Richard Dean Starr is an American copywriter, editor, and author of fiction and graphic novels whose work has featured characters including Hellboy, Zorro, The Phantom, The Night Stalker, The Avenger, and Wyatt Earp, among others. He is also a former journalist and film critic who has written for both newspapers and magazines. In addition to his fiction and non-fiction he is also a leading generalist copywriter and expert on small-business marketing.
Starr was born in Torrance, California, but spent thirteen years in Florida. He returned to Los Angeles in 2006 and was named Special Projects Coordinator for Moonstone Books in 2007. Starr recently edited Tales of Zorro, the first anthology of original Zorro short fiction ever authorized by Zorro Productions, Inc. The collection was released in September, 2008 as a mass-market trade edition featuring cover art by Douglas Klauba. A limited, signed edition, illustrated by Ruben Procopio and with cover art by Sergio Martinez, was released in the fall of 2009. The second volume, More Tales of Zorro, will be released in 2010.