"To those of you who are seeing this initial chapter in the ELFQUEST of Cutter and his Wolfriders for the first time, welcome." With those words Wendy and I led off the editorial that led off the first WaRP Graphics edition of ELFQUEST #1 in early 1978 (that led off the first EQ series, that led off...but that's for other editorials!). If you're new to the independent comics scene, you may not know that back then things were quite different from the way they are now. Today, you can choose from literally hundreds of independent titles; then, you had two or three. ELFQUEST was born because we had a story that wanted telling, and no one else (read: Marvel and DC) was willing to gamble on an untried fantasy tale by a couple of unknowns in the field. So we were led, more or less, to self-publication and to the creation of our own comics company-- WaRP Graphics (from Wendy and Richard Pini, in case you didn't know!).
It's nearly a dozen years later. There have been many changes in many things--in ELFQUEST, in us, in comics as an artform and industry, in Warp Graphics (we even gave up the funky capitalization!)-- and yet, here we are back at square one, as if it were 1977 all over again. Is this some chronic form of self-abuse, or what?
In truth, there is a method behind the madness. Since ELFQUEST first appeared, it has been published in a variety of formats, by a number of publishers. Each edition was pretty much aimed at a different audience, even though the story was similar. But of all the variations on the ELFQUEST presentation, the one that garnered the most-- and most satisfying-- response was the original series of black and white comics. Oh, the letters we received, read and loved! And we've always wondered if that outpouring of commentary and critique was due to ELFQUEST's being one of the very few independent comics available at the time, or its being just about the only fantasy comic book, or...?
Whatever the reason, for nearly eight years ELFQUEST captured and carried along a loyal readership that waited patiently for each new issue to appear, three times a year. Those readers are older now, as are we all, and some have gone on to pursuits other than fantasy or comics. But again we've wondered-- is there now a new audience out there as yet unfamiliar with the story of Cutter, Skywise, Leetah and the Quest? Readers who would enjoy taking the same roller-coaster ride their predecessors did-- and starting at the beginning? If we've learned anything about ELFQUEST, it's that it's a perennial favorite. Perhaps the time is right to reintroduce the Quest!
One aspect of the comics that has certainly changed is that the independent market is much more wolf-eat-wolf than ever before, and no comic title could survive a thrice-yearly schedule. Which is why this edition of ELFQUEST will be published monthly, faithfully and on time. You will still need 20 months to complete the saga, chapter by chapter, but at least you won't be waiting for the final issue in 1996!
So this is for you, the new reader. Welcome to our world of two moons. Sit back, settle in, and enjoy the Quest-- and don't let anyone tell you the ending!
--Richard Pini