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!

Love, Laughter, and Loss Wraparound Cover

I've been meaning to post this for a little while. While the front cover of my latest hardcover LOVE, LAUGHTER, AND LOSS: A COMICS COLLECTION is readily "discoverable" online (and, of course, on this very website), the wraparound cover isn't. Let's remedy that!

I really like how this one turned out! And it looks great as a physical copy, too! For more photos of the actual graphic novel as well as links to all of the stories contained in this volume, please visit https://www.vonallan.com/2021/05/Love-Laughter-Loss-Comics-Collection-by-Von-Allan.html

Oh, and I should add that Frank Plowright over at The Slings and Arrows Graphic Novel Guide did a fantastic review of the graphic novel. It's up at https://theslingsandarrows.com/love-laughter-and-loss-a-comic-collection/

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.

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):

• The Cowardly Clerics of Rigel V;
  
  
• Total Party Kill;
  
  
• The Planet With No Beer;
  
  
• The Two Magic-Users;
  
  
• The Street;
  
  
• Bubbles!;
  
  
• Bushido Bob;
  
  
• When I Find You Again, It Will Be In Mountains…, and;
  
  
• I Was Afraid For My Life…
  

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!

Les lâches clercs de Rigel V

Ce qui suit est une expérience. Je suis un écrivain et un artiste de langue anglaise, ce qui m'irrite au plus haut point, d'autant plus que beaucoup de membres de ma famille sont originaires de la province canadienne du Québec et parlent couramment le français et l'anglais. Malheureusement, je suis unilingue anglais. Ce qui suit est une tentative de traduction d'une de mes bandes dessinées en français. Comme je ne parle pas français, j'ai dû utiliser des outils en ligne pour m'aider (principalement deepl.com et bonpatron.com). J'espère que la traduction est satisfaisante, mais n'hésitez pas à me faire savoir si je me suis trompé.

Maintenant que tout cela est réglé, c'est parti !

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

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

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

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

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

ComiXology Release - "Wizards for Hire - Cheap!"

I'm very pleased to announce that WIZARDS FOR HIRE - CHEAP! is now available on Kindle using the following link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089QXBYY9/

One of the things I really love about the Kindle is their "panel by panel" guided view. It makes reading comics on a small device (such as a cell phone or a small tablet) really easy and intuitive - and fun!

For those on the fence, please don't forget that you can read all of the stories in WIZARDS FOR HIRE - CHEAP! for free right here on this website, in webcomic format. The links are as follows:

"The Cowardly Clerics of Rigel V" - https://www.vonallan.com/2017/08/short-story-cowardly-clerics-of-rigel-v.html

"Total Party Kill!" - https://www.vonallan.com/2017/08/short-story-total-party-kill.html

"The Planet With No Beer" - https://www.vonallan.com/2017/08/short-story-planet-with-no-beer.html

For the Kindle collection, I also included the bonus short story "The Two Magic-Users" which can be read at https://www.vonallan.com/2019/04/the-two-magic-users.html

All in all I think this is a great package of short stories at a very affordable price! For those looking for a print copy, there is bad news (boo!) and good news (yay!). First, the bad news: the original print edition comic of WIZARDS FOR HIRE - CHEAP! is out of print, though you can still find copies in a few places. Now, the good news: all of these stories plus a number of others are now in a beautiful deluxe hardcover edition titled LOVE, LAUGHTER, AND LOSS: A COMICS COLLECTION. More information about this hardcover can be found here or by visiting the studio's shop page. I'm really pleased with this version and a hardcover edition ensures that these stories will be widely available for quite some time!

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.

For more of my comic short stories, please visit my archive of comic books and webcomics.

Short Story - The Two Magic-Users

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!

This was a fun little story to do. The main idea behind it was a simple one: there have been a number of different "retro-clone" versions of the old B/X ("Basic/Expert") style of dungeon crawling since the publication of the Open Games License. I thought it would be interesting to take some of those differences and contrast them in a story. Specifically, I wanted to contrast the magic-user class presented in LABYRINTH LORD with the one presented in Tom Moldvay's BASIC DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and David Cook and Stephen R. Marsh's EXPERT DUNGEONS & DRAGONS.

It was originally supposed to run as a black and white story in the second issue of UNDERGROUND COMICS, but sadly that project seems to have fallen apart. However! It has seen print as a back-up feature in the 3rd issue of my own ongoing series WOLF'S HEAD.

I also subtly linked the story to the world of Bill and Butch, too!

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 titled WIZARDS FOR HIRE — CHEAP! on Kindle that can be read anywhere in the world. And it contains this story! This is available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089QXBYY9.

For more of my comic short stories, please visit my comic book archive that has links to all of my short stories. These are all available as free webcomics, so there's quite a bit to read! Have fun!

Christmas Card Design

For the first time in a long time, I decided (with some gentle nudging from my wife!) a Christmas card. This features the wizards Bill and Butch along with their press agent (!) from the short story The Cowardly Clerics of Rigel V. Pencils, at least when I am inking and colouring my own work, are pretty loose and sketchy. In some ways these are a little tighter than I normally do, but I still leave quite a bit of room for working these out at the inking stage. That has a lot to do with time, but also keeps the inks and even the final colouring a bit more fresh and fun than it might otherwise be. As always, it's an "inside-my-head" kind of thing that hopefully makes sense to you, dear reader. You can see the inked staged and final colour version right after the pencils below.

The final inked version features snow as well as a song!

And here is the final version in full colour! YES! Can you tell that I'm having fun with these guys?

As always, you can read their adventures for free by following the links that are at https://www.vonallan.com/p/comics.html. Even better, you can read them for free on your tablet, monitor, or even on your phone for free by visiting my ol' Pirate Von site at https://www.vonallan.com/p/pirate-von.html.

Bill the Wizard head sketches

I believe these were the first sketches I ever did of Bill the Wizard from my Bill and Butch stories. He's not "on model" here, but that's mainly because I was playing around with ideas. I had the general concept down, but I wasn't completely sure about his final facial appearance. So you can see me trying to find him in these inked sketches.

The image below, on the other hand, is an example of a head turnaround of Bill with his design finalized. I usually don't ink concept work like this, but I love Bill and he's fun to ink!

Bill the Wizard

A rough preliminary sketch of Bill the Wizard. The finished colour version serves as the back cover of my short collection WIZARDS FOR HIRE - CHEAP! (available in print at comic shops and online at places like Amazon). And, of course, you can read his adventures (along with his canine wizard companion Butch) for free online starting right here.

Short Story - The Planet With No Beer

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!

This is the final appearance (so far!) of the wizards Bill and Butch. A really, really neat story to write and draw...and one with a lot of humanity and zest for life, too. Wizards + Beer = Fun in my book! Bill and Butch's other adventures can be found here. Will Bill and Butch appear again? Well, that's up to you! Drop me a line and let me know that you'd like to read more!

This story first saw print in the comic book titled WIZARDS FOR HIRE — CHEAP! back in 2017. 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 WIZARDS FOR HIRE — CHEAP! on Kindle that can be read anywhere in the world. That edition is available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089QXBYY9.

For more of my comic short stories, including Bill and Butch, please visit my comic book archive that has links to all of my short stories. These are all available as free webcomics, so there's quite a bit to read! Have fun!

Short Story - The Cowardly Clerics of Rigel V!

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!

This story first saw print in the comic book titled WIZARDS FOR HIRE — CHEAP! back in 2017. 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 WIZARDS FOR HIRE — CHEAP! on Kindle that can be read anywhere in the world. That edition is available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089QXBYY9.

For more of my comic short stories, including Bill and Butch, please visit my comic book archive that has links to all of my short stories. These are all available as free webcomics, so there's quite a bit to read! Have fun!