James Vance (April 2, 1953 – June 5, 2017) was an American comic book writer, author and playwright, best known for his work from

Kitchen Sink Press Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hardcov ...

and in particular the lauded ''

Kings in Disguise ''Kings in Disguise'' is a six-issue comic book limited series, published in 1988 by Kitchen Sink Press. It was created by writer Jim Vance and artist Dan Burr. ''Kings in Disguise'' is a multiple Harvey and Eisner awards winner, and is consider ...

''.

Biography

Vance's introduction into comics writing came in 1988, with his

Kitchen Sink Kitchen sink may refer to: * ''Freaks of Nature'' (film), a 2015 comedy horror film, also known as ''Kitchen Sink'' * ''Kitchen Sink'', a 1989 horror short directed by Alison Maclean * ''Kitchen Sink'' (TV series), cookery series on Food Network ...

-published limited series, ''

'', later collected by W. W. Norton, with an introduction by the legendary

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...

, who calls it: :"One of the most moving and compelling human stories to emerge out of the graphic story medium." This work, with art by

Dan Burr Dan E. Burr (born November 14, 1951)
''Lambiek's Comiclopedia''. Accessed Jan. 16, 2014. is an American citizen, ...

, earned both a

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that were ...

and an

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

(both 1989) for best new series, as well as another

for Best Single Issue (also 1989). It also made the list of the one hundred best comic book stories of all time. In 2013, Vance and Burr published ''On the Ropes'', the long-awaited sequel to ''Kings in Disguise''. ''On the Ropes'' was positively reviewed by, among others, the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'', and writer

."About,"
Dan Burr's official website. Accessed January 17, 2014. Vance also wrote

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

's ''

Mr. Hero the Newmatic Man ''Mr. Hero the Newmatic Man'' is a comic book published by Tekno Comix from March 1995 to June 1996. The original character concept was created by Neil Gaiman, but the books were written by James Vance and penciled mostly by Ted Slampyak. De ...

'' for

Tekno Comix Tekno Comix was an American publishing company that produced comic books from 1995 to 1997. History The company was founded by Laurie Silvers and Mitchell Rubenstein as a division of their publicly traded company, Big Entertainment. Tekno Comix ...

in the mid-1990s, and was co-editor of

and

Melinda Gebbie Melinda Gebbie (born 1937) is an American comics artist and writer, known for her participation in the underground comix movement. She is also known for creating the controversial work ''Fresca Zizis'' and her contributions to ''Wimmen's Comix ...

's ''

Lost Girls Lost Girls or Lost Girl may refer to: Film and television * ''Lost Girls'' (film), a 2020 American drama mystery film * ''The Lost Girls'' (film), an upcoming adaptation of the novel by Laurie Fox * ''Lost Girl'', a 2010–2015 Canadian supernatu ...

'' as originally serialised by

. He has also contributed scripts towards comics featuring ''

The Crow The Crow is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fiancée at t ...

'', and the

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

-published licensed properties ''

Aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...

'' and ''

Predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

''. Vance was married to cartoonist

Kate Worley Kathleen Louise Worley (March 16, 1958 – June 6, 2004) was an American comic book writer, best known for her work on '' Omaha the Cat Dancer'', a sexually explicit anthropomorphic animal comic book series about a female stripper. Worley was a ...

for the last ten years of her life before she succumbed to cancer in 2004. After Worley's death, Vance edited and completed (with artist

Reed Waller Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * R ...

) the final chapters of her ''

Omaha the Cat Dancer Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

'' strip, which were serialized in ''Sizzle'' magazine. He died on June 5, 2017 from cancer.

Bibliography

Comics work includes: * ''

'' (Kitchen Sink Press, 1988) — with artist

Dan Burr Dan E. Burr (born November 14, 1951)
''Lambiek's Comiclopedia''. Accessed Jan. 16, 2014. is an American citizen, ...

* ''

'' (Tekno Comix, 1995) * '' Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight'': ''Idols'' #80–82 (DC Comics, 1996) — with artists

Dougie Braithwaite Doug Braithwaite is a British comic book artist. Career Braithwaite started out working on British comics, like '' 2000 AD'' and '' A1'', but is best known for his Marvel Comics work on the ''Earth X'' sequels, ''Universe X'' and ''Paradise X ...

and

Sean Hardy Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...

* ''

: Survival'' (Dark Horse, 1998) * ''

: Homeworld'' (Dark Horse, 1999) * ''

'' in '' Sizzle'' #28–30, 32, 34–35, 38–40, 42–44, 46–49, 51, 53, 55, 56 (Eurotica,

NBM Publishing Nantier Beall Minoustchine Publishing Inc. (or NBM Publishing) is an American graphic novel publisher. Founded by Terry Nantier in 1976 as Flying Buttress Publications, NBM is one of the oldest graphic novel publishers in North America. The compa ...

, 2005–2012) — with artist

* ''On the Ropes'' (W. W. Norton, 2013) — with artist

Dan Burr Dan E. Burr (born November 14, 1951)
''Lambiek's Comiclopedia''. Accessed Jan. 16, 2014. is an American citizen, ...

Awards and nominations

In addition to his 1989 Eisner and Harvey Awards wins (with

Dan Burr Dan E. Burr (born November 14, 1951)
''Lambiek's Comiclopedia''. Accessed Jan. 16, 2014. is an American citizen, ...

), Vance was also a 1990 Eisner-nominee with Burr for ''Kings in Disguise'', and a 1991-nominee as best writer.James Vance at the ComicBookDB
Accessed March 19, 2008

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vance, James 1953 births 2017 deaths American comics writers People from Muskogee, Oklahoma Eisner Award winners for Best New Series