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Elfquest Archives #2
Elfquest Archives, Vol. 2
In 1978, Richard and Wendy Pini self-published Elfquest #1 and introduced audiences around the world to the elfin Wolfriders, trolls, and superstitious humans, all trying to co-exist on the World of Two Moons. Since that first story appeared, millions of copies of Elfquest have been sold around the world. Inspired by sources ranging from classic literature to Japanese manga, the Pinis created a unique universe filled with myth, danger, and the promise of hope. The beginning of that saga can be found in the previous volume, with the introduction of the Wolfriders and their leader, Cutter, as they are driven from their homeland by encroaching humans. At the end of that story, the elves found sanctuary -- but in this new volume, again their peace is threatened, not only by men once more, but also by the twin mysteries of the Forbidden Grove and Blue Mountain. Included with this archive is a bonus, long out-of-print short story from Epic Illustrated, an introduction by comic creator James A. Owen and an afterword by the Pinis.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published March 16, 2005
1 person is currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Wendy Pini
614 books390 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 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 3, 2021
The quest truly begins in this book, and I don't really have anything negative to say about it. I enjoyed it a lot, and the art is beautiful. There were even some new content that I hadn't read before!
Oh, and Nightrunner. I had forgotten that part, and it left me sobbing! I think partially because of my love for my dog, which is my first, just as Nightrunner was Cutter's first.
Oh, and Nightrunner. I had forgotten that part, and it left me sobbing! I think partially because of my love for my dog, which is my first, just as Nightrunner was Cutter's first.
February 16, 2019
Right off the bat, I was blown away by Wendy Pini who is an absolutely phenomenal artist. The entire thing is rich with color and a distinctive flair that I came to appreciate as Wendy's signature style. Another reviewer said that this series is born more of the heart than of the mind and I totally agree with them. [A/N: If you're looking for a cerebral sci-fi then you have made a wrong turn and need to look at your directions a little more closely.] Pini has created a true fantasy epic that is about the people just as much (maybe more so) than the journey they undertake.
Volume 2 introduces us to a new clan of elves by the name of the Sunfolk who live (predictably perhaps) in the oasis of a barren desert and who are very different from their Wolfrider kin. Not only are they brown skinned (The Wolfriders are quite pale as they dwelt among the canopies of trees and hunted by night.) but they are peaceful, spiritual, and live much longer lives. (Possibly due to the peacefulness of their people or something else? Yes, this is explored later.) They also possess different gifts from the Wolfriders and have among them a spiritual leader who resembles the mythologized High Ones. These two clans clash immediately and explosively as Cutter finds himself entranced by their leader's daughter who has a relationship with a male of her own clan. #drama
May 21, 2024
I have never been so frustrated by goodreads' inability to merge editions/volumes. Then I get frustrated by my own pedantry, because it absolutely doesn't matter which exact comics are collected in which exact volume, because these are just my notes, but UGH.
Anyway: I read Elfquest in four collected hardcover volumes, in the library of small town where we moved when we moved to the states. The books were oversized, in full color, and had a real story. This was my introduction to comics as literature and they absolutely hold up.
I am surprised, rereading these twenty years later, how little I remembered the middle two books. I probably could have recreated the first book page by page, but this book- other than the appearance of Petalwing hadn't stuck in my memory.
The art is charmingly 70s.
Anyway: I read Elfquest in four collected hardcover volumes, in the library of small town where we moved when we moved to the states. The books were oversized, in full color, and had a real story. This was my introduction to comics as literature and they absolutely hold up.
I am surprised, rereading these twenty years later, how little I remembered the middle two books. I probably could have recreated the first book page by page, but this book- other than the appearance of Petalwing hadn't stuck in my memory.
The art is charmingly 70s.
June 19, 2019
I can't wait to see what happens next. I love the way the author changes classic tropes to add a new dimension into the story; the history of the elves is messy and has many layers.
June 3, 2021
Begins Cutter's quest and further deepens the characters and world. The story is a good mix of light-hearted and epic. Artwork is striking and rich.
March 1, 2011
Elfquest Archives: Vol. 2 / 1-4012-0129-6
It's odd, and very frustrating, that this wonderful volume is apparently out of print. Odd, because the other four archives are all apparently still available, and frustrating because the comics most certainly are sequential and it would be very jarring to skip over this essential volume.
As I noted in my review for the first volume, this archive is massively colorful and detailed - the gorgeous drawings are so artistic that you can't help but be drawn instantly into the story. Volume 2 takes off sometime after Volume 1 - Leetah has given birth to twins (the first the elves have ever seen) and Ember (a girl) and Suntop (a boy) are as different as day and night, but both are beautiful, loving, vivacious children. In a nice inversion of 'tradition', Ember is the strong warrior child, destined to take over the mantle of chief when her father passes, and Suntop is a sensitive child, deeply attuned to magic and knowledge of the 'elder elves', with a bright future as a seer and philosopher for their people. Cutter and Leetah accept their children's gifts and differences with nary a thought otherwise, and both the Wolfriders and the Sun People are pleased with the beautiful children in their midst.
When Cutter becomes obsessed with finding the 'High Ones' (the parents of all elves), however, Leetah and the children stay home while he sets out with steadfast friend Skywise for a year-long quest to find out what they can from the wide world about the origins of the elves, and their future destination. Before long, though, young Suntop is given a magical warning for his father than only he can deliver, and Leetah is forced to set aside her fears of the outside world in order to take the children and the Wolfriders to seek out their chief.
I've noted before that it's hard to know how to classify ElfQuest within a genre. Volume 2 contains a great deal of 'action', particularly as Cutter and Skywise are captured by trolls and must use their wits, speed, and size to turn the situation to their advantage and escape, and while the quest for the High Ones is in itself an adventure, it's difficult to just slap the 'action-adventure' label without also considering the philosophy and emotion behind the scenes. There is a great deal of exploration within Cutter and Leetah's relationship (Leetah loves her mate, but is having trouble adjusting to the odd hours the Wolfriders keep; Cutter loves Leetah and her people, but longs for the woods again), within Leetah's fears and anxieties (Leetah fears leaving the safety of the village, but also frets that her presence as a healer has weakened the Sun People and made them dependent upon her), and within the differences between young Ember and Suntop, as both of them defy stereotyping and demonstrate a realism often missing from children in literature. Reasonable people can disagree as to whether the frank discussions of love, lust, morality, and mortality are appropriate for children or not, but you'll likely not find a more thoughtful approach to the subject matter.
Because I'm a new fan, I can't speak to how this archive compares to the original old issues. Snippets of the old issues are included in the beginning and ending of each archive; sometimes in black-and-white panels, others in full color portraits and covers. I believe, however, that the spirit of the original was perfectly preserved - I just wish this volume hadn't been so hard to locate.
~ Ana Mardoll
It's odd, and very frustrating, that this wonderful volume is apparently out of print. Odd, because the other four archives are all apparently still available, and frustrating because the comics most certainly are sequential and it would be very jarring to skip over this essential volume.
As I noted in my review for the first volume, this archive is massively colorful and detailed - the gorgeous drawings are so artistic that you can't help but be drawn instantly into the story. Volume 2 takes off sometime after Volume 1 - Leetah has given birth to twins (the first the elves have ever seen) and Ember (a girl) and Suntop (a boy) are as different as day and night, but both are beautiful, loving, vivacious children. In a nice inversion of 'tradition', Ember is the strong warrior child, destined to take over the mantle of chief when her father passes, and Suntop is a sensitive child, deeply attuned to magic and knowledge of the 'elder elves', with a bright future as a seer and philosopher for their people. Cutter and Leetah accept their children's gifts and differences with nary a thought otherwise, and both the Wolfriders and the Sun People are pleased with the beautiful children in their midst.
When Cutter becomes obsessed with finding the 'High Ones' (the parents of all elves), however, Leetah and the children stay home while he sets out with steadfast friend Skywise for a year-long quest to find out what they can from the wide world about the origins of the elves, and their future destination. Before long, though, young Suntop is given a magical warning for his father than only he can deliver, and Leetah is forced to set aside her fears of the outside world in order to take the children and the Wolfriders to seek out their chief.
I've noted before that it's hard to know how to classify ElfQuest within a genre. Volume 2 contains a great deal of 'action', particularly as Cutter and Skywise are captured by trolls and must use their wits, speed, and size to turn the situation to their advantage and escape, and while the quest for the High Ones is in itself an adventure, it's difficult to just slap the 'action-adventure' label without also considering the philosophy and emotion behind the scenes. There is a great deal of exploration within Cutter and Leetah's relationship (Leetah loves her mate, but is having trouble adjusting to the odd hours the Wolfriders keep; Cutter loves Leetah and her people, but longs for the woods again), within Leetah's fears and anxieties (Leetah fears leaving the safety of the village, but also frets that her presence as a healer has weakened the Sun People and made them dependent upon her), and within the differences between young Ember and Suntop, as both of them defy stereotyping and demonstrate a realism often missing from children in literature. Reasonable people can disagree as to whether the frank discussions of love, lust, morality, and mortality are appropriate for children or not, but you'll likely not find a more thoughtful approach to the subject matter.
Because I'm a new fan, I can't speak to how this archive compares to the original old issues. Snippets of the old issues are included in the beginning and ending of each archive; sometimes in black-and-white panels, others in full color portraits and covers. I believe, however, that the spirit of the original was perfectly preserved - I just wish this volume hadn't been so hard to locate.
~ Ana Mardoll
August 26, 2009
This book is less love story, more adventure. I love it. I love Wendy’s artwork – not just the pictures but also the layout of the pages. It's wonderful and the story is great.
This isn't exactly the same version I first saw when I was a kid. There is some great extra footage of Olbar’s daughter and her lover.
This isn't exactly the same version I first saw when I was a kid. There is some great extra footage of Olbar’s daughter and her lover.
June 11, 2014
Just great. I love having the stories in order.
August 6, 2015
Loved this one too. Had a big cliffhanger at the end (unlike the other one) but the library doesn't have any more :(
Guess the hunt is on for archives...
Guess the hunt is on for archives...
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews