MOONSTONE TEAMS WITH WWW.INVISIBLECHILDREN.COM FOR SPECIAL STORY ARC

[MattBrady]

Press Release

For the last decade, a Ugandan Warlord has fought his self-proclaimed Holy War on the backs of children he's stolen from their homes in the middle of the night. After an intense indoctrination of physical, mental and spiritual torture, these children are taught to fight in his name against their own families and peoples. An unimaginable number of children have died for him, while countless more will live out their lives scarred and disfigured, bearing mortal wounds on their souls that will never heal.

Banding together to offer food, shelter, clothing, healthcare and a better life to the children who have managed to escape this madman, are three westerners who created www.invisiblechildren.com. These men have raised awareness of the plight of these children internationally, through independent films, appearances on television such as The Oprah Winfrey Show and various guerilla-marketing campaigns, but still so much more needs to be done.

When The Phantom creator Lee Falk was alive, he never hesitated to have his heroic creation take on fictionalized versions of the very madmen who make life in third world nations so hellish for those trying to live their lives in peace. To that end, Moonstone Books' newest Phantom scribe Mike Bullock has crafted a three-part story beginning this June and running monthly all summer long to further raise awareness of this terrible man and the atrocities he commits every day.

"This is exactly the kind of Phantom story we've always wanted to do!" said Moonstone Editor in Chief, Joe Gentile. "When Mike brought this to me, I couldn't say yes fast enough. Sure it's great to create quality comic books, but it's far more rewarding knowing you're doing something that makes a positive difference in the world around us."

To bring this tale to life in the pages of The Phantom, Moonstone Books has enlisted legendary artists Darryl Banks and Terry Austin to create a series of "B" covers to adorn each issue. For every "B" cover purchased, Moonstone Books has pledged to make a donation to www.invisiblechildren.com on behalf of those hurt by this tragedy. Industry vet and fan favorite artist Marat Mychaels has crafted the A covers while interior art will be handled by regular series artists Silvestre Szilagyi and Bob Pedroza.

"This may very well be the most important comic story I've ever written," states Bullock. "I cannot over stress how important it is for all of you to pre-order these issues from your comic retailer."

You can view the covers for The Phantom #17 at the following links:

http://www.moonstonebooks.com/images/Phant17A.jpg Cover A by Marat Mychaels and Adelso Corona

http://www.moonstonebooks.com/images/Phan17B.jpg Cover B by Darryl Banks and Terry Austin

Available for pre-order in the March cover dated Diamond Previews magazine, The Phantom: Invisible Children part 1 (of 3), will continue the tradition of making a difference in the world begun over seventy years ago by The Phantom creator Lee Falk.

For more information on The Invisible Children or to make a donation directly to the organization, surf over to www.invisiblechildren.com

More information regarding Moonstone Books, The Phantom and Moonstone's other properties, projects and staff can be found at http://www.moonstonebooks.com

"This book revels in what is right about the character." – Pop Thought

"[Moonstone's] The Phantom really manages to capture the magic of imagination" – Broken Frontier