ElfQuest: The Discovery #1

History

In March 2003, after 25 years of self-publication, the Pinis licensed all publishing and merchandising rights to DC Comics while retaining ownership and creative control. The Discovery, launched in March 2006 as a bimonthly four-issue series, was written by both Wendy and Richard Pini, with art and cover by Wendy Pini; the original series was edited by Robert Greenberger and Bob Schreck, with Brandon Montclare as associate editor. Wendy Pini noted in a January 2006 editorial that the DC production pipeline meant the issue contained mid-story advertisements — a departure from Warp Graphics' longtime practice of placing all ads at the back — and she acknowledged giving DC some complex Photoshop visual effects to reproduce for the color pages. The entire four-issue run was later collected in a 128-page trade paperback, released October 4, 2006, with Bob Harras serving as collection editor.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Published March 1, 2006, by DC Comics; part of a four-issue bimonthly miniseries — the last original ElfQuest story released until 2012's Final Quest.
• Written by Richard Pini and Wendy Pini; art and cover by Wendy Pini; originally edited by Robert Greenberger and Bob Schreck, with Brandon Montclare as associate editor.
• Central story driver: Sunstream (Cutter and Leetah's son, also known as Suntop) experiences long-distance Recognition with the Wavedancer Brill while projecting his soul-self — the event that triggers the Wolfriders' first contact with the hidden amphibious tribe.
• First issue to present the canonical Wavedancer tribe — including chief Surge, his son Snakeskin, Brill, Spine, Skimback, Sandsparkle, Moonmirror, Tumble, Krill, Foam, Salt, Spray, Redcrest, Puffer, and Bee — in a Pini-authored standalone title, consolidating years of anthology appearances.
• The non-canonical 1993–1994 WaveDancers series by Black Mermaid Productions had been retconned out of continuity; The Discovery represents the Pinis' own definitive, canonical telling of the Wavedancer storyline.
• The miniseries storyline is set approximately five years after the Shards War in the ElfQuest in-world timeline, according to the official ElfQuest chronological guide.
• The complete four-issue series was collected in a 128-page trade paperback (ISBN 978-1401209582), released October 4, 2006, edited by Bob Harras for the collection edition.
• The entire Discovery series, along with all pre-2014 ElfQuest material, was made available for free online after Warp Graphics completed uploading all comics in March 2009.

Cast · 28 characters

Full credits