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Poison Elves #5
Sanctuary
Tired of his retirement, the criminal Lusiphur joins Sanctuary, the infamous assassin guild. There, he finds vast wealth, a safe haven, even the gorgeous assassin Cassy to romance. the charmed life never lasts long, though, and forces conspire to wipe out Lusiphur... including martial arts master Mr. Moto, brilliant detective Lt. Vido, rival assassin Lester, the ever-outlandish Purple Marauder, and a mysterious new organization moving into Sanctuary territory!
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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About the author
Drew Hayes
117 books32 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Please see: Drew Hayes
Drew Hayes (Lawrence Andrew Hayes, 20 July 1969 – 21 March 2007) was a writer and graphic artist who is best known as the creator of the long-running independent comic book series Poison Elves .
Hayes began self-publishing I, Lusiphur under the Mulehide Graphics imprint in 1991. He changed the series title to Poison Elves with #8, and continued through #20. During this period, he was a prominent example of creators distributing their black and white comics to the direct market. In 1995 he signed a "lifetime contract" assigning the rights to the series to Sirius Entertainment, where he produced another 79 issues and a color special, the last of which was published in September 2004. His work has been collected in ten Poison Elves paperbacks. He engaged in an ongoing mock "feud" with fellow comics creator Brian Bendis in the letters pages of their books.
Hayes suffered from health problems which hampered his ability to create comics. He was overweight, had suffered cardiac damage from sleep apnea, and had been hospitalized more than once. After undergoing treatment in the hospital and losing weight, he planned to resume creating new issues of Poison Elves, but died at the age of 37, of a heart attack while suffering from pneumonia.
From Wikipedia
Please see: Drew Hayes
Drew Hayes (Lawrence Andrew Hayes, 20 July 1969 – 21 March 2007) was a writer and graphic artist who is best known as the creator of the long-running independent comic book series Poison Elves .
Hayes began self-publishing I, Lusiphur under the Mulehide Graphics imprint in 1991. He changed the series title to Poison Elves with #8, and continued through #20. During this period, he was a prominent example of creators distributing their black and white comics to the direct market. In 1995 he signed a "lifetime contract" assigning the rights to the series to Sirius Entertainment, where he produced another 79 issues and a color special, the last of which was published in September 2004. His work has been collected in ten Poison Elves paperbacks. He engaged in an ongoing mock "feud" with fellow comics creator Brian Bendis in the letters pages of their books.
Hayes suffered from health problems which hampered his ability to create comics. He was overweight, had suffered cardiac damage from sleep apnea, and had been hospitalized more than once. After undergoing treatment in the hospital and losing weight, he planned to resume creating new issues of Poison Elves, but died at the age of 37, of a heart attack while suffering from pneumonia.
From Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 25, 2016
Poison Elves Volume 5: Sanctuary is my favorite chapter (to date) in the Poison Elves saga. This hefty trade paperback collects issues 1-12 of the Sirius-published Poison Elves series, and begins the long running Sanctuary storyline.
For those of you unfamiliar with this excellent (and criminally underrated) series, Poison Elves is the story of an elf named Lusiphur. Now, before you get visions in your head of pretty-boy elves like Legolas or those Elfquest characters, you should know that Lusiphur (Luse, as he's known to the few people he likes well enough not to have killed) is not that kind of elf. He's a street fighting, hard drinking, mercenary/assassin described by his creator as (and I'm paraphrasing here) "having the temperament of a rattlesnake and the ability to deliver sarcasm faster than lightning hits the ground." Sound intriguing? Drew Hayes is a master storyteller, and besides getting a great non-traditional fantasy story, there is plenty of social commentary and very relevant, very cutting observations. Drew was doing this kind of thing long before Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, et al made it commonplace. And his artwork is terrific too.
Besides being my favorite PE volume, I also think Sanctuary is the perfect jumping-on point for new readers. While it does make sense to start with Volume 1 (Requiem for an Elf), the early PE books are a bit rough around the edges, so to speak, and might not capture the reader as completely as this book no doubt will. Because a lot of new readers came on board with the first Sirius issue, this book serves as an excellent reintroduction to the cast of Poison Elves. You get a good idea of what makes Luse tick (and what mayhem he is capable of), you meet his friend Jace, and the first big PE epic kicks off. Essentially, Luse joins a secret guild of assassins and thieves, makes peace with what he does for a living, and finds love. All the while, an elite task force - which Jace is a member of - is relentlessly trying to bring down the guild. You just know all hell is going to break loose in volume 6!
I can't recommend this series, or this particular book, highly enough. When you're ready to take a break from "comics as usual", you owe it to yourself to check this series out.
For those of you unfamiliar with this excellent (and criminally underrated) series, Poison Elves is the story of an elf named Lusiphur. Now, before you get visions in your head of pretty-boy elves like Legolas or those Elfquest characters, you should know that Lusiphur (Luse, as he's known to the few people he likes well enough not to have killed) is not that kind of elf. He's a street fighting, hard drinking, mercenary/assassin described by his creator as (and I'm paraphrasing here) "having the temperament of a rattlesnake and the ability to deliver sarcasm faster than lightning hits the ground." Sound intriguing? Drew Hayes is a master storyteller, and besides getting a great non-traditional fantasy story, there is plenty of social commentary and very relevant, very cutting observations. Drew was doing this kind of thing long before Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, et al made it commonplace. And his artwork is terrific too.
Besides being my favorite PE volume, I also think Sanctuary is the perfect jumping-on point for new readers. While it does make sense to start with Volume 1 (Requiem for an Elf), the early PE books are a bit rough around the edges, so to speak, and might not capture the reader as completely as this book no doubt will. Because a lot of new readers came on board with the first Sirius issue, this book serves as an excellent reintroduction to the cast of Poison Elves. You get a good idea of what makes Luse tick (and what mayhem he is capable of), you meet his friend Jace, and the first big PE epic kicks off. Essentially, Luse joins a secret guild of assassins and thieves, makes peace with what he does for a living, and finds love. All the while, an elite task force - which Jace is a member of - is relentlessly trying to bring down the guild. You just know all hell is going to break loose in volume 6!
I can't recommend this series, or this particular book, highly enough. When you're ready to take a break from "comics as usual", you owe it to yourself to check this series out.
December 29, 2020
I love this series. I wish Drew was still with us to continue it. I have just completed my collection so I am reading the whole thing. I recommend that you also get Drew's book Deathreats that has his Starting Notes and his letter column for the individual issues of the comic. It is awesome to read that as a companion as you go through the series. I hope someone someday decides to do like an HBO series that stays true to the books.
August 16, 2020
I really enjoy the Sanctuary story arc, Hayes manages to balance over-the-top violence with a very personal storyline.
June 8, 2021
Enjoyed, even though it ends on a cursed cliff-hanger.
Luse joins up with a thieving/assassins' guild called Sanctuary, mostly elves and a few humans, where he gets back to his routes. He learns a bit more about himself and why he is the way he is, meets a new lady-friend, and things are looking good!
.. until the end cliff-hanger, which as usual comes shortly after Nyar-Man makes another appearance.
Luse joins up with a thieving/assassins' guild called Sanctuary, mostly elves and a few humans, where he gets back to his routes. He learns a bit more about himself and why he is the way he is, meets a new lady-friend, and things are looking good!
.. until the end cliff-hanger, which as usual comes shortly after Nyar-Man makes another appearance.
May 22, 2015
Volume 5 returns to the old "character of the week" format but with new characters and expanded universe. The writing was better and artwork improved. The anti-heroic attitude of Lusiphur was better expressed in this volume too. Overall, more enjoyable than the previous volumes.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews