Jan Vriends has worked as an illustrator, writer and graphic designer since 1991. Between 1994 and 1998 he was present in the monthly Webber with comics like 'Wijk 13', 'Lex', 'Hendrick Pickedick', 'De Man Die Alles Kan' and 'Zep'. He published 'Lisa en Lola' in the magazine Fancy (1995-2006) and has produced 'Janjaap' and 'Cowboy John' in Zone 5300 from 1998. In his 'Janjaap' comics, Vriends experimented with various styles of texts and graphics. 'Janjaap' is also published in newspaper Algemeen Dagblad and as a book collection by Bries.
For the Kletskoek magazine of grocery store Albert Heijn, Vriends made the comic 'Suus en Joost' from 2000 to 2004. His daily 'Jan' cartoons were published on the Eindhovens Dagblad Portal. In 2004, he developed the character of 'Hank Spencer' for the monthly magazine Zo Zit Dat, initially only in illustrations, but later also as a comic.
For the girl's magazine Tina, he draws 'Roos' since 2007. He has made comics courses for Nickelodeon Magazine, and published the graphic novel 'De Man Die Het Niks Doet' with Oog en Blik in commission of the Board for the Chronically Ill and Disabled. In 2008 he made the experimental album 'De Man Zonder Gevoel' in commission of the Council for the Disabled and Chronically Ill People. He is a member of the Nukomix collective and in addition, Vriends is active in the fields of music, cabaret and theatre.
