Nancy A. Collins (born September 10, 1959) is an American horror fiction writer best known for her series of vampire novels featuring her character Sonja Blue.[1] Collins has also written for comic books, including the Swamp Thing (vol. 2) series, Jason vs. Leatherface, Predator: Hell Come A' Walkin' and her own one-shot issue Dhampire: Stillborn.[2]
Nancy A. Collins | |
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 Nancy A. Collins | |
| Born | September 10, 1959 McGehee, Arkansas, U.S. |
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Collins was born in McGehee, Arkansas, United States. She lived in New Orleans, Louisiana in the 1980s; after time in New York City and Atlanta, Georgia she moved about the South for several years, living in coastal North Carolina and Virginia, before settling in Macon, Georgia in 2019.
Writing
editCollins has written numerous novels since 1989, most of which refer to and directly include races of creatures the author calls Pretenders, monsters from myth and legend passing as human to better hunt their prey. She is best known for Sonja Blue, a young woman with demonic powers who after being taught by an older male mentor, hunts and kills vampires. Her first appearance was in 1989.[3] A. Asbjørn Jøn notes possible intertextual links between the Whistler character in the 1998 movie Blade and a character named Whistler in the Sonja Blue novel, A Dozen Black Roses (1996), as they possess "striking similarities in role, dramatic focus, visual appearance, and sharing the name".[4] Margaret L. Carter, in her article on 20th century vampire fiction, listed Sunglasses After Dark as one of the 13 most influential vampire novels published after 1970, particularly in the way Collins depicted vampires as parasitic beings with no identity of their own who 'borrow' the memories of their hosts.[5]
Bibliography
editChapbooks
edit- The Tortuga Hill Gang's Last Ride: The True Story (1991)
- Cold Turkey (1992)
- Voodoo Chile (2002)
- The Thing From Lover's Lane (2003)
Non-fiction
editComic books
edit- Swamp Thing (vol. 2) (DC/Vertigo, 1991–1993)
- Jason vs. Leatherface (Topps Comics, 1995)
- Sunglasses After Dark (Verotik Publications, 1995–1997)
- Machina Jones (Marvel Comics, 1995)
- Dhampire: Stillborn (Vertigo, 1996; DC Comics, 1997) ISBN 978-1-56389-256-1
- Predator: Hell Come A' Walkin' (Dark Horse, 1996)
- Vampirella (Dynamite, 2014–2016)
- Sunglasses After Dark: Full Blooded Edition (IDW, 2015)
- Army of Darkness: Furious Road (Dynamite Entertainment, 2016)
- Swamp Thing by Nancy A. Collins Omnibus (DC Comics/DC Black Label, 2020)
Awards
edit- Bram Stoker Award First Novel winner (1990): Sunglasses After Dark
- Bram Stoker Best Novellette nominee (1997): The Thing From Lover's Lane
- Bram Stoker Best Collection nominee (2003): Knuckles and Tales
- International Horror Guild Best Collection nominee (2003): Knuckles and Tales
Other
editShe is the founder of the International Horror Guild.[8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Monica I. O'Rourke "Nancy Collins" in: Richard Bleiler, Ed. Supernatural Fiction Writers: Contemporary Fantasy and Horror. New York: Thomson/Gale, 2003. (p. 221-226). ISBN 9780684312507
- ^ "Nancy A Collins". Fantastic Fiction. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
- ^ "Sonja Blue". Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ^ Jøn, A. Asbjørn (2003). "Vampire Evolution". METAphor: 23. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
- ^ "Outstanding Vampire Novels".
- ^ From Bayou to Abyss: Examining John Constantine, Hellblazer.
- ^ "ROBERT E. HOWARD CHANGED MY LIFE". Rogue Blades. January 11, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
- ^ "Nancy A. Collins". Penguin Random House Canada.
Further reading
edit- David Mathew, "Collins, Nancy A(verill)", in David Pringle, ed., St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers (Detroit: St. James Press, 1998) ISBN 1558622063
External links
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- Nancy A. Collins at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Collins' "True Blue - The Official Sonja Blue Blog"
- Myspace Golgotham
- Nancy A. Collins on GoodReads