Meet David Avallone | Writer and Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with David Avallone and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, what are you inspired by?
First and foremost, I have been inspired by my parents. They’re both gone now, but they were heroes, they walked their own path and made lives on their own terms. Michael Avallone was an author who wrote about 200 published novels. Fran Avallone was a women’s rights activist who ran the NJ Right to Choose for over two decades. They, in turn, introduced me to other influences and inspirations. Dad was a movie nut, and immersed me in the culture of his Depression Era childhood from an early age. I was inspired by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack, by Howard Hawks and Michael Curtiz, by Preston Sturges and Orson Welles. By Dashiell Hammett and James M. Cain and John O’Hara and Mary McCarthy. I found my own inspiration in science fiction when I was a kid: Ray Bradbury and Star Trek and Roger Zelazny. In comics, from Jack Kirby to Russ Heath to Howard Chaykin and Jo Duffy and Jim Starlin. In films, Fellini and the Coen Brothers. If you choose a life in the professional arts, the inspiration should never really end: you should always be finding inspiration from your colleagues and peers. And beyond all that… in life itself. A writer has to be someone who lives a rich life. A first-person experiencer of all life has to offer AND an eavesdropper on the lives of others. A lifelong student of the world and all the people in it: that is the bottomless well of inspiration.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My career has been long and chaotic: if you want to be confused, look me up on the IMDb and try to make any sense of it. The throughline — to the degree that there is one — is freedom. I’ve always chosen freedom over money. (I never claimed to be smart about this kind of thing.) For thirty years I made indie films: writing, directing, producing, acting, editing, first ADing… and before those jobs I had been a grip, an electrician, a production assistant… anything to keep involved in creative work. Around 2015 I had burned out quite a bit on film: a couple of bad experiences in a row with, being charitable, poorly chosen co-workers. A colleague introduced me to a comic book editor — Joseph Rybandt, of Dynamite Comics — who agreed to give me a try. I wrote one series for Dynamite, then another… and they’ve had something for me pretty steadily the last decade. That led to work for other publishers, including a project co-created with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles creator Kevin Eastman, called DRAWING BLOOD. And, with perfect irony, it has also led back to the best work I’ve ever had in film, including development writing on the upcoming RED SONJA movie, and the WB animated show BATWHEELS. In the past couple of years, I expanded into prose writing… and a short story I wrote in 2024 will be included in the prestigious Best Mystery Stories of 2025, selected by editors Otto Penzler and John Grisham. Dad would be proud.

It has been a hard road, and I am gratified by all the places it has taken me, and the experiences — even the bad ones — that I’ve lived through. I’ve learned a lot, but I’d say this one is key: find your people. Make those friends among your colleagues who you love, and who you can trust, and make your art with them. Comics (and film), is a community: be a positive part of that community. Be of help to those coming up the ladder behind you: you owe it to the ones who helped you.

My father had a saying: “A writer should be able to write anything, from a garden seed catalog to the Holy Bible.” He was being intentionally (and comically) hyperbolic, but it’s something I try to live up to. In everything you do — be it an assignment from a publisher or producer, or your own personal art project — it still has to express something real and true, something of value, something that you want people to know and to feel. Dad also said, “I never wrote a book I didn’t like.” More words to live by. Never phone it in. Always do the best job you can do… and give the audience something that only YOU could give them.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am a big ambassador for Los Angeles: our city is wildly misunderstood by outsiders. Since the pandemic, a lot of my favorite places have closed up and changed (give me back my Cinerama Dome, and RIP Marty Roberts,) but there’s always more of LA to explore and discover.

Eat/Drink: the possibilities are endless, but I’d have to take them to Musso Franks Grill for a steak and a martini. The most Hollywood of all Hollywood restaurants… and it’s now long enough since the Tarantino movie that the crowds have probably died down.

Sight-see: Another cliche, but the Griffith Park Observatory — particularly at sunset — is a jewel of our town. A breathtaking panoramic view of the whole city. Then you go downstairs and enjoy the incredible museum.

Speaking of museums: the new Academy Museum is delightful, with great rotating exhibits. I’m a member, and it’s totally worth it if you live here. Lots of great special events. The Getty is also great for visitors, and has a view that rivals that of Griffith Park.

The Cinerama Dome is closed, but there are still great movie palaces in Los Angeles. The Egyptian is usually showing something worth seeing, and the theater itself is worth experiencing. If Disney has made a good movie lately, you can also take someone to the El Capitan.

It’s a drive, but I also tend to take out-of-towners out to Zuma Beach. Another place of great beauty, and movie fans can fall to their knees and do their best Charlton Heston impressions as realize they were on Earth all along. (Spoiler alert.)

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
It’s probably a cliche, but my Shoutout has to go to my wife: Augusta Avallone. When I met her, she was so obviously impressive: a filmmaker and a costume designer and a writer and a burlesque performer/producer. I had been single a long time, and I remember friends saying “Oh, I see. You were waiting for someone REALLY spectacular.” Yes, I was. I have only been able to thrive through her love and support. She inspires me every day, and she keeps me going.

Website: https://www.davidavallonefreelance.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/david_avallone_freelance/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidAvalloneFreelance

Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002510/

https://bsky.app/profile/davallone.bsky.social

Image Credits
Drawing Blood Vol. 1 Cover: Art by Ben Bishop and Troy Little
DA Banner: Zorro by Roy Martinez, Bettie Page by Scott Chantler, Ragdolls by Troy Little, Elvira by J. Bone, Twilight Zone/The Shadow by Francesco Francavilla,
Kevin Eastman/DA selfie
Elvira Meets Vincent Price: Art by Juan Samu
SDCC Panel/left to right: Rylend Grant, DA, Amanda Diebert-Staggs, Richard Fairgray