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Common Knowledge

Canonical name: Van Lente, Fred
Birthdate: 1972-02-14
Gender: male
Occupations: comic book writer
Organizations: Evil Twin Comics
Agent: Jason Yarn
Relationships: Skillman, Crystal (wife and collaborator)
Short biography: Fred Van Lente is a six-time New York Times bestselling comics writer, novelist and playwright whose work spans mystery/thrillers to historical fiction to superheroes to comedy. He has produced both fiction and nonfiction works.

King Kirby, his play with Crystal Skillman about the life of the legendary comics artist Jack Kirby, was a New York Times Critics' Pick on its NYC debut in 2014. It debuted as a much-acclaimed free audio drama podcast in 2020 featuring the original cast on the Broadway Podcasting Network.

Starting as a 2020 pandemic lockdown hobby, Van Lente has a regular comics history column on the website 13th Dimension, where he tackles such burning topics of the day as Stan Lee's legacy and which is better, Justice League or Fantastic Four?

Of course, none of this should be confused with Fred Van Lente Day, the annual celebration of his work on the Comic Book Resources web site that has been happening since 2005…the year Action Philosophers first came out.

Fred lives in Brooklyn with his wife, the playwright and his frequent co-collaborator Crystal Skillman. [from his website]
Nationality: USA
Birthplace: Tacoma, Washington, USA
Places of residence: Chagrin Falls, Ohio, USA
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Associated Place (for map): USA

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153 reviews

MissIvonne 2,522 reviews

Ten Dead Comedians: A Murder Mystery by Fred Van Lente

Savvy mystery lovers will recognize immediately from the title what Fred van Lente’s debut is: a modern reworking of And Then There Were None, the Agatha Christie novel originally published with the offensive title of Ten Little Niggers. Which is especially appropriate for this novel for reasons I’ll get to later.

Dustin Walker was a comedy legend in his day; however, a series of extremely lucrative but terrible movies has reduced the one time king of comedy to a punchline. Even so, show more Walker has accrued so much wealth that he now has a Caribbean island to himself with a mansion to match. So when an assortment of comedians — some well-known, some not-so-much — get an invitation from Walker to come to the island, they all respond, hoping that they can profit from what they assume is a comeback gambit. The group includes funhouse versions of Larry the Cable Guy, Joan Rivers, Pewee Herman, a Puerto Rican David Letterman, among others. As in And Then There Were None, the guests find their host has killed himself and then arranged that the rest should die, one by one.

As the novel’s title suggests, van Lente has crossed the Agatha Christie classic with a no-holds-barred, profane and often tasteless show-business satire to create a gripping thriller, both funny and suspenseful, a book that kept me reading into the wee hours so I could see how it ended. And worth every lost minute of sleep. Highly, highly recommended.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Quirk Books in exchange for an honest review. show less

Dec 10, 202514 other reviews

gothamajp 391 reviews

The Con Artist: A Novel by Fred Van Lente

I first read this four years ago, and I’d totally mis-remembered how it developed. What I’d remembered as the big twist climax turned out to be a minor scene mid way through.

So this read turned out to be a fresh rediscovery of a light-hearted fun murder mystery set in and around the events of a San Diego Comic-Con.

If you have any knowledge of the comics industry and it’s history there’s lots of references and allusions (often very thinly disguised) you’ll pick up on. And if show more you’ve ever enjoyed (or hated) the San Diego Comic-Con experience you’ll be nodding along at the observations and location descriptions.

While I enjoyed this (again), I do wonder if it is too much of an in-joke that wouldn’t translate to a wider audience. show less

Jul 9, 20223 other reviews

JeanLittleLibrary 2,761 reviews

Action Presidents #1: George Washington! by Fred Van Lente

I've read a lot of of fiction/nonfiction blends recently, but I always have an uneasy feeling that they mix up fiction and nonfiction too much to really be a good choice for middle grade readers. I feel much more confident in Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales; when he adds in fictional elements (like the armies of World War I being different types of animals) it's easy to tell the real story from the fictional add-on.

So I was thrilled to discover an equally excellent graphic history series that show more promises to be both fun and informative. The narrator of this story, seen only briefly at the beginning and ending, is Noah the Historkey, pardoned from Thanksgiving on the condition that he tells the true story of USA history. Through Noah, the author discusses how legends grew up around the founding of the United States, especially the early leaders, and promises to introduce readers to the real George Washington, ACTION PRESIDENT!

This biography of George Washington starts with his youth, involvement in the French-Indian wars (one might say he kind of started them), reluctant appointment to lead the Continental armies, and even more reluctant appointment to president. Along the way, the creators show us a real portrait of the president, warts and all. His involvement in slavery, the lack of rights for women, his military failures and personal foibles. They also introduce readers to the wider world of the colonies; the initial struggles of the young country, the prejudice and oppression faced by Native Americans and African-Americans, and the tragedies and complex history of both sides of the American Revolution. The good, bad, and the ugly are all shown, including plenty of jokes, caricatures, and snarky humor.

The art is black and white with sharp angles and bulging cartoon eyes. Lots of action and movement keeps it from becoming just more talking heads while the text is packed in densely around and in the panels. I've included a sample panel from the beginning, showing Noah the Historkey.

Verdict: This new series promises to fly off the shelves, both for kids who are interested in history and those who love comics. More presidents are coming soon and I can't wait to read them!

ISBN: 9780062394057; Published February 2018 by Harpercollins; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

Aug 21, 20182 other reviews

villemezbrown 8,931 reviews

Action Presidents #3: Theodore Roosevelt! by Fred Van Lente

Theodore Roosevelt gets the superhero treatment in a slam-bang biography for children that zips past his most egregious sins to glorify his macho posturing. It's problematic and jingoistic, but it's also fun to see this colorful figure burst off the page like the living cartoon he was.

Oct 24, 2021

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