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The Complete ElfQuest #1

The Complete ElfQuest, Volume One

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Discover the legendary Elfquest ! Created in 1978, Elfquest continues to capture the imaginations of readers young and old. Chief Cutter and the Wolfriders are driven from their forest home by the threat of annihilation. As they wander an ever-changing landscape inhabited by excitable humans--and other odd creatures--they discover other elf tribes as well. Alliances are forged, enemies discovered, and savage battles fought in this epic fantasy adventure! This edition boasts 720 pages, collecting the entirety of what is now known as "The Original Quest" in stunning black and white, including an extensive gallery of concept art, pinups, and covers, with commentary from series creators Wendy and Richard Pini.

720 pages, Paperback

First published August 19, 2014

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1477 people want to read

About the author

Wendy Pini

613 books387 followers
Wendy 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.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 217 reviews
Profile Image for Dan Schwent.
3,189 reviews10.8k followers
November 5, 2019
When the Wolfriders are driven from their forest home, they endure great heartships before joining with the elves of the desert. But are there more tribes of elves on the world of two moons and where did the come from in the first place? That's what Cutter, Leetah, and the rest of the Wolfriders want to know!

ElfQuest was always in the periphery when I was playing Dungeons and Dragons back in the day but I never read an issue. We were milling around in Barnes and Noble not too long ago, waiting for some of my wife's college friends to show up, when I flipped through this tome. Needing a new series to read now that I'm caught up on Usagi Yojimbo, I eventually decided to give it a shot.

Yeah, I should have picked this up decades ago. For my money, ElfQuest has a lot going for it. It's not your typical Tolkien by way of Dungeons and Dragons fantasy. There are science fantasy elements lurking in the background. The Wolfriders have more in common with Native American culture than they do Professor Tolkien's creations. I have to think there's a little Michael Moorcock in their parentage as well. Instead of wanting to save the world, the Wolfriders and their elfin allies seek only to find where they came from and where they belong.

Flowery hippy crap aside, this is great stuff. The art isn't your typical comic fare of the time period. Wendy Pini drew inspiration from more than the usual suspects of the day, from diverse sources as Disney cartoons and manga. Yes, I'm aware manga is influenced by Disney cartoons brought to Japan after World War II. She puts a lot of detail in the background, probably more than she needs to, and her elves are both beautiful and alien. I have to think it was an influence on later works like The Dark Crystal and Pirates of Darkwater.

It was easy to get enthralled by the adventures of Cutter, Skywise, and the rest as they go from adventure to adventure, battling men, trolls, and even other elves in their quest for the truth. Since the Pinis are working without a net, I had no idea who would live or die.

There's not a lot else I can share without spoiling too much. The Complete ElfQuest is a journey I should have embarked on years ago. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Profile Image for Sud666.
2,322 reviews195 followers
September 28, 2017
ElfQuest was a pleasant surprise. I had a vestigial memory of this comic from when I was a child and once I saw it went "Huh! ElfQuest..I kinda remember that." Well I am glad I remembered because this was really excellent. Allow me the use of the trite "Ahead of it's time" to describe my feelings for this epic story.
In a comic achievement rivaled only, in my slight knowledge, by the excellent Dave Sim in his "Cerebus" magnum opus. What do I speak of? The ability to create a unique story out of their fecund imaginations and then not only write the story, illustrate the story, publish as an independent comic house and , perhaps most significantly, maintain a vast, sweeping story arc for hundreds of issues. Creative talent of this magnitude is always a joy to behold and speaks to the ability of these authors to fulfill mankind's ancient desire for great stories.

In 1978 Wendy Pini and her husband Richard (who acted as editor/manager/publisher) penned an epic High Fantasy tale. High Fantasy generally is the preserve of "secondary" worlds. No grimdark here. No modern environments. It's a realm that is populated by eleves, trolls,magic, etc. That's what ElfQuest is at it's heart. But it is so much more.

It's not a kid's story though it shares the obvious elements of one. It has many mature themes. Death is no stranger here and it is final (unlike modern mainstream comics where characters like Batman have died several dozen times within the last year). They had main characters of different colors (the main Elves, the Wolf Riders, are brown skinned), there is a homosexual character, believable and tough female characters, open depiction (not graphic) of sexual acts (rare back in 1978 in a comic), and an overarching theme of varied races working for a common goal. Mind you this was 1978. But unlike their modern comic kin this message is delivered sans the virtue signalling and unsubtle preaching. Modern comic writer's may care to take note-this is how you spread a positive liberal message. Allow the story to make the point. Leave the crap you learned in your one or two political science classes from some third rate leftist professor that deigned to teach at your third rate school behind. Please. I know a biased clueless talking point when I see one. Windy Pini weaves a wonderful tale of inclusion, overcoming racial disparities, and different sexual orientations in an artful and completely classy way. Bravo. I miss the old school liberals, they managed to package their beliefs in a much classier and subtle way. I would recommend ElfQuest to anyone.

