Jen Van Meter


Jennifer Van Meter is an American comic book writer best known for her Oni Press series Hopeless Savages.

Early life and education

Van Meter was born and raised in Fresno, California. She graduated from Vassar College with a Bachelor of Arts in English, and followed that with a Master of Arts in Folklore Studies and Literature from the University of Oregon.

Career

Van Meter's first published comics work was a story in the 1998 Dark Horse Presents annual that featured the first appearance of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in comic book form. Her first major writing gig in comics was the Oni Press one-shot set in the world of The [Blair Witch Project]. She went on to create Hopeless Savages, which told the story of the Hopeless-Savage family. The first four-issue series was nominated for an Eisner Award for best limited series in 2002, a Friends of Lulu Award in 2003, and was chosen as a 2004 Popular Paperback for Young Adults by the American Library Association. The original mini-series was followed by two more four-issue miniseries, Hopeless Savages: Ground Zero and Too Much Hopeless Savages. Van Meter's work at Oni Press led to a number of assignments for Big Two, including the mini-series Cinnamon: El Ciclo and Black Lightning: Year One as well as the ten-part back-up feature in JSA All-Stars that starred Liberty Belle and Hourman for DC Comics, and a mini-series starring Black Cat for Marvel. In 2014 and 2015, Van Meter wrote two mini-series starring Dr. Mirage for Valiant.

Personal life

Van Meter lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, comics creator Greg Rucka, and their two children.

Dark Horse Comics