John Ostrander

John Ostrander
John Ostrander at the 2009 Superman Festival
Born	(1949-04-20) April 20, 1949 (age 67)
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Writer
Notable works	Eternal Warrior Firestorm Grimjack Hawkworld Manhunter Martian Manhunter The Spectre Star Wars: Legacy Suicide Squad

John Ostrander (born April 20, 1949) is an American writer of comic books, including Suicide Squad, Grimjack and Star Wars: Legacy.

Ostrander studied theology with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest, but now describes himself as an agnostic.

Originally an actor in the Organic Theater Company in Chicago, Ostrander moved into writing comics in 1983. His first published works were stories about the character "Sargon, Mistress of War", which appeared in the First Comics series Warp!, based on a series of plays by that same Chicago theatre company. He and Timothy Truman co-created the character Grimjack which originally appeared in a backup story in the First Comics title, Starslayer, before receiving its own title. Just prior to entering the comics industry, Ostrander had a supporting character named for him in The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl series. His friend, writer Paul Kupperberg incorporated him into the Supergirl storyline in 1982.

Ostrander made his DC Comics debut by plotting the miniseries Legends which was scripted by Len Wein and penciled by John Byrne. A new version of the Suicide Squad was introduced in Legends including the team's leader Amanda Waller. The character has been substantially adapted into animated and live action media and is portrayed by Viola Davis in the 2016 film Suicide Squad. Following Legends, Ostrander and artist Luke McDonnell launched the Suicide Squad into their own title in 1987 and developed several characters for the series. Later that same year, he and actor/writer Del Close created the Wasteland series with a rotating roster of artists.