Pini, Richard Books

Elfquest - Archives, Volume 3 (Archive Editions (Graphic Novels))

Wendy Pini, Richard Pini

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

"Practically perfect in every way" 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Elfquest has been my favorite literary work since I was introduced to it in 1983 at age 14 (matched only by "The Count of Monte Cristo" in my list of favorites). If you love fantasy, you will love Elfquest.

Being an artist myself, the wonderful art by Wendy Pini has always been just as important and valuable to me as the wonderful story. The Starblaze editions colored with watercolors and printed in the 1980s were my first introduction to EQ. I have always been perfectly happy with the Starblaze volumes, but I wanted to get an Archive volume out of curiosity. And I do think the coloring of the new Archives edition (done in Photoshop by Wendy Pini) is superior to that of the Starblaze edition. Everything 'pops' and often looks like it's in 3D. It also is more accessible to a modern audience which is used to Photoshop-based comics.

The lettering is also much cleaner and more elegant, and some awkward or 'amateurish' wordings were fixed. And the paper is so lush and nice-feeling it's a sensory delight as well. I am very glad I bought this edition and will be re-reading this edition of Elfquest exclusively from now on!

I only have two small complaints about the Archives. One is the size: the original EQ comics were 8.5 x 11 and these have been reduced to the 'standard' comic size of 6.5 x 10. That's a big reduction, especially for someone like me who loves just staring at Wendy Pini's beautiful artwork.

The other is that in Archives Volume 1, an extra story is inserted at the end called "The Heart's Way," an extremely minor side story which was originally published in 1998 in "Elfquest the First 20 Years." I wish this story hadn't been included in the Archives because it doesn't mesh with the rest of the volume. It was written 20 years after the original series; the story is (IMHO) just plain DUMB; and the artwork, although by Wendy, doesn't 'match' and is looser. And unlike the rest of Archives 1, it's not appropriate for children because of its heavy sexual content. The Pinis never claimed EQ was for kids in the first place, and of course it's their right to write stories that are not appropriate for kids. But it's a bit annoying that a book that is pretty much PG throughout has an "epilogue" that is NC-17. Knowing the Pinis' fierce dedication to "hippie" values (pacifism, tolerance and free love) I wonder if it was perhaps included as a way for them to say, "In your face, all you Puritan prudes!" Anyway, for all those reasons, to me the insertion of this story was not only unnecessary but annoying. So I had a simple solution: I got an Exacto blade and cut those pages out, and secured pp. 175 and 192 together with photo mounting tape. ...ah, much better! ; )

Editorial Review:

This third thrilling volume collects Elfquest #11-15! The Wolfriders are taken as slaves into the towering and mysterious Blue Mountain, stronghold of the ancient elves called the Gliders. Featuring all-new lettering, a new cover by Wendy Pini and an introduction by David Wise & Audry Taylor!

Elfquest - Archives, Volume 4 (Archive Editions (Graphic Novels))

Wendy Pini, Richard Pini

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

5 stars for content, 2 for new color edition 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I have been reading Elfquest for 20 years now, and the stories, particularly this book, reach levels of depth that are very rare in comics today. The fourth book of the original Quest is by far the best of the series in terms of pacing and storytelling power. This new version is very pretty to look as far as first impressions go, and I have read the Original Quest in at least 3 different forms now, from the original soft pastels of the Starblaze Donning editions, to the Father Tree versions that were more cartoonish. When I first read the new editions from DC comics, I was a little overwhelmed at first. As others have noted, the first volume is way over saturated in color, and while I liked it overall the main strength was that everything was so much clearer. The next two books are obviously a learn as you go kind of thing. Wendy appears to be trying out different things in Photoshop and it shows. Very inconsistent and too much reliance on auto features with prearranged shapes for leaves, grass etc.

While Elfquest has made the leap to `hi-def' amazingly well, the colors used in the Archive edtions are sometimes distracting. Also, Wendy appears to have a new habit of using the Paintbucket function on EVERY PAGE and it gets really annoying after a while. She literally has colored the entire page for most of each book. A few white pages would have let the art stand out in the panels and not be so overwhelmed. Maybe she thought it was a cool feature and just kept on plugging. But page after page of solid over saturated colors like these , for example yellow fading into purple that grates on the eyes - you almost have to squint to make out the text.

And, for the record, I hate, hate! the yellow tone that is virtually washing through almost every page. Someone, take away the super bright yellow selection in Photoshop as well as Paintbucket. She needs to find another color! Actually, antiquated as it might be, hand painting and drawing should come back some of the time instead of Wacom tablets and Photoshop, please! There was a time when Elfquest in color breathed life, now it is flat, lifeless and just plain garish.
This is not to say it's all bad. A handful of pages really stand out and make the chills race down my spine. The last 15 pages when the truth about the elves is at last revealed are just perfect. Couldn't be better. Why that sort of subtlety and beauty couldn't have been the norm for the entire book, I'm not sure. Was Wendy in a rush? DC riding her a little? Whatever the difference it's very noticeable. Maybe ? They had another artist take over parts of it, an it's not Wendy at all.
This is supposed to be the Authoritative Edition, but now that the Pinis and DC comics have parted ways, they will probably let this set go out of print and someday we will see yet another `authoritative' edition. Hopefully with the colors toned down out of Crayola Crayon status.
So buy if you are curious, but be aware that this is another in what has been a long line of incarnations of the Elfquest series.

The Complete Elfquest, Book 5: Siege at Blue Mountain

Wendy & Richard Pini

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A wonderful, beautiful, complex tale for all ages. 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 11 people found this review helpful.

I've been returning to this graphic novel over and over for over fifteen years, and there's always something new to discover in it. A mix of myth, archetype, and completely new, fresh creativity, it's well-planned and well-drawn. Something to read to your kids, and keep for yourself-- well worth finding.

A great series and the 1984 edition has the best coloring 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This edition, as with first 4 Elfquest books in the 1984 editions, are fabulous reads and with a little creative editing on the part of parents, great stuff for kids. These editions are in my opinion the best colored. The later edtions used some sort of funky computer coloring that really flattened much of the work and had real yellow tone. If you can find them get the orginal graphic novels in all of their beautifully colored original glory. I have loved them since I was a kid and my kids love them as well.

The original! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is the one that started them all. The graphic novel was born on the pages of this book. I so enjoyed the Elf Quest books when I was a kid. This classic is a collectible!

Editorial Review:

The Wolfriders, a band of elves, search for others of their kind in a savage Earthlike world.

Elfquest: Book 2

Wendy Pini, Richard Pini

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

ElfQuest Book 2: The Forbidden Grove 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.

If you've read ElfQuest Book 1: Fire and Flight, be prepared to be astounded again. This book is the continuation of the plot of the first book, (indubitably). Within Forbidden Grove, the beginning of the true quest [the first of many of the ElfQuest series] actually begins -- please say "Wow" if you have only read EQ book one thusfar. This novel takes place seven years after the finale of book one, and it opens the saga that eventually lead to the ongoing storyline(s) for the next twenty years. Cutter, leader of the Wolfrider tribe, has found peace and serenity in his new home along with the other members of his tribe (and family, if you haven't yet read book one!). However, there stirs a longing in him, a new "need" to be fulfilled. He sets out, with friend Skywise, into the unexplored direction to find answerss; and unexpected surprises, as their journeyings reveal. While he and Skywise are away, the other members of the tribe are compelled to follow him: one exceptionally intuitive character has overwhelming feelings of doom, ones that the tribe feel can only be quelled by finding and averting Cutter in his path. An excellent, excellent book.

Elfquest: The Grand Quest - Volume Fourteen

Wendy Pini, Richard Pini

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Brilliant and Beautiful. 5 out of 5 stars.
24 of 27 people found this review helpful.

I have been a huge fan of Elfquest ever since I found an earlier hardbound full-color edition sitting on a shelf in my local library at the age of 12. Being a girl who was completely alienated by macho superhero comics, I instantly fell in love with this complex story full of riveting characters, tense action, and steamy sexuality. Both innocent and dark, thrilling and comforting, this story has it all. The artwork is simply gorgeous. While this comic was done years ago in a more traditional format, it converts easily and wonderfully to the manga digest-size due to its early manga influences (in the days when an artist could get ridiculed for liking manga). But while it is definitely influenced by the Japanese style, in never imitates or knocks it off. Instead, artist Wendy Pini stays true to her own unique style, deftly combining beautiful lines with dangerous curves. This is no rip-off, thank god, and no old-fashioned comic, either. It's immortal.

