Fred Van Lente

Fred Van Lente (born February 14, 1972, in Tacoma, Washington) from Chagrin Falls, Ohio is an American writer, primarily of comic books and graphic novels.

Career
Van Lente is the co-founder, along with artist Ryan Dunlavey, of Evil Twin Comics, which produces his and Dunlavey’s non-fiction comic books, the first and most famous of which is Action Philosophers.

Recent work includes becoming the ongoing co-author of Incredible Hercules with Greg Pak, as well as writing Marvel Zombies 3    and Marvel Zombies 4. with Kev Walker and X-Men Noir with Dennis Calero. Upcoming work includes two one-shots as part of Marvel Zombies Return. He also wrote the first issue of Deadpool Team-Up (number #899 as it was counting backwards from the #900 special).

Van Lente created a new Power Man, Victor Alvarez, who first appeared in the Shadowland: Power Man mini-series, then in a new Power Man and Iron Fist series, also by Van Lente.

Van Lente and New York Innovative Theatre Awards-winner Crystal Skillman co-authored and staged "King Kirby," a play based on the life of innovative comics creator Jack Kirby. "King Kirby" was staged at Brooklyn's Brick Theater as part of its annual Comic Book Theater Festival. The play was a New York Times Critics' Pick selection and was funded by a widely publicized Kickstarter campaign.

Van Lente has been called "one of the most idiosyncratic and insightful new voices in comics." In 2014, he was nominated for a Harvey Award in the category, Special Award for Humor in Comics.

Awards
Van Lente's industry awards include Action Philosophers receiving a Xeric Grant in 2004; it was also nominated for an Ignatz Award in 2005 and 2006. The American Library Association named Action Philosophers a "Great Graphic Novel for Teens" in 2007. His "super crime" series The Silencers was named "Best Independent Super Hero Comic" by Broken Frontier in 2003.

Interviews

 * Career-spanning interview at The Comic Book Gazette
 * Interview with Fred and Ryan Dunlavey at comiXology
 * The Outhouse Interview: Fred Van Lente, The Outhouse, December 21, 2009
 * First Class Comic Review #1 – July 2010 (firstclasscomicreview.moonfruit.com)