Now the story:
On the World of Two Moons there is a tribe of Elves known as the Wolf Riders. They have developed a kinship with the wolves and live in the forest. The story is of Cutter, Clan Chief, the son of a famous warchief-Bearclaw. In the stories of their tribe it is said the Elves came from the stars and descended from the High Ones. Cutter wants to leave the verdant tribal lands and go looking for the High Ones. But, first, they must survive the feral human clans that war with them.

As the story progresses we see the Elves go on a epic journey to discover the High Ones. This journey takes them through many lands and they meet other elves (each of which is vastly different due to evolution over time-The Sunfolk, the Gliders, the Go Backs), other humans, trolls and faeries. I won't spoil this story any more- that's why you read this. I won't deprive you of this story. It is epic and huge. ElfQuest volume 1 came in at a hefty 650 pages. It is a heavy book and can serve as a means of braining someone silly. Uh just FYI.

I'm not sure how I feel about the entire book being in black and white. I'd have preferred color but the artwork is beautiful. Wendy Pini is very talented and the figures (versus the late 70's norm) have more in common with Japanese manga in the more effeminate features of the male characters. I thought it was quite a unique and good style.

That's it. I'm done. Read ElfQuest. Ciao.
Profile Image for Spider the Doof Warrior.
435 reviews253 followers
September 16, 2015
I love this book. Love love love love love. The art is expressive and beautiful. The story of these elves finding their place in a hostile world is fascinating. It's just so good. Buy any edition you can find of this or get it from the library (but buying it is better, so buy this edition) and READ IT!

It's got racial diversity, strong female characters. BISEXUAL CHARACTERS! It's. So. GOOD!!!! And ahead of its time!

Can't more things be as awesome as Elfquest?

Sep. 2015

Elfquest is still awesome. Still full of great characters with good values. I really think the wolfriders are the best. The bravest, with the best values.
Profile Image for Allie.
510 reviews29 followers
June 8, 2017
After hearing about this from a bookstagram friend, I put it on hold at the library. I was shocked when I went to pick it up. This bad boy is massive! I multi read, so I read different books to fit into my various circumstances throughout the day. Graphic novels are reserved for my waiting times (i.e. waiting in the doctor's/dentist's office, waiting for my kids to get out of school, etc); the reason being is that they are easy to stop at any time, and it's easy to remember where I left off. But most importantly, they are relatively short and light. But at over 700 pages, this is most definitely NOT short and light. But my waiting moments added up and I finally finished this. I'm tempted to buy ALL of the Elf Quest books now. I LOVE it!
August 19, 2014
What incredible memories this definitive collection stirred within me.

This wasn't just a book. It was old friends sitting around a campfire, sharing the stories of their lives with me. It was falling in love again the Wolfriders. Cutter and his dearest friend Skywise. Redlance and Nightfall. One-Eye and Clearbrook. Strongbow and Moonshade. Leetah. Rayek. The malevolent Winnowill. Kahvi of the Go-Backs. If ever a book contained magic, Elfquest was it.

Sorry Twilight, but this woman runs with the REAL wolves!

I have the original WaRP Graphics issues from my junior high school days and they reside pride of place upon my bookshelves. To own this huge (and very heavy at over 700 pages) tome is yummy icing on a maple-bacon cupcake.

Sorry Kindle, but an ereader cannot do this amazing collection proper justice. I have the physical book. This is a keeper.

As much as I love Cutter, the sometimes hot-headed (and very young, for elves that is) chief of the Wolfriders and his lifemate Leetah, healer of the Sun Folk (they were the first interracial couple I'd ever seen in a book. Cutter was blonde and fair and Leetah was brown-skinned--to a nerdy junior high school girl, seeing brown-skinned elves was a revelation), my all-time favourite couple has always been Redlance, the gentle tree-shaper and his lifemate Nightfall, the fearless huntress. I think it was Redlance who fostered my love for the beta male character, and it would serve many romance authors well to study how Wendy and Richard Pini created a beta male hero that didn't come off as stereotypically weak or emasculated. In fact, Redlance and Nightfall's relationship was that perfect trifecta of love, respect and trust.

