Founded | 1995 |
---|---|
Country of origin | U.S. |
Headquarters location | Chicago, Illinois |
Distribution | Diamond Book Distributors [1] |
Publication types | Comics |
Official website | MoonstoneBooks.com |
Moonstone Books is an American comic book, graphic novel, and prose fiction publisher based in Chicago focused on pulp fiction comic books and prose anthologies as well as horror and western tales.
The company began publishing creator-owned comics in 1995, and since 2001 has also published material based on a number of licensed properties, including Zorro , Doc Savage , The Avenger , Buckaroo Banzai , Bulldog Drummond , Kolchak: The Night Stalker , Mr. Moto , Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar , The Phantom , Honey West and several titles based in White Wolf's World of Darkness. [2]
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, Dave Ulanski, Mike Bullock, Chuck Dixon, Amin Amat, Ben Raab, Rafael Nieves, Renato Guerra, Peter David, Graham Nolan, David Gallaher, Eric Theriault, EricJ, Nancy Holder, Tom Mandrake, Vatche Mavlian, Richard Dean Starr, Doug Klauba, Paul Storrie, Mike W. Barr, Tom DeFalco, Max Allan Collins, Steve Ellis, Ron Goulart, Ken Wolak and Stefan Petrucha.
Moonstone's most successful title is The Phantom , which is based on Lee Falk's superhero comic strip. Moonstone is the first US publisher to produce new Phantom stories for the comic book format since Marvel Comics cancelled their Phantom 2040 comic in 1995.
Moonstone started publishing Phantom graphic novels in 2002. Only five books, written by Tom DeFalco, Ben Raab and Ron Goulart, were published, but in 2003, Moonstone started a regular comic book series with the character, written by Ben Raab, Rafael Nieves, and Chuck Dixon, and drawn by the likes of Pat Quinn, Jerry DeCaire, Nick Derington, Rich Burchett and EricJ. After 11 issues, Mike Bullock took over the book, with Carlos Magno 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 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.
In January 2002, Moonstone Books announced their plans to develop the radio drama Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar 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 David Gallaher, a former Marvel.com writer/editor, and Eric Theriault, the creator of Veena and Flirt. [3]
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The licensing rights to publish adaptations of White Wolf Games @ "Classic World of Darkness" has apparently been sold to Vault Comics.
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.
Since 2006, Moonstone have been publishing comics with Buckaroo Banzai, the main character from the 1984 film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension , which continues plotlines left unexplored in the movie.
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, and announced others featuring The Avenger and one with Doc Savage, as well as two Lone Ranger anthologies.
Moonstone comics titles include:
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, often shortened to Buckaroo Banzai, is a 1984 American adventure science fiction comedy film produced and directed by W. D. Richter and written by Earl Mac Rauch. It stars Peter Weller in the title role, with Ellen Barkin, John Lithgow, Jeff Goldblum, and Christopher Lloyd. The supporting cast includes Lewis Smith, Rosalind Cash, Clancy Brown, Pepe Serna, Robert Ito, Vincent Schiavelli, Dan Hedaya, Jonathan Banks, John Ashton, Carl Lumbly and Ronald Lacey.
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 character has been adapted for television, film and video games.
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar is a radio drama that aired on CBS Radio from February 18, 1949 to September 30, 1962.
Kolchak: The Night Stalker is an American television series that aired on ABC during the 1974–1975 season. The series followed wire service reporter Carl Kolchak who investigates mysterious crimes with unlikely causes, particularly those involving the supernatural or science fiction, including fantastic creatures. The series was preceded by the two television movies, The Night Stalker (1972) and The Night Strangler (1973). Although the series lasted only a single season, it developed cult status in syndication.
Kirk Jarvinen is an American artist / illustrator best known for his cartoon-style comic book art.
Benjamin Raab is an American screenwriter, television producer, comic book writer and editor.
David Matthew Gallaher is an American video game writer, comics writer, podcaster and editor, known primarily for his work in comics and video games: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Vampire: The Masquerade, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, High Moon, Box 13, The Only Living Boy and 'The Only Living Girl'. His clients include Marvel Comics, the CBLDF, Harris Publications and McGraw-Hill. He also helped create ad campaigns for the New York City Police Department.
Mike Bullock is an American author. He 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 creator of comic book series Lions, Tigers and Bears from Image Comics, and as the regular writer of The Phantom from Moonstone Books.
Keith Williams is an American comic book and comic strip artist. He is best known for illustrating The Phantom for over a decade together with George Olesen. He also worked on Superman with John Byrne.
Lee Falk's comic strip character The Phantom has also appeared in several novels and short stories.
Dennis Calero is an American comic book artist and illustrator, known for his work on titles such as X-Men Noir, Spider-Man Noir, X Factor, Legion of Superheroes, and Kolchak.
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.
Éric Thériault is a Canadian comics artist, writer, illustrator and blogger living in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The Domino Lady was a masked pulp heroine who first appeared in the May 1936 issue of Saucy Romantic Adventures.
Steve Ellis is an American comic book artist and illustrator who has worked for Wizards of the Coast, DC Comics, Wildstorm, White Wolf, Moonstone Books and Marvel Comics.
Ron Fortier is an American author, primarily known for his Green Hornet and The Terminator comic books and his revival of the pulp hero, Captain Hazzard. Early in his career he also wrote short stories and co-authored two novels for TSR.
Chris "C. J." Henderson was an American writer of horror, hardboiled crime fiction and comic books, known for such works as the Piers Knight and Teddy London series. His comics work includes books for Marvel Comics and Valiant Comics.
Kevin Colden is an American comic book writer and artist, as well as a webcomic artist. His work has been published in print by Zuda Comics, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, Alternative Comics, and Top Shelf Productions.
The Phantom is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional country of Bangalla originally Bengali. The character was created by Lee Falk for the adventure comic strip The Phantom, which debuted in newspapers on February 17, 1936.
Chris Burnham is a comic book artist known for his work on Batman Incorporated with Grant Morrison, as well as the creator-owned books such as Officer Downe and Nixon's Pals, which were published by Image Comics.