...most of Von's posts are public and mine are locked. Everyone is very welcome, though...just comment to be added!

(I'm fairly certain that almost everyone reading this is already on our friends list, but I've been posting in communities recently and just mention this in case anyone follows me back here.)

Recent posts follow this one!

Moggy

Editing this to remind folks...it's a very good cause. :)

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The ever-wonderful jblaque's equally wonderful daughter is trying to raise money to feed homeless pets at no-kill shelters in the Chicago area...really, a wonderful thing! I know many of my friends are also the friends of furry (or scaly or feathered) critters and I'm hoping some of you will want to help out. $6 buys one bag of food (or four bags for $14 OR five bags for $21!)...I know everyone is tight around this time of the year but $6! That's a couple of coffees out while Christmas shopping, y'know?

The information is over here: http://jblaque.livejournal.com/754957.html

And if you can't afford anything extra right now, please forward or repost this information so that more people see this wonderful idea?

Thanks muchly, folks!

Moggy

Edited to correct a typo.

Everything appears back to normal after the ServerBeach DNS issue. If anyone has emailed Moggy or I on Sunday or Monday, we probably didn't get it. But at least email is back now and the same goes for the website.

Blood pressure returning to normal...slowly...

Von

To borrow from Blackadder Goes Forth:

"Hello? I'd like to leave a message for the head of the Royal Flying Corps. That's Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Massingbird-Massingbird VC, DFC and bar. Message reads 'Where are you, you bastard?'"

Seriously, these guys bill themselves as "Hosting by Geeks, for Geeks." Well, our DNS has been down for at least 37 hours now (and we're not alone - check out http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%40serverbeach). That means my main website (vonallan.com), the Stargazer site (stargazer.vonallan.com) and the road to god knows... site (trtgk.vonallan.com) are all dead. Worse, all incoming email is automatically rejected and bounces back to the sender. I'll never know what emails I've missed 'cuz they're just gone. It's devastatingly bad since I'm in the middle of trying to do all the media outreach for road.

Unbe-fucking-lievable.

Von

Update: The DNS was finally corrected sometime early Tuesday morning. So call it 40-44 hours of DNS chaos. Unacceptable. And just since I know a few Peer 1 folks are popping by: you may want to reconsider doing Tweets with your "Geek of the Week" while some of us are in hell. Seriously: service fail, guys.

Neat, huh? This has come together really quick, so I still need to figure out a few things, but it's nifty all the same.

Von

April Short from Santa Cruz's City on a Hill Press interviewed me a little while ago. The piece is now up at http://www.cityonahillpress.com/2009/12/03/coping-through-comics/

A sample:Joe Ferarra, owner of the Atlantis Fantasyworld comic book store in downtown Santa Cruz, was one of the first store owners to express interest in picking up Allen’s (sic) comic. Ferarra heard about the comic via an old business friend and independent comic book distributor, Tony Shenton.

Ferarra is among several comic retailers who came together to plan a special release day for independent comic books and graphic novels on Dec. 30.

The event will feature self-produced comics and graphic novels and has been dubbed “Independents Day.”

When Ferarra asked Shenton for books to sell for Independents Day, “The Road to God Knows…” was high on Shenton’s list of suggestions.

And there's a lovely new review of my bookie at http://www.mania.com/comics-may-missed-road-to-god-knows_article_119270.html

A sample: Similarly, the ending leaves the reader asking what happens next—not in the sense of giddy anticipation, but wondering if that’s all there is. But, that’s just it. The clues are there—that’s all there really is for her. Marie will go back to exactly the same situation with her mother. The story doesn’t continue, because there’s just more of the same waiting for her. This is a dark book, with only flashes of hope and whimsy. While it ends on a high note, we know that it won’t last. We all find our little pleasures and our tiny escapes, but for many people, life is a grim experience. No amount of pep-talking, optimism, or negotiation can change the fact that some people have it bad. Marie has grown a bit by the book’s end, but she still has an ongoing tragedy waiting for her at home.

Yay!

Von

( Bigger version after the cut! )

Von

Von's latest two radio interviews:

http://trtgk.vonallan.com/2009/11/people-first-radio-interview.html

http://trtgk.vonallan.com/2009/11/ckcu-sound-mind-interview.html

And the latest print interview, in Halifax's The Coast:

http://www.thecoast.ca/ArtAttack/archives/2009/11/25/von-allan-gets-personal-about-mental-illness

Moggy = very proud. :)

I know and enjoy so many Americans every day, it's important to say...have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!



