Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Allred.
Hi Eric, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up outside Chicago IL, and always had a passion for storytelling and filmmaking. After moving to Austin, I made a handful of short films, commercials and a feature entitled A LACK of FURNITURE. My first foray into comics was due to my writing partner, Ben Collins, suggestion. We had been working on screenplays and as Covid hit I found myself with a script in hand and no ability to film amidst lockdown. So after dabbling in some narrative podcasts we shifted to comics, writing the first few issues of what would become OUTER SPACED, our stoner sci-fi comedy. Once self releasing issue 1 we started chatting with Brandon Bloxdorf who had just transitioned from podcasting to publishing in 2023 releasing And Out Come the Comics…a punk anthology. We forged a friendship that eventually led to Apollo releasing the second issue of Outer Spaced and collaborating on several Apollo releases together. With my film background I was able to create short form media for releases and content creation. Our collaboration led to a big 2025 with the releases of several anthologies (Kick Out the Jams, One-Hitters), we also released our political resource book THIS COMIC KILLS FASCISTS (the top selling book in person and online for us), most of us at Apollo finally meeting in person at IC3 (an indie comic convention) and vending at the National Cannabis Convention in DC.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As with most creation, there are hurdles. We’ve dealt with most of them as a small indie publishing house. Whether that’s printing issues, fulfillment issues, crowdfunding anxiety, or even burnout. 2025 was A LOT for us, we all fight our own personal battles everyday and nearing November all of us were rather spent. Luckily the comic community that backs us is so supportive and helped us stay positive and put out more great work. I cannot stress enough how wonderfully supportive and loving the comic community is, truly.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I truly just love telling stories. It’s what I’ve done my entire life. Since joining Apollo and getting into comics in general I believe my creative blade has been tested and sharpened over and again. It’s been a great challenge as the storytelling tools you have at your disposal working on a film are much greater, you can have a lot dialogue in film but in comics I’ve found words are a little more crucial as is space for the reader. So that’s been a truly exciting transition. Having the opportunity to work with other creatives and help get their books out into the world is an accomplishment I take a lot of pride in. Late last year my writing partner, Ben Collins, and myself started a spinoff series from Outer Spaced entitled OS Shorites, sort of one off adventures/holiday specials, I am actually trying my hand on the art for these stories and they maybe short, they be silly…but they’re something I didn’t see myself doing and now they’re out there. Which has opened the door to collabing on other series as an artist opposed to a writer. Which is incredibly frightening/anxiety inducing from where I’m standing currently, but so was comics when I first jumped in.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Apollo City Comics is an ever growing community, and we’ve got anthology opportunities coming down the pipeline. Which is always a great way to get started and just figure out if we vibe. We’re pretty open just shoot me a DM on Instagram or Apollo City Comics as well. [On IG I am @ericnallred and ACC is @apollocitycomics]. On July 4th we’re launching the second volume in our political resource book THIS COMIC KILLS FASCISTS dos! on Kickstarter, so follow along and support us if you can.
Check out our website www.apollocitycomics.com a
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.apollocitycomics.com
- Instagram: @ericnallred
