ElfQuest #16
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeElfQuest #16, cover-titled 'The Go-Backs,' is the opening chapter of the final arc of the Original Quest and serves as the first appearance of two of the series' most enduring characters: Kahvi, the fierce and morally complex chief of the Go-Backs, and Ekuar, the wizened rock-shaper who would become one of the saga's most beloved figures. The issue expands the World of Two Moons dramatically, introducing readers to an entire third tribe of elves — a warrior people who ride caribou-bucks and wage a joyful, fatalistic war against the northern trolls for possession of the Palace of the High Ones. As the first installment of what Warp Graphics would later collect as 'Quest's End' (issues #16–20), this issue pivots the entire Original Quest from a story of searching into one of convergence and all-out war, uniting Wolfriders, Sun Folk, Gliders, and Go-Backs for the first time.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
ElfQuest #16 was published by WaRP Graphics on June 10, 1983, as part of the twenty-issue Original Quest — a black-and-white, magazine-sized self-published series that Wendy and Richard Pini had been producing since 1978 through their own company, whose name is an acronym of the founders' names. The issue was plotted by both Pinis, with Wendy Pini handling script, pencils, lettering, and the majority of inks; Jane Fancher provided additional inking support — a notable assist in the later, more action-dense issues of the run. By 1983 ElfQuest had built a substantial cult readership through direct-market comic shops without the backing of a major publisher, demonstrating that creator-owned fantasy comics could find a devoted audience entirely outside the mainstream distribution system.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance of Kahvi, chief of the Go-Backs: a warrior elf of ancient Wolfrider descent who spent millennia in magical suspended animation and leads her people in a drive to retake the Palace of the High Ones from the northern trolls.
- First appearance of Ekuar, an elderly rock-shaper elf who had been enslaved by the troll king Guttlekraw; Rayek's account of finding and freeing Ekuar in the troll caves is a key narrative thread of this issue.
- First full appearance of the Go-Backs as a tribe — northern-dwelling elves who ride caribou and embrace death in battle as a path to the Palace; the issue is officially titled 'The Go-Backs' on the Comic Vine database.
- Issue #16 opens the 'Quest's End' story arc (issues #16–20), which was later collected as the fourth and final Warp/Father Tree Press graphic novel (1988) and subsequently as Reader's Collection Vol. 4 (1998) and DC Archives Vol. 4 (2007).
- Creative credits: plot by Wendy Pini and Richard Pini; script, pencils, letters, and primary inks by Wendy Pini; additional inks by Jane Fancher — one of the few issues of the original run with an additional inker credited.
- The issue was reprinted in color as part of the Donning Company graphic novel #4 (October 1984) and later in color comic-book format as Marvel/Epic ElfQuest #25 (August 1987), giving the debut of Kahvi and Ekuar wide mass-market exposure through newsstand distribution.
- The cover of ElfQuest #16 has been specifically noted by fan sources for its emotionally resonant 'tearful smile' imagery, which encapsulates the bittersweet tone of the arc that follows.
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Reprints
↩ Reprints A Distant Soil #1 (1983)
Reprinted in ElfQuest #4 (1984), Abenteuer in der Elfenwelt #16 (1987), ElfQuest #25 (1987), ElfQuest #26 (1987), The Complete ElfQuest #4 (1989), Alvefolket #16 (1990), ElfQuest #4 (1994), ElfQuest Reader's Collection #4 (1998), ElfQuest Archives #4 (2008), The Complete ElfQuest #1 (2014), ElfQuest: The Final Quest #8 (2015), Alverfolket #16, Bastei Comic Edition #72563, ElfQuest #16
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