Moonstone Books is an American

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

, and prose fiction publisher based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

focused on

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhame ...

comic books and prose anthologies as well as horror and western tales. The company began publishing

creator-owned In the United States, creator ownership in comics is an arrangement in which the comic book creator retains full ownership of the material, regardless of whether the work is self-published or published by a corporate publisher. In some fields of ...

comics in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, and since

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

has also published material based on a number of licensed properties, including ''

Zorro Zorro (Spanish language, Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed a ...

'', ''

Doc Savage Doc Savage is a fictional character of the competent man hero type, who first appeared in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. Real name Clark Savage Jr., he is a doctor, scientist, adventurer, detective, and polymath who "rights w ...

'', '' The Avenger'', ''

Buckaroo Banzai ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension'', often shortened to ''Buckaroo Banzai'', is a 1984 American science fiction film produced and directed by W. D. Richter and written by Earl Mac Rauch. It stars Peter Weller in the ...

'', ''

Bulldog Drummond Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is a fictional character, created by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". Following McNeile's death in 1937, the novels were continued by Gerard Fairlie. Drummond is a First World War veteran who, ...

'', '' Kolchak: The Night Stalker'', ''

Mr. Moto Mr. Moto is a fictional Japanese secret agent created by the American author John P. Marquand. He appeared in six novels by Marquand published between 1935 and 1957. Marquand initially created the character for the ''Saturday Evening Post'', whi ...

'', ''

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' is a radio drama that aired on CBS Radio from February 18, 1949 to September 30, 1962. The first several seasons imagined protagonist Johnny Dollar as a private investigator drama, with Charles Russell, Edmond O'B ...

'', ''

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The charact ...

'', ''

Honey West Honey West is a fictional character created by the husband and wife writing team Gloria and Forest Fickling under the pseudonym "G.G. Fickling", and appearing in eleven mystery novels by the duo. The character is notable as being one of the firs ...

'' and several titles based in

White Wolf A white wolf or Arctic wolf is a mammal of the ''Canidae'' family and a subspecies of the gray wolf. It may also refer to: Organizations * White Wolf (band), a Canadian heavy metal band * White Wolf (band), white power oi band from the USA * Whi ...

World of Darkness ''World of Darkness'' is a series of tabletop role-playing games, originally created by Mark Rein-Hagen for White Wolf Publishing. It began as an annual line of five games in 1991–1995, with '' Vampire: The Masquerade'', '' Werewolf: The Apoca ...

Participants

Moonstone's editor-in-chief is Joe Gentile, who frequently writes his own stories for their comics. Frequent writers, artists, and colorists for their books include

Eric M. Esquivel Eric Michael Esquivel (born 1987) is a Latino American comic book writer and journalist, known for the 2018 series ''Border Town'', which was cancelled following allegations that he had sexually and emotionally abused a female friend. Early life ...

, Dave Ulanski,

Mike Bullock Mike Bullock is an American author and musician born in Washington, DC. Bullock began writing fiction, non-fiction and poetry in the 1980s. He worked professionally in the music and comic book industries since 1986 and is best known as the creato ...

Chuck Dixon Charles Dixon (born April 14, 1954) is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on the Marvel Comics character the Punisher and on the DC Comics characters Batman, Nightwing, and Robin in the 1990s and early 2000s. Early life D ...

, Amin Amat,

Ben Raab Benjamin Raab (born October 13, 1970, in New York City, New York) is an American screenwriter, television producer, comic book writer and editor. Early life Raab is a native of Cedarhurst, New York, and attended Lawrence High School. He gradu ...

Rafael Nieves Rafael Nieves (born January 24, 1960) is an American comic book writer and designer, with over thirty years experience in the field. He began his career with the publication of '' Tales from the Heart'', first published by Entropy Enterprises bef ...

, Renato Guerra,

Peter David Peter Allen David (born September 23, 1956), often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films and video games.Buxton, Marc (March 29, 2014)"From 'Future Imperfect' to '2099': Peter David's Greatest Hits" Co ...

Graham Nolan Graham Nolan (born March 12, 1962) is an American comic book artist, best known for work for DC Comics on Batman-related titles in the 1990s and his work on ''The Phantom'' Sunday strip. He frequently collaborates with writer Chuck Dixon. Biograp ...

David Gallaher David Matthew Gallaher (born June 5, 1975, in Honolulu) is an American video game writer, graphic novelist, podcaster and editor, known primarily for his work in comics and video games: ''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint'', '' Vampire: The Mas ...

