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Poison Elves #1-4
Poison Elves: The Mulehide Years
From 1991 to 1995, Drew Hayes self-published an independent comic called first I, LUSIPHUR, then POISON ELVES. THE MULEHIDE YEARS contains all 200 issues of Drew's seminal work, the origin story of an antihero named Lusiphur. In a surprisingly progressive medieval era where magic and violence rule the land, Lusiphur leaves the employ of an increasingly paranoid feudal lord to trek across Amrahly'nn in search of adventure - which he finds in abundance.
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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101 people want to read
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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October 22, 2020
#ThrowbackThursday - Back in the '90s, I used to write comic book reviews for the website of a now-defunct comic book retailer called Rockem Sockem Comics. From the July 1997 edition with a theme of "Persistence":
INTRODUCTION
Persistence. According to the American Heritage Dictionary (Standard Edition) persistence is "to hold firmly and steadfastly to a purpose, a state, or an undertaking despite obstacles, warnings, or setbacks." In a time when it seems that half the comic books being offered in a given month are #1's, it's refreshing to see some titles, characters, and creators persist. Of course Superman and other superheroes from major publishers are perennials, but their continued existence seems more a function of momentum than persistence. To find examples of the true definition of persistence we need to look at low circulation black-and-white books which keep coming out year after year thanks to the determination and singular vision of their creators.
(A caveat: Another reason these books tend to persist is that they appeal to an adult audience instead of fickle children. All of these books contain enough sex, violence, harsh language, and/or adult themes to make them for mature readers only.)
A POISON PEN
I, LUSIPHUR #1-10 (Mulehide Graphics)
POISON ELVES #11-20 (Mulehide Graphics)
POISON ELVES #1-21 (Sirius Entertainment)
Lusiphur Amerellis Malache is not a cute little elf. As a matter of fact, he's the meanest, nastiest elf you'll probably ever know. He's just evil. Unlike other anti-heroes, he has no redeeming qualities. He's not short and cuddly like Cerebus. He's not torn by the wrenching soul searching to which John Constantine is constantly subjected. He's not about to be lured over to the side of good like Hawkeye or the Black Widow. No, Lusiphur is a wretched, awful cretin. Still, he is an entertaining wretched, awful cretin.
Lusiphur is a thief, murderer, assassin, and all-around rogue. In his first series from Mulehide Graphics, he wanders from one adventure to another, applying his quick, brutal solutions to every dilemma. With Lusiphur, no problem is so big it can't be shot -- several times, if necessary. Even so, he frequently finds himself holding the dirty end of the stick because Lusiphur has phenomenally bad luck. When he finds a genie who grants him three wishes, for instance, Lusiphur discovers that his wishes have come at the expense of three very powerful and vengeful men. Every old guy who seems to befriend Lusiphur eventually tries to kill him. Lusiphur's nemesis is a foppish version of Zorro named the Purple Marauder. The Marauder, who is the only person Lusiphur can never fully defeat in hand-to-hand combat, always turns up at the most inopportune moment with his battle cry of "Nyar!" Oh, and there's an imp who dresses like a clown living in Lusiphur's subconscious. The imp seems to help Lusiphur on occasion, but mostly just leaves Lusiphur feeling befuddled.
With the move to Sirius Entertainment, POISON ELVES became focused on a long storyline entitled "Sanctuary." The sanctuary of the title is the other-dimensional hidden haven of an assassins' union. Lusiphur stumbles into the place, fights for his life, and is drafted into service. Scoundrel that he is, he quickly adapts to his life of paid murder. His bad luck holds however. Not only do half the members of his own assassins' guild want him dead, but there is a competing guild set on eliminating all competition. And the police are tracking Lusiphur's guild with the aid of Lusiphur's best friend. And Lusiphur's ex-wife, a sorceress named Hyena, is involved in a conspiracy with a sorcerer who wants Lusiphur dead. It's all coming to a head in issue #25, where writer/artist Drew Hayes promises to reduce the size of the cast drastically and terminally.
