In my recent review of Kull and the Barbarians, I briefly mentioned Weny Pini’s portrayal of Red Sonja as an early example of cosplay. Wendy Pini deserves so much more than a brief mention and not for dressing up like Red Sonja.
Wendy Pini is the writer/artist of the epic fantasy Elf Quest. The series deserves an in-depth review, which is beyond the current scope of this article, but I thought a random pull from my collection might give those unfamiliar with the title an idea of the impact it had on me.
It is almost impossible for me to read this comic with objectivity. That is how significant a place it holds in my comic book journey. That journey started years ago. I was caught plundering through a box of my mother’s underground comics hidden under her bed. Naturally, Mom made a quick trip to the grocery store to buy me some more age-appropriate fare. Yes, I’m aware that dates my age pretty well. Comics can no longer be found at grocery stores, but let’s get back on track. What does this have to do with Elf Quest?
After years of devouring Hulk, Batman, Brave and the Bold, Super Villain Team-Up, Marvel Triple Action, Rom, G.I. Joe, Transformers, and other mainstream fare, it was Groo and even more so Elf Quest that broke me out of the Big Two’s superheroes and the toyetic franchises they helped create. Admittedly both comics were being published under Marvel’s Epic imprint at the time, but they began as indie titles from small publishers before being re-released.
There was an emotional depth to Elf Quest that I hadn’t seen in comics up until then. Perhaps it had been there in those other comics and I wasn’t old enough to notice. With Elf Quest it resonated inside me. The Wolfriders were a family and they would do anything to protect their little tribe. I could identify with that, even if I was too powerless to change my own family’s circumstances.
Pini’s elves were fierce and feral, not the cutesy toymakers of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Nor were these effete, mystical elves sharing the page with more heroic, armored humans. The only humans seen in Elf Quest up to that point were in the first issue. They were gross, superstitious primitives that feared the elves and killed them when they could.
The story moves quickly, but special moments are given a chance to breathe and unfold naturally. A lot happens in just the third issue: the Wolfriders discover the first new group of elves on their quest, the desperate endangered love of Redlance and Nightfall (including a small, but eye-opening panel that wasn’t all that shocking to me after Mom’s underground comics - see if you can find it in the attached images), the raid on the Sun People’s village, and the start of Cutter and Leetah’s own romance, which begins with him taking her captive and riding off with her.
Comics aren’t just guys in capes, aren’t just for kids, and aren’t just made by guys in a “bullpen”. Elf Quest showed me that. If you find these comics, read them. Elf Quest is so worth it!
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