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Read WOLF'S HEAD issue 2 of the comic book series for free on the Internet Archive


Teaser image for Wolf's Head issue 2 on on the Internet Archive

Elevator Pitch

“After Patty Greene helps a young Artificial Intelligence escape from a secretive corporation under the cover of a huge research factory fire, she turns to her daughter Lauren for help keeping it safe. Giddy with excitement, Patty doesn’t recognize the danger she has put herself in… but Lauren does and she is terrified. As Lauren does her best to help her mom, the tensions over the Artificial Intelligence erupt between them, leaving Lauren on her own. Broke, down on her luck, and needing a job very badly, Lauren turns to her friends for aid, all the while keeping her mom’s discovery a secret.”

Key Links

Here are all of the key links:

Grounding in Reality

This issue picks up immediately after issue 1. Literally moments after. I don’t often do this and I suspect it will be a bit of an anomaly with the series itself, but it was a lot of fun to brainstorm! Especially the opening page, since it picks up right after the final page of the very first issue of WOLF’S HEAD.

Last issue saw the reveal of the weird shape-changing artificial intelligence that Lauren’s mom, Patty, befriended. This issue starts delving into the background of that; how did Patty meet it? What’s their relationship like? And just what the hell is this weird AI “thing” that is now a big part of Patty’s life? Lauren has a lot of questions and her mom — much to Lauren’s frustration — is not exactly forthcoming with answers.

Throw in the other problems in Lauren’s life and it’s a recipe for a lot of drama. Even without her mom’s new complication, Lauren is still struggling to find a job and pay rent. That creates a great deal of pressure on her and her struggle to resolve that plays a big part of this issue.

I don’t know about you, but I actually really like grounding characters in reality. One of my immense frustrations with a lot of contemporary stories (regardless of the medium) is when we can clearly see that the lives of the characters are not realistic. Yves Smith on her Naked Capitalism site wrote a great piece on this that’s well-worth a read. She noted, “Not only does TV show how the better-off half lives, TV and the movies regularly depict characters living in better circumstances than the incomes that go with their jobs would allow.”

A reader named Clive then wrote a wonderful comment on that post. A quick (and hopefully fair use) excerpt: “Once I started noticing a phenomena (…) TV houses having unreasonably large rooms or characters having a standard of living not commensurate with their jobs (…) the author has to conjure up some outrageously contrived explanation and scenarios as to how the central characters have the time and resources to participate in whatever story arc they are about to be launched upon. (…) Where do the participants get their money from? If they work, what do they do which gives them the energy to pursue the plot line?”

One of my goals with WOLF’S HEAD was to avoid this. For me, the ordinary day-to-day struggles that characters have are important. It rings true because for so many of us it is true. One can tack on the fantastic on top of that, but that core of realism is a big part of the story. And a big part of WOLF’S HEAD.

WOLF’S HEAD Volume 1 Trade Paperback Graphic Novel

For those who would like to purchase a print copy, issue 1 and issue 2 are collected together in a 60 page trade paperback graphic novel. So while you can always read the series for free, print-lovers are well-represented, too. You can learn more about the graphic novel at https://wolfs-head.vonallan.com/p/wolfs-head-volume-1.html.
Teaser image for the Wolf's Head Volume 1 Trade Paperback Graphic Novel

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Von Allan Studio gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the City of Ottawa.

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Von Allan - Writer and Artist

has been living and breathing comics in the Great White North for a number of years and has built an active and well-respected presence in the larger comics community. He has written, penciled, and inked a number of short stories and two full-length, original graphic novels. More information about Von can be found at his website at https://www.vonallan.com.

Sam Boswell - Editor

Sam Boswell has been finding dangling modifiers, correcting spelling, and fixing misused apostrophes in fiction, non-fiction, university theses, graphic novels, technical manuals, and government bureaucratese for almost 20 years. She lives in Ontario, Canada, and, when she's not solving language problems for other people, she can be found deep in a book, untangling yarn, or digging in the garden.