Fred Van Lente
Author of Action Philosophers Giant-Size Thing Vol. 1
About the Author
Image credit: Fred Van Lente
Series
Works by Fred Van Lente
The Comic Book History of Animation: True Toon Tales of the Most Iconic Characters, Artists and Styles! (2021) — Author — 11 copies
Comic Book Comics #4 — Author — 4 copies
Comic Book Comics #5 — Author — 4 copies
Comic Book Comics #1 — Author — 4 copies
Comic Book Comics #3 — Author — 4 copies
Comic Book Comics #2 — Author — 4 copies
Action Philosophers! [digital] #00 — Author — 3 copies
Marvel Zombies 4 #2 3 copies
X-Men Noir #1 (of 4) — Author — 3 copies
Action Philosophers! #1 — Author — 3 copies
Marvel Zombies 3 #1 3 copies
The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #652: Revenge of the Spider-Slayer, Part 1 (2011) — Writer — 2 copies
Share Your Universe: Wolverine 2 copies
Action Philosophers! #7 — Author — 2 copies
The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #653: Revenge of the Spider-Slayer, Part 2 (2011) — Writer — 2 copies
Marvel Zombies 4 # 1 2 copies
Origins of Marvel Comics #1 2 copies
Everything's Archie #1 2 copies
Marvel Zombies 4 # 3 2 copies
Alpha Flight (2011) #0.1 2 copies
Comic Book Comics #6 — Author — 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #23 2 copies
Alpha Flight (2011) #5 - The Last Refuge — Author — 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #22 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #12 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #11 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #9 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #8 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #7 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #14 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #6 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #5 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #4 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #2 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #13 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #17 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #16 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #15 2 copies
Action Philosophers! #3 — Author — 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #20 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #21 2 copies
Conan the Avenger #19 2 copies
Action Philosophers! [digital] #01 — Author — 1 copy
Eternals Annual, Vol 4 #1 1 copy
Action Philosophers! [digital] #02 — Author — 1 copy
Action Philosophers! [digital] #03 — Author — 1 copy
Action Philosophers! [digital] #04 — Author — 1 copy
Action Philosophers! #8 — Author — 1 copy
Action Philosophers! #9 — Author — 1 copy
Action Philosophers! #5 — Author — 1 copy
The Comic Book History of Animation #4 — Author — 1 copy
The Comic Book History of Animation #3 — Author — 1 copy
The Comic Book History of Animation #2 — Author — 1 copy
The Comic Book History of Animation #1 — Author — 1 copy
The Comic Book History of Animation #5 — Author — 1 copy
Action Philosophers! [digital] #05 — Author — 1 copy
Action Philosophers! #6 — Author — 1 copy
Incredible Hercules 138 1 copy
Amazing Fantasy (2004) #10 1 copy
Howtoons (Re)Ignition Vol. 1 1 copy
Action Philosophers! [digital] #06 — Author — 1 copy
X-Men Noir #3 (of 4) — Author — 1 copy
Action Philosophers! [digital] #07 — Author — 1 copy
Action Philosophers! [digital] #08 — Author — 1 copy
Action Philosophers! [digital] #10 — Author — 1 copy
Action Philosophers! [digital] #11 — Author — 1 copy
Action Philosophers! [digital] #12 — Author — 1 copy
Action Philosophers! [digital] #13 — Author — 1 copy
X-Men Noir #4 (of 4) — Author — 1 copy
Pathfinder Fumbus 1 copy
Mocking Dead #1 1 copy
Mocking Dead #3 1 copy
Action Philosophers! #4 — Author — 1 copy
Action Philosophers! #2 — Author — 1 copy
Brain Boy #1 1 copy
Marvel Terror 3 1 copy
Thor 1 copy
Archer & Armstrong #21 1 copy
Archer & Armstrong #20 1 copy
Archer & Armstrong #19 1 copy
Archer & Armstrong #18 1 copy
X-Men Noir #2 (of 4) — Author — 1 copy
X MEN LA MARCA DE CAIN 1 Y 2 1 copy
Amazing Fantasy (2004) #12 1 copy
Archer & Armstrong #23 1 copy
Filosofos Em Acao - Volume 2 1 copy
Generation Zero #1 1 copy
Why We're Here 1 copy
Iron Man Legacy #1 1 copy
Iron Man Legacy #2 1 copy
Iron Man Legacy #3 1 copy
The Best Archie Comic Ever 1 copy
Brain Boy #1 1 copy
Ivar, Timewalker #4 1 copy
Ivar, Timewalker #3 1 copy
Power Man and Iron Fist #1 1 copy
Web of Spider-Man [2009] #12 1 copy
Associated Works
The Graphic Canon, Vol. 1: From the Epic of Gilgamesh to Shakespeare to Dangerous Liaisons (2012) — Author — 278 copies
Halo: Evolutions Volume II: Essential Tales of the Halo Universe: 2 (2010) — Contributor — 73 copies
Women of Marvel: Celebrating Seven Decades [Trade Paperback Collection] (2010) — Contributor — 18 copies
Dark Horse Presents [2014] #02 — Author — 2 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Van Lente, Fred
- Birthdate
- 1972-02-14
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Tacoma, Washington, USA
- Places of residence
- Chagrin Falls, Ohio, USA
- Occupations
- Comic book writer
- Organizations
- Evil Twin Comics
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 414
- Also by
- 15
- Members
- 4,753
- Popularity
- #5,281
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 131
- ISBNs
- 440
- Languages
- 9
- Favorited
- 1
Van Lente appears to be satirizing modern comics through his characters. I don't know enough about the comedy world to confirm this myself, but I'm seeing a lot of other Goodreads reviews mentioning Larry the Cable Guy, Carrot Top, Gallagher, Pee Wee Herman, etc. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't all these references fairly niche or just outdated? How did this even get published? (I know how - Quirk Books, a company that prides itself in publishing the weird titles of this world, took on Ten Dead Comedians, even though its quirk doesn't save its story)
The one satire I did catch onto involved Ruby Ng, who in the book is an insufferable feminist with a totally exaggerated desire to destroy the patriarchy. Frankly, I found myself insulted by all the stereotypes packed into her character. She's a lesbian, a podcaster craving fame, a hypocrite who preaches love while tearing everyone down every time they make a mistake, and a feminist who notably does not shave her legs. Yes, all of those are real traits found in real people, but it is so unnecessary to put all that on one character. It's unsubtle, it's unfunny, and the bit about not shaving her legs was just too much.
The good news is that even those who have read the original Ten Little Indians won't be able to predict the ending, at least not all of it.
The bad news is the ending felt unearned. I remember the Christie version being particularly fascinating because the victims were all guilty and thus deserved their deaths to an extent. But Van Lente's one-dimensional comedians really did not. They are supposedly being punished for bad comedy and minor bullying, but neither of these are crimes worthy of such creative murders.
In short, it was dumb and not worth the time.… (more)