March 6, 2003
- DC Comics has acquired worldwide publishing rights in
all formats and languages as well as media and merchandising
rights to the wildly successful, epic-adventure fantasy
comic book series Elfquest,
DC Comics President & Publisher Paul Levitz, said.
Elfquest
is the magical universe of elves, trolls, mer-elves, primitive
humans and fairylike creatures that has attracted a rabidly
loyal fan base since the first black and white comics were
self-published in 1978 by artist/writer Wendy Pini and her
husband and series editor Richard Pini.
"It's a pleasure to bring Wendy
and Richard's incredibly original universe into our diverse
publishing program," Levitz said. "We hope to
take their quarter-century of success and build it together
to new heights."
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"We
are big believers in new beginnings, "Wendy Pini said.
"Coming as it does on the silver anniversary of the
release of our first issue of Elfquest,
we feel this opportunity is a gift from the Universe that
frees us up to create new epic adventures in brand new formats
for a brand new audience as well as for our longtime fans."
"After a quarter
century of shepherding Elfquest
as far as the two of us could take it, we are thrilled,
now, to have the power, punch and creativity of DC Comics
behind us", Richard Pini said. "We can't imagine
a more respectful and enthusiastic partner to help us take
our beloved characters into new realms."
Now celebrating
its 25th anniversary, Elfquest
has been called "one of the most important works in
American fantasy" by
the American Library Association. As part of the initial
publishing plan
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plan DC Comics will be publishing a full-color, hardcover
archive series and compact-sized black and white trade paperbacks,
along with a DC Direct merchandise program, plus new, original
Elfquest
material to be produced by the Pinis.
There are over
12 million Elfquest
works in print as the series has been published in a variety
of formats including comic books, graphic novels, prose
novelizations, short story collections, reference and related
books. The Pinis published the series out of their modest
two-person office in Poughkeepsie, New York.
With an audience ranging from pre-teen
to adult, a captivating, diverse cast of characters and
emotionally charged stories, Elfquest
is a natural fit for DC Comics, the world's largest English
language publisher of comic books. |