Eric Theriault The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

, EricJ,

Nancy Holder Nancy Holder (born August 29, 1953) is an American writer and the author of several novels, including numerous tie-in books based on the TV series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series), Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. She's also written fiction rel ...

Tom Mandrake Tom Mandrake (born 1956) is an American comics artist, perhaps best known for his collaborations with writer John Ostrander on several series, including ''Grimjack'' (from First Comics) and ''Firestorm'', ''The Spectre'', and ''Martian Manhunter'' ...

, Vatche Mavlian,

Richard Dean Starr Richard Dean Starr is an American entrepreneur, editor, screenwriter, and author of fiction, comics, and graphic novels. He is also a former journalist and film critic who has written for newspapers and magazines. Starr is also a copywriter and ...

, Doug Klauba, Paul Storrie,

Mike W. Barr Mike W. Barr (born May 30, 1952) is an American writer of comic books, mystery novels, and science fiction novels. Barr has written for every one of the first four incarnations of ''Star Trek: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek ...

Tom DeFalco Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comic book writer and editor well known for his association with Marvel Comics, with long runs on ''Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Thor'', and ''Fantastic Four''. Career While in college, DeFalco "wrote fo ...

Max Allan Collins Max Allan Collins (born March 3, 1948) is an American mystery writer, noted for his graphic novels. His work has been published in several formats and his ''Road to Perdition'' series was the basis for a film of the same name. He wrote the '' Di ...

, Steve Ellis,

Ron Goulart Ronald Joseph Goulart (; January 13, 1933 – January 14, 2022) was an American popular culture historian and mystery, fantasy, and science fiction author. He published novelizations and other work under various pseudonyms: Kenneth Robeson, Con ...

, Ken Wolak and

Stefan Petrucha Stefan Petrucha (born January 27, 1959) is an American writer of comics and young adult fiction. He has written graphic novels in the '' X-Files'' and ''Nancy Drew'' series, as well as science fiction and horror. For 13 years, from 1994 to 2007, ...

Publications

The Phantom

Moonstone's most successful title is ''

'', which is based on

Lee Falk Lee Falk (), born Leon Harrison Gross (; April 28, 1911 – March 13, 1999), was an American cartoonist, writer, theater director, and producer, best known as the creator of the comic strips ''Mandrake the Magician'' and ''The Phantom''. At the ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

. Moonstone is the first US publisher to produce new Phantom stories for the comic book format since

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

cancelled their ''

Phantom 2040 ''Phantom 2040'' is an animated series that is loosely based on the comic strip superhero ''The Phantom'', created by Lee Falk. The central character of the series is said to be the 24th Phantom. It was aired from September 18, 1994 to March 3, ...

'' comic in 1995. Moonstone started publishing Phantom graphic novels in 2002. Only five books, written by

, Ben Raab and

, were published, but in 2003, Moonstone started a regular comic book series with the character, written by

, and

, and drawn by the likes of Pat Quinn, Jerry DeCaire, Nick Derington,

Rich Burchett Rick Burchett (born March 9, 1952) is an American comic book artist known for his work on such characters as Batman and Superman. Career Burchett began his artistic career in St. Louis, Missouri, and did his early professional comics work at Fir ...

and EricJ. After 11 issues,

took over the book, with

Carlos Magno Carlos Magno (born 29 May 1995) is a football player who currently plays as midfielder for Pro Liga de Timor Leste club S.E. Gleno and Timor-Leste national football team. International career Carlos made his senior international debut is in 1 ...

as the regular artist in 2006, leaving the series to finally come out on a more regular schedule. Moonstone have also made and is in the process of making several special projects with the character. In 2006, a retcon of the Phantom's origin called "Legacy" was published, written by Ben Raab and drawn by Pat Quinn, which aimed to look like one of the Phantom's

chronicle A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

books. 2006 also marked the year when Moonstone invented the wide-vision format, introducing it to the world with the Phantom story "Law of the Jungle". Moonstone have also announced a Phantom Annual, and two prose collections featuring Phantom short stories. ''The Phantom'' is Moonstone's best selling title.

Moonstone Noir

In January 2002, Moonstone Books announced their plans to develop the radio drama ''

'' as a quarterly book in their Noir Fiction line. This was to be the first graphic novel in the series. It was one of their more faithful and entertaining adaptations of a classic noir character. There is no record of the series continuing. The creative team consisted of

, a former Marvel.com writer/editor, and

, the creator of ''Veena'' and ''Flirt''.

