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Elfquest DC #3
ElfQuest: The Grand Quest Volume 1
A grand saga follows the adventures of human, trolls, and various elfin tribes.
224 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2004
3 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Wendy Pini
615 books396 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.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 1, 2011
Elfquest: The Grand Quest / 1-4012-0136-9
If I were rating the content of this comic book alone, I would give it five stars immediately, but I do want to note that there is a better version of this comic book available - a version I already owned when I accidentally picked this up at a trade swap, thinking it was new material I hadn't seen before!
Everything in this comic is included (and then some) in the "Elfquest Archives Vol. 1" - which has larger pages, more detailed drawings, and gorgeously breath-taking color on every page. The content itself - the pictures, plot, and dialogue - is the same between both versions, as best that I can tell, and the full archive version has more resolution - this book only covers up to the very beginning of the Zwoot stampede, and thus does not cover the resolution of Cutter and Leetah's romance arc, nor anything after that.
Really, this book covers probably half of the archive, so even though the archive costs more, you're getting a lot more for your dollar. And if you already own the archive, you don't need to purchase this volume.
~ Ana Mardoll
If I were rating the content of this comic book alone, I would give it five stars immediately, but I do want to note that there is a better version of this comic book available - a version I already owned when I accidentally picked this up at a trade swap, thinking it was new material I hadn't seen before!
Everything in this comic is included (and then some) in the "Elfquest Archives Vol. 1" - which has larger pages, more detailed drawings, and gorgeously breath-taking color on every page. The content itself - the pictures, plot, and dialogue - is the same between both versions, as best that I can tell, and the full archive version has more resolution - this book only covers up to the very beginning of the Zwoot stampede, and thus does not cover the resolution of Cutter and Leetah's romance arc, nor anything after that.
Really, this book covers probably half of the archive, so even though the archive costs more, you're getting a lot more for your dollar. And if you already own the archive, you don't need to purchase this volume.
~ Ana Mardoll
April 24, 2018
Wendy ja Richard Pini loivat 70-luvun lopulla melkoisen suosion saaneen ElfQuest-maailman. Sittemmin luettavaa on kertynyt kymmenien albumien verran.
Saaga alkoi The Grand Questista esitellen päähenkilöt eli kaksi haltiaheimoa, sudet, peikot sekä ihmiset. Cutter johtaa Sudenratsastajien heimoa, jotka joutuvat pakosalle ihmisten sytytettyä heidän kotimetsänsä tulee. Heimo pakenee peikkojen luoliin, jotka taas huijaavat heidät maanalaisia käytäviä pitkiä autiomaan laidalle ja romahduttavat tämän jälkeen luolan suun. Cutter joutuu johtamaan heimonsa aavikolle paahtavan auringon armoille.
Tarina on siis selkeää fantsua ilman sen suurempia koukeroita. The Grand Quest on jaettu kolmeen niteeseen, joten juoni jää selkeästi kesken tässä ensimmäisessä osassa.
Hahmot on erittäin karikatyyrisesti piirrettyjä ja kaikessa yksinkertaisuudessaan helposti tunnistettavia. Piirrosjälki on viehättävää. The Grand Questista on olemassa myös väritetty juhlajulkaisu ja toki lukisin mieluummin sitä kuin tätä mustavalkoista orkkista. Jokaisella hahmolla tuntuu olevan oma erityisominaisuutensa. Selviytymisen nimi on yhteistyö.
ElfQuestin kohderyhmä on selkeästi nuoret lukijat. Aikuisen lukijan näkökulmasta jonkinlainen lapsenomaisuus vaivaa niin kerrontaa kuin kuvitustakin. Ihan sujuvaa fantasiasarjakuvaa, muttei herättänyt kokonaisuutena minussa isoja tunteita. Saatan jatkaa The Grand Questin seuraaviin osiin, jos sattuvat sopivasti nenän eteen, mutta varta vasten en lähde niitä etsimään.
Saaga alkoi The Grand Questista esitellen päähenkilöt eli kaksi haltiaheimoa, sudet, peikot sekä ihmiset. Cutter johtaa Sudenratsastajien heimoa, jotka joutuvat pakosalle ihmisten sytytettyä heidän kotimetsänsä tulee. Heimo pakenee peikkojen luoliin, jotka taas huijaavat heidät maanalaisia käytäviä pitkiä autiomaan laidalle ja romahduttavat tämän jälkeen luolan suun. Cutter joutuu johtamaan heimonsa aavikolle paahtavan auringon armoille.
Tarina on siis selkeää fantsua ilman sen suurempia koukeroita. The Grand Quest on jaettu kolmeen niteeseen, joten juoni jää selkeästi kesken tässä ensimmäisessä osassa.
Hahmot on erittäin karikatyyrisesti piirrettyjä ja kaikessa yksinkertaisuudessaan helposti tunnistettavia. Piirrosjälki on viehättävää. The Grand Questista on olemassa myös väritetty juhlajulkaisu ja toki lukisin mieluummin sitä kuin tätä mustavalkoista orkkista. Jokaisella hahmolla tuntuu olevan oma erityisominaisuutensa. Selviytymisen nimi on yhteistyö.
ElfQuestin kohderyhmä on selkeästi nuoret lukijat. Aikuisen lukijan näkökulmasta jonkinlainen lapsenomaisuus vaivaa niin kerrontaa kuin kuvitustakin. Ihan sujuvaa fantasiasarjakuvaa, muttei herättänyt kokonaisuutena minussa isoja tunteita. Saatan jatkaa The Grand Questin seuraaviin osiin, jos sattuvat sopivasti nenän eteen, mutta varta vasten en lähde niitä etsimään.
January 6, 2018
I read this story years ago in a larger full color version. I loved it then and still do now even though it's smaller and only in black and white. I don't mind the black and white. I love the characters, the artwork, the story. I really need to add some form of this story to my own library. It's one of those books that I read every few years and still enjoy it immensely.
This version may be intended for teens as the copy I got was from the teen section of my local library. It lists the main characters with paragraphs about them and then gives a time line, things I've not seen in any other graphic novel. Now if there'd only be a time line that also includes events from The Final Quest.
This version may be intended for teens as the copy I got was from the teen section of my local library. It lists the main characters with paragraphs about them and then gives a time line, things I've not seen in any other graphic novel. Now if there'd only be a time line that also includes events from The Final Quest.
November 8, 2022
It feels like its age, that is, from the late 70s. I liked the story and the characters, a fair bit darker and more realistic than I was expecting from the cover, but the entire recognition plot line threw a very uncomfortable yikes-shaped wrench into everything. (the internet tells me it's not /that/ bad, but its still bad) So, eh~
The internet also tells me I can read the color version for free online...
The internet also tells me I can read the color version for free online...
October 30, 2020
Oh nostalgia
June 22, 2022
Haven’t read these since I was a kid, and now my oldest daughter is obsessed. They have their flaws, but revisiting them has been a real nostalgic treat.
October 2, 2020
This first volume sets the stage of a very long tale by introducing us to a small band of "Wolfriders"; elves who live in the forest and ride on wolves. They are engaged in long-standing hostilities with the nearby, stone-age humans who see the elves as evil spirits. When the humans set fire to the forest to avenge a death, the elves are forced to flee in search of a new home. They wander the desert and are stunned to find another band of elves—the “Sun-folk”—living a seemingly placid life in this nigh inhospitable land. As the two tribes come into contact hostility turns to compassion and eventually to friendship. A love affair between the chief of the Wolfriders and one of the Sun-folk forms the principle drama of the book's second half.
Elfquest is a classic of all-ages fantasy comic book storytelling. The art is deceptively simple but that is part of its subtle charm. Wendy Pini's crisp black-and-white brush strokes and moody layouts heighten the drama by never getting in the way of the story. The action is fast but Richard Pini's pacing allows for rich development of even the minor and seemingly insignificant characters. The world of these beautiful little elves feel very real, as do their many struggles. Each character has a rich depth of personality that comes across in the way they look, dress, and act. This has an immediate payoff in the story because we feel deeply for these characters when they are threatened, wounded, or even upset. Each of the elves has a child-like sense of life that burns with an inspiring benevolence.
The real achievement of the long Elfquest story—it's been in steady development since 1978—is the depth of the plotting and the respect shown for each of its characters. The comic book medium is at it's best in long form stories that take many hundreds of pages to play out, and this story is a perfect example of what can be accomplished in the hands of talented creators who are in love with their creation. Nearly every cast member undergoes some kind of character arch as the story weaves in and out of truly engaging and exciting events set against an original fantasy stage. Characters are killed. Loves are lost and new ones found. There is real tragedy taking place and real consequences for the actions taken. This is first-class comic book storytelling that makes you fall in love with the world and all of it’s characters.
Elfquest is a classic of all-ages fantasy comic book storytelling. The art is deceptively simple but that is part of its subtle charm. Wendy Pini's crisp black-and-white brush strokes and moody layouts heighten the drama by never getting in the way of the story. The action is fast but Richard Pini's pacing allows for rich development of even the minor and seemingly insignificant characters. The world of these beautiful little elves feel very real, as do their many struggles. Each character has a rich depth of personality that comes across in the way they look, dress, and act. This has an immediate payoff in the story because we feel deeply for these characters when they are threatened, wounded, or even upset. Each of the elves has a child-like sense of life that burns with an inspiring benevolence.
The real achievement of the long Elfquest story—it's been in steady development since 1978—is the depth of the plotting and the respect shown for each of its characters. The comic book medium is at it's best in long form stories that take many hundreds of pages to play out, and this story is a perfect example of what can be accomplished in the hands of talented creators who are in love with their creation. Nearly every cast member undergoes some kind of character arch as the story weaves in and out of truly engaging and exciting events set against an original fantasy stage. Characters are killed. Loves are lost and new ones found. There is real tragedy taking place and real consequences for the actions taken. This is first-class comic book storytelling that makes you fall in love with the world and all of it’s characters.
March 4, 2013
Neuauflage in interessantem Format
Diese Auflage der ersten Elfquest-Geschichten sticht durch ihre Neuaufbereitung in einem Manga-ähnlichen Format ins Auge. Kleinformatig und schwarzweiß gedruckt (aber von vorne nach hinten lesbar) bietet sich hier eine relativ kostengünstige und platzsparende Alternative, diese alten Geschichten nochmals (oder auch zum ersten Mal) zu lesen.
Der Inhalt ist nicht leicht zu bewerten - ich habe diese Geschichten zum ersten Mal im Alter von 10 Jahren gelesen, und war hin und weg von den schönen Elfen und der interessanten Fantasy-Welt, in der sie sich bewegen. Heute allerdings, mit mehr Erfahrung und vielleicht etwas Alterszynismus, muss ich feststellen, dass hier recht naive, einfache Stories erzählt werden, in ansprechende, aber nicht überragend hübsche Bilder, verpackt.
Da Elfquest aber trotzdem einfach ein Klassiker ist, sollte man sich, wenn man die Geschichten noch nicht kennt, nicht von meinen drei Sternen ablenken lassen, und Elfquest eine Chance geben. Ich persönlich werde mir die anderen Bände in diesem interessanten Format auf jeden Fall auch noch zulegen.
Diese Auflage der ersten Elfquest-Geschichten sticht durch ihre Neuaufbereitung in einem Manga-ähnlichen Format ins Auge. Kleinformatig und schwarzweiß gedruckt (aber von vorne nach hinten lesbar) bietet sich hier eine relativ kostengünstige und platzsparende Alternative, diese alten Geschichten nochmals (oder auch zum ersten Mal) zu lesen.
Der Inhalt ist nicht leicht zu bewerten - ich habe diese Geschichten zum ersten Mal im Alter von 10 Jahren gelesen, und war hin und weg von den schönen Elfen und der interessanten Fantasy-Welt, in der sie sich bewegen. Heute allerdings, mit mehr Erfahrung und vielleicht etwas Alterszynismus, muss ich feststellen, dass hier recht naive, einfache Stories erzählt werden, in ansprechende, aber nicht überragend hübsche Bilder, verpackt.
Da Elfquest aber trotzdem einfach ein Klassiker ist, sollte man sich, wenn man die Geschichten noch nicht kennt, nicht von meinen drei Sternen ablenken lassen, und Elfquest eine Chance geben. Ich persönlich werde mir die anderen Bände in diesem interessanten Format auf jeden Fall auch noch zulegen.
August 27, 2013
The ElfQuest series is one of the most brilliant graphic novels and fantasy tales in existence. Mixing the American love for epic heroism with Japanese styled artwork, the story is about Elven friendship, family, diversity, love, and the struggle to survive in a world that wants their entire kind dead. I love the entire series and I continue to follow every new release by Wendy Pini and her husband Richard. They're visionaries. They changed the face of American graphic novels and comics. They deserve so much more recognition and fame than they've received and I hope that changes sometime soon!
The series is full of quirky, fun characters, strong female leads, and tough moral choices. Read it!
The series is full of quirky, fun characters, strong female leads, and tough moral choices. Read it!
May 2, 2008
Wonderful book!
I really loved the elves hippie style, great clothes and hair cuts :)
«Cutter - Blood of ten chiefs - now leads the Wolfriders. When their forest holt is burned, they must flee across a burning desert in search of a new home.
What they discover astonishes them - another tribe of elves! Cutter instantly loses his heart heart to Leetah, the sun folk's healer. But just as quickly he wins the enmity of Rayek the hunter, whose suspicion of the newcomers is boundless.
Can these two tribes - so completely different in custom and experience - ever accept one another?»
I really loved the elves hippie style, great clothes and hair cuts :)
«Cutter - Blood of ten chiefs - now leads the Wolfriders. When their forest holt is burned, they must flee across a burning desert in search of a new home.
What they discover astonishes them - another tribe of elves! Cutter instantly loses his heart heart to Leetah, the sun folk's healer. But just as quickly he wins the enmity of Rayek the hunter, whose suspicion of the newcomers is boundless.
Can these two tribes - so completely different in custom and experience - ever accept one another?»
November 30, 2015
I'm in my late thirties and just started reading comics and graphic novels. I like the story lines and the artwork. This volume was part survival, part romance. I like how so much is conveyed with a short bit of dialogue and a picture of winking eye, or whatever is called for. I'm enjoying reading books with picture that I can finish in a couple nights.
July 10, 2011
I started to read these when I was in middle school. I absolutly love the concept and the vivid pictures of these graphic novels. They are really great to read if you like, magic, elves, trolls, soulmates,drama, etc. I really love these books.
November 18, 2015
Not really my style of art. Story got better as it went along, though much of it is quite typical. A lot of characters to take into account though most don't have significant parts.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews