Fred Van Lente

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About Fred Van Lente

Fred Van Lente is the New York Times-bestselling author of comics as varied as Archer & Armstrong (Harvey Award nominee, Best Series), Taskmaster, MODOK's 11, Amazing Spider-Man, Conan the Avenger, Weird Detective, and Cowboys & Aliens (upon which the 2011 movie was based), as well as the novels Ten Dead Comedians and The Con Artist.

Van Lente also specializes in entertaining readers with offbeat histories with the help of his incredibly talented artists. He has written the multiple-award winning Action Philosophers! (American Library Association Best Graphic Novel for Teens), The Comic Book History of Comics, Action Presidents! (all drawn by Ryan Dunlavey), and The Comic Book Story of Basketball with Joe Cooper (Ten Speed September 2020).

He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Crystal Skillman, and some mostly ungrateful cats, and loves hearing from readers at fred.vanlente@gmail.com.

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Books By Fred Van Lente

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Spider-Man: The Gauntlet Vol. 2: Rhino and Mysterio Sep 15, 2010

by Joe Kelly , Dan Slott , Fred Van Lente , Max Fiumara , Marcos Martin , Javier Pulido , Michael Lark

( 15 )

$8.79

Collects Amazing Spider-Man #617-621. The Gauntlet continues as the Rhino charges into Spider-Man's life, out to make a name for himself...by killing the Rhino? AND, Mysterio is back from the dead...and he's not alone!

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

Unlimited reading. Anywhere you go. Learn more

Spider-Man: The Gauntlet Vol. 5: Lizard Feb 16, 2011

by Zeb Wells , Chris Bachalo , Jefte Palo , Emma Rios , Xurxo Penalta

( 25 )

$6.99

Collects Amazing Spider-Man #630-633. With a son in foster care, and working at the bottom of the pharmaceutical industry, how long will it be before a Lizard breaks the shell of Curt Connors? The Lizard will take over all of Earth unless Spider-Man alone can stop him!

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

Spider-Man: The Gauntlet Vol. 3: Vulture and Morbius Oct 20, 2010

by Fred Van Lente , Mark Waid , Joe Kelly , Tom Peyer , Greg Weisman , Joe Quinones , Paul Azaceta , Max Fiumara , Luke Ross , Javier Rodriguez

( 17 )

$6.99

Collects Amazing Spider-Man #622-625. The Vulture is back and terrorizing the city of New York, and J. Jonah Jameson stands accused of masterminding his creation! And just when you thought the Rhino would be able to put his bad-guy past behind him, the new Rhino is back and demanding his blood!

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

Comic Book History of Comics #5 (of 6) Mar 29, 2017

by Fred Van Lente , Ryan Dunlavey

$1.99

The inspiring, infuriating, and utterly insane story of comics, graphic novels, and manga continues in four-color glory! This issue, the award-winning Action Philosophers team of Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey bring you FANBASE COMICS, SUPERHERO EVOLUTION, and OUTER SPACE!

Other Formats: Paperback

Unlimited reading. Anywhere you go. Learn more

Action Presidents #3: Theodore Roosevelt! Jun 16, 2020

by Fred Van Lente , Ryan Dunlavey

( 59 )

$8.99

“A delightful, educational spin on history—and plenty of jokes,” said School Library Journal.

“Sheer joy,” praised Booklist in a starred review.

Finalist for the 2019 Excellence in Graphic Literature Award in Middle Grade Nonfiction

U.S. history comes to life like never before in this full-color graphic novel! We all know that Theodore Roosevelt protected the environment and was the cousin of President Franklin Roosevelt. But did you also know that he was the inspiration for the teddy bear, wrote adventure books, and once gave a speech with a gunshot wound in his chest?

Wimpy Kid meets the Who Was... series in these hilarious new graphic novels—where the history is real and the jokes are fake—from New York Times bestselling comic book author Fred Van Lente and award-winning cartoonist Ryan Dunlavey.

Historically accurate and highly entertaining, Action Presidents’ bold and hilarious comic-style illustration is perfect for curious minds, filled with timelines, maps, charts, and more, readers will keep learning until the last page.

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

Assassin's Creed: Free Comic Book Day 2016 Dec 21, 2016

by Anthony Del Col , Conor McCreery , Fred Van Lente , Neil Edwards , Dennis Calero

( 619 )

$0.00

Enter the shadowy world of the Assassins and Templars, two feuding factions who have battled over the centuries to decide the course of humanity! TWO all-new short stories, written and illustrated by the creative teams of the regular comics, highlight a shocking event in the life of new Assassin Charlotte de la Cruz, and reveal the true extent of the mysterious Templar Black Cross's terrifying skills! New readers or experienced fans: strap on your hidden blades, don your cowls, and blend into the crowd to discover secrets you won't read anywhere else!

Odd Is on Our Side (Graphic Novel) (Odd Thomas Graphic Novels Book 2) Oct 19, 2011

by Dean Koontz , Fred Van Lente , Queenie Chan

( 355 )

$9.99

When things get scary, it’s nice to know that Odd is on our side.

The one and only Odd Thomas is back—in his second edgy and enthralling graphic-novel adventure from #1 New York Times bestselling suspense master Dean Koontz.

It’s Halloween in Pico Mundo, California, and there’s a whiff of something wicked in the autumn air. While the town prepares for its annual festivities, young fry cook Odd Thomas can’t shake the feeling that make-believe goblins and ghouls aren’t the only things on the prowl. And he should know, since he can see what others cannot: the spirits of the restless dead. But even his frequent visitor, the specter of Elvis Presley, can’t seem to point Odd in the right direction.
With the help of his gun-toting girlfriend, Stormy, Odd is out to uncover the terrible truth. Is something sinister afoot in the remote barn guarded by devilish masked men? Has All Hallows Eve mischief taken a malevolent turn? Or is the pleading ghost of a trick-or-treater a frightening omen of doom?

Other Formats: Paperback

Marvel Adventures Iron Man (2007-2008) #1 May 23, 2007

by Fred Van Lente , Michael Golden , James Cordeiro

( 757 )

$0.00

Who is IRON MAN, the world-renowned symbol of mega-conglomerate Stark International? And what terrible secret from his past forces billionaire inventor TONY STARK to become the Golden Guardian? Find out here!

Other Formats: Library Binding

King Kirby Dec 19, 2017

by Fred Van Lente , Crystal Skillman

( 2 )

$4.99

“Crystal Skillman and Fred Van Lente, the husband-and-wife playwrights behind 'King Kirby,' know the score. She wrote the smart Off Off Broadway shows “Cut” and the fangirl-friendly 'Geek'; he was a co-author of the graphic novel 'Cowboys & Aliens,' later adapted for a Hollywood sci-fi western. With this supple, informative and poignant portrait, they offer penetrating insight into the tirelessly prolific Kirby (1917-94), whose brawny and dynamic yet nuanced style dominated comics for more than 40 years. Their play (Kirby was known as the king) documents a creator who attained immortality even as his life ended amid a morass of corporate exploitation.”

— Andy Webster, The New York Times

KING KIRBY is a play by the husband-and-wife team of New York Times bestselling comics writer Fred Van Lente and NYIT award-winning playwright Crystal Skillman about the life and times of Jack Kirby, the great comic book artist who created or co-created some of your favorite heroes on the page and screen, Captain America, the Avengers, Thor, Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Iron Man, Young Romance, the New Gods, Darkseid, The Demon… the list goes on and on.

From the Jewish ghetto of New York's Lower East Side to the battlefields of France to the Senate hearings of 1950s, this is a hysterical and heartbreaking story about a man who pours his quintessentially Twentieth Century life into his comics, only to make the fateful mistake that sends him into obscurity while his creations become known to every person on Earth.

A real-life "Adventures of Kavalier & Klay", King Kirby asks what happens when an artist doesn't own his own legacy? Can he ever get it back?

PLEASE NOTE: Unlike the physical edition, the Kindle edition does NOT have photos from the 2014 Comic Book Theater Festival production.

Other Formats: Paperback

Marvel Romance Redux: Another Kind Of Love (Marvel Romance Redux (2006)) Feb 7, 2007

by Jeff Parker , John Lustig , Keith Giffen , Jimmy Palmiotti , Roger Langridge , Kyle J Baker , Fred Van Lente , Mike Leib , Robert Loren Fleming , Kristen Sinclair , Peter David , Joe R. Lansdale , Paul Di Filippo , Frank Cho , John Buscema , Don Heck , John Romita , Jack Kirby , Gene Colan , Dick Giordano , Sol Brodsky , Vinnie Colletta

( 5 )

$8.99

Collects Marvel Romance Redux: But He Said He Loved Me!, I Should Have Been A Blonde, Love Is A Four-Letter Word, Restraining Orders Are For Other Girls And Guys & Dolls.

Continuing the noble pursuit of taking funny old pictures and putting funny words on top of them! We've asked some of the funniest writers in comics today to look at the romance comics of yesteryear and put in some new dialogue that'll make us laugh! Unfortunately, the funniest writers were busy, so we had to settle on these guys. Hey, you get what you pay for.

Other Formats: Paperback

Marvel Zombies 3 Nov 4, 2009

by Fred Van Lente , Kev Walker

( 105 )

$6.99

Collects Marvel Zombies 3 #1-4. The ravenous hordes of Marvel Zombies are invading...the Marvel Universe! When the super-undead stumble into the MU from the Man-Thing's Nexus of All Realities, all of Florida is quarantined and the Initiative sends a most unlikely group of heroes to find the one item they need before the whole MU is consumed!

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

Action Presidents #4: John F. Kennedy! Jun 16, 2020

by Fred Van Lente , Ryan Dunlavey

( 57 )

$8.99

“A delightful, educational spin on history—and plenty of jokes,” said School Library Journal.

“Sheer joy,” praised Booklist in a starred review.

Finalist for the 2019 Excellence in Graphic Literature Award in Middle Grade Nonfiction

U.S. history comes to life like never before in this full-color graphic novel! We all know that John F. Kennedy was a World War II hero and a pro at giving speeches. But did you also know he survived shark-infested waters, suffered a case of mistaken identity, and once used a coconut to send a secret message?

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

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