Mark Cotta Vaz is an American author, editor, and film historian. He was born on September 16, 1954, in San Francisco, California. Over his prolific career, he has authored over thirty books, including four New York Times bestsellers.

In 1989, Vaz wrote Tales of the Dark Knight Batman's First Fifty Years: 1939–1989, a work that the Los Angeles Times noted would "delight comics fans." His focus has been on documenting film special effects and the behind-the-scenes aspects of visual presentation. Vaz has explored these aspects extensively for both the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises.

He has also produced a number of movie companion books, such as those for The Spirit, Beautiful Creatures, and four volumes for the Twilight series. Publishers Weekly praised his biography of Merian C. Cooper, stating that the charismatic Cooper is "no longer an obscure, remote figure, thanks to Vaz's exhaustive research and skillful writing."