Indie Comics, Mostly Dead, Small Bites, and the Chaos of Creating Great Stories with Allen Dunford

Allen Dunford returns to Geek Freaks for a fun, behind-the-scenes conversation about making indie comics that actually connect with readers. We talk about his upcoming books like Mostly Dead, Small Bites, and Cokehead, how he builds characters with heart and personality, and why trusting artists is one of the most important parts of the comic-making process. If you love horror comics, indie creators, and honest talk about storytelling, this episode has a lot to dig into.

Timestamps and Topics:

00:00 Introduction and Allen Dunford returns to Geek Freaks

01:16 What Allen is working on now and starting a small indie publishing house

02:13 Building new books from the ground up

03:26 Creating memorable characters with Kit Wallace

05:03 The energy and fun behind Cokehead

06:58 Small Bites, friendship, and emotional character writing

08:31 Skipping the usual werewolf origin story to get into the real story faster

10:23 How Mostly Dead became a passion project

11:00 Breaking down Nate's story and the emotional core of Mostly Dead

12:17 Influences from horror, YA storytelling, and nostalgia

15:17 Allen's key collaborators and what they bring to each comic

16:23 Why giving artists room to create makes the work stronger

17:47 How Allen's collaboration style has changed over time

19:18 Trusting artists and why visual storytelling matters so much in comics

20:49 Writing for different artists and leaning into their strengths

21:20 What Allen loves most about indie comics

22:28 What he hopes readers take away from these stories

23:24 Standing out in the indie comics world without losing your voice

26:17 Upcoming books and what readers should keep an eye on next

29:00 Balancing comics, work, fatherhood, and life outside the page

29:59 Final thoughts and where to follow Allen's work

Key Takeaways:

Allen Dunford is building comics that mix fun, horror, emotion, and strong character work

Mostly Dead is one of his most personal and creatively exciting books

Small Bites takes familiar monster ideas and pushes them into more emotional territory

Great comic collaboration comes from trust, flexibility, and knowing each artist's strengths

Allen focuses on making books people genuinely enjoy instead of chasing trends

Indie comics thrive when creators bring personality and honesty to the page

Memorable Quotes:

"I don't want to plan the fun out of it."

"It's like a 28-page panic attack, and it's awesome."

"I just want people to pick stuff up and have a good time."

"Trust in your people, because I'm nothing without them."

"The art is the reason you stop at the comic stand, but to come back for issue two is going to be the writing."

Why This Episode Is Worth Your Time:
If you are into indie comics, horror books, or hearing how creators actually put stories together, this is a really strong episode. Allen is honest, funny, and clearly passionate about making books that feel different. It also gives listeners a real look at the creative side of comics without losing the fun.

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Listener Questions:
What comic creators do you want us to interview next? What indie books should we be reading? Send us your questions and we may feature them in a future episode.

Apple Podcast Tags:
Allen Dunford, indie comics, comic book interview, Geek Freaks, Mostly Dead, Small Bites, horror comics, comic creators, indie publishing, comic writing, comic books, Kickstarter comics, comic book podcast, horror storytelling, indie creators