 2011 issue with item code AUG111259).

STARGAZER VOLUME 1 spotlight from Diamond Previews

While these two books were admittedly pretty rough, though not quite as rough as first graphic novel “the road to god knows…” was, Jay’s encouragement and Diamond’s support led to decent sales for my little black and white graphic novel series. And STARGAZER is still in print and continues to sell to this day, something I’m always a little surprised about.

It would have been ideal to follow-up STARGAZER with something else lickety-split, but I knew that I needed to become stronger. And life sometimes takes us in odd and surprising directions, and some of that happened to. At any rate, time passed and when I was finally ready to approach Diamond again, this time in 2018 with my ongoing series full colour series WOLF’S HEAD, I ran into problems.

The first is that Jay had left Diamond to join Dynamite. All well and good. What was less good was that I was having trouble reaching folks at Diamond. Any folks. Emails went unanswered. I actually wound up tracking Jay down at Dynamite and he managed to connect me with the right person. That person was Leigh Tyberg and this is where things get interesting.

I’ve saved my email correspondence with Leigh, because the emails are a great example about how Diamond and their Purchasing Brand Managers worked. Or, in this case, failed to work, something you’ll see in a moment. To be very clear, the Purchasing Brand Manager acts as a Gate Keeper; they’re the ones who — presumably with discussion with other folks in the Purchasing Department — decide whether or not to carry a title. As I noted above, Jay Spence was incredibly supportive of both myself and STARGAZER, something I’m grateful for to this day. Leigh? Well, you’ll see.

When it came to presenting WOLF’S HEAD to Diamond for distribution, I had high hopes. I had grown a lot as both an artist and a writer and I thought the plan I presented to Diamond was fairly strong; WOLF’S HEAD would be published in 60 page graphic novel volumes, each volume having an ISBN and a spine. The inspiration for this approach, by the by, was actually a title from Dark Horse Comics, a retelling of CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON by Art Adams. At 52 pages, it was “meatier” then a normal saddle-stitched comic but still affordable. And I liked the format of that book quite a bit.

My decision was also influenced by how Diamond worked. Very quickly, comics and graphic novels distributed by Diamond have to meet a minimum sales threshold. This threshold, called the Purchase Order Benchmark, was originally set at $1,500.00 US but was raised to $2,500.00 US in 2009. Note that was not at retail price but at wholesale. As George Gene Gustines at the New York Times pointed out at the time, “a $2.95 comic book would have to receive a minimum order of 2,100 copies” (2,100 × $2.95 = $6,195.00; since Diamond takes a 60% cut of the retail price, 40% of $6,195.00 is $2,478.00, very close to the Purchase Order Benchmark). This sent shock waves through the industry (hell, so much so that the New York Times commented on it!). Part of the reason this was so monumental was that it marked a significant change from how the benchmark used to work. As Diamond noted back in 2007, “Diamond’s benchmark for comic books solicited through Previews is $2,500 retail.” The new benchmark was actually $6,250 (!) retail, because $6,250 × 40% = (you guessed it) $2,500! That’s a 150% increase, the main reason that small press publishers of saddle-stitched comics at the time were freaking out.

WOLF’S HEAD, as a trade paperback with a higher price point, would have to sell less copies per volume then a normal saddle-stitched comic to reach Diamond’s Purchase Order Benchmark. And having an ISBN for each volume would allow me to access online retailers like Amazon as well as “brick and mortar” bookstores. More venues matter. As it turns out, the online retailers have been a huge part of why I’ve managed to continue publishing WOLF’S HEAD to this day.

It’s important to remember that Direct Market retailers (aka “comic book shops”) have to buy their titles non-returnably. So they are always rolling the dice on small press titles, especially small press titles from unknown — or even lesser known — creators. That makes them understandably gun-shy, especially when they own their mistakes — literally. Unlike bookstores, they can’t return their titles for credit (and while there have been some changes in this regard more recently, this was the case I faced with both STARGAZER and WOLF’S HEAD). So comic shops are, broadly speaking, pretty reticent to buy small press titles, though obviously there are many individual exceptions to this. While it may seem that a lower price point helps here, it actually doesn’t. If a supportive retailer is going to purchase a title, they are probably only going to purchase it in low quantities regardless of what the price point is. They might waffle; maybe they’d buy four or five copies of a $2.99 US title and only two copies of a $9.99 US title, but it’s likely to be around that (obviously this is anecdotal, but I’m partially basing it on my own purchasing habits when I was buyer at the bookstore I managed).

At any rate, this is the situation I faced when I initially reached out to Leigh and Diamond. You can see my initial email to Jay below. Since his reply was from his Dynamite email address, prudence dictates that I probably shouldn’t replicate it here (that or redact it heavily!). The key point is that he did manage to connect me to the correct person, as you will see in a moment. Oh, and as always I should add that Von Allan is my pen name; Eric is my real name. So when you see those references, you’ll know who is being spoken of.

My initial email to Jay Spence at Diamond Comic Distributors regarding my ongoing graphic novel series Wolf's Head

What follows is my correspondence with Leigh Tyberg, my Purchasing Brand Manager. I’ll let that speak for itself. The only thing I’ll add is please note the dates of the various emails.

My initial email to Leigh Tyberg at Diamond Comic Distributors regarding my ongoing graphic novel series Wolf's Head

Leigh Tyberg at Diamond Comic Distributors initial response to me my ongoing graphic novel series Wolf's Head

Leigh Tyberg at Diamond Comic Distributors second response to me my ongoing graphic novel series Wolf's Head

Leigh Tyberg at Diamond Comic Distributors third response to me my ongoing graphic novel series Wolf's Head

My first attempt to receive a reply from Leigh Tyberg at Diamond Comic Distributors about my ongoing graphic novel series Wolf's Head

My final attempt to receive a reply from Leigh Tyberg at Diamond Comic Distributors about my ongoing graphic novel series Wolf's Head

And that’s where it ended. Leigh (and Diamond) ghosted me. The key thing that’s amazing about this is that Leigh and Diamond never formally rejected WOLF’S HEAD. Obviously they never accepted it, either. Ghosting can be destructive behaviour when one experiences it personally. But when a business does it? When a business that has a stranglehold on the Direct Market — which Diamond had at the time — does it? Well, at least with a rejection you know where you stand. I’ve been rejected boatloads of times. It ain’t fun, but you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep going. But the waiting, wondering if you’ll hear back? Wondering if the ghosting is just something else? That’s awful.

To this day I don’t know what happened. I debated pestering Leigh and Diamond again, but eventually COVID started and the distribution side of the industry exploded. And like many folks with COVID, I experienced a personal loss that put the brakes on a lot of things.

That said, I also don’t hold any animosity towards Leigh or even Diamond, though I’d be lying if I said that the experience wasn’t frustrating. Ghosting isn’t fun, but life goes on. I’m disappointed that Diamond — apparently — had no interest in distributing WOLF’S HEAD, but I’m also pleased that I’m in no way affected by their recent Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing. Despite it all, Leigh is still listed at Diamond as a Purchasing Brand Manager.

The funny thing about the whole experience was that, in the intervening years, I kept working on WOLF’S HEAD and I kept growing. That led to receiving two separate $4,000.00 grants from the City of Ottawa for my work on the series, being shortlisted for a Peter Honeywell award for my work on it, and finding an audience despite the lack of access by Diamond. Despite it all, WOLF’S HEAD still continues and I’m having a helluva good time doing it.

Who knows, perhaps Diamond will rise like a phoenix and be reborn into something new. Or perhaps after consolidating so much of the distribution side of the Direct Market, they won’t rebound at all. If so, perhaps their fall will be a cautionary tale of what can happen when a company with so much going for it forgets that, at the end of the day, it’s human beings that make a difference. And it’s human beings, both inside Diamond and out, that matter.

2024 Vanier Artisans Christmas Craft Sale

In what is becoming a lovely annual tradition, I’ve once again did all the art for the poster for the Vanier Artisans Christmas Craft Sale (see the poster below). And, of course, I’ll be one of the participants in this year’s show.

This is organized by Charlotte Taylor and, as always, she’s bringing together a whack load of of artists from all sorts of artistic practices for the sale. Charlotte is proud of her community (the neighbourhood of Vanier) and she has fought hard to make sure that Vanier is recognized as the vibrant section of Ottawa it is.
The poster has all the details. And the Vanier Artisans has its own page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/vanierartisans

I’ll be bringing a number of my comics (including the hot off the press edition of SHEBA THE GREAT!) and graphic novels. Plus prints, cards, and a few other odds and ends.

