Steven (Philip) Jones was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1960, and lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Dayton, Ohio, before his family settled in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1964. Jones graduated high school in 1978, and worked several jobs, including Review & Compliance officer for the Iowa Department of Historic Preservation in Des Moines, Iowa, and proof dispatcher for The Cedar Rapids Gazette, before attending the University of Iowa in 1985. Jones graduated with honors in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Journalism, and was accepted into Iowa Writers’ Workshop Master of Fine Arts program. He is married and has one daughter.
Jones began writing fiction at age nine, starting with The Cases of Ace, an anthology of short-short detective stories. In 1974, he became a schoolyard celebrity after submitting plays to a regional television program, The Acri Creature Feature, and winning five “Creep of the Week” awards in as many months.
Jones wrote his first novel, Caper, in 1976 on a dare from his best friend, Wayne Amsler, that he could not write a better novel than Robert Sheckley’s The Game of X. Jones added a sequel, Sabre-Dance, 1977. A two-volume anthology, Break of Night, which included a full-length novel featuring Jones’s superhero Vanguard, was completed in 1980.
That same year, Jones and a fellow comics fan, David D. Arnold, published the anthology magazine Quazar, which featured the first published work of Dan Jurgens and the first published story featuring Vanguard. Three years later, Jones wrote the script for the second issue of Arnold’s superhero team book, Alpha-Team-Omega.
Jones met comic book artist Christopher Jones (no relation) in 1980 at Minneapolis Comic-Con, and the two have been friends ever since. In 1987, Mystery Scene Magazine published Jones' one-shot comic “King of Harlem” with art by Christopher Jones. Edward Gorman, the magazine’s editor, recommended expanding the comic into a novel, and offered to help Jones find an agent after the manuscript for King of Harlem was completed. After “King of Harlem,” Jones and Jones made their professional comics debut together in 1987 with Street Heroes 2005. They have since worked on Re-Animator, Vanguard, Mighty 1, and Worlds Of H. P. Lovecraft: The Statement of Randolph Carter. They also co-created the series Teenage Mutants (original title: Muties).
Jones sold his first comics series, Street Heroes 2005, to Malibu Graphics in 1987. Since then he has written over 60 comic books and graphic novel scripts for Malibu, Caliber Comics, Sundragon Comics, Arrow Comics, TransFuzion Publishing, and Marvel Comics, and has worked with several notable artists, including Aldin Baroza, Sergio Cariello, Octavio Cariello, Sandy Carruthers, Rob Davis, S. Clarke Hawbaker, Christopher Jones, Dan Jurgens, Bruce McKorkindale, Seppo Makinen, Wayne Reid, Scott Rosema, John Ross, and Jason Yungbluth. Editors he has worked with include Gary Reed, Tom Mason, and Dave Olbrich.
Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Petty Curses: Jim French Productions (Feb. 24, 2008)
Sherlock Holmes: A Case of Unfinished Business: Jim French Productions (March 16, 2014)
Curious Cases of Sherlock Holmes: IDW Publishing (2011)
Dracula: Caliber Comics; Malibu Graphics (2015, 1990)
Dracula: The Suicide Club: Caliber Comics (2017)
Heroes & Horrors: Caliber Comics (2016)
H. P. Lovecraft's Worlds (Vol. 1 & 2): Caliber Comics (2017)
Nightlinger w/Vanguard: Caliber Comics (2015)
People That Time Forgot: Campfire Comics (2011)
Sherlock Holmes: Cases of the Twisted Minds: TransFuzion Publishing (2009)
Street Heroes: (TBA)
Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft (Vol. 1 & 2): TransFuzion Publishing (2008, 2009)
Talismen: Return of the Exile (story/art by Barb Jacobs, script by Jacobs and Jones): Caliber Comics (2015)
Tatters (with co-creator Aldin Baroza): Caliber Comics (2017, 1997)
Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Opera Ghost (2016)
Sherlock Holmes: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Holmes (2016)
H. P. Lovecraft: The Alchemist (2016)
H. P. Lovecraft: Beyond the Wall of Sleep (2016)
H. P. Lovecraft: Dagon (2016)
H. P. Lovecraft: Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family (2016)
H. P. Lovecraft: The Lurking Fear (2016)
H. P. Lovecraft: The Music of Erich Zann (2016)
H. P. Lovecraft: The Picture in the House (2016)
H. P. Lovecraft: The Statement of Randolph Carter (2016)
H. P. Lovecraft: The Tomb (2016)
Alien Nation: A Breed Apart: Malibu Graphics (1990)
August #1 (created by Scott Rosema): Arrow Comics (1998)
Carmilla: Malibu Graphics (1991)
Dracula: Malibu Graphics (1989-1990)
Dracula: The Lady in the Tomb: Malibu Graphics (1991)
Dracula: The Suicide Club: Malibu Graphics (1992)
Halloween Horror: Kin: Malibu Graphics (1990)
Invaders from Mars (Vol. 1 & 2): Malibu Graphics (1990, 1991)
King of Harlem: Mystery Scene Magazine (1987)
Lovecraft in Color: Malibu Graphics (1991-1992)
Mighty 1 #1: Sundragon Comics (2001)
The Night Man: Hammett inventory story (created by Stephen Englehart): (1994)
Nightlinger: Caliber Comics (1993)
Quazar: The American Spirit (created by David D. Arnold): At Home Productions (1980)
Quazar: Vanguard: At Home Productions (1980)
Re-Animator: Malibu Graphics (1991)
Scales of the Dragon: Vanguard: Sundragon Comics (1997)
Scales of the Dragon: Mighty 1 (created by David D. Arnold): Sundragon Comics (1997)
Seduction: Second Stringer: Malibu Graphics (1991)
Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Opera Ghost: Caliber Comics (1994)
Sherlock Holmes: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Holmes: Caliber Comics (1998)
Street Heroes 2005: Malibu Graphics (1988-1989)
Talismen: Return of the Exile: Atlantis Comics (2005-2006)
Wolverstone & Davis: Street Heroes: Sundragon Comics (1997)
Worlds of H. P. Lovecraft: Caliber Comics (1993, 1997)
Nightlinger (2004)
Talismen: Calling the King (co-creator w/Barb Jacobs) (2004)
Talismen: The Knightmare Knife (co-creator w/Barb Jacobs) (2004)
Talismen: Return of the Exile (story/art by Barb Jacobs, script by Jacobs and Jones) (2004)
Bushwhackers: Avalon Books; Dorchester Publishing; AmazonEncore (2004, 2006, 2013)
H. P. Lovecraft Early Stories (editor with S. T. Joshi): Caliber Comics (2016)
Henrietta Hex: Shadows from the Past (co-created with Shannon Denton): Actionopolis (2010)
King of Harlem: Mundania Press (2006)
Re-Animator: Tales of Herbert West (editor): Malibu Graphics (1991)
Re-Animator Tales & Supernatural Horror in Literature (editor and contributor): Caliber Comics (2016)
The Sceptre (co-created with Barb Jacobs): Xlibris (2002)
Sherlock Holmes: On the Air (with Matthew J. Elliott): Caliber Comics (2016)
Talismen: The Boy in the Well (co-created with Barb Jacobs): Café Press (2005)
Talismen: The Knightmare Knife (co-created with Barb Jacobs): Mundania Press (2009)
Teenage Mutants: White Knights & Raiders (co-created with Christopher Jones): Caliber Comics (TBA)
Wizard Academies: The House with the Witch’s Hat: Wizard Academies Press (2009)
The Clive Cussler Adventures: A Critical Review: McFarland & Company (2014)
Comics Writing: Communicating with Comic Books: Caliber Comics (2014)
In 1978, Jones submitted a short story, “The Tale of Morgan,” featuring his favorite superhero, Iron Fist, to Marvel Comics. Then editor-in-chief Jim Shooter sent an encouraging rejection letter along with a sample of a Marvel-style plot-script. Shooter was less enthusiastic about Jones’s subsequent submissions, eventually admitting he did not see much hope in Jones developing into a writer.
After adapting the 1985 cult film Re-Animator into comics with Christopher Jones in 1991, Jones recommended that Malibu Graphics inquire into adapting an unproduced screenplay for director Stuart Gordon’s Shadow Over Innsmouth and incorporate some production paintings by Bernie Wrightson as covers. It turned out that Full Moon Productions was considering producing the film at the time, and Malibu sent Jones the screenplay to adapt on condition the film was given a green light. The production was not realized, although ten years later the screenplay was adapted into Gordon’s film Dagon.
Dracula and Dracula: The Lady in the Tomb are the first full and faithful adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula and excised chapter “Dracula’s Guest” in any medium.
In 1989, Jones received permission from author Clive Cussler to pitch the concept of adapting Cussler’s bestselling Dirk Pitt adventures into comics to Malibu Graphics. Unfortunately, an agreement could not be reached.
Jones was commissioned in 1996 to write two Young Adult novels adapting issues 1-4 and 6-7 of Todd McFarland’s Spawn. The manuscripts were completed but never published.
The non-fiction book Comics Writing: Communicating with Comics is based on Jones’s notes for a comics writing class he has taught for Kirkwood Community College’s Continuing Education Program.
Jones modeled the characters of Henrietta Hex from Henrietta Hex: Shadows from the Past and Cardy Wagner from Wizard Academies: The House with the Witch’s Hat on his daughter.
A lifelong horror movie fan, Jones designed and helped operate haunted houses for the March of Dimes and the Multiple Sclerosis Society in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines as Halloween fundraisers between 1976 and 1982, helping to raise approximately $100,000 for the two charities.
Jones is a long-time fan of the Denver Broncos and Chicago Cubs. His favorite NFL players are John Elway and Kurt Warner, and his favorite baseball player is Andre Dawson.
Jones enjoys playing Texas Hold’em tournaments.
