Stargazer by Von Allan

Stargazer and Apple's iBookstore

2012-05-17T13:43:00.003-04:00

Just a quick note to say that both volumes of Stargazer are available through Apple's iBookstore. Which is pretty neat! The first volume is available for free while the second is only 99 cents.

You can find both volumes at the following link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/von-allan/id509153574?mt=11

If you believe in kids comics and all-ages comics, give it a shot. Oh, and pass it around, too!

About Stargazer

2012-04-10T08:46:00.000-04:00

Synopsis for Volume 1. The synopsis for Volume 2 can be found here.

Marni is a young girl dealing with the recent death of her grandmother, which has left her emotionally devastated and struggling to cope. Granny Hitchins was a wonderfully curious woman, responsible for giving her granddaughter a rich sense of imagination and adventure, as well as an old and mysterious "Artifact." Granny Hitchins found the Artifact when she was herself a child and, with origins unknown, it provided a lifetime of adventure, speculation, and storytelling for herself, her son, and finally, her granddaughter. While not a replacement, the Artifact is nonetheless a treasured memento for Marni after her grandmother's death.

With the love and support of her two best friends, Sophie and Elora, and the magic of the Artifact to comfort her, Marni is just beginning to cope with the loss of her beloved grandmother when her life takes an abrupt and strange turn. While the girls are examining the Artifact on a backyard camping trip, the object suddenly takes on a life of its own, transporting the three friends and their tent to a strange and distant world. After exploring the tent and their immediate surroundings, the girls discover that the Artifact has vanished, leaving them alone and afraid under a very alien sky.

After summoning their courage, Marni, Sophie and Elora venture out to explore their alien surroundings, where they find a surreal world containing a robot, a mysterious far-off tower, and an illusive yet terrifying monster. Scared, yet buoyed by the stories and songs that they've heard while growing up, the three girls gather their meagre supplies and head out into the wilderness, determined to find a way home.

Synopsis for Volume 2

In the concluding volume of Stargazer, Marni, Elora, Sophie and their new-found robot friend finally reach the distant tower they spotted earlier in their adventure. Expecting to find help at the tower, the girls are stunned to discover that it is not only old and heavily damaged, but also clearly abandoned. As the friends are dealing with their disappointment and starting to plan their next move, they suddenly find themselves surrounded by an odd assortment of little creatures, similar to the robot. While not necessarily the help the girls wanted, the silent but friendly alien friends are nonetheless welcome companions.

Once inside the ruined tower, the girls make a few discoveries, ranging from curious to downright ominous. While Elora goes off on her own, looking for answers to her own questions, Sophie and Marni are convinced that many of the answers they need can be found on the upper levels of the tower, on the other side of a long-ago landslide of rubble and boulders.

With the return of the monster that threatened them at the start of their adventure, the girls must unite to face their fears and fight for their lives. Can the power of friendship and imagination get them safely home? And does their magical quest have a fairytale ending?

Product Information

Stargazer Volume 1 has an ISBN of 978-0-9781237-2-7 and a Diamond Item Order code of AUG111260. Stargazer Volume 2 has an ISBN of 978-09-781237-4-1 and a Diamond Item Order code of AUG111259. Both volumes have a suggested retail price of $14.95 US and are presented in black and white.

Both volumes can be downloaded for free right here. A "tip" sheet, high rez images of the front cover, shelf talkers and other information can be found at here.

Sample images from Stargazer Volume One (please click on each image to open larger versions):

And here are sample images from Stargazer Volume Two (please click on each image to open larger versions):

Characters

Marni (from my original writing notes): Character-wise, Marni is a dreamer. She was the one that was always attracted to the Artifact; it filled her with wonder and imagination and she’d have long talks with her granny about it. A bit of a tom boy, Marni is quite happy tramping in the woods exploring. She’s probably a bit of a builder, too. Maybe constructing a milk carton boat to plop in some stream somewhere. A carrrot-top with shoulder length hair. Maybe some freckles sprinkled over her nose.

An only child, Marni is fairly disconnected with her parents, not being really that close to either one of them. So the things that fire her imagination (say a book, a movie, or even her own writing or other creative things) aren’t things that she would share with her parents. If they walked into her room when she was busy scribbling down a story, she’d quickly open a drawer and hide it away from them. Not subtly, ‘course, but not to be mean. I don’t want it to be a result of her parents being too busy for her when she was younger; rather, she just feels that they don’t get her nearly as much as other people do. Definitely not nearly as much as her granny did.

She's strong and fiercely independent, probably another trait that puts her at odds with her parents. She's very close with her friends, though, and feels the most comfortable when she's with them.

Elora (from my original writing notes): Elora is a brunette with longish hair that she often wraps with a bandana. Somewhat bookish, but not shy. One thing I was chewing over was making Elora more of a practical character. down to earth, but not in a curmudgeonly way. I don’t want her to be lecturing or otherwise correcting the other two; aside from anything else, they are all friends. I really like the idea of her being a budding astronomer, hanging out with her granddad at a cottage and looking at the stars for hours on end, drinking hot chocolate and eating rice crispy squares on an autumn night. It might be fun to make her dad a mechanic and have her be pretty comfortable with machinery. Not so much electronics (she ain’t a ‘puter nerd) but just things mechanical.

Elora isn’t prone to boasts or really speaking about things that she knows nothing about. She’ll keep her mouth shut at those times. But when it comes to something she does know a thing or two about, everything changes. She’ll speak her mind, often bluntly, and she doesn’t brook much argument on these points. She’s quite eager to learn, though, and she doesn’t restrict herself to just a few simple interests. Probably a bit like Star Trek’s Spock in this case – a bit of a sponge, absorbing quite a bit of everything around her. Her real interests, though, are in astronomy and mechanics.

Unlike Marni, Elora is really close to both her dad and her grandfather. She’s similar to both men; there’s a strong practical streak that runs through all of them and it helps keep all of them grounded. Both of her main interests come from the two of them. Her granddad founded a mechanic shop years ago (probably in the 1950s, and he still proudly proclaims the Edsel as the greatest car ever built) and passed that on to his son when he wanted to retire. His retirement allowed him to pursue his other great love, stargazing, and he spread that love to his granddaughter when she got old enough to really comprehend it. Quite often she spends weekends with him at his winterized cottage, watching the skies from a large patio. Her other great love is cars, especially older ones that aren’t “fouled up” by computers. That mechanical streak binds all of the family together and keeps them connected. The drawback is that her dad does work quite a bit and she’s left to her own devices quite often at night. While she does either hang out at the shop with him after school and also spends quite a bit of time with her granddad, she’s left on her own quite a bit. Elora isn’t a loner by nature so it’s no surprise that she often chooses to spend her time with her Marni and Sophie instead.

