Jay Maeder was an American writer, journalist, and comics historian. In 1990, Maeder wrote the non-fiction book Dick Tracy: The Official Biography. Maeder's writing style drew some criticism for its apparent bias against certain elements of the strip, such as the Moon Era and its trappings. Maeder was the writer of the comic strip "Little Orphan Annie" (aka "Annie") from the year 2000 until the strip was discontinued in 2010. Several characters from that strip were later incorporated into the "Dick Tracy" comic strip. Maeder reportedly had a warm relationship with fellow writer Mike Curtis.