Author Fred Van Lente joins the Capes and Tights Podcast for Episode 206 on January 15, 2025. To prepare for the conversation, we have compiled nine books and comics by Van Lente you should read.
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. Fred has worked with publishers such as Marvel, DC Comics, Dark Horse, Valiant, IDW Publishing, BOOM! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment and more!
Archer & Armstrong (Valiant)
It’s history in the breaking! After years of meditation and training, 18-year-old Obadiah Archer has been dispatched to New York City to carry out the sacred mission of his family’s sect ― locate and kill the fun-loving, hard-drinking immortal known as Armstrong! But as this naive teenage assassin stalks his prey, he’ll soon find that both hunter and hunted are just pawns in a centuries-old conspiracy that stretches from the catacombs beneath Wall Street to the heights of the Himalayas. And Archer & Armstrong will have to work together if the future is to stand any chance of surviving the past’s greatest threat!
Incredible Hercules (Marvel)
Smashing out of the events of World War Hulk, the legendary Hercules takes center stage! Young genius Amadeus Cho recruits Hercules to help the Hulk – but when the dust settles, Herc and Cho find themselves outlaws! And the situation is further inflamed by Cho’s grudge against S.H.I.E.L.D. and Herc’s feud with his estranged half-brother, Ares, god of war! Then, the Greek Goliath assembles the godliest super-team ever to take on the deities of the invading Skrulls! Prepare for the pantheon-pounding premiere of…the God Squad! But who among them is a traitor? Plus: Untold tales of Hercules vs. Hulk – and Hulk vs. the Champions! And the excellent origin of Amadeus Cho!
Ten Dead Comedians
As the story opens, nine comedians of various acclaim are summoned to the island retreat of legendary Hollywood funnyman Dustin Walker. The group includes a former late-night TV host, a washed-up improv instructor, a ridiculously wealthy “blue collar” comic, and a past-her-prime Vegas icon. All nine arrive via boat to find that every building on the island is completely deserted. Marooned without cell phone service or wifi signals, they soon find themselves being murdered one by one. But who is doing the killing, and why?
A darkly clever take on Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None and other classics of the genre, Ten Dead Comedians is a marvel of literary ventriloquism, with hilarious comic monologues in the voice of every suspect. It’s also an ingeniously plotted puzzler with a twist you’ll never see coming!
Marvel Adventures: Iron Man (Marvel)
The Armored Avenger blasts into the newest title in the critically-acclaimed, best-selling Marvel Adventures line! 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? Marvel Age introduces new and young readers to some of the greatest legends of the Marvel Universe, with dynamic brand-new art and a contemporary sensibility. Spotlight is a division of ABDO and features licensed editions of popular fiction printed and bound specifically for the library market. Each Spotlight book is printed on the highest quality paper with reinforced library bindings.
Weapon X (Marvel)
A fresh start for Weapon X! They were hunters who became the hunted. They were enemies forced to become allies. They were a ticking time bomb that had no choice but to fall apart! Now, out of the ashes of Team Weapon X, a new crew is born! Sabretooth leads a unit willing to do what the other X-Men won’t: to wade into blood and filth to protect mutantkind! But who will make the cut? Surely not…Deadpool?! Whatever the lineup, when a secret clan of Satanists plans to unleash hell on earth for mutants, Weapon X-Force is the only team standing in their way! They’ll need a teleporting hand from the devilish Azazel – but will he help or leave them to die? Be there as Sabretooth reinvents Weapon X for a dangerous new era!
Never Sleep
The year is 1861, the eve of Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration. For Kate Warn, the first female private detective in American history, the only assignment tougher than exposing a conspiracy to assassinate the new president is training her new mentee, Hattie MacLaughlin, in the art of detection. The two women’s mission to save the president takes them from the granges of rural Maryland to the heart of secessionist high society, and sets them on a collision course that could alter the course of history. When Kate’s cover is blown, Hattie must choose between saving her new friend, and her country. Based on a true story.
Cowboys & Aliens (Platinum Studios)
When an extra-terrestrial armada lands in the Wild West, they find themselves in a showdown with one tough posse of rough-and-ready heroes—and the Cowboys and Aliens graphic novel gives you the thrilling comic book stories that started it all off! Compiling every issue of Scott Mitchell Rosenberg‘s electrifying comic book series, this gorgeous, full-color graphic novel features the dynamic creative talents of Fred Van Lente, Andrew Foley, and Luciano Lima.
Murder Kingdom (Mad Cave Studios)
You must be this tall…to DIE!
Once upon a time, in a strange land called Florida, a masked psycho starts murdering cast members of the Storybook Kingdom theme park in ways identical to the gory original Grimms’ Fairy Tales. Princess-turned-detective Tanith is the only person who can unmask the killer before she and her friends are all Dying Unhappily Never After!
Bloodshot
He wakes up in the middle of the woods with chalk-white skin, the ability to heal from any injury, and no memory of who or what he is. He is Bloodshot, and now he’s caught between the shadowy defense contractor that wants to capture him, and the underground network of psychic teens that want to destroy him.
Now, Kalea, the girl who found him, has a target on her back just for trying to help him. To save himself and his friends, Bloodshot must stay alive long enough to unravel the mystery of his own identity–and deal with the real possibility that his own family are the ones who most want him dead.
Releases January 21, 2025
