JONES, R. A. 1953-

PERSONAL: Born 1953.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Image Comics, 1071 North Batavia St., Suite A, Orange, CA 92867.

CAREER: Comic-book writer and editor. Wrote a newspaper column of entertainment reviews and commentary; acted as master of ceremonies at the annual Trek Expo.

WRITINGS:

(With Butch Burcham) Dark Wolf (collection), Eternity Comics (Newbury Park, CA), 1988.

Scimidar, illustrated by Rob Davis, Albert Val, and James Baldwin, Malibu Graphics (Newbury Park, CA), 1988.

(With Gary Lockwood) 2001 Memories: An Actor'sOdyssey, introduction by Keir Dullea, Starbase 21 (Tulsa, OK), 2001.

(With Brett Lewis) Bulletproof Monk (collection), Image Comics (Orange, CA), 2002.

Creator and writer of series, including Scimidar, Dark Wolf, Merlin, Ferret, The Protectors, and Star Trek: DS9, all for Malibu Comics; writer of Automaton and Bulletproof Monk and story editor for The Deception, all for Image Comics; contributor to volumes published by Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, and Marvel Comics. Writer of English version of the Korean comic-book series King of Hell for Tokyopop.

ADAPTATIONS: Bulletproof Monk was adapted for film, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 2003.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Guardians of Tomorrow, comic-book series.

SIDELIGHTS: R. A. Jones has created a number of long-running comic-book series and contributed to many others. He also cowrote 2001 Memories: An Actor's Odyssey with Gary Lockwood, star of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Jones's Bulletproof Monk features Kar, a young boy of Tibetan descent whose ancestors were saved from Nazi scientists by a warrior called the Bulletproof Monk. When the villages were once again safe, the monk disappeared, leaving behind an amulet now held by Kar's family.

During the Cultural Revolution, they relocate to Hong Kong, and Kar's mother sends him to San Francisco for safety, but the young man becomes involved with a Chinese gang. Kar seeks the help of the Bulletproof Monk and eventually becomes a changed person under his influence. A film based on the series was released in 2003.

The collection of Bulletproof Monk comics was reviewed by a Publishers Weekly contributor who noted that the "vivid but unfussy style captures action without sacrificing mood," and called the story a "fast-moving and well-told tale."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Publishers Weekly, December 2, 2002, review of Bulletproof Monk, p. 36.

ONLINE

Offıcial Bulletproof Monk Web site,http://www.bulletproofmonk.com/ (September 21, 2003).*