Irvine was born on March 22, 1969. Irvine first gained attention with his Locus Award-winning 2002 novel A Scattering of Jades and the stories that would form the 2003 collection Unintended Consequences. He has also published the Grail Quest novel One King, One Soldier (2004), and the World War II-era historical fantasy The Narrows (2005). Buyout, a novel set in 2041, was published by Random House in 2009.

In addition to his original works, Irvine has published Have Robot, Will Travel (2004), a novel set in Isaac Asimov's positronic robot milieu; and Batman: Inferno (2006), about the DC Comics superhero. His novel The Ultimates: Against All Enemies, about the Marvel Comics superhero team was published by Pocket Books in September 2007. He also wrote the Vertigo Encyclopedia. As well as writing about comics he has written a number of comic book series, including one featuring Daimon Hellstrom for the Marvel Comics imprint MAX and Daredevil Noir.

His academic background includes an M.A. in English from the University of Maine and a PhD from the University of Denver. He is an assistant professor of English at the University of Maine. He also worked for a time as a reporter at the Portland Phoenix.

Original fiction

• A Scattering of Jades (2002, ISBN 0765301164)
• One King, One Soldier (2004, ISBN 0345466969)
• The Narrows (2005, ISBN 0345466985)
• Buyout (2009, ISBN 0345494334)
• Mystery Hill (novella, PS Publishing, 2009, ISBN 978-1906301408)

Licensed work

• Have Robot, Will Travel (2004, ISBN 1596871512)
• Batman: Inferno (October 2006, ISBN 0345479459)
• The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007, ISBN 1416510710)
• The Supernatural Book of Monsters, Spirits, Demons, and Ghouls (September 2007, ISBN 0061367036)
• Supernatural: John Winchester's Journal (February 2009, ISBN 0061706620)
• Iron Man: Virus (January 2010)
• Iron Man 2 (April 2010, ISBN 9780446564588)
• Transformers: Exodus (June 2010, ISBN 9780345519856)
• The Seal of Karga Kul: A Dungeons & Dragons Novel (December 2010)
• Star Wars: Mandorla (December 2011; tentative title)

Comics

• Son of Satan -- Equinox #1-5 (art by Russell Braun) (Marvel MAX, October 2006-February 2007)
• Daredevil Noir: Liar's Poker #1-4 (art by Tomm Coker) (Marvel, April-July 2009)
• The Murder of King Tut #1-5 (adapted from the novel by James Patterson, art by Christopher Mitten and Ron Randall) (IDW, June-October 2010)
• Iron Man: The Rapture #1-4 (art by Lan Medina) (Marvel Knights, November 2010-January 2011)
• Dark Sun: Ianto's Tomb #1-5 (January 2011-)