Elfquest: The Searcher and the Sword

by Richard Pini and Wendy Pini

Book Overview

Led by Cutter, the elfin Wolfriders have experienced equal parts of triumph and tragedy, loss and gain. Now, in the first original Elfquest story in years, the elves must adapt to a world without the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1401201830
• ISBN13: 9781401201838
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: DC Comics
• Length: 94 Pages
• Weight: 1.03 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.9" x 10.5"

Customer Reviews

A Human's-eye View

Yes, this book is mostly about Shuna, a human. But the story is told with the same clever style as all Pini's work, and seeing the elfin world through human eyes adds a whole new dimension to it. Through Shuna's trials and mistakes, we learn more about Pini's elves' culture. Plus, the art is beautiful and the characters just as charming as ever. 5 Stars, Pini!

Wendy and Richard at Their Best

I was so thrilled with *The Searcher and the Sword* that I immediately bought an extra copy to send to a fellow EQ fan/friend. Granted, I'm not so picky about whether or not Wendy uses a computer on the artwork, so long as I can't tell -- and I couldn't. In my opinion, no comic book artist has ever even approached Wendy's amazing talent, and this book is no exception. There are certain panels (a very intimate scene between Strongbow and Moonshade comes to mind) that I can't stop going back to -- there is an undeniably singular beauty in Wendy's ability to convey emotion and sensuality. *The Searcher and the Sword* is full of that beauty. The story was almost gravy to me; really, I'm such a fan of the Pini's work that they can't go wrong (and I'm not talking about Worldpool or EQ stuff written and drawn by anyone else; I'm too much of an old-school EQ snob to truly enjoy those!) These elves are the Pini's very children, and it's obvious in this beautifully hardbound, full-color volume that those children continue to be well loved by their creator-parents. Highly recommended!

I loved it!

Despite all the negative feedback, I was quite taken with the story and was NOT dissapointed ( after a VERY impatient wait to read it ) The story has taken a different turn from those of the previous EQ novels, but it was not done in a distasteful way. The introduction of Shuna as a main character was only natural for the Pini's, since from the very begining the Elves have been trying to find a ballance with humans! It makes you dare to hope that, with Shuna acting as a mediator, that ballance will someday be found! Im even more eager to read what comes next! Oh and as for the art, I think its beautiful! And its been LONG overdue to see some more of Wendy's beautiful art IN COLOR even!!!

I enjoyed it

What is it with people who want things always to stay the same? Yes, it's different from Pini's past works in that it is aparently computer generated and told from the view point of Shuna. So what? That doesn't make it bad. It's just a different way of telling the story. And if it really is her first attempt at drawing with a computer, it's not bad at all. Still, there is some of the subtlety missing that I saw in her earlier stuff. So maybe, it should only get 4 stars. However, I'd like to balance out some overly negative ratings. I've read it several times and I still think I got my money's worth. And I am sure the next will be even better.

Elfquest, Once More, Is On.

Might and vulnerability, and the strength which grows from the balancing of both, is the heart of Wendy and Richard Pini's ELFQUEST. Its addressing of both the need to take on personal responsibility ,and act upon the genuine call of one's community, is the very stuff which has made the Pan-Ethnic Fantasy one of the most thought-provoking, highly entertaining literary sagas of the past 25 years plus. Now, marking a new partnership between the Pini's WaRP Graphics and DC Comics, we have the first new ELFQUEST book in years, and it's a knockout. Posing a sly summation of what has gone before, THE SEARCHER AND THE SWORD wastes no time in sweeping the reader into a gripping adventure of industrial demand, issues of domestic abuse from the coyly verbal to the brashly physical, and two beings -one elf, one human- whose choices will affect all around them. Poised at the crossroads between movement and complacence, the participants of THE SEARCHER AND THE SWORD learn, once ways are firmly taken, to heed the far subtler paths which crop up in their wake. Mdme. Pini weaves a deft tale of personal passions, societal needs, and the common good playing amidst a tapestry of rich, full-bodied characterizations which have long distinguished her mastery in this field. Individual faces, wardrobe practicality, landscapes imparting their own topical feel all mark an illustrating genius whose capacity for the cinematic is matched only by the likes of George Perez. Best of all, the visual skills of the California-born Fantasist are more than complemented by her sharp dialogue. Running the gamut from boiling sarcasm to cold rage, through to cunning whimsy and wide-eyed wisdom, Wendy Pini displays a humorist's timing, a dramatist's sense of space, and a poet's feel for flow and silence. Her persistence, bearing a momentous tale which no one else can tell, brings it all home. In all of this, the kindred genius of Richard Pini cannot be taken for granted. Ever the watchful eye and whittling block as ELFQUEST's editor and co-plotter all these years, his discerning contributions to the shaping of the ongoing saga has never been more astute than it is in THE SEARCHER AND THE SWORD. For many, the release of this book is but one more case for Mr. Pini's incredible business acumen. Having enabled ELFQUEST to endure and thrive as an indepedent alternative from the 1970s through the start of the 21st Century, he has steered WaRP Graphics into a firm partnership with DC Comics. Picture a mom-and-pop business totally handled and marketed by the biggest business in the industry, while Mom & Pop retain ownership and copyright over their product. In today's economy, that's no small feat. In the traditionally robber-baron comix industry, that's a precedent which cannot be established enough. If anyone wants a sterling example of empowerment from the personal to the professional and more, against all odds,