You guys are a riot...life wouldn't be half as fun without you. Come back next week from the turkey comas...and bring pictures, eh?

Moggy

p.s.
And in terms of what I'M thankful for...see this:

http://vonandmoggy.livejournal.com/449391.html

Been a very good but very busy few days. First, Optical Sloth did what I consider to be a glowing review of the road to god knows... over at http://www.opticalsloth.com/?p=5712

The helplessness of Marie’s friend to do her any real good, her dad being unable with work to be any kind of full-time father to Marie, her alienation from kids at school (and even the teachers), all of these things would be bad enough. Throw in a mother who may or may not harm herself or Marie at any moment and who is incapable of being any kind of authority figure in Marie’s life and well, I’m impressed. There are all kinds of ways that this comic could have gone wrong, and Von managed to cut through it all and make an outstanding graphic novel.

Nice, huh? But wait, there's more!

Wanna hear me yabber? Heather Bruce, host of Sound Mind on the radio station CKCU here in Ottawa, was nice enough to have me on her show this morning. And I've already uploaded the interview for your listening pleasure, too. It's over at http://trtgk.vonallan.com/2009/11/ckcu-sound-mind-interview.html. What more reason to listen? You can hear me sing for a little bit right in the beginning. So buttons!

Von

( Larger version after the cut! )

Von

( Sophie after the Cut! )

Von

I can't tell you how much! If you're in the Calgary neighbourhood, you gotta go toAnother Dimension!





Von

I was thinking of offering this as the first Stargazer print. Good idea?



Von

Mare Biddle, the playwright living in Phoenix, AZ who did a very lovely review of my book, also did a Q&A with me the other day, too. It's focused primarily on "taking risk" in one's life, career, and whatnot. It's over at http://marebiddle.com/blog/11-blog/82-risk-sailing-off-the-edge-of-the-page.html if you'd like to take a peek.

A sample:

I asked Von how he approaches the inevitable anxiety and fear that accompany risk. He said, “Not knowing how something will turn out is a scary thing, I think. But that's what risk is all about. There's a great quote I like from Eddie Rickenbacker, the World War I fighter pilot. He said, 'Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared.' I think that really, really sums it up. So, from a certain point of view making art, trying to create stories, and whatnot, there's always fear. It's a manageable fear and it's important to place it.”

Von

From Mare Biddle's awesome blog:

"When I saw the mock up of ” I was easily taken with Von’s artwork and his beautiful ability to illustrate “silence” on the page. The cover art is actually my favorite frame in the book. The detail of the "Lost Cat" sign on the light post sets a perfect tone. The more intriguing part of this book, and what made me Von’s fan, is the story.

When I read this book the first time, I immediately wondered how I would’ve felt about it when I was 13. Would I have pushed it away? Would I have exhaled warm air from my lungs in the kind of way that can change a teenager’s trajectory? Marie’s future is uncertain. Her giggles are stolen between day-to-night worries. Von leaves Marie’s story open so the reader can walk with her on – "

And from the blog japoly:

"This is indeed a very touching, very dramatic tale. Von Allan's dialogue is never at all unrealistic, and the everyday characters presented are fully-formed enough to cause the reader to wonder at what persons may have inspired such situational drama, such quietly desperate burdens. This is the kind of story that wonderfully, moodily, is all too real. Such a rich and honest portrayal of mental illness and the effects such can have on the many persons stuck in the tortured position of loving and/or living with the inflicted.

And the art is absolutely as effective, from smart page constructions sporting fluid faces and gestures to an appropriate pacing that intuitively slows down the camera whenever a forced introspection is dutifully beckoned from the story itself. This movie is shot in real time, with all of the world of nuances that the unbiased camera is always eager and willing to capture, beit for the amusement or judgement, of others. while the overall narrative is a sea of calm before the storm sensation, the few moments of violent action are called into vivid imagining with all the more clarity. And shock, like with ripples in the stillness of waters.

A fantastic and self-aware work, I am thankful in my own way to have come across it...Most definitely one of the finest graphic novels of the year, I think."

Um...Wow?

Von

Okay, so we have representation now from the west coast right to the east coast, at a few Canadian stores and a good number of American ones. To say we're thrilled to death (and a little overwhelmed) would be understating it.

Please look at the list below and, if you're near any of these excellent stores, I'd love it if you would take your business to them. Most of them don't have stock QUITE yet (with the exception of Cosmic Monkey Comics in Portland, Oregon, which has received the book now according to the tracking information)...but if you call, I'm certain your local shop would be happy to put aside a copy of the book when they DO receive stock (which should be within the next two weeks, if not sooner).

And if you don't see your favourite bookstore or comic book store on this list, check back here again soon (or Von's site)...orders are still coming in, after all! AND, even more importantly, if you'd like to order the book through your favourite store (supporting both Von AND your local shop), Von has made up an order form that you can print and show your local store.

http://www.vonallan.com/press/road%20to%20god%20knows%20order%20form.pdf

AND if you don't know where your closest shop is, you can either ask me for a recommendation or look here: http://www.comicshoplocator.com/ .

Anyways, I can't emphasize enough how much we appreciate these retailers taking a shot and buying the book...these are some of the best of the best and we're thrilled to death to have the book on their shelves. Please help us sell copies for them; if you're not local to any of these stores but know people who are...well, sending friends/family in would be truly above and beyond. And please let me know if you repost this so that I can properly worship you publicly, too.

And a BIG THANK YOU to Tony Shenton, Sales Rep extraordinaire, for representing Von's book...as I've told a number of folks, he's good people.

Yeah, I'm just a little proud...is it that obvious?

Moggy

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*drum roll...* THE STORES!

CANADA:

Alberta:

Another Dimension, 424 B - 10 ST NW Calgary, Alberta, Phone: 403-283-7078

Nova Scotia:

Strange Adventures, 5262 Sackville Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Phone: 902-425-2140

Ontario:

Perfect Books: 258A Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Phone: 613-236-6468

Quebec:

Librarie Astro/Astro Books, 1844 Ste. Catherine Street West, Montreal, Quebec, Phone: 514-932-1139

UNITED STATES:

California:

Atlantis Fantasyworld, 1020 Cedar Street, Santa Cruz, California, Phone: 831-426-0158

Flying Colors Comics, 2980 Treat Blvd at Oak Grove Road, Concord, California, Phone: 925-825-5410

Florida:

Coliseum of Comics, 4722 South Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, Florida, Phone: 407-240-7882

Maine:

Casablanca Comics, 151 Middle Street, Portland, Maine, Phone: 207-780-1676

Massachusetts:

Larry's Comics, 66 Lakeview Avenue, Lowell, Massachusetts, Phone: 978-459-5323

The Outer Limits, 437 Moody Street, Waltham, Massachusetts, Phone: 781-891-0444

New Jersey:

The Record Store, 6299 Route 9 North, Howell, New Jersey, Phone: 732-905-9056

New York:

Cosmic Comics, 10 East 23rd Street, 2nd Floor, New York, New York, Phone: 212-460-5322

Jim Hanley's Universe, 4 West 33rd Street, New York, New York (opposite The Empire State
Building), Phone: (212) 268-7088

Ohio:

Laughing Ogre Comics, 4258 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio, Phone: 614-267-6473

Oregon:

Cosmic Monkey Comics, 5335 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland, Oregon, Phone: 503-517-9050

Texas:

Dragon's Lair Comics & Games, 6111 Burnet Road, Austin, Texas, Phone: 512-454-2399

Just wanted to say that my bookie is now carried by a few more stores! They won't have stock 'til next week, but still! The stores are the following:

The Outer Limits, 437 Moody Street, Waltham, Massachusetts, Phone: 781-891-0444

Atlantis Fantasyworld, 1020 Cedar Street, Santa Cruz, California, Phone: 831-426-0158

Dragon's Lair Comics & Games, 6111 Burnet Road, Austin, Texas, Phone: 512-454-2399

As I mentioned, these stores are supporting me and I'm going to do what I can do support them right back. If you know someone who might be keen on my bookie and lives nearby one of these stores, give 'em a gentle nudge for me, ok?

Thanks!

Von

Been a little while since I posted so here ya be.



( More After the Cut! )

Von

First, I've set-up a specific site for the road to god knows.... The domain right now is at http://the-road-to-god-knows.blogspot.com/ but that should redirect to a specific subdomain on my own site in the very near future. The big question right now is whether I've covered all my bases or if I'm missing a piece of information - especially pertinent if you've never heard of me or the book before and would like to learn more. So, should I add anything?

Second, Mare Biddle posted some extremely lovely comments about my book over on her blog. Go take a look if you get a chance, ok?

Von