Moonstone Books is an American

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

, and prose fiction publisher based in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

focused on

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

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-publishing, self-published or published by a corporate publisher. I ...

comics in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, and since

2001 The year's most prominent event was 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. The United States led a Participan ...

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

Zorro Zorro ( or , 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 de Los Ángeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashin ...

'', ''

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 polymathic scientist, explorer, detective, and warrior who "right ...

'', '' The Avenger'', '' Buckaroo Banzai'', '' Bulldog Drummond'', '' Kolchak: The Night Stalker'', '' Mr. Moto'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 char ...

'', '' Honey West'' and several titles based in White Wolf's

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 Apocaly ...

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, Dave Ulanski, Mike Bullock,

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, Rafael Nieves, Renato Guerra,

Peter David Peter Allen David (September 23, 1956 – May 24, 2025), often abbreviated PAD, was 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 Grea ...

, Graham Nolan, David Gallaher,

Eric Theriault The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur 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-Nor ...

, EricJ, Nancy Holder,

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 (comics), Firestorm'', ''The Spectre (DC Comi ...

, Vatche Mavlian, Richard Dean Starr, Doug Klauba, Paul Storrie, Mike W. Barr,

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 (comic book), Thor'', ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' ...

Max Allan Collins Max Allan Collins (born March 3, 1948) is an American mystery writer, noted for his graphic literature. His work has been published in several formats, such as his '' Ms. Tree'' series and his '' Road to Perdition'' series was the basis for a fi ...

, 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 worked on novels and novelizations (and other works) being published under various ps ...

, Ken Wolak and Stefan Petrucha.

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 fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

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

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

cancelled their '' Phantom 2040'' 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 Ben Raab, Rafael Nieves, and

, 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 A chronicle (, 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 local events ...

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 David Gallaher, 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 @ "Classic World of Darkness" has apparently been sold to Vault Comics.

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 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.

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 publisher Harry Steeger and written by a variety of authors for 118 monthly issues of '' The Spider'' from 1933 to 1943. ''The Spider'' sold well ...

, 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 a ...

anthologies.

Titles

Comics

Moonstone comics titles include: *''

Airboy Airboy is a fictional Golden Age of comic books, Golden Age aviator hero of an American comic book series initially published by Hillman Periodicals during the World War II, before ending his initial run in 1953. The hero was the costumed identi ...

'' *'' Angeltown: The Nate Hollis Investigations'' *'' Buckaroo Banzai'' *'' Blackest Terror'' *'' Bulldog Drummond'' *''

Boston Blackie Boston Blackie is a fictional character created by author Jack Boyle (1881–1928). Blackie was originally depicted as a jewel thief and safecracker in Boyle's stories, and became a private detective in adaptations for films, radio and televisi ...

'' *''

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, Buck ...

'' *''

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 Maga ...

'' *''C.L.A.S.H.'' *'' The Domino Lady'' *'' Evilman'' *'' The Hat Squad'' *'' Honey West'' *'' Kolchak the Night Stalker'' *'' Moonstone Monsters'' *'' Mr. Keen'' *'' Mr. Nightmare's Wonderful World'' *'' Pat Novak for Hire'' *''

'' *'' Psychotic Reaction *'' Rotten'' *'' The Silencers'' *'' 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 1995 establishments in Illinois American companies established in 1995 Publishing companies established in 1995 Comic book publishing companies of the United States Companies based in Chicago Spider (pulp fiction character)