There are so many things I've loved about this series--the strong female friendships, the powerful female characters, alpha males who don't rely on brute strength or abuse to prove their leadership capabilities, the humor, the horror, the heartbreak, the triumph. The strength of the family. The age-old conflict between tradition and change. It was the first illustrated story in which sex was treated in a healthy, loving and organic fashion. Even back in junior high, I never understood why adults complained about Cutter and Leetah sharing an intimate moment (though there really wasn't anything to see), or the "celebration before we go to war" scene with the Go-Backs (which some disdainfully called 'an orgy') but had no problems watching a slasher flick like Halloween. Seeing these scenes through adult eyes, I'd much rather have my children (if I had any) reading Elfquest than most of the slut-shaming crap that is New Adult.

It took this new journey to realize something else that truly stands out--the idea of Recognition. In many paranormal romances this plot device is (over) used to explain why a vampire/werewolf/shifter pursues the heroine so relentlessly. She is FATED to be his. There's no argument and more often than not, the heroine passively accepts it. While Richard and Wendy Pini were my first exposure to this idea which predates the paranormal genre by decades, their take on it is far more realistic. Recognition is not treated as this swoonworthy occurance. It's linked to the basic instinct for survival with absolutely no logic nor respecter of boundaries, and the Recognized is often not the person one wants. Leetah, as a member of the "civilized" Sun Folk fights against Recognizing Cutter, who represents everything wild and untamed. She eventually accepts it because Cutter proves himself the better man and they grow to love each other deeply. On the other hand, the gamine Dewshine finds herself being Recognized by Tyldek, one of the gliders and neither party is thrilled. In fact, she's absolutely horrified. And while she accepts Recognition, she makes it clear that her heart belongs to another. In some cases, such as with Redlance and Nightfall, it's a means to further solidify their bond.

Of course the art was and still is incredibly beautiful. Every character, from the Wolfriders, to the Trolls, to the various and scattered elves, and the humans, had a very distinct look and feel. Hair had movement. Eyes were truly the windows to the soul. Clothing felt organic and fit each tribe in form and function. I could smell the rich green of The Holt, feel the desert sun of Sorrow's End, soar with the Gliders.

Some stories/books do not age well. Elfquest is simply ageless. It stands the test of time. It is not just a comic. It is family.

And that is the highest compliment I can give.

Profile Image for Scott.
1,395 reviews122 followers
September 13, 2014
I read this back in the early 80's as a comic book. This is all 700 pages of the first Quest brought together in one huge volume. This was the comic that bridged the gap between comic book and fantasy books - one of the main reasons I started reading fantasy.

This is fantasy at it's finest, when people talk high fantasy this is what they are talking about.

If you've read Elfquest then this has everything. The complete first Quest. Cutter, Leeta, Skywise everything in one place!

If you've never read Elfquest and you have any interest in elves, trolls, magic, love, loss, quests, battles, betrayal, death, life & transformation then this is probably the best $25 you'll ever spend.

This book goes right on my favorite shelf and will be re-read many many times in the years to come.

My highest possible recommendation.
Profile Image for Sanne.
4 reviews2 followers
July 24, 2015
This collection made me feel so nostalgic. Elfquest was the first comic that I've encountered. It always astonished me that it was the only comic book that my local tiny village library had. It was damaged to the point where pages were falling out but I still took it home.

Best. decision. ever. The artwork is stunning and the story is so endearing. I love the notion of 'recognition'. Recognition joins the souls of two individuals together. It causes an unbreakable bond between them and it is almost impossible to resist this calling. They will be together from then onwards. Soulmates. The way this is depicted in the comic will warm your heart. You will long for it to exist in real life.

Elfquest , in short, is about a group of elves who have wolf blood inside them. Wolves are their companions and they ride them through the woods. But these are not the only kind of elves that exist. And in time, they will meet more kinds. They all aim to find the High ones who are the oldest elves.

Another interesting aspect is that Elfquest also explores the rivalry between humans and elves. Are they dangerous? Are they able to live together? Or will they only hunt eachother down till the end of days.

Magic is also an inherent part of the elves' lives, for example Redlance can shape and grow plants and Leetah is a healer.

The only thing I disliked about this collection is that it is published in black and white even though they were originally published in color.