So if you’re interested in meeting some amazing artists and perhaps buying some lovely art for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or “just because,” please drop by. It will be held at the Vanier Community Service Centre (https://cscvanier.com/) on Sunday, November 24th, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

It will be loads fun!

Media Release

Ottawa, Ontario November 19, 2024 — The holiday season is here, and it’s the perfect time to support local makers, discover unique gifts, and experience the magic of Christmas — all in one place. Organized by Charlotte Taylor and held at the Vanier Community Service Centre, the Vanier Artisans Christmas Craft Sale brings a festive blend of handmade goods, local artistry, and holiday cheer to your season.

“Whether you’re looking for one-of-a-kind books and comics, art, photography prints, or cozy knitted items, this year’s market has something special for everyone on your list,” noted Taylor. “You’ll also find handcrafted soaps, candles, pottery, baked goods, and much more, all created with love by our talented local artisans. And, to help kick off the season, Charlotte Media House will be offering free Christmas photos… so bring your holiday spirit and a big smile!”

Mark your calendars and get ready to experience the magic of Christmas at the Vanier Artisans Christmas Craft Sale.

“You really don’t want to miss out on this incredible opportunity to shop local, support small businesses, and get your hands on some handmade treasures,” Taylor added. “The fair is a fun, family friendly way to spend an afternoon and we hope to see you there!”

Event Details:

Date: Sunday, November 24, 2024 (10:00 am – 4:00 pm)

Location: Vanier Community Service Centre, 270 Marier Avenue, Vanier, ON K1L 5P7

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/share/15YicbRKgG/

Vanier Community Association page: https://www.vanier-association.com/en/event/vanier-artisans-christmas-craft-sale/

A phenomenal review of my work, including Wolf's Head

Screenshot of David Beard's wonderful reviews of Von Allan's comics and graphic novels

I have been remiss. David Beard, Writing Studies BA Program Coordinator, Professor of Rhetoric, did a fantastic review of my work over at the International Journal of Comic Art blog. IJOCA is run by Mike Rhode and Professor Emeritus John A. Lent and they do a terrific job. I’m actually a bit stunned by the quality of IJOCA; it’s really good stuff. I know subscribing to an academic journal can be problematic, but the blog is free and is full of great content.

Which brings me to Beard’s review of my work. I’ll be honest; I’m small press and I self-publish, to boot. Getting reviews isn’t easy at the best of times and I’ve certainly noticed that getting reviews over the past few years is pretty damn hard. I don’t mean positive reviews. I mean ANY reviews. I’ve lost count of how many folks I’ve emailed that simply never respond¹.

David Beard, on the other hand, took an amazingly deep dive into my work and I’m incredibly honoured by that. I’m tempted to excerpt quotes and whatnot, but the best way is to simply share the review. You can find it at https://ijoca.blogspot.com/2024/01/letting-everyday-speak-its-own-power.html. Oh, and even better, it will appear in the print edition in the not-too-distant future, too!

Recent Art aka Wizards and Barbarians and Troll Slayers Oh My

I have been a little lax posting art, so here goes a “dump” of some recent work. Mainly squeezed in when I had the time between other projects, but these are quite a bit of fun so I thought I’d share. Before I do, though, I wanted to add this: the world is obviously very dark right now, but there is one really great piece of news: Prabir Purkayastha, founder of NewsClick, was recently released from a prison! As Peoples Dispatch noted last month, “The Indian Supreme Court ordered the immediate release of author and journalist Prabir Purkayastha on Wednesday, May 15 terming his arrest by the Delhi Police in October last year, illegal.” While Purkayastha is not out of the woods yet, this is a significant positive step. I, for one, am very pleased. I’ve learned a lot from Purkayastha and NewsClick. Here are some recent comments from him, too.

Onwards to art!

Modern Wizard

I have long had a love affair of wizards and magic users. Dr. Strange, Gandalf, and whatnot. Long beards and pointy hats are preferred, but are not required. Hell, Bill from WIZARDS FOR HIRE — CHEAP! certainly fits that description, but his wizardly companion Butch sure as hell does not.

