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The Complete ElfQuest #7
The Complete Elfquest Volume 7
The Wolfriders embark on their Final Quest!
Generation after generation, for thousands of years, the elves of the World of Two Moons sought refuge from the savagery of their primitive planet. For a while, it seemed they had found it in the legendary Palace of the High Ones. Within, Chief Cutter and his tribe of Wolfriders avoid nature's wrath and the threat of an ever-expanding human population. Yet comfort comes at a price. The seductive magical influence of the Palace may lead to the feral elves' undoing and Cutter realizes he must embark upon the most important quest of all!
The long-running original ElfQuest series by celebrated creators Wendy and Richard Pini comes to an unexpected and deeply emotional conclusion in this seventh volume in the Complete ElfQuest series, collecting the entire Final Quest story arc!
Collects ElfQuest: The Final Quest TPB volumes 1-4.
Generation after generation, for thousands of years, the elves of the World of Two Moons sought refuge from the savagery of their primitive planet. For a while, it seemed they had found it in the legendary Palace of the High Ones. Within, Chief Cutter and his tribe of Wolfriders avoid nature's wrath and the threat of an ever-expanding human population. Yet comfort comes at a price. The seductive magical influence of the Palace may lead to the feral elves' undoing and Cutter realizes he must embark upon the most important quest of all!
The long-running original ElfQuest series by celebrated creators Wendy and Richard Pini comes to an unexpected and deeply emotional conclusion in this seventh volume in the Complete ElfQuest series, collecting the entire Final Quest story arc!
Collects ElfQuest: The Final Quest TPB volumes 1-4.
616 pages, Paperback
Published March 10, 2020
16 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
About the author
Richard Pini
531 books155 followersRichard Pini is one-half of a husband and wife team with Wendy Pini that created, most notably, the Elfquest series.
He was raised in Orange, Connecticut with his three siblings. Richard began writing science fiction stories early in his childhood.
In 1972, Richard and Wendy were married after a courtship of four years. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1973 with a degree in Astrophysics. He worked at the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Science in Boston until 1975 and Taunton High School until 1979 when he began his career at IBM.
In 1977, Richard and Wendy established a publishing company called Warp Graphics to publish their first Elfquest comic. Richard is credited as co-writer and editor on Elfquest, as well as handling all of the publishing and business aspects of Warp Graphics.
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.
Richard has also contributed writing for Worldpool, Futurequest, Rogue's Curse, and two Windkin stories.
He has received the Small Press Writers and Artists Organization Award for Best Editor, the San Diego Comic Convention Inkpot Award, and the New York State Jaycees Distinguished Service Award.
Richard and his wife currently reside in Poughkeepsie, New York.
He was raised in Orange, Connecticut with his three siblings. Richard began writing science fiction stories early in his childhood.
In 1972, Richard and Wendy were married after a courtship of four years. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1973 with a degree in Astrophysics. He worked at the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Science in Boston until 1975 and Taunton High School until 1979 when he began his career at IBM.
In 1977, Richard and Wendy established a publishing company called Warp Graphics to publish their first Elfquest comic. Richard is credited as co-writer and editor on Elfquest, as well as handling all of the publishing and business aspects of Warp Graphics.
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.
Richard has also contributed writing for Worldpool, Futurequest, Rogue's Curse, and two Windkin stories.
He has received the Small Press Writers and Artists Organization Award for Best Editor, the San Diego Comic Convention Inkpot Award, and the New York State Jaycees Distinguished Service Award.
Richard and his wife currently reside in Poughkeepsie, New York.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 9, 2025
I became a fan of ElfQuest during its early years in 1980, thereabouts. I was in high school, and my brother and I would go to the city almost every other weekend to buy comics at Forbidden Planet, books at Strands, music at Tower Records, and/or vintage clothing at Unique. Reading The Complete ElfQuest trade paperback volumes the last few months have filled me with a sense of nostalgia that is difficult to put into words.
These comics were clearly lovingly created, and any reader of ElfQuest could see that from way back then. However, who could have predicted that the series would last over 40 years, with Dark Horse Comics publishing the last of the ElfQuest storylines, ElfQuest: Final Quest. There were incredible characters along the way: Cutter, Leetah, Ember, Mender, and a host of others. There was joy and pathos; love and death; hope and despair.
Cutter's major dream was to unite all the Elfin tribes, and part of the challenge was not knowing exactly how many disparate tribes there were. One can say that this was the theme of these graphic volumes. All seven of them featured gorgeous artwork, and consequential stories. This last volume was the heaviest story because it would close the title. Clearly, there would be deaths and mayhem. It did not disappoint in that area although one might say that there wasn't exactly a happy ending. Still, I loved it. I would recommend the whole run of graphic novels to get the complete story. It is well worth the price of admission in my book.
These comics were clearly lovingly created, and any reader of ElfQuest could see that from way back then. However, who could have predicted that the series would last over 40 years, with Dark Horse Comics publishing the last of the ElfQuest storylines, ElfQuest: Final Quest. There were incredible characters along the way: Cutter, Leetah, Ember, Mender, and a host of others. There was joy and pathos; love and death; hope and despair.
Cutter's major dream was to unite all the Elfin tribes, and part of the challenge was not knowing exactly how many disparate tribes there were. One can say that this was the theme of these graphic volumes. All seven of them featured gorgeous artwork, and consequential stories. This last volume was the heaviest story because it would close the title. Clearly, there would be deaths and mayhem. It did not disappoint in that area although one might say that there wasn't exactly a happy ending. Still, I loved it. I would recommend the whole run of graphic novels to get the complete story. It is well worth the price of admission in my book.
December 29, 2019
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
With this huge volume, the entire run of "Final Quest" is collected here, definitively ending 40 years of Elfquest storylines and bringing Cutter's story to a close.Elfquest was always unique: an independently published title in an era of big name (Marvel, DC) dominance, oversized (not fitting into standard comic display areas), in black in white (when all other US comics were in color), and released with an excruciating 4 month wait between issues. Those of us who are old enough to have been there since the beginning well remember the endless calls to the local comic book store at the 3 month mark, hoping against hope that the next issue would arrive a bit early. It's been a great run and over the years I've had the pleasure of sharing the magic with my own child - and someday with her children as well.
Story: Amidst the chaos of the Djunns' violence against the elves, Sunstream knows it is time to send the call and reunite the elves to return to their homeworld. All who have adapted to living on the world of two moons are faced with an agonizing choice - to stay or leave, both choices requiring permanent separation from loved ones. New elf tribes will be found, new homes created, and the beginnings of a peace with humans will be forged for those who choose to stay. But at its heart, Cutter Kinseeker's final arc will be told and celebrated as his Wolfriders choose between "The Way" and the stars.
In the ending note, illustrator Wendy Pini has some heartfelt words about Elfquest and especially that it was always about Cutter. That it began with his heroic tale and it had to end with him as well. In that, she succeeded beautifully, giving us an ending that the story needed, though perhaps not all wanted. But throughout this very long and very emotional final series (Final Quest), there is a lot of closure with many characters - children born and grown up, new loves made, lives lost, and several revelations that were quite unexpected.
The illustration work throughout is all Pini - so incredibly beautiful and beloved by her fans. There was a time when the illustration work was hired out; the illustrators were very good and given the freedom to put their spin on the characters. But I think most felt keenly the loss of Pini's illustration work during that period. As such, this volume is very welcome. Nearly every panel has several characters in the background all telling their stories without needing separate panels to do so. It's all that magic of the first series over again.
I grew up with Elfquest. The original 1981 Starblaze graphic novel, now incredibly dogeared and falling apart, is the most read book in my library. 40 years later, I still treasure the series. Perhaps because I grew up on 1970s manga such as Rose of Versailles, Elfquest was a natural progression at the time. Little did I know at the time that the story would continue to grow over decades.
In all, it was a great journey. I will always heartily recommend this series to anyone who asks for a good book, especially graphic novel. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.
January 3, 2021
Great and well thought out story and a reunion with those beloved characters I grew up with. The only thing I had an issue with was some of the artwork, which seemed kind of rushed and which suffered badly from "copy-pasting", making the whole thing seem a bit lazy. Knowing what Wendy is capable of, that left me feeling a bit disappointed. Still love most of the art and the entire plot, though!
March 28, 2021
The end of the Elf Quest series. I would say the beautiful bit of the story's end is that we have seen Cutter and his quest change the lives of countless characters. And we finally reach the point where Cutter and the wolf riders will not go. The main drama in this collection is what the elf tribes do now that they have the palace. Will they return to the stars or remain in this world? This is an ending. Endings are difficult, and I wasn't entirely satisfied with where many of these characters went. I liked Skywise, Two Edge, and Leethah's stories. I liked the direction of Cutter's story but not its execution. I expected more from Rayek. Strongbow and Moonshade had the most tragic story.
I didn't think the Djunsmen deserved to be as big a threat as they were portrayed at the end of this story. They felt like an excuse to have one great evil force of humans. Ember and Teir's story didn't interest me. The pacing of these stories takes a while to pick up.
Elf Quest is a series that ran for 40 years. I never picked it up until now, so I don't have the same nostalgia a lot of other readers may have. I would say it's beginning collections are the strongest stories, and then in the middle and end of it's run the story has trouble figuring out where it wants to go. Definitely a series worth reading.
I didn't think the Djunsmen deserved to be as big a threat as they were portrayed at the end of this story. They felt like an excuse to have one great evil force of humans. Ember and Teir's story didn't interest me. The pacing of these stories takes a while to pick up.
Elf Quest is a series that ran for 40 years. I never picked it up until now, so I don't have the same nostalgia a lot of other readers may have. I would say it's beginning collections are the strongest stories, and then in the middle and end of it's run the story has trouble figuring out where it wants to go. Definitely a series worth reading.
January 10, 2024
ElfQuest is a beautiful exploration of people and culture in a fantasy world that started back in the 1970's and still runs to this day. On this world humans are still very much in their barbaric cavemen days while elves are the fierce hunters but also fun loving children of the forest who just want to be left alone. We meet Cutter and his clan of Wolf Riders just as they're escaping a deadly clash with the humans of their area that results in them burning down the whole forest and its through these elves' eyes that we get to explore this lush world and storytelling.
Back when I was introduced to this world in middle school by my cousin, I was immediately taken with the stunning artwork and the way these characters were portrayed. The Wolf Riders and the other elves in the story are very obviously part of the same race, but show a wide variety in every aspect of their design depending on where in the world they settled (much like actual humans in our world). From the beginning we have a large handful of characters to keep track of, elf, troll and human alike, and yet it never felt like a struggle to keep track of them because of their design and how their names just fit them so well...
Read my review on the full series at Well, Are They? A Queer Review blog
https://wellarethey.blogspot.com/2022...
Back when I was introduced to this world in middle school by my cousin, I was immediately taken with the stunning artwork and the way these characters were portrayed. The Wolf Riders and the other elves in the story are very obviously part of the same race, but show a wide variety in every aspect of their design depending on where in the world they settled (much like actual humans in our world). From the beginning we have a large handful of characters to keep track of, elf, troll and human alike, and yet it never felt like a struggle to keep track of them because of their design and how their names just fit them so well...
Read my review on the full series at Well, Are They? A Queer Review blog
https://wellarethey.blogspot.com/2022...
February 3, 2024
I feel like, in order to truly make this a “complete” collection, they should do collections of the various comic series that came out that weren’t all about the main quest. Stuff like Jink, Rayek’s travels, the Wavedancers…I know there were more as well. It just feels wrong to say this is a complete collection when it kind of isn’t. Complete for the main story arcs? Yes. But bits of these other series were mentioned during the omnibus collection, and there’s not a collection for any of them, that I’m aware of.
I did read this last massive arc years back, before the omnibus collections came out, so I was missing a rather large chunk of story at that time. Getting to read it all in order helped it make a lot more sense, and where I’m not super satisfied with how some characters met their end…they’ve been alive for a damn long time, and I guess priorities shift, and you just get tired after a while.
I did read this last massive arc years back, before the omnibus collections came out, so I was missing a rather large chunk of story at that time. Getting to read it all in order helped it make a lot more sense, and where I’m not super satisfied with how some characters met their end…they’ve been alive for a damn long time, and I guess priorities shift, and you just get tired after a while.
November 3, 2024
One of the worst sequels / endings to a series I can think of. At least, after decades, we finally got some queer representation. But the Timmain storyline (both the romance and the "reveal" ) is the absolute worst.
Also after being a very progressive comics in the 80s that has featured a mixed-race main couple for a long it is deeply disappointing to see the Pinis write a take that makes it canon that "to return to the form of the High Ones" means that black elves will become lighter-skinned with time?? Because white = purity? Yeah....that's come a long way from fighting to have Leetah accurately portrayed as a black-skinned woman.
Also after being a very progressive comics in the 80s that has featured a mixed-race main couple for a long it is deeply disappointing to see the Pinis write a take that makes it canon that "to return to the form of the High Ones" means that black elves will become lighter-skinned with time?? Because white = purity? Yeah....that's come a long way from fighting to have Leetah accurately portrayed as a black-skinned woman.
June 19, 2025
Opens with a special issue to bring readers up to speed, and then collects the full 24 issue Final Quest series. Reproduced in black-and-white, just reduced from the digital colors, which does not look good.
The elves decide it's time to take the palace into space. A call is sent out to the elves all over the world, including some new ones. The Djunsmen decide it's time to bring the fight to the elves.
It feels slow at times, especially in the beginning, but overall there's plenty of character development and twists and turns to make this feel epic.
The elves decide it's time to take the palace into space. A call is sent out to the elves all over the world, including some new ones. The Djunsmen decide it's time to bring the fight to the elves.
It feels slow at times, especially in the beginning, but overall there's plenty of character development and twists and turns to make this feel epic.
July 12, 2020
I didn't realize that I was at the end of the series; I thought I had one more collection, so the end took be by surprise. I get that the series needed to end with Cutter's death. I see why he chose to go the way he did. But Moonshade? Why would you do that to Moonshade, with so much hope ahead of her? I cried for Cutter, but Moonshade left me sobbing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2022
A whole thick book of Wendy Pini's artwork is as always a joy.
After accompanying the elves on their quest since the early 90's I agree it's time to let them go, and I'm happy to read WP has no plan to re-visit the world of two moons. Too many artist keep "milking the cow" far longer than integrity allows.
The only remark I have is that, in spite of being hundreds of pages long, the final quest seemed a bit rushed to me. But I guess it was hard to avoid when tying up a huge epos like this.
I wish Wendy and Richard all the shade and sweet water in the world, and thank them for all the magic and adventure, that has probably shaped me more than I know.
After accompanying the elves on their quest since the early 90's I agree it's time to let them go, and I'm happy to read WP has no plan to re-visit the world of two moons. Too many artist keep "milking the cow" far longer than integrity allows.
The only remark I have is that, in spite of being hundreds of pages long, the final quest seemed a bit rushed to me. But I guess it was hard to avoid when tying up a huge epos like this.
I wish Wendy and Richard all the shade and sweet water in the world, and thank them for all the magic and adventure, that has probably shaped me more than I know.
September 5, 2023
Good Ending
Stories need to end, to get to the "and they lived happily ever after" (or whatever the story requires). Unsurprisingly the Links kept drawing and writing, because that's what they do. Also I doubt I was the only one who wanted to hear more details. Having bought the 7 volumes on Kindle, I now need to get physical copies, because each has its advantages.
Stories need to end, to get to the "and they lived happily ever after" (or whatever the story requires). Unsurprisingly the Links kept drawing and writing, because that's what they do. Also I doubt I was the only one who wanted to hear more details. Having bought the 7 volumes on Kindle, I now need to get physical copies, because each has its advantages.
December 7, 2020
DPL hoopla
May 13, 2022
Perfect!
July 9, 2022
I simply have to give all the stars to Skywise
June 7, 2023
Amazing!
May 11, 2025
(This review covers the complete series)
A long-running, character-driven fantasy saga that follows a tribe of elves, the Wolfriders, as they search for connection and survival in a dangerous world shared with humans and other elf clans. The story starts with fast-paced adventure and grows into something larger and more reflective, following the characters over generations as they deal with change and loss. The art is detailed and expressive, with strong emotional clarity and smooth action.
A long-running, character-driven fantasy saga that follows a tribe of elves, the Wolfriders, as they search for connection and survival in a dangerous world shared with humans and other elf clans. The story starts with fast-paced adventure and grows into something larger and more reflective, following the characters over generations as they deal with change and loss. The art is detailed and expressive, with strong emotional clarity and smooth action.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews