ElfQuest FAQ

Recent print-version ElfQuest comics and books are available to order from Dark Horse Comics. Your local comics shop should also carry new and recent print material. If you’re looking for a walk-in store, there’s an industry-wide comic shop finder that’s maintained by the largest comics distributor. In the USA call toll-free 888-266-4226, or on the web go to the Comic Shop Locator.

For publications, encourage your local comic shop or bookstore to carry ElfQuest, and be sure to support them when they do.

Redbubble carries a selection of exclusive ElfQuest designs on wearables (t-shirts, hoodies, etc.) as well as other items.

Stands has launched a series of collectible Challenge Coins and other goodies.

Streamily is the exclusive source for ElfQuest art prints and books that are personally signed by Wendy and Richard Pini.

The Arcane Vault carries unique ElfQuest-themed art objects.

There are lots of other places online to look for older ElfQuest collectibles; eBay is usually a good bet.

Unfortunately there are no low-cost options for shipping overseas. Also, we have no control over what others charge for their handling and shipping. You can go to the USPS postage rate calculator and get an estimate of the mailing cost.

Warp Graphics is not a collectibles grading or valuation service, nor do we buy back issues. There are price guides, both in print and online, that may be of use. Auction web sites such as eBay, or other online comics retailers, can provide you with an idea of current prices and trends.

It’s possible, though unlikely. When this “video comic book” was produced back around 1990, a small number of authorized VHS copies were released. Since the advent of eBay, copies have sold at (sometimes) high prices. How can you tell if the eBay copy is the real thing? The original video comes in a printed cardboard sleeve, not in a plastic case into which photocopied art can be placed. If the copy on eBay is in such a generic case, it’s bogus.

Search out used bookstores, back-issue comics shops, or auction sites like Etsy and eBay, both on and off the internet.

The four Donning/Starblaze collections, followed by the nine Father Tree Press editions, were published in the 1980s and are now long out of print. These were followed in the 1990s by the ElfQuest Reader’s Collection – softcover, black and white volumes that retailed for about half the cost of the previous editions. (Another color edition, by DC Comics, came out in the early 2000s.) These are all out of print as well. You may be able to find copies for sale on eBay and other collector sites. Take note however that Dark Horse Comics, as of March 2025, has begun releasing a new hardcover full-color edition of The Original Quest.

Very simply, Dark Horse Comics wishes to make the core, canonical Wolfrider-related ElfQuest saga available at an affordable price, and Warp agrees.

The ElfQuest Role Playing Game (published by Chaosium) and Board Game (published by Mayfair Games) debuted in the mid-1980s and went out of print years ago. Your best bet is an online search; these items do turn up from time to time. Early in 2015, Cheeky Dingo Games came out with a new variation – the ElfQuest Adventure Game. For the 40th anniversary of Chaosium’s ElfQuest RPG, that company has released a special collector’s edition of the boxed game.

Alas, no. Warp did publish ElfQuest calendars for 1990, and then for 1998, 1999, and 2000. Given her full-time involvement with new publishing projects there isn’t enough time for new Wendy calendar art.

However, fan artists do great work each year as they put together their own edition of an ElfQuest calendar. This year’s offering can be found here.

The short answer is, it’s not.

Wendy and Richard toiled for over 40 years to make this happen. Studios promised to be faithful to the story, then without exception messed things up. The most recent attempt was with Fox Animation. They proposed changes that were, simply, unacceptable. Wendy and Richard have repeatedly stated they prefer no production to a bad production.

So when the latest option expired at the start of 2026, Wendy and Richard made the difficult but necessary decision to say “no more.” There is an upside, however: all the energy they might have put into future, doomed tries will now go into the creation of new ElfQuest books, of which there are many already in the works.

Click here to read Richard’s in-depth editorial about how and why this decision finally got made.

In 2020, Warp Graphics and Dagaz Media partnered to produce what we call an “audio movie.” This is much more than a simple audiobook reading of the ElfQuest novel or comics. To quote from the Dagaz web site, this production is “…a joint venture to adapt the classic fantasy comic, ElfQuest, as a cinematic ‘audio movie’ experience with an anticipated cast of more than 40 voice actors, original sound design, and a lush orchestral score.”

Or, as one writer put it: “An audio movie is a story told via sound, using all the audio resources that go into the soundtrack of a typical movie. The only difference is you get to paint the pictures in your imagination, which can make the experience far more personal, not to mention better suited for driving…”

In August 2022, the project completed the dramatization of the first five issues of the Original Quest. Nearly five hours of script were written, an awesome orchestral score recorded, and amazing voices cast. The recordings have been split into 10 episodes; Episode 1 “Fire and Flight” dropped September 1, 2022 on all major podcast platforms, including Apple, Spotify, and many others. All ten episodes are now available to download for free. Please remember to rate and review!

Even though the crowdfunding campaign is long over, you can learn the history of the project’s genesis on Kickstarter here – we think you’ll be amazed!

There was a collection – called “A Wolfrider’s Reflections” – of ElfQuest-inspired music, sung folk (or ‘filk’) style – a total of 22 tracks. The album is no longer available, though an Internet search may turn up copies (physical or digital).

We’d love there to be. We’ve talked with some very talented songwriters/performers about it, and one day it just might happen.

No, there is not and there won’t be an EQ tarot. Wendy had the notion years ago to create one, and painted 5 card samples. But over time she discovered that the mythology of EQ simply would not fit within the structure of the traditional tarot arcana, and she abandoned the project. Read a historical note about that project and see the cards that Wendy developed.

Very simply, this was a promotional campaign that Warp Graphics launched in 1995 to get more people to read ElfQuest. In a number of issues over several months, there were clues to a “magic phrase” scattered throughout the stories. If you collected all the clues and deciphered them correctly (it really wasn’t difficult), you had a chance at various prizes — among them, original art, cash, and signed books.

This is not directly ElfQuest related, but still of interest. In 2008, Wendy wanted to take a break from the elves and explore new storytelling and artistic ground. In particular, she’s long been fascinated by Edgar Allen Poe’s short story of the same name, and wanted to explore more deeply its underpinnings, plus give it a futuristic spin. Reimagining Masque as a 400-page graphic novel gave her the opportunity to stretch her artistic muscles for an audience that may or may not know about her ElfQuest work. Be aware that this material is edgy, dark, and adult, and so is for ages 18 and up only.

More recently, Wendy teamed up with a top-notch composer to create 30 songs and lyrics, as well as a complete libretto for a Broadway-style musical thriller in the grand tradition of “Phantom of the Opera.”

A new release of the graphic novel is planned for October 2026 from Flesk Publications. Check the ElfQuest calendar for updates.

Two ways. The first is to meet them in person at a comic convention at which they are guests. Each appearance is different, so check out the ElfQuest Calendar page for all the details. The second is to interact with them on social media, particularly Facebook, where they have accounts.

No. For many years, Wendy did ElfQuest convention sketches. In 2018, for a number of reasons, we made the command decision to stop. However, we do bring prints of ElfQuest artwork to some shows, and Wendy will – for a fee – do a small remarque (sketch) on those and books we sell.

W&R will only consider attending those shows that invite them as guests – which means the convention pays travel, lodging, etc. So if you want them to show up at your favorite show, it’s up to you (and hopefully many friends who feel the same) to contact the convention organizers and let them know what you want. We can’t promise ahead of time, but this is how the process must start. Each convention invitation will be considered on its own merits.

Yes they’re happy to sign items, with exceptions. They will sign most anything connected to ElfQuest – from 1978 forward. Wendy prefers to leave her earlier fanzine work in the past, so she says no to that. If you’re unsure, just ask.

Yes, there’s a fee. Here’s how it works:

• For ElfQuest comics and books, the first one is free and then $10 each after that.
• For rare or “collector” or oddball ElfQuest items (unboxed figures, t-shirts, obscure publications, complete title runs, portfolio sets, etc.) – $50 per item signed.
• For Fantasy Quarterly (graded or ungraded), or any grading service witnessed signature on any ElfQuest comic – $100.

Why a fee for signatures? The reason is simple: Conventions reimburse travel and lodging expenses, but seldom offer an appearance fee. So the time spent traveling to, being at, and getting back from a show, adds up to days of work time and income lost. (A 3-day show actually eats up 5-6 days.) That has to be recouped — it’s simply math.

Wendy replies: My drawing style of elves and fantasy creatures was well and professionally established years before Wizards came out. I worked briefly for Ralph Bakshi on his version of Lord of the Rings, just as I was also starting to draw the first pages of ElfQuest. And I did stack the deck in my audition for him by learning how to draw his characters from Wizards and LOTR. Mike Ploog, who did the remarkable “history” paintings in Wizards, portrayed elves very much the way I did, at the time. But there is no artistic connection to ElfQuest. It’s a case of parallel development. After I left his studio, I made it a point to back away from any Bakshi influence and adhere to my lifelong love of manga for the design of ElfQuest. I do not respect Mr. Bakshi personally because of his mistreatment of other creators he’s worked with.

The short answer is, “shift happens.” This can mean different things. In the case of the Donning/Starblaze color collections, the materials provided by the publisher for coloring were substandard. Deadlines were tight. Under those conditions, some coloring decisions were made that, years later, needed to be corrected. In other cases, on other projects, a colorist may have made a mistake and it didn’t get caught. Sometimes settings on the printing press were off, and the first we knew of it was when readers wanted to know why the Sun Folk were suddenly lighter, or darker, or redder than they were the previous issue.

There is a saying that goes, “Don’t let ‘perfect’ be the enemy of ‘good.’” Perfection is an illusion. That said, the coloring and printing of the current Dark Horse hardcover collections comes closer to Wendy’s vision for the saga than any previous edition.

Many of the ElfQuest stories done by other artists and writers are canon. ElfQuest is nearly 50 years old. We’ve done a good, if not perfect, job of maintaining continuity.

Will there ever be a completely, 100% bulletproof ElfQuest canon? Probably not – after all, even the Bible/Torah/Koran contain inconsistencies.

In a word, yes.

From Wikipedia: “Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is the alteration of previously established facts in the continuity of a fictional work. … There are various motivations for retconning. … The long history of popular titles and the number of writers who contribute stories can often create situations that demand clarification or revision. … Retcons allow for authors to reintroduce popular characters and resolve errors in chronology.”

“Retcon” is not a dirty word. In the case of ElfQuest, the core concept was developed in 1977 by Wendy and Richard Pini who, at the time, were in their 20s. The original story is a reflection of who they were then. But as the saying goes, life happens. The Final Quest and Stargazer’s Hunt chapters reflect personal growth that the writers and artist have experienced over the years. In some instances, those changes inform – retroactively – aspects of the original tale, to make the whole more cohesive and integrated.

Again, yes. Call it “future retconning” – futconning, if you like. That’s how a growing, living, organic creative process works. Imagine Star Trek if Gene Roddenberry had insisted that Mr. Spock stay forever the winsome character he was in the very first pilot episode. Imagine all that would never have developed and blossomed into both the character and the mythos that we know and love today.

That’s why Wendy and Richard do not confine their minds and hearts to the tales as they were written decades ago. While the broad strokes that define Final Quest and Stargazer’s Hunt were established that far back, fine details simply could not be known. Example: Some FutureQuest tales tell of old and continuing tensions that still exist between elves and trolls in the Palace of the High Ones. As of the events of Final Quest #18, those tensions no longer exist. As Wendy puts it, “All ElfQuest FutureQuest stories are playful but distorted spinnings of tales based on what our writers and artists knew of the Final Quest at the time – way back in the 1990s. They contain both some canon and some wildly improbable deviations from canon. Have fun with them but don’t take them too literally. Imagine you’re sitting in the chamber of the Scroll of Colors, reading many different threads that show how things might have gone. The true thread – what ElfQuest is really all about – is up to you to decide.”

