The Complete Elfquest volume 6

 by Wendy Pini  (Author, Illustrator), Richard Pini (Author), Sonny Strait (Illustrator) 

Publisher‏: ‎ Dark Horse Books (November 19, 2019) 

Softcover, 584 pages 

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Dark Horse is continuing their rendition of publishing the Complete Elfquest series. This is the penultimate volume before they collect The Final Quest into one complete volume. Now while it claims to be “the complete” edition, I’ve noticed that there are a lot of Elfquest titles and issues which have been left out of these books. The original Wave Dancers series and the extra pages which the Pini’s created for the Marvel/Epic reprint of their first series - though there are issues of rights attached to these, I believe. But also missing is the Jink and Rebels storyline, the 6 issue Kahvi series, The Blood of Ten Chiefs series, the Two-Spear series, several of the Worldpool stories, the two issue King’s Cross series, and maybe one or two issues from Hidden Years as well - Plus the newly written Stargazer’s Hunt, published after the Final Quest. 

So this series is more a collection of what the Pini’s have put their official stamp on and called “cannon”. The ones they are most proud of. So to be accurate, this is really the Best of Elfquest, rather than the whole of it reprinted. What you do have here is the entire Wolfrider story, which retells the conception of Cutter and his eventual rise to chief. This story was first told in the original Elfquest series, but is retold in greater depth and feeling. This is added to by various short stories from across the time frame - and while not very important tales continuity wise, they art is amazing and they are fun to read. Also included are reprints of The Discovery and The Searcher and the Stone- which are both well worth reading. 

While this is a great collection of material, most of which needed to be reprinted, there are several stories here which were originally published in color and the art reflects that decision. Specifically I’m talking about The Discovery, The Searcher and the Stone, Homespun and possibly The Jury. All the rest were originally printed in black and white and are perfectly reprinted here. But for these tales some of the magic is lost. This is compounded by the fact that The Discovery and The Searcher and the Stone are both easily available on Amazon and eBay.

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Elric: The Balance Lost Vol. 1 (Science Fiction) (Fantasy)

 

by Michael Moorcock (Author), Chris Roberson (Author), Francesco Biagini (Illustrator)

Publisher : BOOM! Studios; Original edition (February 7, 2012)

Softcover, 128 pages

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There are three volumes to this story, but I have only bought the first. I may or may not buy the rest. Let’s see what kind of deal I can get on them. Two things you need to know about this series right off the bat. Michael Moorcock’s name is on this, but he had nothing to do with its story, but all of the characters (except one) come from his various stories. Don’t worry though, this story is definitely in the style of Moorcock, and the writers are well versed in Moorcock’s worlds for they are well represented here. So while this isn’t written by the man himself, the plot certainly could have been.  

Second, this series is called Elric, but it's more to do with the Eternal Champion of Moorcock's multiverse. I suppose they just gave it that title due to the character being the most popular of the Eternal Champions. For those who are unaware, the Eternal Champion was Moorcock’s way of connecting all of his various stories and characters through a central archetype.  The Champion is a semi-conscious appointed warrior of Balance who exists in every world and age of the Multiverse. His mission is to keep the balance between order and chaos. If either side becomes too powerful in one dimension then it is doomed. Additionally they all seem to have an unbreakable bond with a sentient Chaos-aligned weapon, the Black Sword, which in turns takes on a different shape for each Champion. Champions are forbidden to coexist in the same dimension, unless some sort of massive catastrophe is underway - as is the case in this series, but what is exactly the source of this lost balance is not revealed in volume one.

Which leads us to another problem. If you aren’t sufficiently knowledgeable in the various works of Moorcock, beyond Elric, you might be lost or miss the significance of much of the material. If you know Moorcock, then you will certainly enjoy the ride. Four protagonists are presented here. The first is the titular Elric, traveling the moonbeam roads between universes with his signature sword Stormbringer. Next is Duke Dorian Hawkmoon von Köln who is uncovering a remnant of the Beast Lords who survived the last decisive war. Corum Jhaelen Irsei, Corum of the Silver Hand, who rescues an old friend then goes to thwart an attack of order creatures, only to come across a version of the Runestaff - which readers might recognize as part of the Hawkmoon series. And a new member of the Von Bek family, Eric Beck. The family is often picked to be a part of the Eternal Champion down through the multiverse. Also making appearances are Oswald Bastable, and the cast of the Second Ether series.

 Eric Beck being the new character and oblivious to his role, should have been the entrance cypher for the readers, but as of the fourth issue here he hasn’t been. All the protagonists are given the same amount of page space- for good or ill. However, it does make the assumption that people are well versed in the many short stories and books of Moorcock as the author. If everything in the previous passage comes across as gibberish, you may not enjoy this graphic novel as well as you might.

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The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch (Fantasy)

 

by Neil Gaiman  (Author), Michael Zuli (Illustrator)

Publisher : Dark Horse Books; 2nd ed. edition (May 10, 2016)

Hardcover, 56 pages

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This is a graphic novel adapted from a short story which originally appeared in Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions. It claims to be a "mostly true story" that combines the author's trademark magic realism with Zulli's sumptuous paintings, and has been newly rewritten for this hardcover. By mostly true, I assume the author adapted some street theater he had witnessed then added his own magical touch.

In fact, we can assume the main character is Neil Gaimen himself who, with his wife and friend and a strange introverted woman - the titular Miss Finch, attend an underground horror themed street circus. She comes across as having a personality disorder - an unlikable character - and only lights up when talking about her academic subject, bio-geology - The study of the interactions between the Earth's biosphere and the lithosphere. The circus starts off pretty tame, most of the characters seem pretty unimpressed. Until something happens in the middle and Miss Finch is carried off and transformed.

This is not the greatest story ever written, either in prose or graphic novel form. In fact for Neil Gaiman, it’s pretty mediocre- hell, for most writers it would be mediocre. I’m not sure why they decided to adapt this one to a different format. While the art is amazing, the story is iffy. A magical event, one with no reason or context. Interesting for a moment, then disposable. I’m not saying don’t buy this book. I’m saying get it for a reasonable price.

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Stinz: Wartime and Wedding Bells (Fantasy)

 

by Donna Barr (Author)

Publisher : Brave New Words (January 1, 1992)

Softcover, 144 pages

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All of Donna Barr’s books are unique, not only in topic but in execution. She has a style all her own in character interaction. Each of her characters has a natural warmth and a caring attitude, which they might be forced to suppress. Eventually that decent attitude comes through, allowing even antagonists to interact without the plot running into stereotypes or clichés. Each story is characteristic of the author, and I think I can honestly say that no one could write this story in exactly the same way as she does. 

The protagonist is Steinheld Löwhard, or "Stinz"---a centaur - who lives in an isolated Centaur community in pre-WWI Germany.. The Gieselthal centaurs call themselves halbpferd ("halfhorses") and look down on the nomadic "gypsy centaurs" who come through their valley at intervals. While relations between centaurs and "two-leggers" are usually cordial, there is normally some distance---centaurs see "two-leggers" as weak ad generally avoid them.

While the whole of the story takes Stinz from his early youth, up to near-death. This particular chapter covers the centaur's draft into the German military. On the eve of his announcing his engagement, the recruiters turn up to take Stinz away. What follows is a fish-out-of-water story in the military and his superiors attempting to figure out how exactly to train him, as most of the physical training for humans are either inefficient or impossible for training a half-horse.

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Die: Fantasy Heartbreaker (Fantasy)

 

by Kieron Gillen  (Author), Stephanie Hans (Artist)

Publisher : Image Comics; Illustrated Edition (June 11, 2019)

Softcover, 184 pages

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In the 1980s there was a cartoon called Dungeons & Dragons where a group of kids from our dimension were sucked via a magic carnival ride (damn carnies) into a fantasy world  where they are assigned classes (thief, barbarian, cavalier) to fight the orc forces of Venger and occasionally Tiamat would show up to scare the Hell out of everyone. It lasted three seasons and left off with the characters still stuck in their otherworld. In 1985 Arrow comics (soon to become Caliber) created a series called The Realm and later Legendlore, where four ordinary teenagers were sucked into a fantasy realm and forced to fight their way back to their homeworld. They never made it out.

I’m sure you can see where this is going. In Die, six ordinary English teenagers are sucked into a fantasy realm blah, blah, blah. But then the action jumps two years. Only five of them have returned. Jump ahead again twenty five years, the five find themselves forced to return to the land, called die, where their former friend is now the Grandmaster and runs - sort of- the world. While the others have matured, he still wants to play. Thus they are forced into a strange world, fun to children, nightmarish to adults, where they must battle their way out of.

The world here is deep and actually shaped like a 20 sided die. Obviously the author has gone into a lot of detail in creating the characters and this world. From the notes included in the graphic novel, he even created a role playing game surrounding it.The heroes’ journey isn’t all just sword and sorcery though, it also has a deeply personal element stretching through it. Their trip though this world of fantasy brings back many shameful and troubling elements from the group’s past, developing a theme that addresses nostalgia and the trials of growing up. Added to this the art sets the mood perfectly. It is an absolutely gorgeous and just looking at the book was worth the price I paid for the volume. 

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The Complete Elfquest Volume 5 (Fantasy)

by Wendy Pini  (Author, Illustrator), Richard Pini (Author)

Publisher: Dark Horse Books (November 27, 2018)

Softcover, 792 pages

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This large tome collects the remainder of the Hidden Years series, numbers 16 through 29, plus the Metamorphosis one-shot, and The Wild Hunt storyline from Elfquest volume 2, all of which were first published in the mid to late 1990s, when the Elfquest creators turned their indie comic into a franchise, creating at least a dozen titles (mostly limited series) dealing with the Wolfriders and their kin. Now that they’re collecting those stories which they consider cannon, a lot of those titles have been left in the trash. The only way to experience them is to pick up some back issues. Still, this volume is close to 800 hundred pages, so it should fill your Elfquest itch for a while. 

Volume five focuses on Ember, Cutter’s daughter, and her trials in leading a separate tribe from the main Wolfriders pack. The Hidden Years stories take place at the same time as the Shards storyline - where Cutter leads an attack against a warlord to gather the remains of the broken castle. These stories deal with Ember’s inexperience at being chief and her growing pains, as the new tribe look for a place to call their own in a world that is rapidly shrinking and filling up with their natural enemies, humans. 

The Wild Hunt stories take place after Shards, and focus on a more experienced Ember dealing with the final few monsters created by Winnowill. They then become embroiled in a series of back and forth raids with the remaining humans warriors, which eventually force the Wolfriders to become more nomadic than they like. This causes stress amongst the group, challenges to Ember’s leadership, and introduces a new antagonist - a ranger type who knows the ways of elves and knows how best to hunt them. 

Like certain portions of the previous two volumes, none of the issues here were drawn by Wendy Pini, and most of the stories were written by others as well, with the Pini’s acting in an editorial capacity. This is not to say the stories are bad, but they are different stylistically than early Elfquest volumes where they were only two people working on them. In fact I like the stories quite a bit. 

Out of necessity, Elfquest had to switch venues to where the human would pose a greater threat. They were always sort of menacing in the past, but not much more than a passing problem. In these stories, they represent a monumental threat. Which leads to the basic philosophy behind all of these stories, how much will the Wolfriders have to change in order to fit into the new world? Will their “way” be compromised or abandoned completely? Well worth a look. 

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He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Minicomic Collection (Fantasy)

By Various Authors and Illustrators

Publisher: Dark Horse Books (November 3, 2015)

Hardcover, 1232 pages

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For those who grew up playing with toys in the 80s, you probably picked up a few He-Man characters. Maybe you played with Ram Man, or Evilin, or Man-E-Faces, or Triclops, or Fisto, or Stinkor - not to mention the titular He-Man and Skeletor - and so on. If you did, then you also received a mini-comic with the purchase. A little twelve page booklet, depicting the figure you just bought in a violent story. As you can guess, this volume collects all of them together for the first time, plus two which were never released, and a script for a minicomic surround the Faker He-Man character - a notoriously unpopular toy, which was supposed to be a clone replica of He-Man made by Skeletor, so it was just the He-Man model painted blue. 

I bought a lot of the first and second edition of figures in the Master of the Universe line, so most of the initial ones in this book, I was familiar with - or vaguely remember from the dim memories of youth - but after that it was a discovery of old characters and toys which I had completely forgotten about. The purpose of the mini-comics was to introduce the reader to how the new character fit into the developing MOTU world. Kids often mimicked what they read in the books, and then developed new adventures afterwards based on these first premises. These mini-comics were the key to He-Man’s longevity, as you bought the toy not just for the figure, but the story that went with it. 

He-Man came out before the toy industry had standardized how to sell a toy line as they did in the 80s. Usually, the toy line, cartoon, and comic book were all coordinated together with a corresponding story bible. He-Man had the mini-comics and the toys. All the rest came later, including the story bible. So eventually there is a certain amount of retconning as the world developed. 

First thing you’ll notice is that He-Man’s name is just He-Man and he leaves his barbaric tribe looking for adventure before coming across the Sorceress and Man-at-Arms (which is his real name then, not a title). It isn’t until the Filmantation cartoon do we see a whiff of Prince Adam and Orko. The most amount of retcons deal with Skeletor’s past. First he comes from an alternate dimension where his features are normal for his race. Then he is an acolyte of Hordak - this is when Hordak was meant to be a foe of He-Man, rather than She-Ra. Then he is possibly the brother of King Randor of Eternia and thus He-Man’s uncle. And so on, and so on. Personally I believe they should’ve just kept things ambiguous like DC did with the Joker. 

