Howdy, y'all!

(I don't know why I do that, I don't even live in the South, it's just a nervous tick or split personality thing or something)

This site exists solely for the self-aggrandizing purpose of promoting my comic book writing. If you want to see what I'm up to on the film writing/directing front, check out the Drive Productions website.

I now have my first story out by MARVEL COMICS! (yes, I'm so excited that I had to write in all caps and end it with an exclamation point). It's a short story about Magneto called "Hateful" that appears in Marvel Comics Presents #3, now on newstands (that is, if you are reading this in November 2007). Check out Mike Deodato's cover:

Which is cooler, the color or the black + white? Can't decide... can't decide... brain aneurysm!

The story is penciled by Mico Suayan and colored by Matt Hollingsworth. Two better collaborators a guy could not ask for.

Special thanks to editor Nick Lowe, who not only gave me my first break, but made this story better through his guidance. I'm trying to think of something ass-kissey to write so that he'll give me another job, but nothing's coming to mind right now so I'll have to get back to you on that.

How did I get such a prestigeous gig? I wrote a single-issue story using Marvel Comics's The Hand and my buddy Sean Murphy (Batman: Scarecrow Year One) drew it and I mocked them up and mailed them to all the Marvel editors hoping they'd hire one or both of us. And the fools fell for it! (or, at least Nick did)

You can check out that project below. Thumbnails lead to large art pages with the corresponding script pages beside them.

You can also read the full script here: Broken Grip

If you would like to read more of my work, I've also put on-line a full script, four issue Ultimate Spider-Man story arc I wrote in September 2003 as an excercise, available here: Ultimate Spider-Man

If you are interested in speaking with me, please get a hold of me through this contact page.

Sean Murphy can be contacted through his website: www.seangordonmurphy.com

thank you very much,

David VonAllmen

A little bit about this project:

In a lecture I attended at Wizard World Chicago 05, Brian Bendis stated that one of the best ways to get a writing gig was to write a story in which you take an old, unused Marvel or DC character and re-invent him. So I did.

(Okay, The Hand is not exactly "unused," but read the script and I think you'll agree that at least the term "re-invent" is appropriate)

And then I realized that no one likes reading scripts, and thought, "Wouldn't overworked editors be more apt to read my story if it were in the form of an actual comic book?"

What was fortunate for me was that I'm buddies with Sean Murphy and had bugged him for so long to work with me that he finally realized it was either give in to my request or hire a hitman to kill me. What was even more fortunate for me was that artists don't get paid enough that they can afford to hire hitmen.

Also, he's worked for just about every company other than Marvel, and thought this project would be a good way to get his work in their hands.

The Ultimate Spider-Man story that I've put a link to was something I did a few years ago just to see how I'd do writing the greatest character in comics. How well I did is up to you to decide. Because of when I wrote it you'll have to forgive certain inconsistencies with the way the actual series progressed (I mean come on, Gwen Stacy dead- how on Earth could I have possibly seen that coming?) but in it I re-invent another old, unused Marvel character: the villain known as Tarantula. So for all you legion of Tarantula fans out there, that alone is worth the price of admission.

Thanks for stopping by and looking around, I really appreciate it. You're the best.

Actually, you know what? I know you're only here to look at Sean's art and not to read my writing. Go to Hell.

What the critics thought of David VonAllmen's writing in his first series, The Symbiotes:

"One issue and I already give a damn about the characters. That's no small achievement given how many books I read every month... the book works on many different levels... Simply awesome. I cannot wait for the next issue."

- Eric Valentine, MediaSharX.com

"The Symbiotes now has my full attention."

- Marc Mason, MoviePoopShoot.com

"All the plots start to converge with great skill, merging seamlessly into one another, setting up an intriguing story that ends with a nice cliffhanger."

- Andrea Speed, ComiXtreme.com

"[VonAllmen] turns in a pretty solid first issue here. He serves notice that this is going to be a big story, exploring several major characters and factions and focusing on who these characters are and what they do rather than giving us a litany of his world and how it works. The details of the politics of this science-fiction world... becomes perfectly clear as we view snapshots in the characters' lives, and it's much more fun to learn the information this way... [VonAllmen's] dialogue is smooth and natural, and the banter between the Symbiotes in the first part of the issue is a lot of fun."

- Randy Lander, TheFourthRail.com

"Never did I imagine that The Symbiotes' stunning art would be matched by [VonAllmen's] fantastic story. Many publishers would be afraid to release such an ambitious project as a debut release, but this bold move pays off here. While this first issue serves as a fine introduction, The Symbiotes #1 also makes the reader want to know more. [VonAllmen] produces a vast storyline set in a vast universe. Such a scenario would overwhelm many writers and lose the reader, but [VonAllmen] appears to have a tight grip on the reins."

- Heath Shelby, TheComicFanatic.com

"The storyline keeps your interest and manages to immediately place you in the richly detailed world where it takes place. The Symbiotes is great storytelling."

- Douglas A. Waltz, PenguinComics.net

And then there's this...

(Actual interaction that happened at WWLA 06)

Bendis: "Aren't you that guy who keeps mailing me those comic books?"

Me: "Yeah, you got those?"

Bendis: "Yeah, I really liked them."

Me: "Oh, you read them?"

Bendis: "Yeah, I sent you an email saying how much I liked them. Didn't you get it?"

Me: "...no. But thanks. Can I give you a copy of this? It's a story I did about The Hand to try to get the attention of the editors at Marvel."

Bendis: "Thanks. It'll give me something to read on the toilet."