Hayes is not the most skillful writer or artist I've ever come across, but I have to admire his guts. POISON ELVES has persisted through a title change and a switch from self-publishing to a small publisher. I'm sure it was because the character and the creator refused to go down out of sheer spite. Both are no-nonsense butt-kickers who do things their own way on their own terms. Hayes' starting notes to each issue and his letter column replies are some of the edgiest and snottiest I've ever read. I'd be inclined to write him off as all bluster if his artistic skills weren't constantly growing. He still has a ways to go, but the improvement from the first series to the second is considerable. His text is plagued with typos, misspellings, awkward grammar and overblown phrasing, but his one-liners are hilarious and his plotting is tight and intense. His art, which is reminiscent of Dave Sim (CEREBUS) and James Owen (STARCHILD), has gotten pretty slick. Once in a while though, a random panel is a bit indecipherable or the perspective of a human form is a little skewed.
I'm sure all these faults will fade with time . . . and I've no doubt Hayes and Lusiphur are going to be around for a long, long time to come.
Grade: B
2020 postscript: Drew Hayes published Poison Elves work from 1991 through 2004. Unfortunately, he passed away at the age of 37 in 2007.
INTRODUCTION
Persistence. According to the American Heritage Dictionary (Standard Edition) persistence is "to hold firmly and steadfastly to a purpose, a state, or an undertaking despite obstacles, warnings, or setbacks." In a time when it seems that half the comic books being offered in a given month are #1's, it's refreshing to see some titles, characters, and creators persist. Of course Superman and other superheroes from major publishers are perennials, but their continued existence seems more a function of momentum than persistence. To find examples of the true definition of persistence we need to look at low circulation black-and-white books which keep coming out year after year thanks to the determination and singular vision of their creators.
(A caveat: Another reason these books tend to persist is that they appeal to an adult audience instead of fickle children. All of these books contain enough sex, violence, harsh language, and/or adult themes to make them for mature readers only.)
A POISON PEN
I, LUSIPHUR #1-10 (Mulehide Graphics)
POISON ELVES #11-20 (Mulehide Graphics)
POISON ELVES #1-21 (Sirius Entertainment)
Lusiphur Amerellis Malache is not a cute little elf. As a matter of fact, he's the meanest, nastiest elf you'll probably ever know. He's just evil. Unlike other anti-heroes, he has no redeeming qualities. He's not short and cuddly like Cerebus. He's not torn by the wrenching soul searching to which John Constantine is constantly subjected. He's not about to be lured over to the side of good like Hawkeye or the Black Widow. No, Lusiphur is a wretched, awful cretin. Still, he is an entertaining wretched, awful cretin.
Lusiphur is a thief, murderer, assassin, and all-around rogue. In his first series from Mulehide Graphics, he wanders from one adventure to another, applying his quick, brutal solutions to every dilemma. With Lusiphur, no problem is so big it can't be shot -- several times, if necessary. Even so, he frequently finds himself holding the dirty end of the stick because Lusiphur has phenomenally bad luck. When he finds a genie who grants him three wishes, for instance, Lusiphur discovers that his wishes have come at the expense of three very powerful and vengeful men. Every old guy who seems to befriend Lusiphur eventually tries to kill him. Lusiphur's nemesis is a foppish version of Zorro named the Purple Marauder. The Marauder, who is the only person Lusiphur can never fully defeat in hand-to-hand combat, always turns up at the most inopportune moment with his battle cry of "Nyar!" Oh, and there's an imp who dresses like a clown living in Lusiphur's subconscious. The imp seems to help Lusiphur on occasion, but mostly just leaves Lusiphur feeling befuddled.
With the move to Sirius Entertainment, POISON ELVES became focused on a long storyline entitled "Sanctuary." The sanctuary of the title is the other-dimensional hidden haven of an assassins' union. Lusiphur stumbles into the place, fights for his life, and is drafted into service. Scoundrel that he is, he quickly adapts to his life of paid murder. His bad luck holds however. Not only do half the members of his own assassins' guild want him dead, but there is a competing guild set on eliminating all competition. And the police are tracking Lusiphur's guild with the aid of Lusiphur's best friend. And Lusiphur's ex-wife, a sorceress named Hyena, is involved in a conspiracy with a sorcerer who wants Lusiphur dead. It's all coming to a head in issue #25, where writer/artist Drew Hayes promises to reduce the size of the cast drastically and terminally.