The mini-comics cover a thirty year span of publication and so the art and writing varies. The first ones are the best art wise, in my opinion, then slag off a lot, before roaring up to greatness again by the end. What you have to keep in mind, those readers not touched by nostalgia, is that most of these were written for 8-year-olds, while the last few were written for people in their thirties.  

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Amnesia (Experimental) (Fantasy) (Graphic Novel)

By John Malloy  

Publisher: NBM Publishing (September 1, 2001)

Softcover, 64 pages

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A journalist has a meeting with a pop artist, which then plunges into a hallucinatory exploration of their pasts, possible futures, alternate lives, and dead ends. The artist is somehow able to slip between the cracks of reality during his sleep and take residence in the body of his other selves in alternate worlds. The pair discovers their pasts are actually what can set them free, and that the line between memories and dreams is finer than they could ever imagine.

The narrative begins fine with excellent art and a rambling exploration of the first narrator’s life, leading by synchronicity to the point outside of the interview. But it takes a wrong turn, style wise, with part two, which begins to incorporate real-life photography with the art. I understand that this is to demonstrate the various shades of reality that the characters are tumbling through, so much so that no one is quite sure what is real, but the use of actual photos was a poor choice. They didn't translate well with the 2001 technology (when the book was published). The photos are grainy and, worst of all, boring to look at. Perhaps if he had stuck to one or two of them, but at least a quarter of the book is done in photos.

It is a pity because the book had potential, with an interesting take on the nature of reality, or an adaptation of reality. However, it ultimately took a wrong turn. Some criticism states that the art is a rip-off of McKean’s style, and it is similar. However, if you can draw as well as him, I say more power to you.

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Fashion Beast (Fantasy) (Graphic Novel)

By Alan Moore (author), Malcolm McLaren (author), & Anthony Johnson (illustrator)

Softcover, 256 pages

This book has a bit of an odd history as it was never intended to be a comic at all. Apparently back in the 80s, Moore was approached by Malcolm McLaren, infamous manager of the Sex Pistols, and asked the comic writer to collaborate on a film script.

They talked back and forth, eventually settling on this punk, near- apocalypse, adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. Well, things didn't work out and the project was shelved. Zip ahead 25 years and the head of Avatar Press gets ahold of the ancient manuscript and decides to turn it into a comic. It's a rather ironic twist that Alan Moore, a notorious hater of comics becoming films, has his film script become a comic.

The entire story has an 80s punk twang to it. Half of the drive behind the punk movement was the belief that it was about to be the end of the world, that inevitable nuclear annihilation was just around the corner. So you better fuck and party now.

Here we have this ancient fashion house creaking out designs out of step with a world on the edge. People are settling in to survive a nuclear winter, all able bodied men are being conscripted into war with an unnamed enemy- it being the 80s the assumption is that the war is being waged against Russia. Domesticated animals are replaced by dehumanized people (horses and dogs).

All the while the fashion-fame cycle keeps pumping out material, with a tortured recluse as the top designer. Riddled with gender-identity swapping, odd romance, and a panache of when the author was writing at his prime this is a different kind of book. For fans of his, this is one of those stories you really should pick up. Had it come out in the 80s, it would’ve been a much bigger hit.

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst. 

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst. 

The Wind of the Gods (Fantasy) (Graphic Novel)

by Cothias and Adamov

Publisher: Kitchen Sink Press; 1st American edition (1993). 

Hardcover, 64 pages. 

From the artist that produced TheWaters of Deadmoon - the greatest serialized story ever to appear in Heavy Metal Magazine- is Wind of the Gods. This was published during that brief period in the 90s when Heavy Metal tried to go into the graphic novel business. Like The Waters of DeadMoon, Wind of the Gods was originally written in French and was part one of a sixteen part series. The problem is that the rest of the story, and this is a very incomplete tale, was never published with an English translation.

As such, we are not left with a very satisfying story. Left on its own, all of the people with heroic intent and worthy of life are left destitute or dead, and all of the assholes in the story- and there are several- win outright. It wasn’t meant to end like that, and if you know French then you can still buy the rest of the series.

Once again we see a quickly failed graphic novel venture who tried to import the European volume style over to America. They license the product, then slap together a thin volume between two hardcovers and charge much more than they should for it. The original price for this book was $19.99. It never works. (Granted with the exception of Humanoids, but I’m willing to bet they are constantly on financial thin ice).  If an American pays that much they want an entire story. The regular comic model works because it’s relatively cheap. They should’ve published the entire story in one volume with softcover. Then at least you wouldn’t have one blogger bitching about it two decades after it was released.