First things first. The “original WaveDancers” – sea elves – were created by Wendy in the 1980s as an alternate tribe for the Chaosium role playing game. What you’re really asking about are the six comic book issues written and drawn by Black Mermaid Productions in the 1990s. BMP approached Warp with their idea of sea-dwelling elves and the idea was at first appealing. Warp and BMP entered into an agreement, and work began. However, as the series progressed, it became clear that BMP’s desire was more to create their own universe of characters, and less to adhere to the structure and canon of ElfQuest. Because BMP’s vision was too radically different from what Wendy and Richard were willing to allow within their creation, the relationship came to an end. As part of the legal terms of the separation, neither Warp nor BMP may republish any of the material from the six-issue series.

The Sun Folks’ pigmentation is an adaptation to living on the World of Two Moons. Those who dwelled in the Palace and now the Starhome have chosen to keep their skin coloring out of love for the world they left. Sometimes scenes in the Palace or Starhome are filled with a constant, hazy, pearly glow. So all the colors are filtered through that. That is why the Sun Folk look a little lighter. Ember, Venka, Mender, Kimo, etc. all retain the varying shades of their acquired (whether by heredity or exposure) skin tones, but they were never as dark as the “native” Sun Folk to begin with. However, some – like Leetah – are as beautifully dark as they ever were.

When we first met Cutter, his wolf-friend Nightrunner warned him of danger via a crude sending. At that point in the story, only one or two of the Wolfrider wolves retained a trace of elf-blood from the time of Timmain and Timmorn, many thousands of years earlier, to be able to send. Now, in the time of Final Quest and Stargazer’s Hunt that “blood” (and ability) has been completely diluted – bred out, actually – to the point where the Wolfriders’ lupine friends are effectively 100 percent wolf. So no, they can no longer send.

The average life span of a wolf in the wilds of Earth is 4-5 years. Life is tough for them. Wolfrider wolves can live twenty years or more, not because they have elf blood (see above) but because they are bonded with their elf friends. They look out, care for, protect each other in a way that doesn’t happen for an earthly wolf pack. Wolfriders accept their wolf-friends’ mortality; it is the elves’ friendship and care that prolongs the wolves’ lives.

No, ElfQuest elves do not kiss. They are very affectionate, and they cuddle and nuzzle, and nibble on ears and noses, and certainly mouths come into contact with mouths from time to time. To which we say “True.” But they don’t kiss. Because kissing, as a “thing,” at least in certain Earthly cultures, has come to contain particular notions about relationship, emotion, affection, and so on. Kissing has a very definite social, even mythical “cultural spell” about it. Why is there such a big deal in story and art about love’s first kiss? Why is it a big deal when someone works up the nerve to steal a kiss? Why can a fairy tale kiss bring someone back from seeming death? We did not want to invest ElfQuest with those human, culture-specific significances. So the elves may take sensual pleasure from lips meeting lips – but it is not kissing.

For much the same reasons, ElfQuest elves do not “marry” and become “husbands and wives,” they do not “have sex” (or any other more colorful terms), nor do they experience “love at first sight” – as those are all human-culture based notions. Our elves do however become lifemates and lovemates, they do join, and some of them even Recognize each other.

Lovemates (and there can be two or more elves involved) join for pleasure. In today’s terms, they’d be called friends with benefits, no strings attached. Lifemates (can also be two or more) make the choice to form a family group (for want of a better term) that is long lasting, though not necessarily carved in stone. Soulmates are those elves who, for one of two reasons, have gone to the deepest level of sharing, and exchanged soul names. This is a very committed bond. Soulmates are often lifemates, though lifemates don’t have to be soulmates. Soul names can be exchanged by choice (Redlance and Nightfall), or by Recognition (Cutter and Leetah). Because Recognition exists only to ensure reproduction, a Recognized male and a female elf may know each other’s soul name, but once a child has been conceived, there is no rule stating the two must remain together, or even stay friends (Dewshine and Tyldak).

In simplest terms, Recognition is a primal, nearly irresistible mating urge between two elves. On a deep and subconscious level, even if they don’t or can’t consciously “send”, all elves are telepathic. So every elf, unconsciously, knows every other elf’s innermost genetic makeup. When a female and a male get within range of each other (“eyes meet eyes”) and the mix of qualities is right for a cub that will benefit the tribe (or the entire elf race), an instinctual command to mate bursts powerfully into each elf’s awareness (“soul meets soul”). Instantly, each elf knows the entire secret inner self of the other. The urge is so strong that if it is denied, the afflicted pair will feel dire physical effects. Recognition is not love at first sight; love has nothing to do with it. In time, the Recognized couple may come to love each other (as Leetah and Cutter did), but there’s no guarantee.

Where did the concept of Recognition come from? All ElfQuest elves are descendants of alien shape-shifters (the High Ones) who had various telekinetic, energy manipulation powers. These powers are now often called “magic” by the elves – but that’s only a name. All elves are born with some latent version of these powers. But on the World of Two Moons, whose lower “spiritual vibration” limits what elves can fully do, these powers don’t show up in some.

Recognition began as an evolutionary adaptation to stimulate the emergence of these “old powers” in the offspring it produces. The very nature of Recognition began to change (thanks to Cutter) as the scattered elf tribes discovered and interacted with each other. Originally a biological imperative followed most seriously by the endangered, mortal Wolfriders, the advent of more frequent interbreeding of different elf tribes has softened the intensity of the imperative. Thus, even outside of Recognition, more children are born on the WoTM with traits of the original High Ones.

Only in the sense that the pair can voluntarily or involuntarily exchange soul names, and forge for themselves a deep bond, as Cutter and Skywise have done. It is sometimes said they have “taken Recognition for themselves.” But it is not Recognition in the truest definition of the word, which is purely biological and procreative.

Only Wolfriders have soul names. Soul names are partly a product of the Wolfriders’ unique nature and partly a product of their culture.

The answer to the first question is “neither.” The Preservers are the many-times removed, shapeshifted descendants of insect-like creatures the original High Ones included on their long-ago journey from the dying Homeworld. They are sexless and immortal, which provides the answer to the second question: They don’t reproduce. All the Preservers that exist now, are all there will ever be. They are tough, nearly indestructable though – look at all Petalwing’s been through. So don’t worry about them going extinct. They’ll be around for a long, long time.

Wendy writes: The Scroll of Colors is a very interesting mystical/magical device. It shows what has happened, what is happening and what will happen – but in limitless different versions, all possible. One thread of color shows things happening one way. Another thread of color plays the very same thing out in a different way. The different scenarios keep changing through the butterfly effect. And so on, ad infinitum. There’s not enough time in the Universe to know the Scroll completely. The Scroll of Colors is not a computer. It does not deliver information on command. It’s not something one can “use” for any active purpose. When it is activated (when the spindles are levitated so they can turn) the colors “play” as they will. They cannot be controlled or manipulated. They are only to be read, studied and contemplated. We humans read meaning into all sorts of symbols in the form of writing. Elves can read colors. The subtlest difference in hues represents entirely different threads of elfin history. The Sun Folk, who are now known as the Palace Dwellers, spend most of their time learning how to read the Scroll and gaining tidbits of knowledge from it. Savah can read it like a pro and Sunstream’s not far behind. But no one, not even Timmain, can “google” the Scroll of Colors.

Richard adds: For the tech-minded, the closest notion we currently have to the Scroll of Colors is the hypothesis of the quantum multiverse. This hints that there’s an infinite number of universes, some with properties very close to ours, some that are incomprehensibly alien and inhospitable. Or to put it another way, an infinite number of “what-if realities.” What keeps everything from fusing into a gray quantum soup is that each universe is completely and forever inaccessible to any other. You can’t get there from here. For all practical purposes, all those other universes don’t exist. The Scroll of Colors may show a multitude of what-if pasts, presents, and futures, but the only one that matters is the one that’s here and now. (AKA the one being told by us.)

