Hey Ed and Jim - you have questions? About the relationship with Marvel? About Wendy's use of markers? (Yes, that's what they are.) About attitude? CONTACT US! 😉
I collected a large amount of Elf Quest growing up, along with every thing else I could find (I wasn't a discriminating collector or reader lol). But a few years ago whe my daughter started to show interest in fantasy and comics I dug them out of my long boxes (remembering how much i enjoyed them) to give her. She has read every last one of them to pieces and then started tracing them tell she could draw every character on her own and started creating her own characters drawn in your style. Thank you for igniting the same spark in her that artist like Art Adams ignited in me.
Elfquest is one of my all time favorites. As a kid I cried reading parts of the story (death of Night Runner) and 30 years later when I read it to my kids and cried at totally different parts (family).
Elfquest showed me what healthy relationships looked like, as welk as no healthy ones. The comics helped me through hard times,including the passing o my adoptive father,my beloved fur baby....that sex could be beautiful abd safeif one found the right one/ones. Amazing characters ,storys,and the sublime ,emotive art..each scene has so many layers,details,the body language, facial expresions...espesully as ut goes along and wonderous diversity ! They were, ahead if theur time.
I heard about "Elfquest" while buying some of Moorcock's Elric comics a year or two ago. Day off tomorrow. Headed to the comic shop. Gonna try to find some of these.
The original comics are hard to find, but Dark Horse has reprinted the entire saga (not just the Original Quest, of which issue #1 is the subject of this piece) in the "Complete ElfQuest" omnibus editions.
I think Elf Quest gets forgotten when there is recollection of the fantasy pop culture era of the 70's-80's. I remember seeing these characters but soon it just kinda "disappeared" but that could be more than likely that the few comics I had of this, I was too young to really "get". The thing I (LOL) remember the most is when an elementary school friend that showed me a comic where they were soft core nude and sex was "suggested"?!?
The end you talked about, I believe that is indeed supposed to be a desert. I think they get tricked by the trolls or something and get blocked out of the forest. In the next issue the cast ventures on and encounters a desert tribe of elves.
Thank you for the breakdown on how the elves really were the interlopers. I think it took awhile for Cutter to realize the same. Wendy Pini’s work pulls you in, a visual feast, a great story. Thank you again!
83 for me, but agree and my collection was later handed down to my kid as she was discovered them. so, you're an old scholl fan, were Cutter and the tribe the villians? i saw them as a people who were lost and landed among a primitive people whos instincts and fear of the unknown led to the war.. there were villians, but not systems of "evil". be curious to hear the take of an older, seasoned fan.
Bakshi encouraged her to get out of animation and draw her own stuff. Mike Ploog was also working on Wizards. And I think he sort of mentored her. You can definitely see his influence in her work.
I grew up poor and I would borrow the graphic novels from the public library over and over in the mid 80s. Now that I’m a lot older, I can actually buy the originals. Original Quest was epic!
Guys - have you thought of doing a video on the Atlas-Seaboard comics line? They COULD have been a contender if they had stuck with creating the weird comics they started out with - fantasy, horror action, scifi... Plus they had a wealth of talent.
Great video, guys! I remember discovering all three of the ground-level and ground-breaking comics that you mention, and I hope that you get around to giving Jack Katz's The First Kingdom the same treatment that you did for ElfQuest.
I was buying Elfquest towards the end of the first run - I guess right before the b&w explosion? Quality stuff! I hope you guys can do something on A Distant Soil. The behind the scenes goings on are something else! Colleen Doran was way ahead of the curve with her story, characters and artstyle and I guess the Pini's saw that. Unfortunately the WaRP graphics run (all published as pencil art) has never been reprinted ...for reasons.
Elfquest #6 was my first comic ever. EQ was then the first series I tracked down to complete once I learned that comic book stores existed. I love the colored Marvel versions, but the original b&w is just so amazing. Great video, guys. Now go get a Pini interview!
Wow! You guys brought back some great memories for me! Way back when Marvel/DC would have skip weeks where no new books would come is when I discovered Elfquest on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving/1980,I picked up issues 1-6! The cover of issue 1 reminds me of Frazetta ,beautiful b&w artwork which only has gotten better over the years! Epic Illustrated no.1 from December 1979 has a color short story by the Pini’s which exactly sort of crosses over with Elfquest 7 or 8! Beautiful color palette is what I remember over the years! Amazing Heroes 38,January 1st 1984 my friend Michael Hopkins conducts an interview with Wendy and Richard! In June 28th, Mike &I drove down to Poughkeepsie,NY and Mike had his interview and sat in with the occasional question or two! What a great time & we came away from our trip with alot of info! Ahh the early daze of indies, Mike was a big Nexus fan and I was a big Elfquest fan and I always telling him about how damn good the book was! I of course added Nexus to my pull list and Mike went to eventually teach an Elfquest course for African American Studies at the University of Buffalo in the mid 80’s! Wendy &Richard were gracious enough to do a book signing at Talking Leaves bookstore in North Buffalo in summer of 1984! ❤ I have the slip cover editions of all 4 books of the original saga! The portfolio of the back covers with the cast of characters in beautiful color! Please do a shoot interview with them because they always deserve to be spotlighted! Michael unfortunately passed away in August of 2021! His love for Jazz music is equivalent to his love of literature,poetry and comics of which I know as a fact Elfquest was right at the top! RIP,Michael F Hopkins! Godspeed!🎯👍⚡️😎❤️
You guys sold me on this I’ve always seen it and never thought to grab it because they were usually priced kinda high for back issues I just went to my favorite shop for old back issues and found volumes 5,6,7&8 of the complete Elf Quest for 20$ !!
My 8th grade history teacher was a fellow comic book collector. He had a shelf full of prestige format and collected editions, and if you finished your test early, you could pick a comic to read. Among this assortment he had some huge Elfqyest collected editions. I could never get into them, but I remember them clearly.
It's been years since I read elfquest, but I remember the coloring being different. Perhaps the European publishers chose a different colorist or my memory is just playing tricks on me. Cool video, I've been waiting for Elfquest to get the kayfabe treatment.
So good to see those comics again. I can't tell you the number of times I bought ElfQuest in different formats, because of how the comics were distributed. My set doesn't match, which reminds me how much I worked to get them.
The same kind of "romanticized imperialism" reading applies to D&D's dungeon-looter gameplay - it's a genre trope of high fantasy that arises from making the heroes definitionally cool and justified relative to the monsters, who are always generic antagonists. It reminds me of how Terry Pratchett addressed it in parts of Discworld - a lot of the humor in the worldbuilding comes from making the fantasy mundane and giving the wizards and monsters ordinary lives and jobs. Speaking of, there are those graphic novels of some of the Discworld stories...
The original Donning/Starblaze painted collections introduced me to Elfquest and are the reason for my career as a storyteller to this day. Still have them, though they’re beat to shit. You guys should also check out the Dark Horse Gallery Edition, which is oversized and beautiful. You get to see a lot more of Wendi’s line work, as well as what she whited out, etc. Additionally, the original issues were broken up for the Marvel reprints, with extra panels and even pages drawn by Wendi and inserted to bridge the pagination difference of the two. You should do a page by page comparison.
There's something really magical about Wendy Pini's curvy line work. It's so sensual. It's like a breath of fresh air. Her attention to detail, also. Great video.
have been listening to the really good audiodrama of this (you can find the podcast anywhere) and i was the same way thinking these guys are real @$$holes, good show though
The Marvel run of Elfquest came out the summer of my 10th birthday and was my first comic. It’s still my favorite book although maybe the ending doesn’t stick the landing completely over 20 something issues. #1 especially but probably the first dozen or so issues I read hundreds of times.
Speaking of planting the seeds for other issues… there are sprite-like creatures on like page two that isn’t seen again until they’re a major plot point a dozen or so issues later. Also, going back to the trolls and the forest way down the line and seeing how the world and characters have changed as a result of the fire. Just incredible world building.
looking for a people to stick the "villian" label on is wasting a resource like this title , in my opinion. but perhaps you are only basing this off the initial take on the issue and not the world as a whole that was given to us in the pages. yes,there were villians, but it seems you are making that choice to label them off a first contact between new people with zero means to communicate . our own history proves that can and does too often lead to violence, when can put a people at war. ..and are you really going to liken the wolfriders to the those that pushed out the indiginous? Europe chose where to place its flags , the elves were stranded on an alien planet..
Hey Ed and Jim - you have questions? About the relationship with Marvel? About Wendy's use of markers? (Yes, that's what they are.) About attitude? CONTACT US! 😉
Oh, I hope they offer, and your are amenable to, a "Shoot Interview".
Do I smell a shoot interview?
I collected a large amount of Elf Quest growing up, along with every thing else I could find (I wasn't a discriminating collector or reader lol). But a few years ago whe my daughter started to show interest in fantasy and comics I dug them out of my long boxes (remembering how much i enjoyed them) to give her. She has read every last one of them to pieces and then started tracing them tell she could draw every character on her own and started creating her own characters drawn in your style. Thank you for igniting the same spark in her that artist like Art Adams ignited in me.
i want to know!! why are the colors in the starblaze books so much more spectacular then the father tree press?
Very glad you guys are reviewing EQ! It's an important part of comics history and the Pinis helped blaze a trail for indie publishers!
Elfquest is one of my all time favorites. As a kid I cried reading parts of the story (death of Night Runner) and 30 years later when I read it to my kids and cried at totally different parts (family).
The death of One Eye was also very hard. I've loved EQ since I was young too and I'm almost 40 now.
Elfquest showed me what healthy relationships looked like, as welk as no healthy ones. The comics helped me through hard times,including the passing o my adoptive father,my beloved fur baby....that sex could be beautiful abd safeif one found the right one/ones. Amazing characters ,storys,and the sublime ,emotive art..each scene has so many layers,details,the body language, facial expresions...espesully as ut goes along and wonderous diversity ! They were, ahead if theur time.
I heard about "Elfquest" while buying some of Moorcock's Elric comics a year or two ago. Day off tomorrow. Headed to the comic shop. Gonna try to find some of these.
The original comics are hard to find, but Dark Horse has reprinted the entire saga (not just the Original Quest, of which issue #1 is the subject of this piece) in the "Complete ElfQuest" omnibus editions.
I think Elf Quest gets forgotten when there is recollection of the fantasy pop culture era of the 70's-80's. I remember seeing these characters but soon it just kinda "disappeared" but that could be more than likely that the few comics I had of this, I was too young to really "get". The thing I (LOL) remember the most is when an elementary school friend that showed me a comic where they were soft core nude and sex was "suggested"?!?
The end you talked about, I believe that is indeed supposed to be a desert. I think they get tricked by the trolls or something and get blocked out of the forest. In the next issue the cast ventures on and encounters a desert tribe of elves.
Thank you for the breakdown on how the elves really were the interlopers. I think it took awhile for Cutter to realize the same. Wendy Pini’s work pulls you in, a visual feast, a great story. Thank you again!
I remember picking this book up off the racks back in 79. It blew my young mind! I love these comics!
83 for me, but agree and my collection was later handed down to my kid as she was discovered them. so, you're an old scholl fan, were Cutter and the tribe the villians? i saw them as a people who were lost and landed among a primitive people whos instincts and fear of the unknown led to the war.. there were villians, but not systems of "evil". be curious to hear the take of an older, seasoned fan.
From what I understand Wendy Pini was actually sort of mentored by Ralph Bakshi and worked with him on Wizards etc. Hence the familiarity in style.
Bakshi encouraged her to get out of animation and draw her own stuff. Mike Ploog was also working on Wizards. And I think he sort of mentored her. You can definitely see his influence in her work.
Been wondering about this property for about thirty years thanks for doing the lifting boys!
So instructive and informative. This speaks to me on many levels.
Keep ‘‘em coming guys, you’re doing a great service.
The warp edition #1 on the left is a 4th printing copy.
Grew up with ElfQuest. I feel like it's highly underrated for its brilliant storytelling, beautiful art, and incredible world building.
I grew up poor and I would borrow the graphic novels from the public library over and over in the mid 80s. Now that I’m a lot older, I can actually buy the originals. Original Quest was epic!
ElfQuest and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were 2 of my favorite comics in the 80's! Skywise is my favorite!
Guys - have you thought of doing a video on the Atlas-Seaboard comics line? They COULD have been a contender if they had stuck with creating the weird comics they started out with - fantasy, horror action, scifi... Plus they had a wealth of talent.
You guys have to do a part 2 of this,
Elfquest is how I learned about orgies🤣
Great video, guys! I remember discovering all three of the ground-level and ground-breaking comics that you mention, and I hope that you get around to giving Jack Katz's The First Kingdom the same treatment that you did for ElfQuest.
I was buying Elfquest towards the end of the first run - I guess right before the b&w explosion? Quality stuff!
I hope you guys can do something on A Distant Soil. The behind the scenes goings on are something else! Colleen Doran was way ahead of the curve with her story, characters and artstyle and I guess the Pini's saw that. Unfortunately the WaRP graphics run (all published as pencil art) has never been reprinted ...for reasons.
Elfquest #6 was my first comic ever. EQ was then the first series I tracked down to complete once I learned that comic book stores existed. I love the colored Marvel versions, but the original b&w is just so amazing. Great video, guys. Now go get a Pini interview!
The Father Tree Collection is colored by Chelsea Animation Studio
Wow! You guys brought back some great memories for me! Way back when Marvel/DC would have skip weeks where no new books would come is when I discovered Elfquest on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving/1980,I picked up issues 1-6! The cover of issue 1 reminds me of Frazetta ,beautiful b&w artwork which only has gotten better over the years! Epic Illustrated no.1 from December 1979 has a color short story by the Pini’s which exactly sort of crosses over with Elfquest 7 or 8! Beautiful color palette is what I remember over the years! Amazing Heroes 38,January 1st 1984 my friend Michael Hopkins conducts an interview with Wendy and Richard! In June 28th, Mike &I drove down to Poughkeepsie,NY and Mike had his interview and sat in with the occasional question or two! What a great time & we came away from our trip with alot of info! Ahh the early daze of indies, Mike was a big Nexus fan and I was a big Elfquest fan and I always telling him about how damn good the book was! I of course added Nexus to my pull list and Mike went to eventually teach an Elfquest course for African American Studies at the University of Buffalo in the mid 80’s! Wendy &Richard were gracious enough to do a book signing at Talking Leaves bookstore in North Buffalo in summer of 1984! ❤ I have the slip cover editions of all 4 books of the original saga! The portfolio of the back covers with the cast of characters in beautiful color! Please do a shoot interview with them because they always deserve to be spotlighted! Michael unfortunately passed away in August of 2021! His love for Jazz music is equivalent to his love of literature,poetry and comics of which I know as a fact Elfquest was right at the top! RIP,Michael F Hopkins! Godspeed!🎯👍⚡️😎❤️
I couldn't get enough of this when i was younger.
11:44 haha. Excellent observations. Never considered the Bakshi influence nor the vibe on Blair and Aircel comics.
Blair was one of the artists Wendy brought in to work on Elfquest in the early 90s.
Color me not surprised. Thanks
I never knew Elf Quest had books. I only read this the Marvel Epic comic books.
You guys sold me on this I’ve always seen it and never thought to grab it because they were usually priced kinda high for back issues I just went to my favorite shop for old back issues and found volumes 5,6,7&8 of the complete Elf Quest for 20$ !!
My 8th grade history teacher was a fellow comic book collector.
He had a shelf full of prestige format and collected editions, and if you finished your test early, you could pick a comic to read.
Among this assortment he had some huge Elfqyest collected editions. I could never get into them, but I remember them clearly.
One of the best fantasy Comic ever. And every little love how it changed Comics.
had father tree collected editions but had them stolen from me 😭
I use to get the magazine sized issues back in 87 or 88, if I remember right, and fell in love with the art. I studied it for hours some times.
It's been years since I read elfquest, but I remember the coloring being different. Perhaps the European publishers chose a different colorist or my memory is just playing tricks on me. Cool video, I've been waiting for Elfquest to get the kayfabe treatment.
What a bizzarre choice of title and focus.
The back cover pictures were made using chalk, not marker.
Love the Lettering!
So good to see those comics again. I can't tell you the number of times I bought ElfQuest in different formats, because of how the comics were distributed. My set doesn't match, which reminds me how much I worked to get them.
That early pre internet fandom/cosplaying fascinates me
The same kind of "romanticized imperialism" reading applies to D&D's dungeon-looter gameplay - it's a genre trope of high fantasy that arises from making the heroes definitionally cool and justified relative to the monsters, who are always generic antagonists. It reminds me of how Terry Pratchett addressed it in parts of Discworld - a lot of the humor in the worldbuilding comes from making the fantasy mundane and giving the wizards and monsters ordinary lives and jobs. Speaking of, there are those graphic novels of some of the Discworld stories...
The original Donning/Starblaze painted collections introduced me to Elfquest and are the reason for my career as a storyteller to this day. Still have them, though they’re beat to shit.
You guys should also check out the Dark Horse Gallery Edition, which is oversized and beautiful. You get to see a lot more of Wendi’s line work, as well as what she whited out, etc.
Additionally, the original issues were broken up for the Marvel reprints, with extra panels and even pages drawn by Wendi and inserted to bridge the pagination difference of the two. You should do a page by page comparison.
An Elfquest movie/series is way overdue!
They kickstarted an audio movie a year ago. You can listen to it wherever you listen to podcasts
I waited for this one
There's something really magical about Wendy Pini's curvy line work. It's so sensual. It's like a breath of fresh air. Her attention to detail, also. Great video.
have been listening to the really good audiodrama of this (you can find the podcast anywhere) and
i was the same way thinking these guys are real @$$holes, good show though
The Marvel run of Elfquest came out the summer of my 10th birthday and was my first comic. It’s still my favorite book although maybe the ending doesn’t stick the landing completely over 20 something issues.
#1 especially but probably the first dozen or so issues I read hundreds of times.
Speaking of planting the seeds for other issues… there are sprite-like creatures on like page two that isn’t seen again until they’re a major plot point a dozen or so issues later.
Also, going back to the trolls and the forest way down the line and seeing how the world and characters have changed as a result of the fire. Just incredible world building.
Elfquest was an early one for me too. My local library had copies. Some of the first sexual situations I ever read. I love this book to this day.
I love the way the wolves are drawn
another banger
Original WaRP run went 21 issues, Marvel reprints went 32.
yup just bought elf quest #1
Elf's are the imperial colonizers. lmao
looking for a people to stick the "villian" label on is wasting a resource like this title , in my opinion. but perhaps you are only basing this off the initial take on the issue and not the world as a whole that was given to us in the pages.
yes,there were villians, but it seems you are making that choice to label them off a first contact between new people with zero means to communicate . our own history proves that can and does too often lead to violence, when can put a people at war. ..and are you really going to liken the wolfriders to the those that pushed out the indiginous? Europe chose where to place its flags , the elves were stranded on an alien planet..