As to the story, it takes place in ancient Japan at the time of samurai and Shoguns. A corrupt diaymo sends his men to deal with a rebel group and a town that cannot pay its taxes. This ends in a blood bath and an uncertain future for the men involved.

It's full of violence and sex. Loads of fun. However, it's probably not the most historically accurate story out there. Still if you want that read a history book. If you want some violent fun by one of France's premier artists then grab this book. 

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst. 

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst. 

The Realm Vols. 1-4 (Fantasy) (Graphic Novel)

by Ralph Griffith (Writer), & Guy Davis (Illustrator)

Publisher: Caliber Comics (Feb. 14th, 2017).

Softcover, 156 pages each.
 

The reason I'm combing four volumes together into one entry is that they are part of one long continuous story. And as The Realm is an obscure title from an effectively defunct publisher, the chances of anyone being interested in two entries is rather slim.

The Realm was one of two series taken from Arrow Press (the other being DeadWorld- the original zombie apocalypse comic). Similar in format to the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon, it follows the exploits of four humans from our world who are sucked into a fantasy world of magic and mayhem.

This world is heavily influenced by Dungeons & Dragons with all sorts of familiar monster races - orcs and goblins- and friendly orcs- dwarves and elves. What sets it apart is that obviously the writers had a plan as they wrote this. The Realm is a twenty issue long epic, with a sister comic Legendlore that lasted just as long. There is a long standing Arc and several nearly overpowering enemies to deal with. Or sidestep, as the group's main goal is to get back to Earth.

 

The criticism is that the comic is in black and white. If you don't like non-colored books that's fine. The art (done by a young Guy Davis who went on to do Baker Street, The Marquis, and BPRD) is somewhat rough, but has a lot of promise. The artist is just coming into his own. There is a, sometimes pointless, action scene tossed into every issue-but hey that's just like the game, right?

But overall the story is above average and a fun, inexpensive romp.

 For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst. 

 

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst. 

 

Yvain: Knight of the Lion (Fantasy) (Graphic Novel)

By Chrétien de Troyes (original), Adapted by M. T. Anderson (writer), & Andrea Offermann (Illustrator)

Publisher: Candlewick (March 14, 2017)

Hardcover, 144 pages



This is a graphic novel based on the Arthurian story by Chrétien de Troyes, a 12th century French poet. He is one of the few, along with Marie de France, who popularized the second round (or revival) of Arthurian literature in Medieval Europe. Before this revival, legends of Arthur and his men centered around the normal legendary themes of them coming across some great monster or supernatural force and then beating it up. 
      The second round created the themes (Christian or not) of courtly love, chivalry, heroes protecting the weak - rather than just being strong enough to crush everyone else- which defines our ideas of the Arthurian legends today. The notion that Camelot was the center of some golden age did not exist before then. De Troyes himself created the character of Lancelot, named Arthur’s court  Camelot, and the Fisher King and the Holy Grail. That’s right, the holy grail is a piece of fiction and always has been. 

      While Yvain, our hero, was at his most popular in de Troyes’ Lancelot-Grail cycle of literature, he is actually derived from a historical figure from the 6th century, Owain mab Urien, a warlord who fought against the Anglo-Saxon invasion. He had many (obviously false) legends in the early Welsh triads and always present in the Vulgate cycle of Arthurian legends. However, Chrétien de Troyes creates an almost new character with this romantic poem. 

When I say romance, I don’t mean it’s something along the lines of Danielle Steele. There is plenty of action where-in the titular character slays giants, demons, and all manner of evil men, but essentially it’s heart remains a romance between Yvain and Laudine- his true love, who seems to passionately hate him. But then this is both a simple and complex tale.  

It is simple in that it is a coming-of-age story for Yvain who, by the end of the story, matures so that he will not take his love for granted as he did in the past. Complex in that it seems his lady love has actually outgrown him, but is tricked by oath and honor to taking him back as her husband. This is how De Troyes originally wrote it and the translators kept faithful to his vision. The text is translated into modern argot and pictures, but essentially the authors perfectly captured the spirit and action of the original text.  

Yvain is an odd mixture of the old and new hero. He champions the weak and upholds the chivalric idea of the right, as per the new Christian ideals of heroism, but retains the problems of the old epic hero. That is, he is powerful enough to knock down all of the enemies the world can throw at him, but he’s not that bright and incapable of solving a problem that doesn’t require violence. In fact, at the end he seems completely oblivious to his tricked love’s utter contempt for him. And for that reason, the story is worth reading. 
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