Hayes is not the most skillful writer or artist I've ever come across, but I have to admire his guts. POISON ELVES has persisted through a title change and a switch from self-publishing to a small publisher. I'm sure it was because the character and the creator refused to go down out of sheer spite. Both are no-nonsense butt-kickers who do things their own way on their own terms. Hayes' starting notes to each issue and his letter column replies are some of the edgiest and snottiest I've ever read. I'd be inclined to write him off as all bluster if his artistic skills weren't constantly growing. He still has a ways to go, but the improvement from the first series to the second is considerable. His text is plagued with typos, misspellings, awkward grammar and overblown phrasing, but his one-liners are hilarious and his plotting is tight and intense. His art, which is reminiscent of Dave Sim (CEREBUS) and James Owen (STARCHILD), has gotten pretty slick. Once in a while though, a random panel is a bit indecipherable or the perspective of a human form is a little skewed.
I'm sure all these faults will fade with time . . . and I've no doubt Hayes and Lusiphur are going to be around for a long, long time to come.
Grade: B
2020 postscript: Drew Hayes published Poison Elves work from 1991 through 2004. Unfortunately, he passed away at the age of 37 in 2007.
September 13, 2015
Poison Elves is an interesting though flawed hidden gem. I was recommended this series by a good friend who is a big fan of it. As someone who loves Elves and dark fantasy, I felt this would be a perfect series for me to get into. So elated with the idea that I went and bought the entire trade paperback series. This volume consists of Drew Hayes's self-published issues under Mulehide Graphics. Taking into account the fact that Hayes self-published these volumes, I decided to keep my expectations rather low, but the overwhelmingly positive reviews for this series gave me the impression this was some near flawless hidden masterpiece. Unfortunately, I can't say this is so.
While I did get many laughs reading this volume, I encountered a number of glaring problems with it. The earlier chapters/issues has this cross-hatching style that makes it difficult to really make out anything. Hayes's art improves throughout the issues but his paneling at some points remain rather confusing. The pacing's a bit all over the place--it's sometimes fine, sometimes too fast but seldom slow. There are also a LOT of typos in the narrative, especially when Hayes decided to tell some parts via walls of text instead of comic panels.
Speaking of that, the walls of text sort of threw me off. Later in the volume there's this big "fight" scene between the hero, Lusiphur, and a wizard named Tenth. Instead of actually drawing out the scenes in panels, Hayes instead decides to use novel-style narration and some illustrations. These sort of sections can be rather pace-breaking and his constant POV switching makes it a bit annoying to read, if not downright confusing. I don't mind reading novel-style narrative (as I read more novels than comic books anyway) but I feel they are out-of-place when the sections before are all paneled.
Volumes 1-2 are fine and I find them the most enjoyable chapters out of the volume. Volume 3 is a mixed-bag for me since he starts to get lazy and ends up narrating a lot more rather than actually drawing things out in panels. The volume 4 section is the worst; the pacing becomes so rushed that it ends up being very underwhelming to read. I don't know if Hayes did this because of budget constraints or pure laziness, but I do not enjoy the fact that he decided to condense so much into narration blocks and rushed panels.
Haye's art, while unique, is fairly inconsistent. He can never seem to decide on a consistent face shape for Lusiphur, making the poor Elf look his age at times (early 20s) to over 40 at other times. It seems he was trying to experiment with his style while working on these issues, so I can sort of let this slide.
Aside from the narrative and paneling problems, a HUGE problem is the interview at the end of all the volumes. DO NOT read that until you have read later volumes in the series as it contains MASSIVE spoilers. I don't know what gave Sirius Entertainment the idea to include such a spoiler-laden section at the end of this compilation when many of the things mentioned don't happen until later on in the series! Maybe they intended this to be bought only by hardcore fans and not someone new to the series like me, which is just absolutely ridiculous.
