It’s not bad in the desert
In the first volume of the comic book ElfQuestwe met the race of brave elves and their wolf friends. The age-old struggle with people meant that the breed eventually had to leave its native forest and look for a new shelter. The insidious trolls made the heroes find themselves in the desert, where they were to end their lives. Fortunately, however, they found their people from another tribe, who saved their lives. The second volume tells about an attempt by long-eared people from forests to adapt to life in the village of the End of Despair. The Wolf Riders have a hard time enduring the conditions here and it is not easy for them to get along with the local elves. Over time, however, both tribes not only begin to convince each other, but also learn each other’s customs and things that will facilitate their survival. The love thread of the main characters, i.e. Siekacz and Leeta, is also continued, who eventually become married and unite their peoples. However, the happiness of the newlyweds does not last too long. People stand in their way again, prompting the leader to find more elven tribes. He sets out on his journey with his friend, the Cloud Seer. The companions are once again ambushed by the trolls.
Who is the recipient?
ElfQuest is a comic book that debuted on the market in 1978 and was created for the next 36 years. It was published, among others, by Marvel, DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics. Throughout this time, Wendy and Richard Pini wrote the script for him invariably. The second volume we are discussing, which was published in Poland thanks to the Amber publishing house, is the beginning of the adventure and was written at the turn of 1978–1979. Perhaps it was this period that caused the album to have some serious problems that its contemporaries will surely notice. Namely, it is difficult to assess who it is addressed to, and the message it contains is not clear-cut. First things first.
We have an interesting fantasy story here, the main characters of which are the elves, and especially the Chopper that leads them. They live in a somewhat primitive world where battles are fought with bows, swords and even clubs, and the people there live in shacks. In addition to many fantastic races, gods also live here. There are also people endowed with magical abilities. Conflicts often break out between races, and each fights for its own survival. The scheme may seem a bit hackneyed, but it should be taken into account that the comic was created 36 years ago and was rather one of the precursors of the genre. The adventure itself is also thoughtful and intriguing. Except that today it may not quite reach us. Mr. and Mrs. Pini, creating ElfQuest, they wanted it to fall into the hands of younger readers. That’s probably why we have a lot of notes about what is happening right now, so that recipients do not accidentally get lost. The elves living in the End of Despair themselves resemble the Smurfs. They can be funny, innocent, amusing, and they get stupid mishaps. Only they look more like Conan in appearance. They are muscular, strong and brave. They don’t hesitate to kill someone. Elves, in turn, are also great with weapons, and at the same time they are beautiful and even sexy. They willingly reveal shapely legs or generous breasts. Therefore, here you can ask yourself, is it really a children’s album? Especially since the heroes do not avoid drinking alcohol, fighting or having sex. The love scenes may not be shown like in an erotic movie, but you can see how couples hide behind rocks, throw off their clothes or make characteristic noises. The fragments where elves or wolves hunt and kill animals are shown more clearly. You can say that everything is part of nature and normal, but nowadays it probably would not pass, or at least it would be marked with the appropriate age category.
However, portraying women is a much bigger problem. On the one hand, they are presented as strong characters equal to men, who can go hunting with them, and are often better than them in using weapons. In a moment, however, they turn into giggling coquettes, not very good at opening the jar. The main character, Leeta, at the beginning rejects Slicer’s advances, so that he finally conquers her … by force! Relax, there is no rape here, but eventually the elf shows his muscles, defeats another admirer in battle and quietly sneaks into the bedroom of his chosen one. Soon after, the elf, who was to become the chieftain, becomes the mother of two children and focuses almost exclusively on housework and taking care of the family. I don’t know why the writers acted in such a stereotypical way, when they could show progress and teach readers a little more about equality. I suspect that, however, it was influenced by the period of the comic book release. They were probably afraid of criticism and the fact that they would not find a fairly large audience. It is a pity, because there is only a missed chance for a strong message.
How does it look like?
Visually, the comic cannot be faulted too much. As I mentioned before, elves may explore their lush breasts too much, making the comic book not necessarily suitable for children. However, if the audience changed, it must be firmly admitted that Mrs. Wendy Pini, the album’s illustrator, has extraordinary talent. The whole thing is in shades of black and white. The characters and animals look great, and the backgrounds are refined in every detail. Especially the scene where the burnt forest was shown will amaze many readers.
Not that time?
ElfQuestis quite a successful adventure set in a fantasy world. It certainly made a great impression in the 70s and 80s, when it made its debut on the market. No wonder that he quickly found a large group of fans. Unfortunately, it would certainly not have passed in this form today. There are elements that are quite childish and aimed at the youngest, and in a moment we get a much more serious fragment for the elderly. Also, the heroes themselves once resemble funny Smurfs, only to become the counterparts of Conan the Barbarian in a moment. In addition, the authors definitely wanted to show strong female characters, but they probably got scared that it might not be well received and changed their minds at the last moment. The album definitely defends itself with a graphic design that has been refined in every detail. So there are pros and cons here, which ultimately give us a medium comic. It is worth getting to know him because of his many years of history and prepare for a story that does not quite know who he would like to go to.
