Customer Reviews

Elfquest Reader's Collection #10: Shards

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Beginning in 1990, the Pinis radically expanded the scope of the story of Cutter and his Wolfrider tribe. First, "Kings of the Broken Wheel" (reprinted in Books 7 and 8) advanced the characters 10,000 years in time - causing Cutter to have to cope, first, with the sudden loss of his family and second - after the reunion with his loved ones - with the changed, more dangerous world in which he and his tribe now found themselves: a world with more, and more powerful, humans in it. Book 10, featuring issues 8 to 15 of the "Hidden Years" series, begins the new tale of the elves' adventures in the midst of human civilization - above all, the seeds of their struggle to retake their ancestral home, the Palace of the High Ones, from the human dictator Grohmul Djun.

The first two episodes in Book 10 repeat two sections of the now-withdrawn Book 9 "Rogue's Challenge", so I will not touch on those in this review. The new story begins with the third and fourth chapters, when the elves' longtime enemy Winnowill, trying to hijack the Palace for her own ends, destroys it instead; the seizure of its shards (hence the title of the book) by the Djun and his army not only robs the elves of their safe haven, but gives the five-fingers access to its magic - a power they may turn against the elves. Cutter comes to realize that his people must war with the Djun to regain their rightful home... and that the only way to avoid the extinction of the tribe is to send away some of its members. Indeed, the distinctive element of this story is the deft union of the "smaller" personal stories - the maturation of a chief-to-be, the prospect of a new birth, an elf extending her hand to humans in friendship; a leader contemplating the second separation of his family - with the larger tale of the elves' impending battle for their lives. Though Wendy and Richard Pini did not create the artwork, they did write the script for this tale, which rings as true as any of their earlier works.

The bulk of the artwork, from the fifth chapter onwards, was drawn by Brandon McKinney. While obviously not from Wendy's pen (McKinney uses a more angular pencilling style, and draws most faces somewhat wider than Wendy does), McKinney yet shows a natural feel for the distinctive qualities of each character, and the attention to detail is admirable - not only basic figure-work but also inking and coloring are well executed. Having read the original color issues, I must say that this black-and-white reproduction gives only a partial view of the quality of the artwork. That is inevitable, since most of the scenes take place at night, and darker inks and colors are difficult to reproduce well - this being the only relative flaw of this edition.

Very little in the earlier EQ stories could have prepared readers for the new directions this series has taken; but it is just such vision - worthy of Cutter himself - that has kept up, and even enhanced, the Pinis' reputation not only as artists, but as storytellers. The theme of this book, then, is neatly summarized from a quotation from it: "Change is growth; love is never lost."

Why has the quality gone down? This black and white monstrosity looks like something I could have photocopied in my office.What the hell is going on woth these people! They have raped their own creation by letting the spark, the very life of their characters disappear!!Not only have they handed their livelihood over to mostly incompetent hacks, they don't seem to give a goddamn! The comic has bit the dust and the books should do likewise . . because all of the old favorites are being reprinted in this cheap form. It's obvious that the author-ex artist, whatever they are, want to wring as much money as possible so that their pipe dream of a direct to video movie can become reality. The originators of theis fabulous epic . . and you should have seen it in it's heyday! have become enamoured of the almighty dollar - which is fine, except they continually prech otherwise throughout their own work . . .hypocrite pie, anyone? Buy this, like I did, as a sort of salute to what EQ used to be. And weep for the loss.

EQ used to be one of my favorite works, but the series no longer has the quality it once enjoyed. My advice is to avoid later volumes and stick to the earlier books which are among the best comics ever published. The later work is embarassing.

Sadly, you must be forwarned. First, the stories are in black and white: not pen and ink, but half-toned copies of color originals. Secondly, this is not the entire tale of the broken palace's saga. The book ends in the tell-tale "To be continued in Shards #1"... So, you'll have to follow the battle for the palace in Collection books #11b - Ascent and #12b - Reunion. And, Ember's tribe's story in #11a - Legacy and #11b - Huntress.

That being said, the artwork is exceptional, concidering the varying artists compiled. Good form, WaRP! Pleasingly Pini-esque! And, the story does indeed flow with characteristic Pini style: quick, crisp and can't put it down! If you're unfamiliar with the Quest, recommend reading Kings of the Broken Wheel, at least, to get a better feel for the story line. And, of course, Collection books 1 - 4 (the original Quest) to get a good handle on who's who.

When Wendy Pini stopped drawing, the life went out of her characters. The storyline began to drift from being fresh and exciting to the type found in dime romance novels - the same thing over and over again. At the time this was first published, there was a great cry from long-term Elfquest readers stating that the art and story were deteriorating and the response from Richard Pini was that they were "going to take all the negative letters and put them in a blender." When fans stopped buying the new artists' work, Wendy began to draw again (see "Dreamtime") but I wonder if she can truly salvage what has been lost. The beginning of the death of the Elfquest Universe, sadly, is in this book.

I know that for die-hard Elfquest fans, the turn to other artists is difficult. Shards is a prime example of the shift to more comic book-like writing and art. It will never compare to the original Series 1-8. However, I had prepared myself for this when, after 5 years of not picking up an Elfquest, I decided to start back up with the series. Expecting the unfamiliar style of art, as from Worldpool, I was pleasantly surprised at the art in Shards. The characters were recognizable and often strikingly like Pini's work. Her art was mixed in and it made for an adaquate and enjoyable read. Although we would all love for Wendy to be doing it all, I think this will do. But I really hope the movie is worth all this!!

Thanks for a great product. It was in a little better condition then I thought it would be in. Arrived fast as well.

I can only assume the Pini's are writing the glowing reviews of the EQ graphic novels themselves. These books are so bad, so badly drawn, so awful, with such lousy reproduction and quality control that I can't imagine any EQ fan actually likes them.

The art looks like it came from a fanzine. It is not professional. The reproduction of the art looks like mud.

Buy at your own risk.

I was pleasantly surprised by Shards. As an Elfquest fan since 1985, I had been reluctant, in recent years, to read stories that weren't strictly written and drawn by the Pinis. But this book has rekindled my interest in the series. Although the artwork does vary from section to section, it is pretty faithful to Wendy Pini's original style. The storylines were intriguing, and I can't wait to find out how they are played out in further installments of Elfquest. I would, however, SERIOUSLY suggest reading Elfquest graphic novels 1 through 8 and The Hidden Years before reading Shards, in order for the plot to make complete sense and to understand the long character histories.

This is one of the most moving books of the series. It has art and words that make you part of their world and make you feel thier emotions. Reading this book leaves you as a changed person as the "elves" show human likieness and emotion.