Michael Vance was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
He was first published in The Professor's Story Hour chapbook at the age of eleven. He has been published in dozens of magazines and as a syndicated columnist and cartoonist in over 500 newspapers. His history book, Forbidden Adventure: The History of the American Comics Group, has been called a "benchmark in comics history". It was reprinted in Alter Ego magazine #s 61 & 62.
His magazine work has been published in seven countries, and includes articles for Starlog, Jack & Jill and Star Trek: The Next Generation.
He briefly ghosted the internationally syndicated comic strip, Alley Oop, and his own strip for five years called Holiday Out that was reprinted as a comic book. Vance also wrote comic book titles including Straw Men, Angel of Death, The Adventures of Captain Nemo, Holiday Out and Bloodtide. Artists with whom he has worked include: Wayne Truman, Richard "Grass" Green, and Dave (Alley Oop) Graue.
His work has appeared in several comic book anthologies, and he is listed in three reference works, the Who's Who of American Comic Books, Comic Book Superstars and Who's Who in New Pulp.
His thirty short stories about a fictional town called "Light's End" have been published in Media Scene, Holiday Out Comics, Dreams and Visions, Maelstrom Speculative Fiction, Whispers From the Shattered Forum, On Spec, Lovecraft's Mystery Magazine and many others. They have also been recorded by legendary actor William (Murder She Wrote) Windom. One of these stories was nominated for the international 2004 SLF Fountain Award for Best Short Story.
The first book in his horror trilogy, Weird Horror Tales, from Airship 27 republishes thirteen of these short stories. Reviewers write: "Vance has produced a terrific cycle of tales, inspired by but not slavishly imitative of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. [He] has assembled those traditions in a new and deliciously creepy way. Highly recommended." The braided novel has favorably been comparied to Lovecraft and writer Ray Bradbury, and Vance has been call "the Christian H. P. Lovecraft".
The second book in the Weird Horror Tales trilogy, The Feasting, is also a braided novel; the final, Light's End, is a traditional novel.
He also co-wrote the satiric novel, Global Star, with Mel Fox and R. A. Jones, as well as the suspense thriller, The Equation, with Frank Taucher and R. A. Jones.
His first Christian book published was "The Thief of Two Worlds", a Christian SF Middle Grade novel in which Caleb and Veyda McGreggor join an alien in trying to capture a thief in Angkor Wat!
"Young Nemo and the Black Knights", a steampunk novel and prequel to Jules Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" was published by Airship 27 Productions.
Airship 27 also published "Snake: Nest of Vipers" to excellent reviews, and James Kay Publishing's released Vance's 2nd Christian Young Adult novel, "All In Color for a Time", and his 3rd in the series, "Klockwerks".
Airship 27 also published "Motor City Manhunt", a crime thriller that he co-wrote with R. A. Jones.
Will Lii published his comic book story "Dr. Fear" in the 12th issue of "Fun Adventure Comics" featuring a new comic book character who will, God willing, continue to be published for the foreseeable future in additional adventures.
Vance's weekly comics review column, Suspended Animation, was continuously published for more than twenty years in fanzines, newspapers, and on over eighty websites. At its peak, it was read by approximately 4,000,000 readers a year. It is the longest, continuously published, comics review column in the world.
In his career, he worked in newspapers for twenty-two years as an editor, writer and advertising manager, creating three successful newspaper magazines. He also worked as an advertising copy writer, journalist, novelist, historian, graphic designer, in public relations, as a grant writer, cartoonist and columnist.
Vance also created the Oklahoma Cartoonists Collection housed in the Toy and Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, and was a keynote speaker at the "Uncanny Adventures of Okie Cartoonists" exhibit at the Oklahoma Historical Museum in Oklahoma City.
He is a frequent guest at SF & Fantasy conventions, and schedules about six book signings at year at regional bookstores. Vance was Communications Director of a nonprofit agency, the Tulsa Boys' Home, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for 16 years. He is a Christian.
Titles that feature Vance's work include:
(National Magazines in Bold; Novels in Italic)
*Starlog *Jack and Jill *The Oklahoman *OK Magazine*The Blotter *Good Old Days *Holiday Out (syndicated comic strip, 5 years, 40 publications, 356 adventure strips, 519 funny animal for a total of 865 strips) *Alley Oop (syndicated comic strip/500 newspapers)*Comics Buyers Guide *Applause (editor/ writer; weekly entertainment magazine, 120 issues) *Fantasy Review*Grafiske Dromme (Denmark) *Census Takings *Cryptoc/Wildcat (editor, publisher, writer) *Warped Magazine *TimePassager *Holiday Out (comic book, 3 issues) *The Film Collector *Bloodtide (comic book)*Poto *Fandom Zone *Extra (editor, writer; Okla. history magazine, 4 issues) * Comico Primer *Tribble Talk *Media Sight *Weekly Central Express *Gnomes & Poems *Scavenger's Newsletter *Dreamline *Complete Holiday Out (Grafiske Dromme-Denmark; Blue Moon Comics) *Professor's Story Book *LexFanzine *Fangraphix (NOW Comics) *Wiggansnatch *Self Publisher *Comic Creations *Spartan Shout *The Originals *Forbidden Adventures (text-book; republished in Alter Ego magazine)*Low Orbit *Comics Scene *Comics Interview *Radio Free Thulcandra *Space and Time *Okla. Advertiser (publisher, editor, writer, 20 plus issues) *Voices *The Final Draft *The Horrow Show *Read Me *Safe Comix *Ocean Comics *Mangazine *Straw Men (graphic novel, 8 issues) *Suspended Animation (4,000,000 readers, syndicated weekly review column, 20 years) *City Beat *New Orleans Magazine (editor, writer; 12 issues) *Family Entertainment (creator, writer; newspaper entertainment section) *Commander Battle and the Atomic Sub (introduction) *The Extra magazine (editor; writer; 52 plus issues) *Angel of Death (comic book; 4 issues) *Black and White (comic book)*Blue Moon Super Heroes (comic book) *Vault of Shadows (comic book)*Star Trek: The Next Generation magazine *The Equation (novel) *Lenten Daily Devotionals * The Adventures of Captain Nemo (comic book) *Dreams and Visions *Baby Boomers magazine *Vantage *Infinity Press (ten short stories)*Home Team News (quarterly newsletter; editor, writer, designer) *The Chronicles of Oklahoma*Maelstrom Spectulative Fiction * Parsec *Comic Fan *Whispers From the Shattered Forum *On Spec *Gnome *Gateway SF *Light's End Short Stories (30 written & published, 20 recorded by actor William Windom) *Lovecraft's Weird Mysteries *Skysongs 1 & 2 *Stillwater's Journal *Maelstrom One *Vicious Shivers *Nocturne *Lighthouse IV, V, VI *Apocris (Vance paperback) *A Tangled Script *Lunar Harvest*Dark Corridor* ForEver Green (comic book)*Weird Horror Tales + audio book*The Complete Holiday Out (Main Enterprises)*Weird Horror Tales:The Feasting +audio book *ppfszt! (Main Enterprises) *Weird Horror Tales: Light's End *Global Star *The Thief of Two Worlds *All In Color for a Time*Young Nemo and the Black Knights*The Adventures of Capt. Nemo (graphic novel) *Motor City Manhunt *KLockwerks *Fun Adventure Comics #12 *Monty's World #5 *All-Star Pulp Comics #5 (Dr. Fear)*Fun Adventure Comics Omnibus (Dr. Fear)
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