Speaking of wizards, if you want to read my hands down favourite version, read THE FACE IN THE FROST by John Bellairs. I’ve even read (and own!) his sadly incomplete sequel titled THE DOLPHIN CROSS that was included in the New England Science Fiction Association’s anthology MAGIC MIRRORS. John Bellairs died far far too young and I suspect many people know him mainly due to his young adult oriented series’ featuring characters like Lewis Barnavelt (and Rose Rita Pottinger!), Anthony Monday, and Johnny Dixon, but THE FACE IN THE FROST and THE DOLPHIN CROSS are amazing. That is not meant to take anything away from Bellairs’ other writing; I really love his prose and his YA books are really great with a dark gothic creepy vibe that runs through them.

Of course, for comics you can’t beat Steve Ditko and Stan Lee’s early Doctor Strange stories serialized in STRANGE TALES. I have a few of those in print but mostly in reprint form (like DOCTOR STRANGE CLASSICS and ESSENTIAL DOCTOR STRANGE).

Modern Barbarian

Barbarians are a character type I’ve not had much of an opportunity to draw. Which is a shame because barbarians are such a blast to draw. One of the great things about them is how they “cut through” the crap. There is no angst, no melodrama, no feelings, no nothing. Just violence and often murder, usually in the most over the top way possible. The great (and sadly missing) “Joesky” once built a great reaction table for when you want to know what a barbarian is thinking: roll percentile dice. There is a 1% chance that the barbarian will be “okay for now.” The other 99%? HATE. Yup! And if you want a modern version, look up the Cartoon Network’s pilot for KORGOTH OF BARBARIA (here's one on DailyMotion). Korgoth is pitch perfect, voiced by Diedrich Bader.

Modern Barbarian
lifting boulder with final inks and colours by Von Allan

Dwarf Troll Slayer

As some of you know, I love fantasy dwarfs. Hell, I love sci-fi dwarfs. I just love dwarfs. I tend to like my dwarfs a little more crazy than so called “vanilla” dwarfs in a lot of high fantasy. This guy is a great example. He’s technically a Troll Slayer, a more crazy than normal type of dwarf. As Chris Hogan once noted in his terrific gaming supplement SMALL BUT VICIOUS DOG, a Troll Slayer is “a kamikaze no pants dwarf with a big orange mohawk, prison tats, a two handed axe and a burning desire to ragequit life as violently as possible.” Yes. Yes! YES!

Given the “no pants” status of this fella, I put a censored version up for all to see. For those who want to see the uncensored versions, simply click on the image below and it will open up the (glorious?) uncensored version!

Nude Troll Slayer with final inks and colours by Von Allan

Process Work

I also decided to include some “process” work, mainly because I don’t often do that and I kinda thought, “well, why not?” So here are pencils and inks of the various pieces. As always, you can click on most of these to make them bigger (and, with the Troll Slayer, see the uncensored versions, too). You’ll see some subtle differences, especially between the inks and colours; even when I ink “by hand,” I’ll still do a little bit of digital work to finish the piece off. You’ll spot that if you look!

I really had a lot of fun doing these! I hope you enjoy them, too!

Modern Wizard cleaned up inks by Von Allan

Photo of Modern Wizard inks at the drawing board by Von Allan

Modern Barbarian inks at the drawing board by Von Allan

Modern Barbarian lifting boulder pencils by Von Allan

Modern Barbarian lifting boulder inks by Von Allan

Modern Barbarian lifting boulder inks at the drawing board by Von Allan

Nude Troll Slayer inks at the drawing board by Von Allan

Paul Stock, co-owner of Montreal’s Librairie Astro (Astro Books) has died

Sad news to share today. Paul Stock, co-owner (with his wonderful sister Betty Handleman-Stock) of Montreal’s late and lamented comic book store Librairie Astro (aka Astro Books) has died. He died on May 22nd at the age of 74.

Paul was amazing. Grouchy and cantankerous on the outside, but that hid a really warm and welcoming personality once you got to know him. Both he and Betty were incredibly supportive of my art career, giving me both encouragement and retail space at a time when very few others did. And not just me; Astro was well-known for taking chances on indy creators and they cultivated an audience for small press titles, something that I dearly wish more stores would do.

Astro closed back in 2018 (covered here) and that was a discouraging loss, mainly because it really didn’t have much to do with their sales or anything like that. It had a lot to do with a number of other concerns, something that Paul himself wrote about:

“IT’S NOT ABOUT THE RENT. We’ve gotten a substantial amount of press since we announced the store’s closing, Unfortunately, they’ve all focused on a rent increase s the reason. While we couldn’t handle a jump to the new landlord’s asking of $9,500.00 a month, we had made the decision to shut down well before that number came up. In fact the number came as a result of a prospective store buyer making the call to the rental agent. It’s probably true, but it makes no difference to us. We’re finished any way you look at it. The actual reason is that neither Mark, Betty, Mary, nor I are physically capable of putting in the kind of effort needed to get the place flying again. To everything there is a season, and this happens to be the winter of our working lives.”

Paul was also notoriously camera shy, but my wife Samantha managed to snag a photo of Paul and I back in 2014. I treasure it now because we don’t have many. Paul had a stroke back in 2008 and his recovery was difficult, but he fought hard to put his life back together again. He obviously had a lot of support; from Betty, from his wife Mary, from his kids, and on and on. When Samantha — at that point my long time girlfriend — and I decided to finally get married, I sent Paul some photos of that happy day. He wrote back, “HEY, TERRIFIC! Congrats, and here’s hoping you have many years of looking just as happy as you do in that pic.”

Paul Stock and Von Allan, January 2014, in the backroom of Librarie Astro in Montreal

CTV News also did a story some years ago that managed to get Paul on video. This is one of the only videos I’ve ever seen of him.

I still miss the store, but I dearly miss being able to drop by and see Paul and Betty when my wife and I visited Montreal. I miss those conversations. I miss being able to “shoot the shit.” I miss being able to talk (and bitch) about the comic book industry. Most of all, I simply miss being able to talk with Paul. I suspect I always will. There weren’t many like him out there. He was a mensch.

Goodbye, Paul.

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.

Another Quick Perspective Sketch

I posted about doing this a few months back, but I had some free time so I did another one recently. And it was so much fun that I thought I’d work it right up to colours, but this time doing so with watercolour!

My goal is always the same: just how fast can I rough out a perspective drawing? And especially: how loose can I keep it while having “enough” drawing to be able to ink it? It can be a bit tricky, but the goal is speed, relative accuracy, and fun. Never underestimate fun!

To avoid getting too fussy with details, I do these sketches with ink, using Zebra and Tombow brush pens as well as Paper Mate Flair Fineliners. If I make a mistake, I can fix it when I actually properly ink the piece, not at this stage. In other words, if mistakes are made, I live with ‘em. Who cares?

As many know, I generally ink digitally now, but that’s not always the case and I do “bounce around” between traditional inking and digital inking. For this piece, I went digital to speed things up. I avoid any “tight” pencils or anything like that; I just scan the sketch in, set it up in Manga Studio EX 4 (yup, I still use it!), and away I go to inking.

With this piece, I thought it would be fun to throw some colour in there, too.

I didn’t keep track of total time, but it wasn’t long, which is the whole point and goal. Zip, zip, zip!

Quick Perspective Sketch with Tombow and Zebra Brush Pens by Von Allan

Quick Perspective Sketch with digital inks by Von Allan

Quick Perspective Sketch with watercolour by Von Allan

Oh! If you’ve reached this far, don’t forget: I’m starting to put out free digital copies of my comics. Head on over to my “Pirate Von” section and take a peek! It’s at https://www.vonallan.com/p/pirate-von.html.

The Impossibles (Story Fragment)

A few years ago I submitted the following pages along with a story proposal (titled “The Impossibles” to a publisher of some renown, but the pitch was sadly rejected. I sat on it for a bit, but I liked it enough that I wound up re-purposing a good chunk the story proposal for what would eventually become my ongoing comic book series “Wolf’s Head.”

While I was prepping for a recent art/craft show, I came across the pages and thought they’d be fun to post here. Sadly it’s not a complete story and ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but if you don’t mind that you might get a kick out of it. And who knows… maybe one day I’ll revisit “The Impossibles” again. One thing I’ve learned with art: never say never!

Oh! Some of you might recognize page 1. What I just said about re-purposing story and art? Well, I took that page and used a tweaked version of it for the cover of my short story collection “Stories! 2015 to 2019” which you can read for free right here.

Have fun!

Pssst! Click on the image to make it bigger!

The Impossible Pages Four and Five by Von Allan

Forthcoming — A Brand New Bill and Butch Short Story