Ginger, on comics: ElfQuest

Book 1: Journey to Sorrow's End

I'm really gonna let my geek flag fly here guys - don't be alarmed. One of the staples of geek culture is comic books, and when most people think of comic books the first thing that comes to mind is superheros and the epic battles against villainy. But what do I think of? Epic adventure and ... battles against villainy. I guess I just have a thing against superheros. Anyways, what I'm referring to is a comic book series that I hold dear to my heart; it's called ElfQuest and it's a fantasy adventure story that follows the lives of a tribe of elves, the Wolfriders.

Originally released in 1978, ElfQuest was created and self-published by husband and wife team, Richard and Wendy Pini. Over the years, Elfquest has also been published by Mavel Comics, the Pini's company Warp Graphics, and more recently DC comics (currently the ElfQuest title is back under Warp Graphics again, though the Pinis have moved on to other projects). After 25 years of self publishing, I guess it's ok to sign over all publishing and merchandising rights to a major comic corporation like DC even though they hacked the original art to bits and re-ordered it: One of DC's first moves was to republish the original eight graphic novels with new computer coloring and lettering. There were also a lot of spin offs when DC took hold with new elf tribes, story lines and a bunch of other junk (like rumors of a movie which, thank goodness, fizzled). There was also a surprising lack of promotion for the series. It seems DC just didn't bring their A-Game for this venture. So, I guess after all that you can tell that for me ElfQuest is (and will always be) the original 8 graphic novels.

Now, getting to the comic itself, I said that this was the story of the Wolfrider tribe and for the most part that's true. But it's also about a lot of other fictional species (like trolls and faeries) and how they struggle to survive and co-exist on a primitive Earth-like planet, and the spread of humans into this world is terrifying. I won't get into my views of humanity here, but the first tiny section of this series defiantly show cases the darker side of us: our fear of the unknown, our need to dominate the world around us, and our capacity to hate. While human's villain role isn't prominent though the whole story, they are the catalyst that gets the story moving.

The Wolfriders

Now, in the original series there are four elf civilizations (all descended from the original High Ones who came to the planet Abode -The World of Two Moons - long, long ago). The Wolfriders are the central characters, and they are a tribe of ferocious hunter/warriors closely allied with a pack of large wolves who serve as mounts, hunting partners and friends. Their culture could roughly be compared to the Iroquois.The central storyline, beginning with series know as the Grand Quest or Original Quest, focuses on the tribe during the leadership of their eleventh chief Cutter. I don't want to ruin anything for you guys, so that's all I'll tell you about them, but eventually they meet our next elves, The Sun Folk.

The Sun Folk

The Sun Folk are a peaceful, sedimentary tribe who have, compared to the Wolfriders, retained more knowledge of their origins and abilities. They are also much more civilized and ... for lack of a better word, advanced. The Sun Folk are headed by the female elf Savah, Mother of Memory - who is actually pretty close to being a High One herself.

The Gilders

The third tribe we encounter are The Gliders. The Gilders are a reclusive tribe of mountain dwellers with the ability to levitate. They are a very conservative community that has lost the ability to reproduce and has degenerated into insular decadence. In my opinion, The Gliders have evolved into a cruel, somewhat insane people who are dominated by their leaders: The ancient Lord Voll and the seductive, sinister Winnowill.

The Go-Backs

The fourth and final tribe are the Go-Backs. Originally a migrating tribe, the Go-Backs are named for their sudden desire to "go back" to the palace of the High Ones. The are a very warlike people who are hardened by their existence in the bleak, snow bound tundra. They have a prejudice against magic, though they share strong bonds with their elks (similar to the Wolfrider's bonds to their wolves - In my opinion, a type of magic). Their conservatism, savagery, and selfishness are emphasized later while at the same time their artistic depiction changed to make them appear more brutal and degenerate. Their leader Kahvi, is the embodiment of barbarianism.

There are several underlying themes within the ElfQuest comic too. As I mentioned before, humanity itself plays a large role as aggressor in the beginning of the story, though later there are a few sections where we are given a chance to redeem ourselves. You could also interpret the differences in the four elf tribes as showing that healthy individuals and societies must be willing to accept change, as well as take advantage of it, for the betterment of all. For example, the more sympathetic elf communities, the Wolfriders and the Sun Folk, are the ones most willing to change their ways in the face of different circumstances and opportunities. By contrast, the less sympathetic elves, the Gliders and the Go-Backs, are depicted as belonging to highly conservative cultures: the Gliders are obsessed with preserving their society from outside contamination, and the Go-backs are determined to return to an earlier ideal represented by the Palace, ancestral home to all the elves. However, in their fanatic conservatism, both the Gliders and the Go-backs have in fact changed even more than the sympathetic tribes, but in far less beneficial ways, whether it be the Gliders' barren decadence or the Go-backs' warlike savagery.

Book 2: The Quest Begins (My favorite cover)

Interestingly, almost all of the elfin cultures are led by females: the Sun Villagers follow Savah, the Go-Backs follow Kahvi, the Gliders follow Winnowill (even with Lord Voll is the figurehead), and the Wolfriders follow a shared chieftainship between Cutter and his lifemate.The feminine-as-preferable is a subtle but consistent theme throughout.

Sexuality is explored though out the comic, but I feel that it's used mainly as a device to illustrate the alien-ness of the elves from us. There are some explicit scenes later in the series that may not be appropriate for a younger audience. I don't want go to far down the road with this, but I didn't want to leave it out either and have you be surprised if you decide to read the comic.

The Wolfrider's Symbol

All in all, the story is very well written and an amazing read. The examination of society and civilization as a whole is very interesting. The characters are thoroughly thought out and each have their own distinct personality and expectations of themselves and the world around them. There is plenty of fighting and violence if you're into that, but also lots of peaceful negotiations and adventure if you're not. ElfQuest has some of the best villains and leaders I have seen in any literature - equal parts terrifying and awesome. Though it's kind of hard to get a hold of now, it's worth the time to track it down.