Yes we do, and it’s right here.

Sometimes. There are rules.

First, you may not hotlink to images at ElfQuest.com itself. Self-host artwork that you are given permission to use. Second, you must put the following text on your web pages along with the ElfQuest images:

“ElfQuest art copyright Warp Graphics, Inc. ElfQuest, its logos, characters, situations, all related indicia, and their distinctive likenesses are trademarks of Warp Graphics, Inc. All rights reserved.”

With special reference to the “Warp Wolf” logo that you see on this site, the answer is no, you may not use that image. It’s a registered trademark of Warp Graphics. It’s our company identity. As much as people think it’s cool, legally we must say “no” to any use of the image. Apparently, it has already found its way onto “free/shared graphics” sites and it’s a major pain simply trying to track down and halt these infringments. If you find a site offering or using the logo, please email and let us know.

We can’t design individualized ElfQuest skin art for you, but published images from the comics or books are all right to use. Please send a photo of your new tattoo; we’d like to see how it turned out. (ElfQuest images used as tattoo “flash” is a no-no, however, as that’s a form of publication/exploitation. If you find any instances of that, please email and let us know, and thanks.)

This is probably the question we get asked the most, and to keep things simple, we have a simple answer: No. For a lot of reasons, all of them legal and related to copyright and trademark protection, we don’t give permission to anyone outside of Warp (or our authorized licensees) to make or sell ElfQuest merchandise of any sort. It’s not personal; this is the position that we must take in all cases. (If you find any instances of someone engaged in this kind of infringement, please email and let us know.) Thanks for understanding.

This is tricky, and we try to walk a fine line between two cases we see:

Case 1 – If it involves you sending ElfQuest art or logos to any site where they apply that art to a blank product – even if it’s for your own use – the answer is no.

Case 2 – If you make something yourself – say in class or shop or otherwise on your own – for your own use and not to be sold, then we can flex and say OK.

It’s not that simple. We could go to a company (Funko, for example) and say “Please license ElfQuest for those cool figures you manufacture and sell.” But Funko itself has to want to produce a line of Wolfrider bobble-heads. Period. Companies do notice however if lots of fans write to them asking for a product if only the company would make it. That’s why you have to show your interest – not only to Warp, not only to Dark Horse, but directly to the manufacturer of whatever EQ thingie you want.

With all the projects on her plate, the answer must be no – sorry. (This includes blank sheets of paper or cards sent through the mail, even if these include return packaging and postage.)

Again, the answer must be no, whether the other artist is fan or pro. No one other than the actual owner (Warp Graphics) or its authorized representatives has legal permission to make and sell ElfQuest art. Right now, only four artists (other than Wendy, of course) have Warp Graphics’ consent to do ElfQuest commissions: Sonny Strait, Brandon McKinney, Delfin Barral, and Paul Abrams.

ElfQuest.com went live in 1994, and was the first domain devoted to a single comic book series. (Marvel and DC had put comics online earlier, but they used gateways such as AOL.) The first incarnation of the EQ site was a framework of HTML code, hand written on the Unix text editor emacs. PHP was an add-on that allowed us to manipulate web pages more dynamically, and to add a forum (since discontinued). Photoshop was – and still is – the tool of choice for image creation and manipulation. For twenty years, that was the basic toolkit for ElfQuest.com

In 2014, a major revision of the site took place. We migrated over to WordPress and since then have continued to streamline the functioning of the site while integrating with social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

In 2022 we began another major update/facelift, completed in time for ElfQuest‘s 45th anniversary in February 2023. We’re still using WordPress but have added more powerful editing and other tools (such as Elementor), as well as using the services of professional web designers.

The WebQuest goes ever on!