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. Call to Action: Enjoyed the episode?

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Indie Comics, Mostly Dead, Small Bites, and the Chaos of Creating Great Stories with Allen Dunford is an episode from Geek Freaks by Geek Freaks.

This episode is 31:45 long.

This episode was published on Mar 13, 2026.

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