ElfQuest #10
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeElfQuest #10 closes the five-issue 'Forbidden Grove' arc that makes up the second major movement of the Original Quest, serving as both a narrative bridge and a tension-building cliffhanger that set the stage for the entire Blue Mountain saga. The issue delivers the first shadowy introduction of Winnowill — ElfQuest's most consequential villain — whose silhouetted appearance torturing Strongbow psychically signals to the reader before the characters themselves understand the danger, a sophisticated piece of visual storytelling that would define the series' dramatic voice going forward. It also establishes the Forbidden Grove itself as a living location in the world's mythology, the home of the Preservers led by Petalwing, creatures who would remain central to the lore for decades. As the concluding chapter of what graphic-novel collections labeled 'The Forbidden Grove,' this issue anchors one of the four foundational volumes of the Original Quest — a self-published achievement that helped prove creator-owned fantasy comics could sustain a devoted, long-term readership.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
ElfQuest #10 was produced entirely by the husband-and-wife team of Wendy and Richard Pini through their own WaRP Graphics imprint, which they had established after the success of ElfQuest's debut in the short-lived Fantasy Quarterly in 1978 made self-publishing viable. Wendy handled all story art and scripting while Richard co-plotted and managed the publishing and business side of WaRP Graphics; the original 20-issue run was produced as black-and-white magazine-sized issues throughout 1978–1984. No reprints of issues #10–21 were produced in the original WaRP run — the reprint program that had generated second and third printings only covered issues #1–9 — making this issue a single-printing original from the outset.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published June 1981 by WaRP Graphics; story titled 'The Forbidden Grove'; 44 pages; written by Wendy Pini (plot/script) and Richard Pini (plot), art and cover by Wendy Pini.
- Closes the five-issue 'Forbidden Grove' arc (issues #6–10), later collected as ElfQuest Book Two (1988 Donning/Starblaze graphic novel) and ElfQuest Reader's Collection Vol. 2 (1998).
- First shadowed/silhouetted appearance of Winnowill, ElfQuest's primary antagonist, who is shown psychically torturing the captive Wolfrider Strongbow in the issue's final page — her identity not yet revealed by name.
- Tyldak, the Glider elf reshaped by Winnowill into a birdlike being, appears alongside Winnowill in the closing cliffhanger, also not yet identified by name to the reader.
- The Forbidden Grove — home of the Preservers and their leader Petalwing — is established as a key location; Cutter's party encounters Petalwing and the wrapstuff-spinning Preservers in this arc, cementing their role in the mythology.
- Several 'ancestor' Wolfrider chiefs and tribe members indexed in this issue (Timmorn Yellow-Eyes, Rahnee the She-Wolf, Two-Spear, Freefoot, Goodtree, Huntress Skyfire, Preypacer, Man-Tricker, Bearclaw) appear in the context of the tribal memory/flashback sequences woven through the 'Forbidden Grove' story arc, providing the first substantial look at the Wolfriders' generational lineage.
- No WaRP Graphics reprint of this issue was ever produced; the reprint program that created 2nd and 3rd printings applied only to issues #1–9.
- Marvel Comics reprinted the Original Quest, including the content of this issue, in color as part of their Epic imprint beginning in 1985; Dark Horse Comics later collected the arc in full color for the first time in hardcover format.
Cast · 28 characters
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Cutter and Skywise search for the human chief's lost daughter.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
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