Jan Steven Strnad (sometimes credited asJ. Knight; born 1950) is an American writer ofcomic books,horror, andscience fiction. He is known for his many collaborations with artistRichard Corben,^[1] as well as his work in theStar Wars expanded universe, the majority of which has been published byDark Horse Comics. He has also written forDC Comics,Marvel Comics,Eclipse Comics, andFantagraphics Books.

A native ofWichita, Kansas, ofCzech descent,^[2] Strnad was influenced by such writers asMark Twain andJohn Steinbeck, as well as DC and Marvel comic books.^[2]

He was active in comicsfandom in the 1960s and contributed tofanzines such asRocket's Blast Comicollector, where he wrote the column "Eyeing the Egos". He also published his own zine,Anomaly, until it was taken over byBud Plant.

Strnad's first professional comics were collaborations withRichard Corben, published inRip Off Press'sFantagor. Other collaborations were published byWarren Publishing. In 1978–1979 he and Corben serialized "New Tales of the Arabian Nights" inHeavy Metal, and in 1982 they produced theJeremy Brood trade paperback. In 1990, Strnad and Corben produced the five-issue limited seriesSon of Mutant World, published by Corben'sFantagor Press imprint. From 1996–1997, Strnad and Corben produced "Denz" stories forPenthouse Comix #15–20. Strnad and Corben worked together on the Flash animation web seriesBludd for PirateNet in 2000.Dark Horse Comics published Strnad and Corben's limited seriesRageMoor in 2012.^[3]

Strnad has also collaborated a number of times with artistDennis Fujitake, inDalgoda, published byFantagraphics from 1984–1986 (Fantagraphics' first direct-market title), followed byFlesh and Bones (also featuring Dalgoda) in 1986; andKeith Laumer'sRetief, published byMad Dog Graphics in 1987–1988.^[3] From 1981–1986, Strnad contributed articles toThe Comics Journal.^[4]

Other notable titles by Strnad include theSword of the Atom limited series, with artistGil Kane, published byDC Comics in 1983, followed by threeSpecials (1984–1988);^[5]Stalkers (Epic Comics, 1990–1991) withVal Mayerik;^[6] andStarship Troopers: Dominant Species #1-4 (Dark Horse, 1998) with artistDavide Fabbri.^[7]

Strnad'sStar Wars work includes story arcs inStar Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron (1996–1997),Star Wars: Prelude to Rebellion (1998–1999), and "Vow of Justice" inStar Wars: Republic, all published byDark Horse Comics.^[3]

In the early 1990s, Strnad moved to Los Angeles to join the staff ofDisney Television Animation, where he worked onDarkwing Duck (1991-1992)Goof Troop (1992–1993) andAladdin (1994–1995). He later wrote forSitting Ducks (Universal, 2001–2003) andHarold and the Purple Crayon (Sony, 2002).

Since 2000, he has concentrated on prose novels, three of which he self-published.

In May 2020,Parallax Studio announced preproduction on thelive-action animated filmMEAD (originally titledTo Meet the Faces You Meet) based on the comic bookFever Dreams written by Strnad and illustrated by Richard Corben.^[8] The film features the voices ofPatton Oswalt andPatrick Warburton and starsRobert Picardo andSamuel Hunt.^[9][10]MEAD was premiered at the2022 Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2022, and will be released forstreaming in North America on August 9, 2022.^[11]

Strnad's wife's name is Julie;^[4] he has a step-son.^[2] He and his wife live in Los Angeles.

Strnad won the 1970Goethe Award for "Favorite Fan Writer."^[12] He was nominated for the same award in 1972.^[13]

• "Encounter at War" inAnomaly #3 (Bud Plant Inc., 1971) re-published inUnknown Worlds of Science Fiction #4 (Magazine Management, July 1975) and in color inDen [III] #4 (Fantagor Press, 1988)
• "To Spear a Fair Maiden," inFantagor #2 (Rip Off Press, 1971)
• "Alice in Wonderlust," inAnomaly #4 (Bud Plant Inc., 1972)
• "Kitten for Christian", inFantagor #3 (Rip Off Press, 1972)
• "To Meet the Faces You Meet," inFever Dreams (Kitchen Sink Press, 1972)
• "Bowser," inCreepy #77 (Warren Publishing, 1976); republished inVampirella #54 (Warren Publishing, 1976),Creepy #132 (Warren Publishing, 1981),Comix International #4 (Warren Publishing, 1976), andThe Best of Richard Corben from Creepy and Eerie (Metal Mammoth, Inc., 1998)
• "Ogre," in1984 #4 (Warren Publishing, 1978)
• "Mutant World," in1984 #1–8 (Warren Publishing, 1978–1979); collected inMutant World (Fantagor Press, 1982)
• "New Tales of the Arabian Nights," inHeavy Metal #15–28 (HM Communications, 1978–1979); collected asThe Last Voyage of Sindbad (Catalan Communications, 1988)
• Jeremy Brood (Fantagor Press, 1982)
• "Relativity", inEpic Illustrated #15 (Marvel Comics, December 1982)
• "Doomscult," inHeavy Metal #75 (HM Communications, June 1983)
• "Such Pretty Little Toes," inDen [III] #8 (Fantagor Press, 1989)
• "The Wreck of the Katerra-dan," inDen [III], in #9 (Fantagor Press, 1989)
• "Incantation," inDen [III] #10 (Fantagor Press, 1989)
• "Donneman's Bluff," inDen [III] #10 (Fantagor Press, 1989)
• "Turtles Take Time,"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #33 (Mirage Studios, 1990)
• Son of Mutant World (Fantagor Press, 1990)
• "Monster Maker," inBatman Black and White #2 (DC Comics, July 1996)
• "Denz" stories forPenthouse Comix #15–20 (Penthouse International/General Media Communications, 1996–1997)
• "Full Moon Killer Strikes Again" inSpirit #7 (DC Comics, December 2010)
• RageMoor limited series (Dark Horse Comics, 2012)

• The Amazing Spider-Man #228 (Marvel Comics, May 1982), with artistsRick Leonardi andDave Simons
• Marvel Two-in-One #90 (Marvel Comics, August 1982), with artistsAlan Kupperberg andJim Mooney
• Sword of the Atom #1–4 limited series (DC Comics, September–December 1983), with artistGil Kane
• Sword of the Atom Special #1 (DC Comics, 1984) with artist Gil Kane
• Dalgoda #1–8 (Fantagraphics Books, August 1984–April 1986), with artist Dennis Fujitake
  • "Grimwood's Daughter," inDalgoda #2–6 (Fantagraphics Books, December 1984–October 1985), with artistKevin Nowlan; collected asGrimwood's Daughter (IDW Publishing, 2009)
• "Duet" inEpic Illustrated #27 (Marvel Comics, December 1984) with artistNeal McPheeters
• Sword of the Atom Special #2 (DC Comics, 1985) with artist Gil Kane
• Children of the Night Tide (Fantagraphics Books, March 1986), with artist Dennis Fujitake
• "¿Who's Stronger?" inAnything Goes! (Fantagraphics Books, October 1986) with artistGilbert Hernandez
• Flesh and Bones #1–4 (Dalgoda), (Fantagraphics Books/Upshot Graphics, 1986), with artist Dennis Fujitake
• Keith Laumer'sRetief #1–6 (Mad Dog Graphics, April 1987–March 1988), with artist Dennis Fujitake
• Dinosaur Rex #1–3 (Fantagraphics Books, 1987), with artistHenry Mayo
• Talos of the Wilderness Sea #1 (DC Comics, 1987) with artist Gil Kane
• Sword of the Atom Special #3 (DC Comics, 1988) with artistPat Broderick
• "The Secret Origin of Man-Bat" inSecret Origins vol. 2 #39 (DC Comics, April 1989) with artist Kevin Nowlan
• "The Warm Red" inClive Barker'sHellraiser #1 (Epic Comics, 1989) with artistBernie Wrightson
• "The Hero of the Tale" inA1 #4 (Atomeka Press, 1990) with artist Kevin Nowlan
• Stalkers #1–12 (Epic Comics, April 1990–March 1991), with artistVal Mayerik
• "The Silent Knight" inSecret Origins vol. 2 #49 (DC Comics, June 1990) with artistJohn Koch
• "The Crystal Precipice" inClive Barker's Hellraiser #3 (Epic Comics, 1990) with artistSteve Buccellato
• "To Prepare a Face" inClive Barker's Hellraiser #4 (Epic Comics, 1990) with artistMark Chiarello
• Star Wars: Droids #4–8 (Dark Horse Comics, September–December 1995) with artist Bill Hughes
• X-wing Rogue Squadron: Battleground: Tatooine #9–12 (Dark Horse Comics, July–September 1996), with writerMichael A. Stackpole
• "Monsters in the Closet" inBatman Black and White #4 (DC Comics, September 1996) with artist Kevin Nowlan
• X-wing Rogue Squadron: Requiem for a Rogue #17–20 (Dark Horse Comics, March–June 1997), with writerMichael A. Stackpole
• Starship Troopers: Dominant Species #1–4 (Dark Horse Comics, 1998), with artistDavide Fabbri
• Star Wars: Prelude to Rebellion #1–6 (Dark Horse Comics, December 1998–May 1999)
• "Private Parker Sees Thunder Lizards" inWeird War Tales #1 (DC Comics, November 2010) with artist Gabriel Hardman

• (written asJ. Knight)Risen (Warner Books, 2001)ISBN 978-0759550384
• The Summer We Lost Alice (CreateSpace, 2012)ISBN 978-1479274420
• The Murmuring Field and Other Stories (CreateSpace, 2013)ISBN 978-1489579430
• One Last Time (Jan S. Strnad, 2014)ISBN 978-0989033428

• TaleSpin (1990)
• Darkwing Duck (1991)
• Goof Troop (1992)
• Aladdin (1994-1995)
• X-Men: The Animated Series (1994-1995)
• Iron Man (1995)
• Skeleton Warriors (1995)
• Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1995)
• Project G.e.e.K.e.R. (1996)
• 101 Dalmatians: The Series (1997)
• Hercules (1998)
• RoboCop: Alpha Commando (1998-1999)
• Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1999)
• Sabrina: The Animated Series (1999)
• Young Hercules (1999)
• The Avengers: United They Stand (2000)
• Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000)
• Jackie Chan Adventures (2001)
• Harold and the Purple Crayon (2002)
• House of Mouse (2002)
• Lilo & Stitch: The Series (2004)
• Brandy & Mr. Whiskers (2004, 2006)
• Trollz (2005)
• Batman Black and White (2009)
• SpongeBob SquarePants (2022)

• The Return of Jafar (1994)
• Noah's Ark (1995)
• The Amazing Feats of Young Hercules (1997)
• MEAD (2021)^[14]

• Jan Strnad at the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)
• Jan Strnad atIMDb
• Jan Strnad at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
• Strnad's blog
• Strnad's other blog

• American comics writers
• American male novelists
• American people of Czech descent
• Comics critics
• Living people
• 1950 births
• Writers from Los Angeles
• Writers from Wichita, Kansas

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Comics infobox without image
• Comics creator pop
• Comics creator BLP pop
• Track variant DoB