Sophie (from my original writing notes): Sophie is quite the burgeoning musician and really into a lot of Celtic tunes. Her granddad was the main song smith and music maker in her family but she never really got much of a chance to know him before he died. His death, a suicide, became a kind of open wound that no one in her family would talk much about. It devastated her grandmother (who was never the same after it) and her mom didn’t deal with it that well, either. She is reasonably close to her mom but this is just subject matter that isn’t talked about. That makes things a bit tricky when it comes to Sophie’s music; clearly talented, but the memory of her father’s suicide prevents her mom from really connecting with her on it. So, it’s the case of Sophie being dropped off at various folklore-type places and left to develop pretty much on her own. That’s left Sophie pretty dependent and fairly feisty when it comes to doing things her way. A strong stubborn streak runs through her; it would pretty much half to since the urge to quite music would have been pretty pronounced after her granddad’s death. It’s also left her more experienced then her two friends. She’s made connections at her various music classes with people, typically a bit older, who have opened her eyes to all kinds of different music. Her first love is Celtic, though, and her introduction to the Pogues started a love affair that’ll probably be lifelong. She, like Marni, has explored the woods and done a reasonable amount of camping.
She’s more experimental then most in her age group, too. She’s not afraid to try new things since the results have been pretty good so far. And she’s not afraid to challenge taboos. She would ask questions at inopportune times (say at a funeral, “how’d they make the body look like that, anyway?). That could get her into trouble down the road but it’s not something she’s really aware of right now. So she’s stubborn and with a major zest for life. That zest really comes from what happened to her granddad. She doesn’t really realize it, but it struck her hard, too. She just deals with it in a very different way then either her mom or grandma. Those two women turned away from it, never wanting to deal with the suicide and certainly never wanting to talk about it. Sophie’s reaction was to live a little more and enjoy life. To try new things and never get stuck in the same way she thinks her granddad became stuck. In a way, out of the three of ‘em she’s the one who enjoys the forthcoming adventure the most.

The 'Bot: This is a small creature that the girls encounter as they start exploring their new surroundings. He never speaks and they begin to realize that he must be mute, though they aren't positive about that diagnosis. He bonds quickly with Elora in particular and the two form a new if unusual friendship. His story is told throughout the course of Stargazer and his ultimate fate plays a key role in the events of the second volume.

I can't say too much more regarding his identity since it is so much a part of how the story unfolds. Readers seem to really like the little guy, though, and I'm very pleased about that.

Stargazer, Graphicly.com and ebooks

2012-02-12T10:22:00.001-05:00

I recently signed a deal to have Graphicly digitally distribute both volumes of my all-ages series Stargazer. The first volume of Stargazer is now available for free on the Graphicly website at http://graphicly.com/von-allan-studio/stargazer-v1.

~~Volume 2 will be ready shortly.~~ Volume 2 is now available by visiting http://graphicly.com/von-allan-studio/stargazer/v2. And yup, it's 99 cents.

One downside to Graphicly is that they do use Digital Rights Management or DRM. I don't believe in that practice myself. I really don't. I think Joe Wikert has covered this pretty well in a recent column with Publishers Weekly as has Mike Shatzkin in his piece on the Digital Book World conference. To help deal with that, I have PDF and CBR/CBZ versions of Stargazer available FOR FREE now. These are also completely DRM free. You can find links to download them by clicking the "ebooks" link at the top of this page or just by clicking right here.

If you like Stargazer, please consider purchasing a physical copy. Links to a retailers who are known to be carrying copies, both brick & mortar and online, are available at http://stargazer.vonallan.com/2010/05/retailers-who-are-carrying-stargazer.html. And, of course, please spread the word on Facebook, Twitter, and the like. If you don't like it, thanks for trying it!

Stargazer eBooks (PDFs, CBR/CBZ, and Graphicly)

2012-02-11T11:53:00.045-05:00

I've prepared a number of ebooks versions of Stargazer that can be found below. Both volumes are in English. I'd certainly love to do free versions in other languages but I would need help on that. If anyone is keen, though, please let me know! I'll also try to get CBR/CBZ versions uploaded in the near future, too!

Downloadable Files in PDF format

You can right-click on any of these and choose "save as" to download the file to your computer. Note that both PDF files are relatively large (roughly 30 megs). I wish I could have made them smaller, but these are definitely graphic intensive files!

Stargazer Volume 1

PDF: Right-click here and select "save as" to download Stargazer Volume 1 in PDF format. You'll need a copy of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader which you can download for free right here.

Stargazer Volume 2

PDF: Right-click here and select "save as" to download Stargazer Volume 2 in PDF format. You'll need a copy of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader which you can download right for free here.

Torrent Links

The Pirate Bay: A torrent containing both volumes can be found at http://thepiratebay.se/torrent/7170045. I'll try and keep seeding it as long as possible, but it definitely helps if you seed and share, too!

Clear Bits: Stargazer Volume 1 can be found at http://www.clearbits.net/torrents/2022-stargazer-volume-1-an-original-all-ages-graphic-novel-by-von-allan

Clear Bits: Stargazer Volume 2 can be found at http://www.clearbits.net/torrents/2023-stargazer-volume-2-an-original-all-ages-graphic-novel-by-von-allan

Graphicly

Stargazer Volume 1 can be downloaded for free by visiting http://graphicly.com/von-allan-studio/stargazer-v1/gn

Stargazer Volume 2 can be downloaded by visiting http://graphicly.com/von-allan-studio/stargazer/v2. While it is not free, it is only 99 cents.

Graphicly does use Digital Rights Management (DRM) for its files. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about this directly. It's not something they are interested in changing. I do not believe in DRM and so the next best solution I can come up with is offering DRM-free copies of each volume. You can find links to these in a variety of formats above.

Donations

Creating comics isn't easy. And while the act of creativity is its own reward, I do have bills to pay. And I do like to eat. If you like Stargazer, please consider purchasing a physical copy. Links to a number of retailers (from "brick and mortar" comic shops and bookstores to online retailers like Amazon, Chapters/Indigo and Barnes & Noble) can be found by visiting my shop page. Alternatively, you can always use Paypal to send me a donation of any amount you'd like by clicking the link below:

Activism

Here are some thing you can do to help spread the word about Stargazer:

I'm reading @vonallan's new graphic novel Stargazer. Get a free ebook here: http://bit.ly/xUFdUp #comics (click link to post on Twitter now)

Get a FREE copy of the graphic novel Stargazer here: http://bit.ly/xUFdUp via @vonallan (click link to post on Twitter now)

Alternatively you can share the following link on Facebook: http://stargazer.vonallan.com/2012/02/stargazer-ebooks-pdfs-cbrcbz-and.html (please copy and paste link).

Creative Commons

Stargazer Volume 1:

Stargazer Volume 1: an original graphic novel by Von Allan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.vonallan.com.

Stargazer Volume 2:

Stargazer Volume 2: an original graphic novel by Von Allan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.vonallan.com.

A few more reviews!

2012-01-11T11:45:00.000-05:00

The Midwest Book Review recently reviewed Volume Two and wrote the following:

"'Stargazer' is the second volume of graphic novels from Von Allan, following Elora and her two best friends Sophie and Marni as they journey to a tower, making friends with robots and other creatures who at first don't seem so friendly. Through friendship and their own creativity, they will have to see themselves back home for adventure and much more. A fine pick for younger readers who often have daydreams of their own, "Stargazer" is an excellent and much recommended pick, not to be overlooked."

The full review is over at http://midwestbookreview.com/sbw/jan_12.htm#Comix/GraphicNovel. You can also read their review of Volume 1 by visitng http://www.midwestbookreview.com/ibw/jul_10.htm#Comix/GraphicNovel

Marc Schuster recently reviewed each volume of Stargazer at Small Press Reviews. He writes:

"While Stargazer certainly evokes “little girl lost” tales a la Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, Allan puts a new twist on the formula by sending three friends into the mysterious realm on the other side of the proverbial looking glass. In so doing, he gives his characters the opportunity to come of age even as they bump up against the limits of their friendship. In this sense, the graphic novel is a spiritual and emotional cousin to Stephen King’s “The Body” in that it’s as much about growing up as it is about exploring the unknown.

Overall, Stargazer is an excellent graphic novel by an artist whose talent is only rivaled by his heart. Perfect for readers of all ages, particularly those with a love for the fantastic."

The full review is at http://smallpressreviews.wordpress.com/2011/12/30/stargazer-vols-1-and-2/

I have to say I'm pretty pleased with both of these!

Additional reviews from a wide variety of sources can be found at http://stargazer.vonallan.com/2010/05/reviews-for-stargazer.html.

GeekMom picks Stargazer!

2011-12-13T20:34:00.000-05:00

Well, this is very nice! The GeekMom blog included Stargazer for their GeekMom 2011 Holiday Gift Guide. They wrote:

"Three girls are transported to a magical world by an amulet that one inherited from her grandmother. Not only is this an incredibly imaginative world well-rendered by Allan’s art but, at its core, it’s about the friendship between the girls in the face of adversity. There just aren’t enough girl friendship comics in the world and to find one that’s also a well-written fantasy is a real find."

Neat, huh?

You can see the list at http://www.geekmom.com/2011/12/geekmom-2011-holiday-gift-guide-3-books/

Press release announcing Stargazer

2011-12-13T08:10:00.000-05:00

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (August 10, 2010) – All-ages comics and graphic novels are still a rarity in publishing. As comics have skewed to an older and more mature readership, relatively few titles are currently being published which appeal to younger readers. And, of the currently available titles, very few feature girls as the story's protagonists. Von Allan, an Ottawa-based artist and graphic novelist, is trying to tackle this problem with the publication of his all-ages fantasy graphic novel, Stargazer.

“Comics and graphic novels have appeared to skew toward older readers over the past twenty years or so,” said Allan. “While there's nothing really wrong with that, it's a shame there aren't more age-appropriate graphic novels for younger readers, especially when you consider the history of the medium. Characters like Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. all had a very diverse readership back in the 1930s and 1940s. Boys and girls embraced these characters in a way that rarely happens in today's publishing climate. I think that's a shame; when readers are not introduced to comics at a young age, it's much harder for them to embrace the medium as they grow older.”

“Comics and graphic novels are such a wonderful form of storytelling and I believe it's very important to reach out as much as possible to younger readers,” added Allan. “I think this situation is actually made worse by the lack of stories featuring girls as the main characters. While there are a strong female protagonists in young adult fiction, in comics this is far less prevalent. Part of the reason I wanted to create Stargazer is to challenge all of these norms. And I also wanted to try and show that just because a story may appeal to a younger reader certainly doesn't mean that it has to be dumbed down or otherwise simplified. People often forget that children can often handle subject matter that belies their age.”

Stargazer is the story of Marni, a young girl dealing with the recent death of her grandmother. That death has left Marni emotionally devastated and struggling to cope. Granny Hitchins was a wonderfully curious woman, responsible for giving her granddaughter a rich sense of imagination and adventure, as well as an old and mysterious "Artifact." While not a replacement, the Artifact is nonetheless a treasured memento for Marni after her grandmother's death. With the love and support of her two best friends, Sophie and Elora, and the magic of the Artifact to comfort her, Marni is just beginning to cope with the loss of her beloved grandmother when her life takes an abrupt and strange turn. While the girls are examining the Artifact on a backyard camping trip, the object suddenly takes on a life of its own, transporting the three friends and their tent to a strange and distant world. After summoning their courage, Marni, Sophie and Elora venture out to explore their alien surroundings, where they find a surreal world containing a robot, a mysterious far-off tower, and an illusive yet terrifying monster. Scared, yet buoyed by the stories and songs that they've heard while growing up, the three girls gather their meagre supplies and head out into the wilderness, determined to find a way home. A magical tale with the most unlikeliest of heroes, Stargazer is an exploration of friendship, loss, and hope. By turns terrifying, poignant, and humorous, Stargazer is part fairytale, part science fiction, and part adventure story.

Stargazer Volume One has an ISBN of 978-0-9781237-2-7, a suggested retail price of $14.95 US/$15.95 CDN and is 122 pages in length.

About Von Allan: Von Allan was born red-headed and freckled in Arnprior, Ontario, just in time for Star Wars: A New Hope. The single child of two loving but troubled parents, Von split most of his childhood between their two homes. Additional information about the graphic novel can be found at http://stargazer.vonallan.com

Contact:

Von Allan
P.O. Box 20520, 390 Rideau Street,
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. K1N 1A3
Email: von@vonallan.com

Sample Images from the graphic novel (please click on each image to open larger versions):

Retailers who are carrying Stargazer

2011-10-26T10:02:00.002-04:00

Both Stargazer Volume One and Stargazer Volume Two are available world-wide right now. The following is a list of retailers who are known to be carrying Stargazer. It's always tricky to figure out, so if you don't see your local retailer here that doesn't mean they aren't carrying it or, if they're out, that they can't order it for you.

To find a comic book store in your area that's not on this list, please use the Comic Shop Locator service.

List of Retailers

Online

Amazon.com: Stargazer Volume 1 and Stargazer Volume 2

Amazon.ca: Stargazer Volume 1 and Stargazer Volume 2

Amazon.co.uk: Stargazer Volume 1 and Stargazer Volume 2

Barnes & Noble: Stargazer Volume 1 and Stargazer Volume 2

IndieBound stores: Stargazer Volume 1 and Stargazer Volume 2

Chapters/Indigo: Stargazer Volume 1 and Stargazer Volume 2

Discount Comic Book Service

Vandal Com-X

United States of America

California

Atlantis Fantasyworld, 1020 Cedar Street, Santa Cruz, California, 95060. Phone: 831-426-0158

Flying Colors Comics, 2980 Treat Boulevard, Concord, California, 94518. Phone: 510-825-5410

Comics Unlimited, 16344 Beach Blvd., Westminster, California, 92683. Phone: 714-841-2407

Comix Experience, 305 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, California, 94117. Phone: 415-863-9258.

Illusive Comics & Games, 2725 El Camino Real Suite 105, Santa Clara, California. Phone: 408-985-7481

Mission: Comics and Art, 3520 20th St. Suite B, San Francisco, California, 94110. Phone: 415-695-1545

Colorado

Time Warp, 3105 28th Street, Boulder, Colorado 80301. Phone: 303-443-4500 (1-800-552-9108 (toll-free))

Delaware

Captain Blue Hen Comics, Talleyville Shopping Center, Wilmington, Delaware 19810. Phone: 302-479-5242

Captain Blue Hen Comics, 280 E Main St. Suite 101, Newark, Delaware 19711. Phone: 302-737-3434

Florida

Coliseum of Comics Orlando, 4722 South Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, Florida, 32839. Phone: 407-240-7882

Coliseum of Comics Kissimmee, 3159 W. Vine St. (US Hwy. 192), Kissimmee, Florida, 34744. Phone: 407-870-5322

Coliseum of Comics Fashion Square Mall, 3201 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando, Florida, 32803. Phone: 407-228-1210

Coliseum of Comics Seminole Towne Center, 177 Towne Center Circle, Sanford, Florida, 32771. Phone: 407-324-1800

Coliseum of Comics Downtown Lakeland122 W. Main Street, Lakeland, Florida, 33815. Phone: 863-686-1350

Georgia

Dr. No's Comics & Games Superstore, 3428 Canton Road, Marietta, Georgia, Phone: 770-422-4642

Illinois

Challengers Comics + Conversation, 1845 North Western Avenue 2R, CHICAGO, Illinois 60647. Phone: 773-278-0155

Comix Revolution, 115 West Central Road, Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056. Phone: 847-506-0800

Comix Revolution, 606 Davis Street, Evanston, Illinois 60201. Phone: 847-866-8659

Louisiana

Excalibur Comics, Cards and Games, 802 E. 70th Street, Shreveport, Louisiana, 71106. Phone: 318-868-4389

Maine

Casablanca Comics, 151 Middle Street, Portland, Maine, 04101. Phone: 207-780-1676

Casablanca Comics, Don Rich Plaza, 778 Roosevelt Trail, Windham, Maine, 04062. Phone: 207-892-0056

Maryland

Third Eye Comics, 45 Old Solomon's Island Road, Suite 102, Annapolis, Maryland, 21401. Phone: 410-897-0322

Massachusetts

Annie's Book Stop of Worcester, 65 James Street, Worcester, Massachusetts. Phone 508-796-5613.

Comicopia, 464 Commonwealth Avenue #13, Boston, Massachusetts, Phone: 617-266-4266

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

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

That's Entertainment, 56 John Fitch Highway, Fitchburg, Massachusetts, 01420. Phone: 978-342-8607

That's Entertainment, 244 Park Avenue, Worcester, Massachusetts, 01609. Phone: 508-755-4207

The Million Year Picnic, 99 Mt. Auburn Street (downstairs), Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138. Phone: 617-492-6763

Michigan

Fanfare Sports & Entertainment, 4415 S.Westnedge Avenue, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 49008. Phone: 269-349-8866

Green Brain Comics, 13210 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, Michigan, 48126. Phone: 313-582-9444

Minnesota

Source Comics & Games, 1601 Larpenteur Avenue, Falcon Heights, Minnesota, 55113. Phone: 651-645-0386

Montana

Muse Comics & Games, 2100 Stephens #107, Missoula, Montana 59801. Phone: 406-543-9944

Nevada

Alternate Reality Comics, 4110 S. Maryland Pkwy. #8, Las Vegas, Nevada 89119. Phone: 702-736-3673

New Jersey

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

New York

Bergen Street Comics, 470 Bergen Street, Brooklyn, New York 11217. Phone: 718-230-5600

Jim Hanley's Universe, 4 West 33rd Street, New York, New York (opposite The Empire State Building), 10001. Phone: 212-268-7088

Jim Hanley's Universe, 325 New Dorp Lane (at the corner of Lawson Avenue), Staten Island, New York 10306. Phone: 718-351-6299

Midtown Comics Times Square, 200 W 40th Street (Corner of 7th Avenue), New York, New York 10018. Phone: 212-302-8192

Midtown Comics Grand Central, 459 Lexington Avenue (Corner of 45th Street), New York, New York 10017. Phone: (as above)

St. Mark's Comics, 11 St. Mark's Place, New York, New York, 10003. Phone: 212-353-3300.

St. Mark's Comics, 148 Montague Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11201. Phone: 718-935-0911.

North Carolina

Acme Comics, 2150 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro, North Carolina, 27408. Phone: 336-574-2263.

Ohio

Super-Fly Comics & Games, 132 Dayton Street, Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387. Phone: 937-767-1445

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh Comics, 113 East McMurray Rd, McMurray, Pennsylvania, 15317. Phone: 724-941-5445

Steve's Comic Relief, 4153 Woerner Avenue, Levittown, Pennsylvania, 19057. Phone: 215-945-7954

Texas

Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy, 4910 Burnet Rd., Austin, Texas, 78756. Phone: 512-454-2399

Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy, 117 Louis Henna Blvd., Round Rock, Texas, 78644. Phone: 512-279-8888

Lone Star Comics, 1215 South Cooper Street, Arlington, Texas, 76010. Phone: 817-265-0491

Lone Star Comics,6780 Abrams Rd. #109, Dallas, Texas, 75231. Phone: 214-553-2555

Lone Star Comics, 3501 Gus Thomasson Rd. #51, Mesquite, Texas, 75150. Phone: 972-681-2040

Lone Star Comics, 4001 W. Green Oaks Blvd., Suite 153, Arlington, Texas, 76017. Phone: 817-563-2550

Lone Star Comics, 931 Melbourne Road, Hurst, Texas, Phone: 817-595-4375

Lone Star Comics, 5429 South Hulen Street, Fort Worth, Texas, 76132. Phone: 817-346-7773

Lone Star Comics, 3100 Independence Parkway #318, Plano, Texas, Phone: 972-985-1593

Utah

Night Flight Comics, 210 East 400 South (@Library Square), Salt Lake City, Utah, 84111. Phone: 801-532-1188

Night Flight Comics, 6222 South State Street, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84107-7227. Phone: 801-263-1940

Washington

DreamStrands Comics, 115 N. 85th Street, Seattle, Washington 98103. Phone: 206-297-3737

Comic Book Shop, 1401 North Division Street, Spokane, Washington, 99202. Phone: 509-326-7018

Zanadu Comics, 1923 3rd Avenue, Seattle, Washington, 98101. Phone: 206-443-1316

Zanadu Comics, 1307 NE 45th, Seattle, Washington, 98105. Phone: 206-632-0989.

Wisconsin

Neptune Comics, 2120 East Moreland Blvd., Waukesha, Wisconsin. Phone: 262-544-2008

United Kingdom

Amazing Fantasy, 19 Anlaby Road, Hull, HU1 2PJ. Phone: (01482) 210530

Australia

Kings Comics, 310 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia. Phone: (02) 9267 5615

Canada

Alberta

Another Dimension Comics, 424B - 10 Street NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1V9. Phone: 403-283-7078

Happy Harbor Comics, 12226 - Jasper Ave, Edmonton, Alberta, T5N 3K3. Phone: 780-452-8211

Happy Harbor Comics, 180 Manning Crossing, Edmonton, Alberta, T5A 1A5. Phone: 780-478-8211

Saskatchewan

8th Street Books & Comics, 1006 8th Street East, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7H 0R9. Phone: 306-343-6624

Ontario

Big B Comics, 1045 Upper James St., Hamilton, Ontario, L9C 3A6. Phone: 905-318-9636

The Beguiling, 601 Markham St., Toronto, Ontario, M6G 2L7. Phone: 416-533-9168

Labyrinth, 386 Bloor St. West, Toronto, Ontario, Phone: 416-840-4506

Paradise Comics, 3278 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario, M4N 2L6. Phone: 416-487-9807

The Dragon, The Old Quebec Street Mall, 55 Wyndham Street North, Unit T12, Guelph, Ontario, N1H 7T8. Phone: 519-763-5544

Silver Snail Ottawa, 391 Bank Street, Ottawa , Ontario K2P 1Y3. Phone: 613-232-2609

The Comic Book Shoppe, 1400 Clyde Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, K2G 3L2. Phone: 613-228-8386

The Comic Book Shoppe, 237 Bank Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 1X2. Phone: 613-594-3042

Perfect Books: 258A Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 1L9. Phone: 613-236-6468

Bytown Bookshop, c/o Ottawa Antique Market, 1179A Bank Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 3X7. Phone: 613-730-6000

Quebec

Astro Books/Librairie Astro, 1844 Ste.Catherine St.West, Montreal, Quebec, H3H 1M1. Phone: 514-932-1139

Nova Scotia

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

Strange Adventures, 68 York Street, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Phone: 506-450-3759

Odds and ends

2011-10-13T17:15:00.003-04:00

Copies of Stargazer Volume 2 are making their way out to distributors and have started to show up in various stores, too.

I'm trying to stay on top of it and there's a "known" list of stores, both brick and mortar and online, carrying Stargazer available here. Or by clicking the "retailers" button above.

Mike Levin (of Unfolding fame) did an interview with me that's now online right here. An excerpt:

"That’s not to say that Stargazer is dense; in fact it’s just the opposite as Allan bounces among multi-aged readers. But it is a story with deep meaning if you want to go searching, something the novelist will ask from his next project: the idiosyncrasies of capitalism."

Also, Chuck O'Donnell from the New Jersey-based newspaper The Montclair Times wrote an article on all-ages comics and said some very nice things about Stargazer:

"'Stargazer' by Von Allan (Von Allan Studio): Although Marni, Sophie and Elora are transported to an alien world, Allan's realistic portrayal of young, female protagonists captures fleeting moments of the human condition: fear and joy, loss and hope."

Lastly, Christian Marcoux of Perspectives Vanier (a community newspaper in my neighbourhood) took the following photo to go with an article that will run in December. Neat, huh?

Reviews for Stargazer

2011-10-10T10:44:00.006-04:00

Reviews are now coming in for Stargazer Volume Two. I'm excerpting them below and I'll continue to do that as more come in. Curious about reviews for Volume One? Well then! Please click here to read 'em!

Reviews for Stargazer Volume Two:

Ain't It Cool News

"Allan is an accomplished writer; he captures the essence of coming-of-age without ever blatantly slapping the reader across the face with it...at the end of the day STARGAZER was written for children and I can’t recommend it enough for the most overlooked demographic out there.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/51899#11

Small Press Reviews

Allan’s latest effort, Stargazer, explores similar themes but sees the writer/artist expanding his artistic palette to include strong elements of science fiction and fantasy–and succeeding wildly in his creation of an emotionally complex and touching imaginary realm.

http://smallpressreviews.wordpress.com/2011/12/30/stargazer-vols-1-and-2/

Comic Attack

"Most stories these days are written with certain boundaries. Some because of publishers and editors standing over a writer tapping them on the shoulder and shaking their heads back and forth. Some because they’re writing characters with an enormous amount of history that inhibits their creative ability. Such is not the case with Stargazer, and I for one applaud Von Allan for having not only the courage, but the vision to put this wonderful story out there!"

http://comicattack.net/2011/10/stargazer2/

Nilskidoo

"This is a tale of children merely playing, on one hand, but also a tale of children finding in fantasy a thing as terrifying as anything the real world could ever manage to offer. In the metaphorical convergence of reality with childhood fantasy, the reader is shown in finite form a story where the threshold into the adult world is fully breached, with no turning back, even if the cost is the exchanging of realities for the promise of love. What an insightful message to see exampled in an all-ages, family-friendly comic book. But don't let that lofty attempt at a description bog down the potential reader. This is absolutely fun and original stuff, to be sure, and I promise you will be zealously frustrated at reaching the story's end."

http://nilskidoo.blogspot.com/2011/09/stargazer-2.html

Montclair Times

"Although Marni, Sophie and Elora are transported to an alien world, Allan's realistic portrayal of young, female protagonists captures fleeting moments of the human condition: fear and joy, loss and hope."

http://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/130365393_Who_created_the_EscapeGoat_.html?page=all

Reviews for Stargazer Volume One:

From the Midwest Book Review

"Stargazer Volume One is a black-and-white graphic novel following three girls stranded on a faraway alien world. Young Marni has recently lost her grandmother, with whom she was very close. Her grandmother had also bequeathed a mysterious "Artifact" upon her - and it is this object that transports Marni and her friends, Sophie and Elora, far away from any home they have ever known. The three girls must pool their courage and resources to learn more about this unreal new world, and the strange things within it - a robot, a faraway tower, and an unknown monster hidden in shadows. Stargazer is a story of wonder, exploration, determination, and inward as well as outward challenge, and is highly recommended for readers of all ages."

http://www.midwestbookreview.com/ibw/jul_10.htm#Comix/GraphicNovel

(Cult)ure Magazine

"Although the underlying issue is about a young girl named Marni, who is dealing with the recent death of her grandmother, the story takes a twist when an artifact she inherited from her grandmother transports her and two of her friends, Sophie and Elora, to a different world. After gathering their courage, they set out to explore their new alien surroundings in hopes of finding a way home.

Although the theme of Marni's loss is what sets the pace for the story, it is quickly overshadowed by the strange world she and her friends are transported to. Allen's depiction of the three girls is very true to how three pre-teen girls generally behave: silly, brave, part-woman, part-child, and not quite sure which category they fall under yet. Even though the story is set in an alternate world with very fantastical settings and creatures, Allen has done an excellent job of showing his characters in an everyday struggle to determine how much independence they possess, and that, despite their young age and distance from authority figures, these young girls are trying out their own judgment and courage for the very first time."

http://culturemagazine.ca/books/second_time_around_a_surreal_delight.html

Canister X

"This is my first exposure to Von Allan’s work aside from what I’ve seen on his website (which I think I found while Googling Canadian cartoonists). I’m very pleased and Stargazer was better than I anticipated.

The writing: very solid. Allan’s pacing is spot on and his delivery of information is succinct and gets you from point A to B without any clutter. I was very impressed with how he was able to convey what are very detailed story points, characters and the world they inhabit without him over-explaining everything. His word choice and placement does the work for you and tells you what you need to know when you need to know it.

The art: Lately I’ve been falling in love with black-and-white comic books and Stargazer further convinced me that the black-and-white comic book medium is an arena that needs to be explored by comic book enthusiasts everywhere. Von Allan’s artwork is natural, shaded well, inked clearly and is detailed enough so you know what you’re looking at, without you getting lost in endless black lines. His proportions are bang on and regardless of the camera angle chosen, each scene unfolds smoothly and easily."

http://canisterx.com/?p=1806

From Zedura

"With shades of both J.M. Barrie and C.S. Lewis, Stargazer is a coming of age adventure. Specifically, set in the waning seasons of adolescence for a trio of young girls, this science-fantasy tale both realistically and imaginatively expresses the yearnings every human being on the planet feels for an escape from the harshness of this tiresome old real world.

Having previously read and reviewed (and loved) Von Allan’s debut original graphic novel, The Road To God Knows, I thought I’d have a better idea of what to expect here. In fact. even having been able to spy some of the earlier work in progress, this finished work really left its mark on me. Von is a brilliant writer, in the sense that while many writers might be honored with the compliment of possessing an ear for dialogue, this man seriously, truly, does. As such, each and every one of his characters is wonderfully portrayed so realistically that it’s easy to find comparisons to real persons that any of us might know, might even be or have been ourselves. And this story, thankfully but an opening chapter to a larger work (hefty though this book is), exhibits a fantastic scope of vision. While fictional settings such as Never Land and Narnia, or Wonderland and Oz, have worked so successfully in capturing the minds of readers over the years is because they all appeal to multiple levels of cognition. Young readers can easily find aspects to enjoy and so take to heart, and equally, older readers as well can find aspects to take to heart and so enjoy. What Von is building here- accomplishes the same thing. Still, a part of me solemnly wishes this book had been around when I myself was the age of the protagonists of the piece, Marni, Sophie, and Elora.

Von’s art has grown as well, since his last book. His storytelling has always been on the nose, but his attention to details has somehow found a way to expand. While the mundane real life things such as houses and cars are now all the more compass and protractor sharp, the fantastical elements of the story easily show a designed grace that are completely undistracting. Everything works here, everything given obvious forethought and arranged like puzzle pieces slowly unifying, increasingly hinting at the larger picture to come. He is a king of facial expressions, too, so watch out, Kevin Maguire and Adam Hughes.

While this is only Volume One, this is a rather sizable book unto itself, loaded as well with pages and pages of bonus content, from detailed notes describing Von’s writing process, to character designs and sketch pages, even extra pin-ups and the like. Really, it all serves as a painful teaser of the many places the story of Stargazer might deign to lead. This is a fun story at that, with colorful characters, even in light of the darkness implied therein to their respective backstories. One of those books that is not so easily compared to others, Stargazer will make the ideal book for drawing in new readers to the medium, and will easily and competently do so while entertaining those of us older readers desperate for something original and knowing. Layered writing, when done well, writes down to nobody. And Von Allan has instilled his Stargazer with enough layers to appeal to anyone who gives it a chance. So please, give it a chance and be so appealed."

http://www.zedura.com/?p=306

From Panels on Pages

"The story itself is great, mind you. Marni is suffering from the loss of her grandmother, who may also have been her best friend. After a few pages of her parents own stumbling efforts to deal with the inherent grief, Marni’s dad suggests she invite friends Elora and Sophie over for a camp out. It’s a great set up and the dialog between the girls is a perfect blend of whimsy and wisdom beyond their years...Once they’ve been transported to the mystical world in which the latter half of the issue takes place, the girls’ voices continue to ring true - mixing apprehension with a thirst for adventure. The girls may seem to come around to their new surrounding a bit too quickly, but their unease at not knowing where they are or how to get home resurfaces throughout the tale. It reminds us of how easily children can become wrapped up in the moment and forget the more pressing issues that may trouble them."

http://panelsonpages.com/?p=29906

Comic Attack

"This book is definitely something that should be on the radar of parents out there that are looking for something innocuous. The book isn’t just for kids, though. When read, it took me back to the days of my youth when everything including life itself was much more simplistic. Definitely give Von Allan’s Stargazer a look for yourself, or anyone needing a great gift for the holidays! Again, kudos to Von Allan and his smooth style of writing a simple story in a world where it seems everything is interweaving like a spiderweb and sometimes too hard to follow. Let’s face it, a story doesn’t need to span a lifetime or contain forty different characters to be good."

http://comicattack.net/2010/11/stargazer-gn/

BW Media Spotlight

"The back cover describes the book as “part fairytale, part science fiction, and part adventure story”. It is indeed all three, and very well told. This first GN is set-up, allowing you to get to know the girls and become attached to them. Then you visit the strange world and get a robot. The teaser for the next volume seems to indicate Marni will have to fight an evil force and the cover indicates another local will join them. Von Allan creates a believable world (two, in fact) both in story and in the look.

As a bonus you get to see some behind-the-scenes of the book, from early art to the brainstorming process as to how he created the three-part graphic novel tale. I don’t know how the next two parts will come out, but I can easily recommend part one for the curious fantasy fan, young girls, or anyone who likes a decent story. It’s not a “girly book”, but it is a good book about girls coping with death and an unusual situation. I’m looking forward to volume two."

http://bwmedia.wordpress.com/2011/01/25/todays-comic-stargazer-volume-1/

Optical Sloth

"Anyway, this book deals with a young girl who is very distraught about the recent death of her grandmother. The early moments of the book are all about this and the family dynamic that comes from it, but don’t worry, that title comes into effect before too long. Marni (the main character) eventually has a sleepover with friends, they end up camping in the backyard and eat too much pizza… then things get weird. Marni has inherited an odd artifact from her grandma, and they’re all poking around at it when something flashes and they find themselves in a strange land. Oh, and the artifact is gone. The rest of the book is essentially them trying to get acclimated to this new place, as they find an old statue, a tiny robot guy, a boat and a few other things I probably shouldn’t get into. To top it all off Von has decided to put his notes in the back, so we get to see his thought process for how this would all eventually play out. He did take out the spoilers for future volumes, but I still skipped over most of it because I don’t want anything ruined and I’m a big enough dork to go back and read those notes after the series is finished anyway. I liked it overall, as it has a ton of potential, but this is still very much the early days of this saga. Well, I’m hopeful that it ends up being a saga, but you never know with comic finances the way they are. One quibble is that the characters had a tendency to stutter to convey seemingly any emotion, as the mourners at the funeral were all about stuttering, then the kids were all about it whenever they ran into anything odd in the new world. That can be conveyed just as easily by a facial expression, says the guy who couldn’t draw a realistic person if his life depended on it. Like a said, a mere quibble, and it should in no way be meant to indicate a lack of overall quality. The art is amazing (although I’m thinking future volumes will give Von more of a chance to flex his artistic muscles), the writing was excellent overall and I can’t wait to see what happens next, so that sure sounds like a success to me."

http://www.opticalsloth.com/?p=17773

Kids Read Comics

Stargazer from Von Allen is a great sci-fi epic for young readers that features great art and girl friendly adventure.

http://twitter.com/krcomics/statuses/20196999450075136

I also received one of the nicest reviews I ever received from a young third grade girl at a school in Florida. If you'd like to read her thoughts on Stargazer, please visit http://stargazer.vonallan.com/2010/09/wonderful-review-of-stargazer.html

The Stargazer Volume 2 Proof Copy from the Printer

2011-08-14T12:24:00.003-04:00

Yes, here I am sitting with the proof copy of Stargazer Volume 2. Very, very neat to be holding it. While it's not out until October 12th, there is a 36 page sample of volume 2 available in the Previews section of this website. Please give it a read and let me know what you think, ok?

Canadian artist Von Allan announces his new all-ages graphic novel “Stargazer Volume Two.”

2011-08-10T09:03:00.001-04:00

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (August 10, 2011) – “All ages” comics and graphic novels are stories that parents can hand to their children without worrying about what they're reading. Unfortunately, the term “all-ages” also implies safe, dull stories that are not exciting or believable and feature characters that are not realistic. Von Allan, an Ottawa-based artist and graphic novelist, is challenging these ideas with his two part graphic novel series “Stargazer.” The concluding volume arrives in stores world-wide in October.

“In Volume 2, I really wanted to play with people's expectations of an all-ages comic, especially one with younger girls as the protagonists,” said Allan. “I think a lot of people take all-ages to mean safe or gentle. But graphic novels and comics are flexible and I don't think a children's comic has to be completely tame for it to qualify as 'kid-friendly.' The first volume of "Stargazer" was designed to read mostly like a traditional all-ages fantasy, but the story takes a scarier turn in the second volume. It's psychologically darker and the main characters are pushed to deal with new and more difficult events. That's comparable to real life, though, and I think adults sometimes forget what children can handle. And how they learn to cope with day-to-day reality and tough times. The best and most enduring stories have an edge to them...it mirrors life. And, let's face it, kids also like to be a little scared.”

“I also wanted to write a kids' story that an adult could enjoy,” Allan added. “Kids and adults have a lot in common when it comes to enjoying fairytale-like stories. There's an escapism and a certain enjoyment of goosebumps and wonder. Some of the most successful books are the ones that adults and kids are both reading; the Harry Potter phenomenon, for example. It's partially because kids and adults are reading these together but it's also that books aimed at kids can be smart, exciting and suspenseful and they don't need to be “dumbed down.” With all that in mind, I didn't want to pull punches with “Stargazer.” I wanted to create a riveting story with strong characters that readers of all ages could believe in. Nothing is worse than a book that talks down to or patronizes a reader regardless of their age, and I think I avoided all of that with “Stargazer.”

In the first volume of “Stargazer,” three girls, Marni, Elora, and Sophie, found themselves transported to a strange world by an ancient artifact. Faced with being on their own and far from home, the friends must rely on each other and their wits to find a way home. Under unfamiliar stars, the three girls have the kind of adventures they could only have imagined before; they flee an unseen but terrifying monster, they make a new friend, they find a new ship, and they travel through the alien landscape to a distant tower, looking for help. In the concluding volume of “Stargazer,” the girls make more discoveries, overcome some frightening circumstances, and learn how strong friendship can be. When the monster from Volume 1 returns, the girls must unite to face their fears and fight for their lives.

“Stargazer Volume Two” has an ISBN of 978-09-781237-4-1, a suggested retail price of $14.95 US and is 110 pages in length. It will arrive in stores world-wide on October 12th, 2011. Multiple companies are distributing “Stargazer Volume Two,” including Diamond Comic Distributors (item code AUG111259), the Ingram Book Company, Follett Library Resources, and the Brodart Company.

About Von Allan: Von Allan was born red-headed and freckled in Arnprior, Ontario, just in time for “Star Wars: A New Hope.” The single child of two loving but troubled parents, Von split most of his childhood between their two homes. Additional information about the graphic novel can be found at http://stargazer.vonallan.com

Contact:

Von Allan
P.O. Box 20520, 390 Rideau Street,
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. K1N 1A3
Email: von@vonallan.com
Phone: 613-236-9957

###

Sample images from Stargazer Volume Two (please click on each image to open larger versions):

A full preview in multiple formats is available here

The full cover for Stargazer

2011-07-26T17:49:00.001-04:00

And here's the final cover including the spine and back cover text for Stargazer Volume Two. Almost there!

Stargazer Previews

2011-07-26T17:45:00.008-04:00

I've prepared a 36 page preview in multiple formats. You can right-click on any of these and choose "save as" to download the file to your computer.

PDF: Right-click here and select "save as" to download Stargazer Volume 2 Sampler in PDF format. You'll need a copy of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader which you can download right here.

CBZ: Right-click here and select "save as" to download Stargazer Volume 2 in CBZ format. CBZ is a comic book archive that can be viewed by programs like CDisplay for Windows, Sequential 2 for Macs, Comix for Linux, and Comical (for all three operating systems).

PNGs: I've also created a zipped file containing the 36 pages as raw PNG files. Please right-click here and select "save as" to download the zipped file to your computer.

Torrent: If you prefer torrents, the Stargazer Volume 2 preview can be downloaded by visiting ClearBits at http://www.clearbits.net/torrents/1817-stargazer-volume-2-preview

Here are some thing you can do to help spread the word about Stargazer Volume 2:

Twitter

Here are some pre-crafted tweets:

I'm reading @vonallan's new graphic novel Stargazer Volume 2. Get the free preview here: http://bit.ly/oTVqac #comicmarket (click link to post on Twitter now)
Get a FREE chapter of Stargazer Volume 2 here: http://bit.ly/oTVqac via @vonallan (click link to post on Twitter now)

Facebook Please click here and then click the Facebook Like button at the top of the page. Or you can just click the Facebook box at the end of this page, too!

Alternatively you can share the following link on Facebook: http://stargazer.vonallan.com/2011/07/stargazer-previews.html (please copy and paste link).

Working on the cover for Stargazer Volume 2

2011-07-07T15:15:00.001-04:00

Stargazer Volume 2 will be arriving in stores in mid-October. Still quite a bit to do before then, but I'm very pleased to say that everything is finished now. All pages penciled and inked and I just finished touch-ups to the lettering. I still need to put the book together and get the bound proof copies, but that should be happening over the next few weeks. The ISBN has also been secured (it's 978-0-9781237-4-1). Slowly but surely it's coming together and I've now got a mock-up of the cover for volume two now:

Poplitiko Interview Part 2

2011-06-11T14:55:00.000-04:00

The second part of the interview I did with Richard Caldwell is now up on the Poplitiko website:

http://poplitiko.blogspot.com/2011/01/americanauts-von-allan-pt-2-of-2.html

It's a wide-ranging interview where we discuss the Direct Market, comic book stores, readership, and (of course!) Stargazer. A sample:

"Choosing girls and young women as the protagonists wasn't something that I really aimed for. It just sort of flowed, one decision leading to another. I chose to make Marie, the main character in “the road to god knows...,” female because I didn't want the story to be too autobiographical. If she had been a boy it would have been far clearer that I was talking about myself. I wanted to distance myself from that and force myself to explore her as her own character and not just a stand in for me. As I started chewing over the story that became “Stargazer,” I hit upon the idea of echoing some of the themes in “road.” Marie's struggle is really one of letting go. She realizes that she can't “save” her mom or somehow solve her mom's problems. “Stargazer” tackles the same “letting go” issue as Marni struggles to cope with her granny's death. I don't want to reveal too much of the plot, but it's no accident than Marie and Marrni share similar names and similar genders. Making Marni a young girl meant that her friends were going to be girls, too, mainly because of my own experiences with how genders don't mix all that much at that age. Added into that was the idea that I couldn't think of that many fantasy stories that dealt with younger girls as the protagonists. Even blockbusters like “Harry Potter” focus on boys and I thought it would be interesting to turn that on its head and go in a different direction character-wise."

Part One can be found at http://poplitiko.blogspot.com/2011/01/americanauts-von-allan-pt-1-of-2.html

Prix Aurora Awards and Stargazer Volume One

2011-05-16T21:40:00.002-04:00

Well, this is very neat. Stargazer has been nominated for a Prix Aurora Award in their inaugural "Best English Graphic Novel" category.

What's especially neat is a number of Ottawa authors have been shortlisted in various categories, including Marie Bilodeau (for "Destiny's Blood," Best English Novel), Matt Moore (for "Touch the Sky, They Say," Best English Short Story) and Hayden Trenholm (for "Stealing Home," Best English Novel and "The Burden of Fire," Best English Short Story).

A full list of the various categories and nominated authors, artists, and titles can be found on the Prix Aurora Award website at http://www.prix-aurora-awards.ca/wordpress/

The Concordian reviews Stargazer

2011-03-30T09:37:00.000-04:00

The Concordian, one of Concordia University's student newspapers, posted a lovely review of Stargazer.

From the review:

"Stargazer begins with the funeral of Granny Hitchins, Marni’s grandmother and co-conspirator in endless imaginary adventures of afternoons past. Sensing their daughter’s grief, Marni’s parents decide to pass on a small worn sculpture known as the Artifact which belonged to Granny Hitchins, so that Marni can hold onto a memento. The origins of the Artifact are not exactly clear, but it had become a key ingredient to the imaginary adventures shared between Marni and her grandmother.

Now in possession of the Artifact, Marni hosts a sleepover with her two best friends, Sophie and Elora. After the appropriate pizza binge ends, the girls head out to their tent in the backyard. Inside, they begin talking about mementoes and memories when suddenly a burst of light comes from the Artifact."

More at http://theconcordian.com/2011/03/29/loss-and-learning-in-a-strange-and-distant-world/

Pinup from Stargazer

2011-03-17T20:37:00.001-04:00

Just a wee brush and ink sketch of Marni, Elora and Sophie from Stargazer.

Interview!

2011-03-02T09:37:00.000-05:00

Ric Croxton of The Book Cave Podcast and I sat down to an interview regarding Stargazer, comics and graphic novels, and bit about the comics industry in general. Fairly wide-ranging, in other words.

You can find the podcast at the following link:

http://thebookcave.libsyn.com/ric-s-comics-episode-53-stargazer

The Greenland Whale Fisheries by Ryan's Fancy

2011-01-13T12:29:00.000-05:00

There's a sequence in the early pages of Stargazer where Sophie sings a song called "The Greenland Whale Fisheries." Since it appears to have been written in the early to mid-19th century, I decided to keep the lyrics as close to the "traditional" version as a I could. That said, a lot of different bands have covered the song (including a truly wonderful version by The Pogues), but I think my favourite is the version that's performed by Ryan's Fancy from the album Dark Island.

As I mentioned, in the story Sophie sings the traditional version, but if I ever could get the rights, this is the version that she'd be singing:

Photos from the Ottawa book launch of Stargazer

2011-01-07T09:34:00.002-05:00

The book launch for Stargazer took place at Ottawa's Perfect Books on Sunday, November 7th. Turnout was pretty good if I do say so myself and the bookstore seemed quite pleased with the sales. That's win-win, I think! What follows are some photos that were taken from the launch. My wife took the first four and the rest were taken by the "The Phantom Photographer."

Photo by "The Phantom Photographer"

Photo by "The Phantom Photographer"

Photo by "The Phantom Photographer"

Comic Shop News Stargazer cover to issue 1221

2010-11-19T11:41:00.002-05:00

This is very neat. Issue 1221 of The Comic Shop News featured both a profile on Stargazer and it was also the cover feature. The article is now online at http://csnsider.com/1221.htm. What follows is the cover image and a sample image from the story. Many thanks to Cliff Biggers from CSN (and, of course, the owner of Dr. No's) for doing the story with me.

Stargazer nominated for the 2011 Texas Maverick Graphic Novel List

2010-11-18T12:53:00.000-05:00

This is pretty big news. The Maverick Graphic Novels Committee is a group of Texas-based librarians that are proponents of graphic novels. Each year they put together a list of recommended titles and I'm very pleased to discover that Stargazer made the cut. There's actually a further round of voting still to come; the titles on that list are the "best of the best." While I'm obviously very hopeful that Stargazer will be on that list, too, being nominated at all is very, very neat.

From their website: "The Texas Maverick Graphic Novels Reading List (TMGNRL) is a recommended reading list developed by public and school librarians from the Young Adult Round Table (YART). The purpose of the list is to encourage students in grades 6-12 to explore a variety of current books. The TMGNRL list is intended for recreational reading, not to support a specific curriculum. Due to the diversity of this age range, Texas librarians should purchase titles on this list according to their individual collection policies."

The full list of nominated titles is available as a PDF at http://www.txla.org/sites/tla/files/groups/YART/docs/Maverick/docs/2011maverickconsider.pdf

Marc Swayze, Mary Marvel and Stargazer

2010-11-03T14:00:00.001-04:00

I've mentioned some of the origins of Stargazer in this post, but today I wanted to specifically talk about another influence. Marc Swayze is the co-creator (along with Otto Binder) of Mary Marvel. She first appeared in the pages of Captain Marvel Adventures #18 in December 1942 before eventually becoming the leading character in Wow Comics shortly thereafter. From what I understand, her visual look was inspired by Judy Garland, probably from Wizard of Oz, but there seems to be some debate over that. Mary was originally published by Fawcett Comics before DC Comics acquired the rights many years later.

Now, Mary Marvel (and the Marvel Family in general) and Marni, Elora and Sophie from Stargazer are very different characters with very different origins. However, Marc Swayze and Fawcett proved to me that comics featuring girls can have a place in the comic book market. That may seem odd because a solid 60 or 70 years separate these characters, but I really do like looking backward sometimes to get a broader sense of the entirety of the comic book industry. While I don't think an examination of the history of the comics industry is a template for "how things should be done," in this case it was a healthy example, especially in the face of what's being published today. Stargazer is an all-ages story and I mean that quite literally: it can be read and enjoyed by people of all genders and of all-ages. It's not a kids book per se; by that I mean a story that only children can enjoy. I can feel my skin crawling already since that is certainly not what I set out to do. Rather, I wanted to do a story featuring strong girls in a sci-fi/fantasy setting mainly because I haven't seen that type of story done all that much in comics.

One of the regrets I have with how comics have evolved is that characters like Mary are forced to grow up. If you do a simple Google Images search on her, you'll find all kinds of modern depictions of a far more adult character in far more adult situations. In and of itself, there's nothing wrong with telling this type of story; I'm a big believer that comics need to showcase a diverse range of stories in multiple genres. However, in Mary Marvel's case more adult stories are simply not true to the origins of her character. To my mind, she's far more Peter Pan than this. This a tricky thing with fictional characters. Some characters, say like Kitty Pryde from the X-Men or the original incarnation of the New Mutants, should grow up or the stories would get very stale. On the other hand, it's hard to imagine Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica and the rest of the gang being anything but quintessential teenagers. I'm trying to imagine an ongoing comic featuring them as 20 something slackers and it boggles my mind. In the case of Mary Marvel and the other "sidekick" character Captain Marvel Jr., though? I don't think either character works as an adult. Something intrinsic is lost by making these characters older. I'm not alone in feeling this way and I'm not surprised that Jeff Smith did a very young version of Mary Marvel in his Captain Marvel story from a few years back.

That said, all-ages comics are a tricky beast, but then so are kids comics. Should there be more? Sure, but more comics in general would not be a bad thing assuming the (gasp!) sales and profitability are there. When I look at my own reading habits as a kid, I always drifted towards more adult comics because they didn't speak down to me. A great example is Power Pack: I really enjoy June Brigman's art on that title, but it never clicked with me when I was 9 or 10. What did? Well, *ahem*, titles like Axel Pressbutton. Which, if anything, proves that I was a quirky kid more than anything else. Seriously, though, good comics that kids can read and enjoy need to be created and curated by publishers, retailers and other gate keepers. There's a hunger for them and I'm a big believer that if readers who love comics aren't developed from a young age, the industry will lose them. We don't have to look too far to see what can happen: as manga (and Shōjo manga in particular) began to really develop a sales presence in North America, comic book shops were very slow to embrace it on their shelves. Bookstores (and, presumably, online retailers), on the other hand, we're not. And comic shops constantly played catch-up as a result.

From the creative side, it's just as tricky. I don't believe in chasing a particular audience segment. That's way too cold-blooded for me. Fundamentally, I try to good stories with strong characters that I myself would want to read. Really, I don't have much choice: making comics is a time-consuming endeavour at the best of times and I really have to throw myself into it to make it work. Doing stories that I don't want to read doesn't make any sense to me at all. Now, you have to be pragmatic about this, of course. We all have rent or mortgages to pay. We all have bills to pay. And we all need to eat. As a result, I'll never be an advocate of doing work that has very limited appeal for one reason or the other. I suppose I may sound like I'm compromising here a bit, but there's that pesky roof, belly, clothing argument again that's hard to ignore. At the end of the day, doing work you passionately believe in seems to be the best practice. At least it is for me.

So while I doubt he'll ever read this, I do want to thank Marc Swayze for giving me a bit of inspiration. Keeping up the faith while brainstorming, world developing, script writing, penciling and inking can be a bit tough, but all I had to do was look at Mary Marvel to keep my spirits up while Stargazer come to life. And that's something I'll always be grateful for. Thanks, Mr. Swayze!

Note: The black and white artwork on this post is taken from the Fawcett Companion: The Best of FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), edited by P.C. Hamerlinck. The colour cover of Captain Marvel Adventures #19 was taken from Heritage Auction Galleries. I cleaned up the scan a smidgen, too.