As sad as it is for me admit, I cannot rank this volume higher than a 3. Yes I like it, yes I think Hayes had a lot of talent for humor and was very original for his time, but it could have been a lot better fleshed out. I am holding my hopes up that the series improves past this volume.
While I did get many laughs reading this volume, I encountered a number of glaring problems with it. The earlier chapters/issues has this cross-hatching style that makes it difficult to really make out anything. Hayes's art improves throughout the issues but his paneling at some points remain rather confusing. The pacing's a bit all over the place--it's sometimes fine, sometimes too fast but seldom slow. There are also a LOT of typos in the narrative, especially when Hayes decided to tell some parts via walls of text instead of comic panels.
Speaking of that, the walls of text sort of threw me off. Later in the volume there's this big "fight" scene between the hero, Lusiphur, and a wizard named Tenth. Instead of actually drawing out the scenes in panels, Hayes instead decides to use novel-style narration and some illustrations. These sort of sections can be rather pace-breaking and his constant POV switching makes it a bit annoying to read, if not downright confusing. I don't mind reading novel-style narrative (as I read more novels than comic books anyway) but I feel they are out-of-place when the sections before are all paneled.
Volumes 1-2 are fine and I find them the most enjoyable chapters out of the volume. Volume 3 is a mixed-bag for me since he starts to get lazy and ends up narrating a lot more rather than actually drawing things out in panels. The volume 4 section is the worst; the pacing becomes so rushed that it ends up being very underwhelming to read. I don't know if Hayes did this because of budget constraints or pure laziness, but I do not enjoy the fact that he decided to condense so much into narration blocks and rushed panels.
Haye's art, while unique, is fairly inconsistent. He can never seem to decide on a consistent face shape for Lusiphur, making the poor Elf look his age at times (early 20s) to over 40 at other times. It seems he was trying to experiment with his style while working on these issues, so I can sort of let this slide.
Aside from the narrative and paneling problems, a HUGE problem is the interview at the end of all the volumes. DO NOT read that until you have read later volumes in the series as it contains MASSIVE spoilers. I don't know what gave Sirius Entertainment the idea to include such a spoiler-laden section at the end of this compilation when many of the things mentioned don't happen until later on in the series! Maybe they intended this to be bought only by hardcore fans and not someone new to the series like me, which is just absolutely ridiculous.
As sad as it is for me admit, I cannot rank this volume higher than a 3. Yes I like it, yes I think Hayes had a lot of talent for humor and was very original for his time, but it could have been a lot better fleshed out. I am holding my hopes up that the series improves past this volume.
January 26, 2009
Elfquest meets Terminator is how Drew Hayes once described his creation. It's pretty accurate. Lusiphur is a foul mouled elf with a colossal chip on his shoulder. Things usually don't go his way. That's all you need to know in order to enjoy the whole Poison Elves saga. How can you not like an elf with an automatic pistol that never runs out of bullets? Answer: you can't!
June 17, 2009
Lusiphur the elf lives in a midieval world with guns and grenades, and has no interests other than drinking, skirt chasing, and killing the people who get in his way. The trouble is, he often finds himself killing menaces to society and coming off as a hero.
This graphic novel is ridiculous and hilarious, but geared for an older teen or adult audience.
This graphic novel is ridiculous and hilarious, but geared for an older teen or adult audience.
February 1, 2012
Drew was a friend of mine back in the 90s when was writing comics (and a graphic novel) for a (meager) living. I was glad to see his work on Goodreads and HIGHLY recommend it! I miss our late night phone calls (he was in Bellingham, Washington, and me in Florida - about as far as we could be apart in the contiguous US). He was a great guy and a real talent for sure!!
October 2, 2019
Way back when, in the mid-90's, I was heavily into the goth scene in my then native Philadelphia and with the impending ending of Sandman, I was looking for a new "Men in Black" comic series to get into. This was when I came across a series called Poison Elves. Attracted to it's brand of punk rock fantasy (and a slight resemblance to the main character), I followed the series to it's end. Though I haven't read any of the books in a long time, they still remain one of my fondest memories of that time period.
