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It has been announced that Belgian comic artist William Van Cutsem, who used the pen-name William Vance, died on 14 May 2018, aged 82, having suffered for some time from Parkinson's.

Vance was a major contributor to "Tintin magazine" during the 1970s. He drew his stories in a realistic style and these ranged from Hornblower-like naval adventures to westerns and science-fiction. He was especially well-known in the 70s for "Bruno Brazil", a James Bond-like series written by Herge's friend Greg - using the pseudonym Louis Albert.

Vance, however, will probably be best known for drawing the series "XIII", written by Jean Van Hamme, about a secret agent suffering from memory loss and trying to recover his identity while avoiding his enemies. If that sounds familiar it is because it was inspired by "The Bourne Identity" but also included other elements such as a storyline based on the Kennedy assassination.

"XIII" is one of the major best-selling comic series and has been the subject of a TV adaptation. It can be obtained in English in book form from Cinebook or digitally from Izneo or Comixology.