Moonstone Monsters

The licensing rights to publish adaptations of

White Wolf Games White Wolf Publishing was an American roleplaying game and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant

@ "Classic World of Darkness" has apparently been sold to

Vault Comics Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosur ...

Kolchak the Night Stalker

Moonstone is publishing new stories based on the TV-series '' Kolchak: The Night Stalker''. Several graphic novels featuring the character have been published, as well as a regular, ongoing comic book series. A "wide vision" graphic novel has been announced.

Buckaroo Banzai

Since 2006, Moonstone have been publishing comics with

, the main character from the 1984 film ''

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension'', often shortened to ''Buckaroo Banzai'', is a 1984 American science fiction film produced and directed by W. D. Richter and written by Earl Mac Rauch. It stars Peter Weller in the ...

'', which continues plotlines left unexplored in the movie.

Prose anthologies

Moonstone recently published a Stoker Award-nominated prose anthology with Kolchak, which sold out fast. Due to the success of the Kolchak collection, Moonstone released two new prose anthologies with The Phantom and

The Spider The Spider is an American pulp-magazine hero of the 1930s and 1940s. The character was created by editor Harry Steeger and written by a variety of authors for 118 monthly issues of ''The Spider'' from 1933 to 1943. A 119th Spider novel manuscrip ...

, and announced others featuring The Avenger and one with

, as well as two

Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...

anthologies.

Titles

Comics

Moonstone comics titles include: *''

Airboy Airboy is a fictional aviator hero of an American comic book series initially published by Hillman Periodicals during the World War II-era time period fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books. He was created by writers Charles Biro ...

'' *'' Angeltown: The Nate Hollis Investigations'' *''

'' *'' Blackest Terror'' *''

'' *''

Boston Blackie Boston Blackie is a fictional character created by author Jack Boyle (1881–1928). Blackie, a jewel thief and safecracker in Boyle's stories, became a detective in adaptations for films, radio and television—an "enemy to those who make him an ...

'' *''

Captain Action Captain Action was an action figure created in 1966, equipped with a wardrobe of costumes and facial masks allowing him to become Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America, Aquaman, the Phantom, The Lone Ranger (and Tonto), Flash Gordon, Buc ...

'' *''

The Cisco Kid The Cisco Kid is a fictional character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in ''Everybody's Magaz ...

'' *''C.L.A.S.H.'' *'' The Domino Lady'' *'' Evilman'' *''

The Hat Squad ''The Hat Squad'' is an American crime drama television series that ran for only one season on CBS from September 16, 1992, to January 23, 1993, during the 1992–1993 season. 13 episodes were made, but only 11 of them aired. Synopsis Police off ...

'' *''

'' *'' Kolchak the Night Stalker'' *'' Moonstone Monsters'' *'' Mr. Keen'' *'' Mr. Nightmare's Wonderful World'' *''

Pat Novak for Hire ''Pat Novak, for Hire'' is an old-time radio detective drama series which aired from 1946 to 1947 as a West Coast regional (produced at KGO in San Francisco) program and in 1949 as a nationwide program for ABC. The regional version originally s ...

'' *''

Psychotic Reaction "Psychotic Reaction" is a song by the American garage rock band Count Five, released in June 1966 on their Psychotic Reaction (album), debut studio album of the same name. Background "Psychotic Reaction" was born out of an instrumental that Count ...

*''

Rotten Rotten may refer to: * Axl Rotten, ring name of American professional wrestler Brian Knighton (1971–2016) * Bonnie Rotten, American former pornographic actress, feature dancer, fetish model, and director * Ian Rotten, ring name of American profe ...

'' *''

The Silencers ''The Silencers'' is the title of a 1962 spy novel by Donald Hamilton, the fourth in a series of books featuring assassin Matt Helm. Plot summary When a female agent in Mexico is killed before Helm can complete his mission to extract her, he f ...

'' *'' Thor: Unkillable Thunder Christ'' *'' The WhiteWolf Gaming'' *'' Wyatt Earp: Dodge City'' *''

References

Sources

* *

External links

Official website
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060623232404/http://silverbulletcomics.com/news/story.php?a=1286 An article about the Phantom written by author Mike Bullockbr>Shadow Man: David Gallaher Talks Moonstone
{{Comic book publishers in North America navbox Comic book publishing companies of the United States Companies based in Chicago Publishing companies established in 1995