This book is a collection of the earliest PE series, when it was self-published by Drew Hayes under his Mulehide Publishing imprint. Originally the series was called "I, Lusiphur." but when a fan wrote in to say his mom threw away his entire comic collection because of one title, Hayes decided a name change was in order. This book contains those first 20 issues, also collected in Requiem for an Elf, Traumatic Dogs, Desert of the Third Sin and Patrons. The book follows the adventures of a misanthropic elf who goes by the name of Lusiphur who wanders around a D&D type fantasy world called Amhrallyn. These early issues show an artist and storyteller in the making as both the style and quality of the storytelling and the art evolves and improves through the course of the book. Eventually, Hayes decided to turn publishing chores over to Sirius Entertainment so he could focus on creation rather than business and did a soft reboot of the title under the same name.
I like this book. I liked it then and I liked it now. The first dozen or so issues are mostly stand alone stories, making it easier to follow but are a little rough around the edges. The story begins to evolve, showing the world grow beyond just the needs of the story. In a way, I'd almost recommend starting the series with the Sirius issues (Vol. 5-Sanctuary) as the story was much more cohesive and collected than in these early issues.
Sadly, Drew Hayes passed away at the age of 37, leaving his Poison Elves on the cusp of a truly epic storyline. It's a shame we never got a prose novel out of him. But as original high fantasy is sorely underrepresented in comics, I'm glad that this book out there.
This book is a collection of the earliest PE series, when it was self-published by Drew Hayes under his Mulehide Publishing imprint. Originally the series was called "I, Lusiphur." but when a fan wrote in to say his mom threw away his entire comic collection because of one title, Hayes decided a name change was in order. This book contains those first 20 issues, also collected in Requiem for an Elf, Traumatic Dogs, Desert of the Third Sin and Patrons. The book follows the adventures of a misanthropic elf who goes by the name of Lusiphur who wanders around a D&D type fantasy world called Amhrallyn. These early issues show an artist and storyteller in the making as both the style and quality of the storytelling and the art evolves and improves through the course of the book. Eventually, Hayes decided to turn publishing chores over to Sirius Entertainment so he could focus on creation rather than business and did a soft reboot of the title under the same name.
I like this book. I liked it then and I liked it now. The first dozen or so issues are mostly stand alone stories, making it easier to follow but are a little rough around the edges. The story begins to evolve, showing the world grow beyond just the needs of the story. In a way, I'd almost recommend starting the series with the Sirius issues (Vol. 5-Sanctuary) as the story was much more cohesive and collected than in these early issues.
Sadly, Drew Hayes passed away at the age of 37, leaving his Poison Elves on the cusp of a truly epic storyline. It's a shame we never got a prose novel out of him. But as original high fantasy is sorely underrepresented in comics, I'm glad that this book out there.
November 13, 2022
Oh, this is pure b-script adventure and violence. There's thieves and assassins and demons and a lot of organised crime. But I do keep coming back to the tormented main character, addicted to a poison that can't kill him, orphaned too young, unlucky in love, delusional, and (who'd have guessed) depressed. This series makes me laugh because of its bleak humour, cry because of the very personal drama.
August 13, 2020
It's a lot of fun watching Luciphur bounce from situation to situation as he moves toward a purpose. I see a lot of disclaimers that this is indie and flawed. It's a great ride, and that seems like an absurd complaint.
February 16, 2023
I loved these so much in high school.
January 3, 2015
Still one of the best graphic novels out there. If goody two shoes Captain America makes you want to consider joining a nunnery then Lusiphur is the answer to your worries.
May 30, 2024
Runs out of steam fairly quickly but I love the goth-cool and Luse is the perfect edgy elf boyfriend. Pairs well with Mortiis.
will-never-read
June 16, 2009I hope I'm not missing anything by not reading this book. I do kind of love the word "mulehide."
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews