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Elfquest #10
Shards
Crystalline fragments - these are all that remain of the most precious object known to the elves who inhabit the World of Two Moons.
The star-faring vessel that brought the Wolfriders and their elfin kind to this planet lies in ruins, destroyed by the seductive evil of Winnowill, the Black Snake. Once she was lord of the Gliders. Now she plays shape-changed courtesan to Grohmul Djun, the human warlord whose ambition is no less than mastery of the entire world.
Only Cutter and his Wolfriders stand in the way, but can they resist magical malice amplified a thousandfold by the ancient power of the Shards?
The star-faring vessel that brought the Wolfriders and their elfin kind to this planet lies in ruins, destroyed by the seductive evil of Winnowill, the Black Snake. Once she was lord of the Gliders. Now she plays shape-changed courtesan to Grohmul Djun, the human warlord whose ambition is no less than mastery of the entire world.
Only Cutter and his Wolfriders stand in the way, but can they resist magical malice amplified a thousandfold by the ancient power of the Shards?
256 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1998
1 person is currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
Wendy Pini
613 books387 followersWendy Pini is one-half of a husband and wife team with Richard Pini that created, most notably, the Elfquest series.
Wendy was born in California and adopted into the Fletcher Family in Santa Clara County. Early on, she developed as an artist and was the illustrator of her high school year book. She submitted samples of her artwork to Marvel Comics at 17 that were rejected.
Pini attended Pitzer College and received her B.A. in the Arts and joined the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society.
In 1972, she married Richard Pini and began illustrating science fiction magazines, including Galaxy, Galileo, and Worlds of If. In 1977, Richard and Wendy established a publishing company called Warp Graphics to publish their first Elfquest comic. Elfquest was self-published for 25 years and in 2003, licensed to DC Comics. The comic series has won several awards, including the Ed Aprill Award for Best Independent Comic, two Alley Awards, the Fantasy Festival Comic Book Awards for Best Alternative Comic, and the Golden Pen Award.
Wendy has illustrated other works, including Jonny Quest in 1986, Law and Chaos in 1987, and in 1989, two graphic novels of Beauty and the Beast. Recently in 2007, she completed a graphic novel entitled The Masque of Red Death.
Wendy has received several awards over the last four decades, including the San Diego Comic Convention Inkpot Award, the New York State Jaycees Distinguished Service Award, the Balrog Award for Best Artist, and was inducted into the Friends of Lulu Women Cartoonists Hall of Fame in 2002.
Wendy and her husband currently reside in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Wendy was born in California and adopted into the Fletcher Family in Santa Clara County. Early on, she developed as an artist and was the illustrator of her high school year book. She submitted samples of her artwork to Marvel Comics at 17 that were rejected.
Pini attended Pitzer College and received her B.A. in the Arts and joined the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society.
In 1972, she married Richard Pini and began illustrating science fiction magazines, including Galaxy, Galileo, and Worlds of If. In 1977, Richard and Wendy established a publishing company called Warp Graphics to publish their first Elfquest comic. Elfquest was self-published for 25 years and in 2003, licensed to DC Comics. The comic series has won several awards, including the Ed Aprill Award for Best Independent Comic, two Alley Awards, the Fantasy Festival Comic Book Awards for Best Alternative Comic, and the Golden Pen Award.
Wendy has illustrated other works, including Jonny Quest in 1986, Law and Chaos in 1987, and in 1989, two graphic novels of Beauty and the Beast. Recently in 2007, she completed a graphic novel entitled The Masque of Red Death.
Wendy has received several awards over the last four decades, including the San Diego Comic Convention Inkpot Award, the New York State Jaycees Distinguished Service Award, the Balrog Award for Best Artist, and was inducted into the Friends of Lulu Women Cartoonists Hall of Fame in 2002.
Wendy and her husband currently reside in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 25, 2022
2.5. It's fun because it's Elfquest. But ahhhh it's not the same as the best of the best. The art is not as good. I wasn't too invested in this adventure? I'm not too big on the palace business, but I loved seeing old favourites, I loved Strongbow in this... He's definitely become one of my favourites as I've grown up... <333 love him.
February 24, 2020
Not as good as other entries in the series, ends unsatisfyingly, with a final chapter of text with occasional illustrations to complete the story. Not sure why, but it would probably have taken two to three more comic issues to tell visually.
January 9, 2024
ElfQuest is a beautiful exploration of people and culture in a fantasy world that started back in the 1970's and still runs to this day. On this world humans are still very much in their barbaric cavemen days while elves are the fierce hunters but also fun loving children of the forest who just want to be left alone. We meet Cutter and his clan of Wolf Riders just as they're escaping a deadly clash with the humans of their area that results in them burning down the whole forest and its through these elves' eyes that we get to explore this lush world and storytelling.
Back when I was introduced to this world in middle school by my cousin, I was immediately taken with the stunning artwork and the way these characters were portrayed. The Wolf Riders and the other elves in the story are very obviously part of the same race, but show a wide variety in every aspect of their design depending on where in the world they settled (much like actual humans in our world). From the beginning we have a large handful of characters to keep track of, elf, troll and human alike, and yet it never felt like a struggle to keep track of them because of their design and how their names just fit them so well...
Read my review on the full series at Well, Are They? A Queer Review blog
https://wellarethey.blogspot.com/2022...
Back when I was introduced to this world in middle school by my cousin, I was immediately taken with the stunning artwork and the way these characters were portrayed. The Wolf Riders and the other elves in the story are very obviously part of the same race, but show a wide variety in every aspect of their design depending on where in the world they settled (much like actual humans in our world). From the beginning we have a large handful of characters to keep track of, elf, troll and human alike, and yet it never felt like a struggle to keep track of them because of their design and how their names just fit them so well...
Read my review on the full series at Well, Are They? A Queer Review blog
https://wellarethey.blogspot.com/2022...
May 16, 2025
Reread for the Great ElfQuest Read of 2025. I own the individual issues but I didn't want to add them individually into Goodreads. This time I am reading them on ElfQuest.com, where they have pretty much all of EQ available to read for free!
This volume collects Hidden Years #8-15; #8 and 9 were already printed in the Rogue's Challenge volume (so I'd already read those), but #10-15 are parts 1-6 of the Shards storyline, before it splits off into its own series.
The artwork took a little time to get settled, but by a couple of issues in I think it's nicely consistent.
I had completely forgotten about the Tyleet/Scouter storyline, and also forgot who Ember chose to take with her when rhe tribe split. It has been many, many years since I read rhe comics and I am not even sure whether I own the full run of 16 Shards comics - I KNOW I am missing some random issues of Hidden Years and New Blood. I'll have to take a peek in my comic boxes.
This volume collects Hidden Years #8-15; #8 and 9 were already printed in the Rogue's Challenge volume (so I'd already read those), but #10-15 are parts 1-6 of the Shards storyline, before it splits off into its own series.
The artwork took a little time to get settled, but by a couple of issues in I think it's nicely consistent.
I had completely forgotten about the Tyleet/Scouter storyline, and also forgot who Ember chose to take with her when rhe tribe split. It has been many, many years since I read rhe comics and I am not even sure whether I own the full run of 16 Shards comics - I KNOW I am missing some random issues of Hidden Years and New Blood. I'll have to take a peek in my comic boxes.
April 2, 2021
The Wolfriders face larger challenges than they ever had. Rayek, Winnowill, the growing human population...
December 3, 2012
This volume collects a number of issues that begin the first ElfQuest "quest" narrative following Kings of the Broken Wheel, and, at least chronologically, the first major story arc not drawn by series creator Wendy Pini. The one Wendy-drawn issue in this collection is a pugilistic coda to Broken Wheel in which Rayek and Cutter duke it out. Originally published as a holiday special and, one assumes, as a bit of fan service to readers who had been waiting for Cutter to beat the crap out of Rayek for years, Wendy elevates this beyond a sequence of speed lines and Batman fight sound effects by using the physical and emotional intimacy of the fight to reveal Cutter's lingering agony over being separated from his family without recourse to animal forgetfulness, and Rayek's genuine gratitude to Cutter for raising his daughter. It's the kind of earned revelation EQ fans had come to expect: Rayek's bravura pierced, Cutter unfettered by responsibility, if only for a moment. John Byrne's gritty, excellent, and totally un-Wendy-like inks didn't hurt, either.
Sadly, the emotional intensity and artistic maturity of that one issue cast the mediocrity of the remaining pages in harsher contrast. Wendy's imitators have never been up to the task (Brandon McKinney, who pencilled many of the Shards stories, is at least competent, which is more than can be said for many of the non-EQ pencillers), but having her artwork in the same issue just furthers the impression of watching a middle school musical after a night at Broadway.
I'm sorry to say the storyline in this volume is equally lacking. Ember's growing pains and Cutter's brooding don't provide much to chew on, and had been covered fairly well in previous one-off issues. Tyleet's exploration of human nature and culture was begininning to be interesting, but was sadly abbreviated by the split in the tribe. I don't recall how that developed in the Wild Hunt storyline, but I wish Tyleet and her love of the Tall Ones had remained with Cutter and his attempt to regain the castle. This is the first story in which Cutter and his tribe must navigate an almost entirely human world, after all.
All in all, it's still ElfQuest, and I still like it, and I'll still (re)read it.
Sadly, the emotional intensity and artistic maturity of that one issue cast the mediocrity of the remaining pages in harsher contrast. Wendy's imitators have never been up to the task (Brandon McKinney, who pencilled many of the Shards stories, is at least competent, which is more than can be said for many of the non-EQ pencillers), but having her artwork in the same issue just furthers the impression of watching a middle school musical after a night at Broadway.
I'm sorry to say the storyline in this volume is equally lacking. Ember's growing pains and Cutter's brooding don't provide much to chew on, and had been covered fairly well in previous one-off issues. Tyleet's exploration of human nature and culture was begininning to be interesting, but was sadly abbreviated by the split in the tribe. I don't recall how that developed in the Wild Hunt storyline, but I wish Tyleet and her love of the Tall Ones had remained with Cutter and his attempt to regain the castle. This is the first story in which Cutter and his tribe must navigate an almost entirely human world, after all.
All in all, it's still ElfQuest, and I still like it, and I'll still (re)read it.
October 3, 2012
While I was not happy about the format switching from color to black and white in the middle, it seemed to make the story a bit more gritty and realistic. The last bit, where Wendy Pini resumed her lovely art and did the soft pencil sketches, was exquisite. This is truly a great story, but don't read it alone or else you'll be lost. There are several series that are tied up in this one, so be sure to read them all. It makes more sense if you read them in tandem, but even if you read one at a time it will make sense eventually. Yet another great story from the ElfQuest universe.
November 26, 2016
Part of my great ElfQuest reread! I never read this quest back when I did my first reading of ElfQuest. My only complaint with this series is the separation of Skywise from Cutter. Theirs is a love story I never want to see end.
October 10, 2014
Another bitter sweet ending.. I know Ember will find her own strength, she's cut from Cutter and Leetah.
May 4, 2015
I wish the art had been better, but it filled in some holes in my Elfquest knowledge - not a bad tale.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews