 | |
| Founded | 1995; 31 years ago (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 Americancomic book,graphic novel, and prose fiction publisher based inChicago focused onpulp fiction comic books and prose anthologies as well as horror and western tales.
The company began publishingcreator-owned comics in1995, and since2001 has also published material based on a number of licensed properties, includingZorro,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 inWhite Wolf'sWorld of Darkness.[2]
Moonstone's editor-in-chief isJoe Gentile, who frequently writes his own stories for their comics. Frequent writers, artists, and colorists for their books includeEric 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 andStefan Petrucha.
Moonstone's most successful title isThe Phantom, which is based onLee Falk'ssuperherocomic strip. Moonstone is the first US publisher to produce new Phantom stories for the comic book format sinceMarvel Comics cancelled theirPhantom 2040 comic in 1995.
Moonstone started publishing Phantom graphic novels in 2002. Only five books, written byTom DeFalco, Ben Raab andRon Goulart, were published, but in 2003, Moonstone started a regular comic book series with the character, written byBen Raab,Rafael Nieves, andChuck Dixon, and drawn by the likes ofPat Quinn, Jerry DeCaire, Nick Derington,Rich Burchett andEricJ. After 11 issues,Mike Bullock took over the book, withCarlos 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'schronicle 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 dramaYours 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 ofDavid Gallaher, a former Marvel.com writer/editor, andEric Theriault, the creator ofVeena andFlirt.[3]
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The licensing rights to publish adaptations ofWhite Wolf Games @ "Classic World of Darkness" has apparently been sold toVault Comics.
Moonstone is publishing new stories based on the TV-seriesKolchak: 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 withBuckaroo Banzai, the main character from the 1984 filmThe 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 andThe Spider, and announced others featuringThe Avenger and one withDoc Savage, as well as twoLone Ranger anthologies.
Moonstone comics titles include:
