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Meet Jay Maeder and Ted Slampyak

Jay Maeder is a writer, author and New York Daily News editor who, along with comic artist Ted Slampyak, creates the ANNIE comic strip for Tribune Media Services.

An internationally recognized comic strip historian, Maeder is the author of Dick Tracy: The Official Biography, the standard reference to Tribune Media Services' classic strip. He has contributed to The Encyclopedia of American Comics and other volumes. He also wrote the book Big Town Biography, a collection of Daily News columns.

Maeder has been with the Daily News, the newspaper in which Harold Gray's original LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE strip premiered in 1924, for 15 years. He has served in several editorial positions, including editor of the paper's Sunday magazine and night city editor. He is currently working on a two-year-long history feature called "Big Town Chronicles," tracing the history of New York City, for the paper, which will run until December 2001.

Prior to joining the Daily News, Maeder worked for the Miami Herald as a reporter for 15 years.

Ted Slampyak was born and raised in suburban Philadelphia, where he took to drawing at a very early age. In 2004, he was introduced as the new artist of the ANNIE comic strip, working in tandem with writer Jay Maeder. His work is syndicated by Tribune Media Services.

Slampyak entered the world of comics in 1989 with his first published effort, Jazz Age Chronicles, which lasted two years. Other projects include Roadways from Cult Press, Neil Gaiman's Mr. Hero from BIG Entertainment, and contributions to several of Paradox Books' Factoid Big Book Of... series.

In 2002, Ted returned to his roots bringing back Jazz Age Chronicles, renamed Jazz Age. This weekly adventure strip is available every week at www.JazzAgeComics.com.

Slampyak works as a freelance illustrator and lives in New Mexico with his wife Jennifer.