Raymond S. Moore was born in Oklahoma, but lived in Missouri for most of his life. The son of a jeweler, he attended the Saint-Louis University and started out doing commercial work. He entered the field of comics through Phil Davis, whom he assisted on 'Mandrake the Magician'. Moore is best known as the original artist of 'The Phantom', together with writer Lee Falk. The series began with a daily newspaper strip on 17 February 1936, followed by a color Sunday strip on 28 May 1939; both are still running.
Moore's art is characterized by it's moody and dark atmosphere, and it often features beatiful women. Ray Moore had to quit the comic in 1942 to serve in the US army. Due to an injury, he had to retire from the comic in the 1940s, leaving it to his assistant Wilson McCoy. Moore, who was as mysterious as the character he co-created (he rarely gave interviews), passed away from natural causes in Mancheter, New York in 1984.
