Date: January 1980 Publisher: WaRP Graphics Cover Price: $1.25 Stats: 33 color pages Writers: Wendy and Richard Pini Artist: Wendy Pini Notable Notes: A new story arc begins in the lives of the Elves!
This issue feels very much like the first episode of season two… if Elfquest were a TV series! Some time has passed, and we are given glimpses into the lives of the characters and what is happening now. It is fun to be back, but I still feel a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see and experience what had happened in the interim! I’m guessing it was all normal “life” stuff, and the creators wanted to plunge us back in when things had gotten interesting again. Read the rest of this entry »
Date: July 1974 Publisher: Marvel Comics Group Cover Price: 75¢ Stats: 20 black and white pages (Skull River story) Writer: Roy Thomas Artists: Jim Starlin and Al Milgrom Notable Notes: Conan gets a new horse!
What is the longest you have ever gone without water? I once went about 30 hours, and it was terrible! I am a big water drinker, even now, since it is suppose to be healthy , and I do prefer it to the overly sweet sugar drinks that are so prominent these days. But I wonder if we, like Conan in this story, had gone a long time without anything to drink, would be prone to blackouts or agreeing to take on stupid jobs. Hmm, hopefully I’d die before fighting a rich prick and then giving all his gold to manipulative villagers! 😉 Read the rest of this entry »
Date: August 1979 Publisher: WaRP Graphics Cover Price: $1.00 2018 Price Range: $3 – $30 Stats: 33 color pages plus editorial and Elfquotes letters page Writers: Wendy and Richard Pini Artist: Wendy Pini Notable Notes: The end of the first Elfquest chapter.
Whenever I see a herd of stampeding horses, or other grazing beasts, in movies or read about them in books, I always recall the movie Gandhi . It is there that the title character urges people to lie down, saying that the horses won’t step on them if they are prone. For some reason I have often thought about that part of the movie. Although I am not sure if that is true or not, it does seem logical that horses wouldn’t want to step other living creatures. I guess we are kind of like that too – how many of us would run across of carpet of cats, for example? Anyway, there is a part in this comic book where I thought the characters should heed Gandhi’s words and all lie down. However, the award winning movie didn’t come out until three years after this book was published – so I guess I can’t fault them! Read the rest of this entry »
Date: October 2007 Publisher: IDW Publishing Cover Price: $3.99 Stats: 22 color pages Writers: Cory Doctorow, adapted by Dara Naraghi Artists: Esteve Polls, Robert Studio and Neil Uyetake Notable Notes: The first time a Cory Doctorow short story has been adapted to comics!
Several years ago I read and reviewed Cory Doctorow’s short story “Anda’s Game” . (You can still read that post over on my science fiction blog) I thought the story was pretty good, but definitely not his best work. He has written a ton of cool short stories and novels, so I was excited when I recently learned about the comic adaptations of some of his stories! I started with this one because it was the first story in the free (and legal!) TPB download. I kind of think there was something lost in the translation to graphic form, but it was still fun seeing a great short story in comic book form! Kind of like seeing a movie that was made from a novel you read. Anywho, here’s what I thought of it. Read the rest of this entry »
Date: May 1979 Publisher: WaRP Graphics Cover Price: $1.00 2018 Price Range: $3 – $30 Stats: 32 color pages plus Bearclaw and Joyleaf pin-up art, Laugh “Wolf” and Elfquotes letters page Writers: Wendy and Richard Pini Artist: Wendy Pini Notable Notes: 1st appearance of Madcoil!
Have you ever been spurned by a rival? I’m talking about when you finally decide to play nice, and so you make a reconciling gesture only to be scoffed at, turned down or ridiculed? This can lead to even higher tension between rivals. I remember one case, in particular, when I was in high school where “my nemesis” and I elevated proverbial blows until we were ready to kill each other. Ah, the good old days of teenage testosterone! Nowadays I usually (emphasis on usually) laugh and let things blow over, because I am older and wiser… or is it older and weaker? One of those. Anyway, in this issue we see some male-rival-spurning going on, and I’m sure it will lead to more aggression in later issues. I can’t wait! Read the rest of this entry »
A gift for you, dear readers! Here is a list of high quality Batman comics that you can read online for free! It took me a long time to scour the web and compile this list, so I hope you enjoy it and make great use of it! Presented in alphabetical order, here are what I believe to be 24 great Batman comics to read online for free: Read the rest of this entry »
Date: December 1978 Publisher: WaRP Graphics Cover Price: $1.00 2017 Price Range: $3 – $30 Stats: 32 color pages plus Rayek pin-up art, Meet the Wolfriders and Elfquotes letters page Writers: Wendy and Richard Pini Artist: Wendy Pini Notable Notes: Cutter and Rayek battle for Leetah’s love!