Long story short, I would definitely recommend Elfquest to anyone. It would be a perfect start to get to know Elfquest now that they are working on compiling all the stories into volumes!
Profile Image for Emma.
2,671 reviews1,080 followers
May 1, 2021
This puts the EPIC in Epic fantasy! Absolutely magical- the detail in the black and white line drawings forced me to slow my reading down so I could truly appreciate this work of art. First penned in 1977, these elves are pretty groovy looking too!
Profile Image for Diz.
1,846 reviews129 followers
July 29, 2017
This was a bit of a chore to read all 700+ pages. I guess I should start with something positive though. The art has a late 70's vibe to it that is fun to look at.

Now with that finished, we can get to the problems. First, the writing is weak. There is an over reliance on narration boxes, so whatever is happening on panel, there are narration boxes to tell you how characters are feeling, what they are thinking, what their reactions are, and so on. Although it was more common to rely on narration boxes in the 70s when this was written, it is a slog to get through for modern comic book readers who are used to writers sticking to the policy of "show, don't tell."

Second, it feels like there is a lack of character development. This story follows the adventures of a tribe of wolf riding elves, and focuses particularly on Cutter, the leader of the tribe. Over the course of this volume, they encounter desert elves, mountain elves, snow elves, trolls, and a two secret characters that I will leave unnamed in order not to spoil the story. Even though the wolf riders meet such a wide variety of characters, they don't learn anything from them. Through these interactions we learn that the other groups are deeply flawed and that the wolf riders are the best. They are always the best, so there's no room for them to grow as characters. Since they are the best and they never learn anything, it's boring to follow their adventures as they meet groups of losers around the world.

Finally, the quest that the main characters are on ends in a fizzle. While in real life it is common for grand plans and adventures to end in disappointment, it doesn't make for good fiction. The fact that main characters end up wanting what they had at the beginning of the story at the end of the story just adds to the sense that nothing develops in this story.

Overall, I was bored, so I won't be reading any more volumes of this series. However, the art is quite nice. Perhaps you could satisfy your curiosity with a Google image search.
Profile Image for L. McCoy.
742 reviews7 followers
November 28, 2020
This is a comic that’s been recommended to me several times. Now that I’ve read it I can mostly see why.

What’s it about?
A lot happens in this book and I don’t wanna accidentally spoil something so I’ll skip that part.

Pros:
The story is pretty good. I should note that this is light reading and light fantasy: don’t expect something particularly deep or bloody from this one. That being said it still keeps itself interesting and fun, which there’s nothing wrong with just having fun (it’s called entertainment after all).
The artwork is very good. It’s all in black and white which I didn’t expect but I think it works, I think it shows off the detail very well.
The action scenes are pretty well done. As I said, this isn’t dark or gory so don’t expect the same action scenes as you’d get from many other fantasy tales, it’s just pure fun and little grit, that being said it works very well.
There’s some comic relief that is enjoyable.
The elves and wolves are friends, I liked that for the dog and human like element that it brings. My favorite character might be a wolf cub that seemed a bit more like a puppy IMO!
There’s some subtle similarities to American history and real life racism that are done pretty well in this book.

Cons:
This story being a light read is, like many lighter reads, unfortunately predictable.
The dialogue... It’s kinda cheesy and very cartoonish.

Mixed thoughts:
The characters are... I dunno, it’s mixed. Some of them are very interesting, well written characters I cared about quite a bit throughout. Some others, I couldn’t tell you anything about right after reading it, I cared so little.
There’s some gender stereotypes for the first few parts of the story but they stopped or at least were barely noticeable by the end. If I had to guess the creators may have noticed so they stopped it so in that way it’s cool to see but in context of reviewing the whole book I would be lying if I said they didn’t bother me towards the beginning.

Overall:
Most of the fantasy I’m into tends to be very dark, violent and sometimes complicated. This is not any of those things but I think that works very well for this book. It’s a bit of fun and light in the darkness of my usual reading in this genre.
I noticed that some readers said that this is one of the first indie comics they ever got into and I can see that. 10-12 year old me would’ve likely considered this a full 5-star. 19-year-old me unfortunately is kinda picky and had some issues.
Sure, it’s predictable and might have bad dialogue. That being said the story is fun, there’s some cool action, the art is fantastic and there’s cool (sometimes cute) wolves! There’s definitely more things I liked than disliked even now that I’m all picky and shit. If you’re up for a light, fun read in the fantasy genre then you should check out ElfQuest for sure!

4/5
Profile Image for Dawn Livingston.
914 reviews42 followers
January 6, 2018
This is a black and white reprint of full color graphic novels from the 80's. It collects volumes 1-4. It's huge. Over 700 pages. This is a more economical option as the original color volumes can be pricey on eBay, something like $25-$30 at the cheap end, if you're lucky. I got this massive graphic novel for about $25. Worth it. Though I miss the color the story hasn't changed and isn't effected.

I've been a fan of ElfQuest since the 80's when my college roommate introduced me to her ElfQuest graphic novels, the color originals. This time the story and characters sucked me in all over again and it was delightful to revisit them, being reminded of details I'd forgotten.

I highly recommend this item. The only drawback is that it is so big and it's a soft cover it's a bit hard to hold onto. I think there is a series of ElfQuest called The Grand Quest that reprints the original story in black and white but in a thinner, smaller volume than this one.
Profile Image for Armando.
430 reviews3 followers
June 28, 2024
Firstly, the artwork in this is fantastic. Genuinely some of the best I've ever seen. The characters, the linework, the shapes, the shading, just the general art style, is amazing. I can see, just based on Windy Pini's artwork alone, how this has become such an iconic classic. And for this reason alone, I could give Elfquest a perfect five stars.

The storyline was also good, I found myself invested in this rag tag bunch of Elf's continual quest to find a home. There is plenty of mystery built throughout, and some great and unique worldbuilding. This book definitely has a voice, and this world is believable. This isn't just a typical fantasy.

As far as the things I don't like, I will say the characters come across as highly unlikable. I don't think they are meant to come across this way, I think they are being written as flawed or rather, dramatic characters, but some of their motivations and aggressions just rubbed me the wrong way as a reader.

Also, the whole idea of recognition is something that just felt waaaay too icky for me. Elf Recognition being a magical force within two elves, that bound them together and essentially mean they are meant to be each other's mates. This does not take into any individual free will or consideration for their feelings or thoughts on the matter, this bond is something they can't escape. And often, this is used as a character obstacle within this story. Characters who are caught by this Recognition and refuse to accept their 'chosen' mate, are often sympathized with but are also essentially 'coerced' into going along with it. Words and phrases like 'Just give in.' Or 'Learn to accept it', is a language I've often seen repeated by abusers to their victims, and are used as justification for victims to not stand up to their abusers. I'm almost sure that both the artists and writers of this series did not have that intent, and for the most part, these are not human creatures, and this world is magical, but even then, it just felt icky and plain wrong to me. It added to one of many reasons I didn't like the characters.

Overall, I'm not sure if I'll pick up any more works of Elfquest, but I am glad I gave this one a chance. This is heralded as one of the greatest indie comics of all time, and some of my favorite comic creators (Including the internet comic Goblins) have listed this as one of their main inspirations. So while I didn't walk away from this with a new favorite series, I am glad I read it.
Profile Image for Christine.
7,195 reviews565 followers
February 5, 2015
Tinkerbelle they are not.
This is awesome and grand, and everything a graphic novel should be. We have all sorts of isms being challenged here. (I love the inverted tropes). Nicely rollicking comic.
In particular, there are all different types of strength as well as debates about philosophy and truth. In part a search for the truth behind a people’s creation story, and in part political fable.
Profile Image for Tyler Graham.
952 reviews7 followers
January 15, 2018
A massive, epic fantasy comic following a clan of elves as they embark on quests and adventure throughout their world. Boasting incredibly detailed illustrations and equally magnificent storylines, ElfQuest is truly a masterpiece.
Profile Image for Stephanie Schramm.
75 reviews2 followers
August 28, 2014
I miss the color but the story is there and as great as I remember. In many parts, my memory filled in the colors, much like watching a B&W movie. I can't wait to share this with my son.
Profile Image for Tomi.
511 reviews48 followers
April 26, 2023
Jännä lukea +700 sivua Elfquestia, kun lapsena näitä oli kirjastossa vain kaksi ekaa albumia. Niitä tulikin aikuisten sarjakuvaosastolta lainattua useammin kuin olisi ehkä ollut järkevää.

En tiedä lunastiko tämä kokoelma mitään odotuksia mitä minulla oli lapsuudesta näille jäänyt, ehkä, ehkä ei. Seikkailu tuntui paljon tönkömmältä ja vähemmän jännittävältä kuin silloin. Kerronta ei ole erityisen eleganttia, tekstiä on ns. helvetisti ja asiat sanoitetaan auki sivusta toiseen. Piirrosjälki on kyllä näin mustavalkoisenakin oikein hienoa, harmi ettei sillä ole enemmän tilaa hengittää.

Seitsemänsadan sivun aikana tapahtuu paljon, mutta kaikki on aika suoraviivaista, mikään ei oikein tunnu miltään ja hahmot jäävät hyvin etäisiksi. Muistanko muiden kuin kahden tärkeimmän nimen, erotanko haltialauman jäseniä toisistaan? En ainakaan viikon päästä enää.

Melkein 4000 sivua olisi vielä tarinaa jäljellä...
Profile Image for Daniel.
1,210 reviews6 followers
December 7, 2022
This was my first non superhero comic when I was a kid and I loved it then. I don't love it as much now but it was still very enjoyable and the art is still as amazing as ever. The story while fine is a bit one note but I'm rereading so perhaps the surprises didn't hit me as hard 40+ years later.

Still a fun comic and I would recommend to anyone who likes adventure comics or people who are looking for something a bit different.
Profile Image for Kristen Wnuck.
90 reviews2 followers
August 22, 2023
I was so happy to re-read this book and remember my Aunt Kim reading it to me as a kid. 💗 I think this may have been the start of my love of fantasy, and it’s still good as an adult.
Profile Image for Brian.
669 reviews86 followers
September 24, 2018
I've known about Elfquest for decades. It was referenced repeatedly in the pages of Dragon Magazine, and it sounded amazing. Elven tribes, wolfriders, "The World of Two Moons"...and that was about all I knew about it, because I didn't even know exactly what it was, and if I had known it was a comic I wouldn't have known where to get it. There wasn't a comic book store in Batavia in the early 90s, and they probably wouldn't have carried back issues of Elfquest from a decade before anyway. But now, thanks to the magic of digital comics and the Chicago Public Library, it's all at my fingertips.

The art style looked very familiar, but I'm sure that's because I've seen people influenced by Wendy Pini's art in the years since. That's true of a lot of Elfquest for people coming to it now--the savage elves, talking animals that are bond companions to the protagonists, magic that mostly follows the rules of psychic powers, a fantasy setting that becomes a science fiction setting when the wool is pulled back. This is all pretty standard now, but it was much less so in 1978 when the Elfquest comics started running. And it's a mark of how good Elfquest is that even though so much of it is cliche now because everyone copied it, I never cared even once while I was reading it. And the Japanese-influenced art style--Elfquest has been called "the first American manga"--made it an especially easy read for me.

Elfquest is about a tribe of elves who live together with wolves in a forest called the Holt until conflict with a nearby group of humans drives them out. Then they find another group of elves living in the desert. This astonishes them, since they thought they were the only elves in the world, and Cutter, the leader of the wolfriders, determines to seek out other tribes of elves elsewhere in the world and see if the High Ones, their ancestors who first came to the World of Two Moons from somewhere else, are still alive. Conflict ensues.

One aspect of the story I really appreciated was Cutter and Skywise's friendship. I don't really engage with a lot of fandom culture online because of the focus on shipping and turning any friendly interaction into a romantic relationship. And I get it--LGBT people have been starved of positive representation for so long that they're making their own. But something else that doesn't have a lot of representation in wider culture is close male friendships, and I liked how Cutter and Skywise's "brothers in all but blood" relationship is protrayed. Especially at the end, when Skywise thinks about staying behind to learn in the citadel of the High Ones but can't abandon his brother.

I also appreciate how progressive the comic is, especially for when it was written. There are darker-skinned elves (the Sun Folk) and a variety of relationships. There are plenty of male elves with their shirts off to match the female elves' cleavage. Not so much a variety of appearances, but these are elves and all of them are pretty, after all. The humans are mostly ugly, but there is one group who worship the bird spirits who look better, implying that it's an artistic choice rather than the way the humans actually look like. The humans are ugly because they've been fighting the elves for generations.

One aspect that's kind of odd is Recognition, an instinctual call to mating experienced by elves. It's not required and doesn't have much to do with love. Instead, it's described as an evolutionary adaptation for producing the fittest children, to the point that children are rare-to-impossible without it. But at least in the stories here, it almost always comes as an unpleasant surprise. Cutter and Leetah later develop a loving relationship, but when they experience Recognition they both resist it. Tyldak and Dewshine hate each other at first. I'm not sure what place Recognition has in the story, if it's a message about how it would be good if there were no unwanted children, if it's a commentary on subconscious instincts, or if it was included to provide drama to the conflict between Cutter and Rayek and got expanded to a species-wide characteristic. I've read plenty of Pern books so I'm familiar with the concept, but it's very uncomfortable if you think about it for even a moment.

I'm really glad that this was recommended to me because now I'm going to read all of it. And almost all of it is online for free, so I can! Now, decades later, I'll figure out what all those references in Dragon were about.
Profile Image for Caroline.
473 reviews
September 20, 2021
If you love the Dragonriders of Pern, have joined me in rereading Wheel of Time or want to thrill at yet another thing your public library has in eBook form… look no further. Also, yes, it is possible to reread your childhood.

Choplicker is Pim’s celeb crush.



Profile Image for Nina.
150 reviews37 followers
Read
December 16, 2017
Wendy Pini is so ducking punk rock it hurts.

Reread this via Comixology and it brought back so many memories of the big paperback editions I’d read and reread from the library.
1,452 reviews47 followers
September 7, 2020
This was a gift from years ago that I'm finally getting around to reading. I'd never heard of it, since I don't really follow the comics world - graphic novels or manga are more my speed - but I can definitely see why it would gain such big, passionate following. Parts of it I liked quite a lot, and parts (more towards the back half of the book) weren't really to my taste.

Originally written in the '70s by a husband and wife team where the wife seems to have done most of the work (scripting, drawing, inking), it's pretty groundbreaking in a lot of ways. In the notes at the end of the book, Wendy says that she picked up a lot of her influences from anime/manga, and I could definitely see traces of that. This is a book that's largely written and drawn for the female gaze, which seems to have been confusing for the very macho, male-centric American comics scene. (There's a reason I'm not hugely into comics.)

I like the humor and slow, careful character development. I like the truly deep bond Cutter's elves have with their wolves. (Although that gets pretty weird when you find out much later on why they're so friendly with wolves.) I like the focus on relationships, whether romantic, platonic, or familial. I like how many different types of female characters there are - healers, homemakers, warriors, leaders, heroes, villains. I like that in several places, Wendy sets up a pairing (siblings; a romantic couple) where the female is the strong-minded fighter and the male the sensitive peacemaker. However, none of the female characters really stood out from the crowd. Particularly disappointing was my inability to get attached to Leetah, who should've been the main female character, but who never seems like she's really in control of her own destiny.

I can't fully figure out the Pinis' thoughts on love-matches versus "recognition," which is essentially an involuntary soulbond. I've always had issues with the idea of "soulmates," because I don't find a lot of romance in the idea of being unable to choose who you will love, or to even know if your feelings for that person are real, or forced by some sense of Destiny. I appreciated that Leetah initially went through a pretty substantial internal (and external!) struggle over accepting Cutter as her lifemate. She refused to be forced into the match, and when she finally gave into the bond, it was because she wanted to - because she was beginning to fall in love with this strange man from a world unlike the one she'd always known.

That's the part of the book I really liked - the introduction to the Elf Quest world and to the fierce, forest-loving wolfriders as they were driven across a treacherous desert, expecting to meet with their own deaths but instead finding another civilization of peaceful, sun-dwelling elves. I didn't even mind the 7 year time skip, which allowed Cutter and Leetah to have two children and for Cutter to become restless again, ready to set out on a quest to find any other elves scattered across the land. Cutter's and Skywise's journey was great; apparently, according to the end notes, I'm very predictable in having Skywise as my absolute favorite character. (Thank goodness for Richard, in this case, who refused to let Wendy kill him off. I frankly probably would've just tossed the book aside at that point if the original plan had gone through.)

But once the rest of the wolfriders rejoined the two, with Leetah and the children along as well, I started getting...bored, I guess? I didn't particularly enjoy any of the bits with the mountain-gliders, and while I was initially intrigued by the snow-elves, I absolutely hated the war chapter and began to wish I'd never met that group. The back half of this book really didn't introduce me to any new characters I liked or cared about, which was a pretty big shift from the initial slow-paced, character-driven narrative.

I loved the ending - not the big boring letdown of the elves' origins, but the small, quiet moment between Cutter and Skywise in the final few pages. The rest I was mostly just flipping through in order to finish.

Why did I hate the war chapter so much?

1. The war itself.
2. What this chapter did to the supposedly core relationships.

I think it was an intentional choice to make the purpose behind all the bloody fighting so muddy, but it made me really dislike the war-loving snow-elves. Why is it okay to kill all the trolls simply because they're trolls? Does that make the elves any better than the trolls themselves?

It's a question that the Pinis and Cutter seem to be aware of and consciously attempting to address; Cutter forms a tentative truce with some of the trolls, and rejects the war-hungry mindset of his fellow elves, asking why they can't at least begin to think about living in peace. (That's something I liked about his journey with Skywise - slowly learning that humans and elves could communicate without blindly killing one another.)

Still, there was so much violence in this and subsequent chapters, and I just get bored by slashing and fighting, especially when it's ultimately for something so pointless. What did they fight and die for? For that dull and largely expected conclusion? They wanted so badly to get back to their homeland, their birthright, and then they just...left again...leaving bodies and devastation strewn in their wake.

Realistic, I suppose, but depressing.

As for the relationships, apparently Leetah is still pretty much just with Cutter because of the soul-bond and their two children, not because she actually, truly loves him.

I never liked Rayek, and while I expected him to eventually show up again, it was pretty hugely disappointing to see that Leetah was still in love with him. I guess she's supposed to still, 7 years on, be torn between two worlds and possibly in love with two men, which...eh. You can make that work, but it just convinced me that she's still stuck in a choice she had to make so many years earlier.

If you juxtapose this with the frankly pretty disturbing recognition story in the bird-mountain, and then the emotional and deeply romantic true-name exchange between Redlance and Nightfall, it becomes pretty clear that recognition's only purpose is to strengthen bloodlines through the birth of children with special powers. If you want love, you have to look elsewhere. It kind of sours me on the entire Cutter/Leetah pairing, making her place in their group seem one more of years-long torment than actual choice. (Then again, the end notes said that Cutter/Skywise is the true central relationship of the story, which I guess explains why I liked their chapters so much.)

There's an equally chunky second volume sitting on my shelf, which I don't think I really have the energy to pick up right after finishing this one, but I'll try to get to it soon. Perhaps it deals with more of Leetah's story, since at the close of this one, she was dealing with horror over the bloodshed and the part she played in it. As much as I liked Cutter, it'd be nice to see Leetah stand more on her own. It seems like she's lost herself in some ways over the years. Maybe volume 2 helps to fix that.
Profile Image for Maja.
1,153 reviews4 followers
January 23, 2023
I've loved Elfquest since I was a child reading it in the graphic novel section of the children's library (where it was clearly mislabeled since this is an adult title containing sex and violence). I'm happy to say that it still holds up when I read it almost fifteen years later. It's an adventure and romance story from the 80s, by wife and husband Richard & Wendy Pini, of a fantastical world that contains humans, trolls and elves (the small & pointy ears kind). The protagonists are Wolfriders, a tribe of elves that live together with wolves (that they can ride since they're quite small beings :D). When humans burn down their forest, they embark on a quest to find a new home, other elf tribes and ultimately the secrets of how they came to be on this world. For me it's notable for its engaging plot, crisp art but above all the large cast of interesting and detailed characters. It's also title that contains a lot of romance, but mainly between people in established relationships who are devoted to one another (and that's my jam!). It's also a series that depicts queer elves and various cultures in which poly relationships are normalised – something that still seems radical today (and it's from the 80s!).
It's also very easily and legally readable for free in its entirety from the official website, and I would recommend it to anyone who's generally interested in elves.
Profile Image for Sharon.
322 reviews7 followers
June 6, 2022
I mean it was good! It's a classic and there are some classic parts that I am tired of reading. But I can tell it's a great epic story with interesting characters. The four stars are for that since I've wanted to read it for a long time ever since I was a kid and it held up...for the most part.

The biggest problem for me is basically American Style comics have too many words. Far too many words. It clutters up the action and my eyes just glaze. So after pushing through most of it I just got tired of reading it.

But it's still good an deserves accolades.
Profile Image for Rickard Dahlgren.
529 reviews10 followers
February 12, 2022
Riktigt riktigt snygg och magisk historia som har allt ett stort äventyr behöver - och mer därtill. Fullproppad med information, detaljer, intriger och kärlek. Briljant illustrerat och berättat. En fröjd att läsa!
Profile Image for Anton.
28 reviews1 follower
January 13, 2024
Vor 25 Jahren war ich hardcore Elfquest Fan. Ich hatte einen Elfennamen, war in einem kleinen Fanclub und hatte Merch. Und 25 Jahre nimmt mich die Geschichte immer noch genauso mit!
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