There are many books in this epic series. Start with this one that you are looking at right now, "Elfquest: The Grand Quest". If you like it, you can keep buying the manga editions as they are released, or you can check out the new full-color hardcover edition that has come out, which is absolutely stunning. I believe it's called the "archive edition" or something like that.

Editorial Review:

The final chapter in the very first ElfQuest story presented in DC's new compact format for easier reading! Introducing Cutter, Skywise, Leetah, Rayek and the other elves, trolls, wolves and humans in this fantasy world.

Elfquest Reader's Collection #2: The Forbidden Grove

Wendy Pini, Richard Pini

List Price: $11.95 By: Warp Graphics Amazon Marketplace: 6 new & used starting at $5.25

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

"The Forbidden Grove" 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 6 people found this review helpful.

If you like magic, battles, and mysteries you will love this book. The characters are cool, and the locations are neat. For example, the character's names (such as Treestump, Skywise, Cutter, Rayek, and Winowill) are interesting. The artwork is great because of the shading and the dimensional work. When warriers are fighting and strange things are happening the characters say things like "I'LL CUT OUT YOUR GUTS AND ROAST 'EM IN THE FIRE PIT!" and the trolls say "BY GRAYMUG'S BLACKENED BONES!" and the humans say "YOU'RE BOUND FOR NOWHERE BUT THE DOOM PIT!". So as you can see ELFQUEST "The Forbidden Grove" is a super cool book!

Hauntingly beautiful ....the amazing saga continues! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

The second book in the elfquest saga following Fire and Flight. This is simply the best in fantasy writing!

Elfquest: "Journey To Sorrows End" (paperback) 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Beautifully crafted! The greatest story ever told comes to paperback! Wendy and Richard Pini bring the legend of Elfquest to paperback along with all the details they had to leave out of the illustrated series. Discover the adventure for the first time, or embark on it all over again through written word.

Elfquest: The Discovery

Richard Pini, Wendy Pini

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Cute, but not Elfquest! 2 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I cut my teeth on FIRE AND FLIGHT and FORBIDDEN GROVE. Being yet unable to read, I forced my parents and even my older brother to read them aloud to me, pointing to each character so i could tell who was talking. I learned how to read by flipping through editions of the original eight books, and so began my love of art and the written word. Now, in my adulthood, I've become a closet Elfquest junkie yet again, and I've wondered why I ever put them down. I've never felt much interest in the later volumes, since it the broad-sweeping yet ultra-realistic style of the original eight seemed to be Pini-exclusive, something the newer artists never appeared to capture. As a result, I've traversed the familiar pages of the first eight books countless times over, never venturing further.


That said, you can imagine my enthusiasm to see a new addition to the saga with the Pini's original artwork and storytelling. That enthusiasm waned some when I removed the packaging from my copy and opened the cover. The story focused on the meeting of the Wolfriders with yet another elf tribe, these being a kind of aquatic sea-elf. I confess I had structured in my mind my own idea of what a Pini sea-elf could be and was eager to see what the venerable Wendy would do. What I found was not what I had hoped. I always valued the Elfquest saga for it rustic and down-to-earth look, a good example of which was the costuming of the wolfriders being obviously hand dyed and sewn, within the limits of a primitive people. The sea-elves however looked like they belonged less in the pages of Elfquest, and would seem more at home swimming alongside Disney's Little Mermaid. Dressed in Day-Glo colors and bestowed with somewhat silly monikers such as Salt, Foam, and Tumble, this new tribe of elves are far departed from the world of two moons i remember as a child. The original characters that make appearances in this story are changed as well, looking more like animae art than ever. Every once in a while, about every to pages, you'd see some of Wendy's original art surface, but the majority was vastly different.

The way the art is structured of the page is disappointing as well. What I loved about Elfquest to begin with was its cinematic quality. Just reading one novel would make you feel as though you had sat down in front of an epic big screen movie. The art had movement and sequential action that i haven't seen equaled in any other graphic novel endeavor since. The three-dimensional colors and the varying page set-up made for a unique experience. This story however had none of this. It was more closely arranged to a Manga look, with never anymore than four, equal-sized panels per page.

As far as story goes, it seemed a bit trite. There really was nothing new brought to the on going story-line, with the same motif of tribe-meets-tribe, tribes-clash, tribes-resolve-differences-and- bond-for-the-greater-good that has already appeared several times in Elfquest history. The new characters seem hopelessly one dimensional while the old ones seem trivialized and goofy.

I think taken as a stand-alone story, it's worth reading. There are enjoyable passages, and as i said before, the old-Pini art shines through from time to time. But, ultimately, if you're and old Elfquest fan looking for newer material, look to the Hidden Years anthology, or even the slightly more composed THE SEARCHER AND THE SWORD story. This one is pretty good, but something other that the Elfquest we knew.

Elfquest Book #09: Rogue's Challenge

Wendy Pini, Richard Pini, Sarah Byam, Charles Barnett

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

The re-education of Rayek 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

This book is in a sense the successor to the "Hidden Years" collection. That book collected the first five issues of the series of that name; this one includes the next five - but rearranged to form a complete narrative.

Only the last story, the highly-regarded "issue 9.5", was actually drawn by Wendy Pini herself. The other segments were among the first EQ issues drawn by the Pinis' apprentices and, while competent, are not really in Wendy's league. Fortunately, the full-color presentation is very lavish and more than compensates. Indeed, though three of the five issues in "Challenge" are duplicated in "Shards" (volume 10), it remains worthwhile to check out this volume, since the reproductions of the three pieces (8, 9 and 9.5) look glorious in color, very poor in black and white (to the point that, for example, important detail in no.9 "The Enemy's Face" is lost).

That said, the real glory of "Challenge" is the storytelling, much of it among the best in the series. Though Rayek is the main character of this book, there is a fascinating digression in the form of the two-part story "How Shall I Keep from Singing?", about the arrival of the High Ones, ancestors of all the elves. All the stories herein display the penetrating views of character that have made the EQ stories loved - and this study of Rayek, the most controversial character of all, is fertile ground for storytelling.

Editorial Review:

Five stories of Rayek--the comic book villain and haughty magic-user of Sorrow's End--cover the spectrum from this character's most distant ancestor up to the present. Includes new pages of story and art not published in the comic book series. Full color.

ElfQuest, Book 4

Richard Pini

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

elfquest 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 9 people found this review helpful.

wendy pini is the master of fantasy fiction

Interesting but not really for young kids 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

As a fantasy-lover, I'd say the story and graphics make the series unique and interesting but this book in particular (book 4), has scenes that can only be appropriate for adults (e.g., an elf orgy). I'd recommend to parents, teachers or librarians to scan the books first before giving it to young kids.

A great series and the 1984 edition has the best coloring 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This edition, as with first 4 Elfquest books in the 1984 editions, are fabulous reads and with a little creative editing on the part of parents, great stuff for kids. These editions are in my opinion the best colored. The later edtions used some sort of funky computer coloring that really flattened much of the work and had real yellow tone. If you can find them get the orginal graphic novels in all of their beautifully colored original glory. I have loved them since I was a kid and my kids love them as well.

Elfquest book 4 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This graphic novel concludes the original quest, begun in Book 2. Once again, Wendy Pini's art pulls you in to the story. Richard and Wendy have a way of bringing art and words together to make the story an unforgettable one. I grew up with the Quest, and so it's quite dear to me. The Quest holds its own, though, against other fantasy works. Well worth the read.

Elfquest - Hidden Years

Wendy Pini, Richard Pini

List Price: $19.95 By: Berkley Publishing Group Amazon Marketplace: 19 new & used starting at $11.64

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The Pinis are back in a great, flaring nova! 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

In a slightly smaller format than the original paperback volumes, the Elfquest tales that occurred between the great espiodes of the elfin adventures on The World of Two Moons are all presented in full, glaring colors that really blinds your eyes which are more accustomed to the gentler tones of the colorized comic-book collections. Here you meet Strongbow and his wolffriend, Kyavek and her winged boyfriend, Ember and her coming-of-age discoveries, Tyleet and her foster kid, and Skywise and his ill-fated parents. Personally, I feel that the gentle little Tyleet had inherited her mother's child-hunger, so she had a chance to fulfill her aching maternal instincts with an abandoned infant from a nearby human camp. Pretty sappy, in my opinion. But all the Elfquest fans get to unlock even more mysteries about their most favorite elfin characters as well as color-saturated new stories to boot!

Editorial Review:

Completely new stories from the World of Two Moons--unknown and unrecorded--until now. Share the ill-omened birth of Skywise the stargazer, the tempest as grown-up chief's-daughter Ember strives for her own freedom, the joys and sorrows of a human cub growing among the Wolfriders, and more. Full color.