Would you fight, literally fight, to win the heart of your sweetie? What about your job? Or your family? Or your home? Or your comic book collection? 😉 Sure, we’ve all heard of fighting for true love, but as I read this comic I asked myself “What do I consider worth fighting for?” It gave me a little bit to ponder… but not for too long, because I had the rest of the comic to read! Here is a great comic – beautifully rendered and fun to read! Read the rest of this entry »
Date: September 1978 Publisher: WaRP Graphics Cover Price: $1.00 2017 Price Range: $3 – $40 Stats: 31 color pages plus pin-up art, welcome and Elfquotes letters page Writers: Wendy and Richard Pini Artist: Wendy Pini Notable Notes: The first book from WaRP Graphics
Ah, love at first sight… does it really exist? I tend to think that it should more accurately be called “lust at first sight” – at least in the real world. But in the world of fiction perhaps love at first sight is a thing that actually works out. In this issue of ElfQuest the Wolfriders’ leader, Cutter, is so smitten with a beautiful woman that he kidnaps her! But that works out OK for him – and that is another way to tell that we are in fictional world! Read the rest of this entry »
Date: April 1978 Publisher: WaRP Graphics Cover Price: $1.00 2017 Price Range: $4 – $50 Stats: 31 color pages plus forward, pin-up art and Elf-olution Writers: Wendy and Richard Pini Artist: Wendy Pini Notable Notes: A spruced-up reprint of ElfQuest’s first appearance!
Some comic book series just really fly through the publishing companies. Astro City is one that comes to mind. ElfQuest is another one. Beginning in the late 1970s the Elf saga started off in Fantasy Quarterly #1 by an independent publisher, then it switched to the Pini’s homegrown company WaRP Graphics. Years later both Marvel and DC would pick up licenses to it, and so would Boing Boing and Dark Horse! Sheesh! Oh well, at least it is a good series, and one that deserves to be published – regardless of who is doing that publishing! Read the rest of this entry »
Date: August 1995 Publisher: Image Comics Cover Price: $2.25 2015 NM Price: $12 Stats: 24 color pages plus pullout poster, “Greetings from Astro City” and house ads Creators: Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, Richard Starkings, Steve Buccellato and Alex Ross
When I was a kid I had many dreams where I could fly – heck, I still have them! Wouldn’t that be something – to just take off like Superman and fly away? Those were always the dreams where I was totally upset once I woke up and realized it wasn’t real. But still, it’s fun to dream isn’t it? Apparently we normal humans aren’t the only ones who dream of flying – this issue shows us that superheroes have those dreams too… even when they really can fly!
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Date: July 2009 Publisher: Th3rd World Studios Stats: 23 color pages Writers: Mike Raicht & Brian Smith Artists: Charles Paul Wilson III Notable Notes: A toy rescue party is mounted!
When I was a small boy, we didn’t call him the “Boogeyman”, we were just afraid of the scary monsters in the dark – especially the ones outside! We felt marginally safer when we finally got a dog, because then we had a built in warning system when the monsters were near, right? Anyway, now I look back at some of those irrational fears and smile… at least until my young daughter screams and runs into my arms. What is she hiding from? The Boogeyman, of course!
Date: June 1998 Publisher: DC Comics Cover Price: $2.95 2014 NM Value: $4.00 Stats: 38 color pages Writer: Ty Templeton Artists: Rick Burchett, Terry Beatty, Lee Loughridge Notable Notes: Joker gets a big, big price on his head!
The rational, non-fun, part of me has always been a little bit disappointed that the Joker is still running around being crazy after all these years. It seems like if Batman isn’t able to put the kibosh on this villain, then maybe there is another, better way? This issue addresses that very topic, and shows us that one dedicated and vengeful man can come up with a clever method for bringing down the Joker once and for all!
Date: October 2003 Publisher: Image Comics Cover Price: $2.95 2013 Price Range: $7.00 – $250.00 Stats: 24 black & white pages Writer: Robert Kirkman Artist: Tony Moore Notable Notes: 1st issue of the insanely popular zombie series!
I resisted reading this issue for a long time. Why? Well, because I’m not a huge fan of zombies that’s why. I mean I don’t hate them, it’s just that I kind of rejected them on the grounds that “everybody is doing it.” Anyway, on a long bus ride I finally jumped in and read this issue on my Android tablet and was quite surprised and how much I enjoyed it! Here’s what I thought of this landmark first issue:
Over the past year I have been searching for web sites where I can read comic books online for free . Guess what? There are loads of places to get free comics, and a lot of sites for online comic books too – but it has been difficult to find high quality sites which are legal. Nevertheless I persevered and have scoured the web looking for the best sites. (* See below for the criteria I used when searching for good sites) Anyway, I have finally come up with a list of what I believe are the 11 best sites for free, online comic books:
Date: 2012 Publisher: Monkeybrain Comics Cover Price: 99¢ Stats: 13 color pages Writer: Paul Tobin Artist: Colleen Coover Notable Notes: 1st appearance of the artful-dodger known as Bandette!
I enjoy the older, adventure comics in the style of Tintin, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover Bandette! I had been wanting to read some Monkeybrain comics for a while, and this was a great opportunity – so I jumped at it. I’m glad I did because this was one fun book that I recommend you give a try!
