| Poison Elves | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Mulehide Graphics Sirius Entertainment |
| Schedule | Monthly, Bimonthly, varied |
| Format | Ongoing |
| Publication date | December, 1991 – September, 2004 |
| Number of issues | 88 |
| Main character(s) | Lusiphur Jace Parintachin |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Drew Hayes |
| Artist(s) | Drew Hayes |
| Creator(s) | Drew Hayes |
Poison Elves is a black-and-white comic book by the late artist/writer Drew Hayes, concerning the life and times of an elf named Lusiphur. Hayes originally self-published the series during the early 90's under his company Mulehide Graphics under the title of I, Lusiphur for the first seven issues before switching over to Poison Elves. The first ten issues of the Mulehide series were published in a larger magazine size format. In 1995, he signed on with Sirius Entertainment, a move that increased his exposure, fan base, and publishing rate. Poison Elves has contained explicit content for mature readers. To date, ten trade paperbacks have been released, but the last issue of the main series published by Sirius was #79. A commemorative issue #80 was released to give fans a look at sketches and plans Drew Hayes had for the future of the series before his death.
Contents |
Drew Hayes is rumored to have renamed I, Lusiphur to Poison Elves because the similarity of Lusiphur to Lucifer led to him constantly being asked if the series was about Satanic themes. Sales were reported to have increased significantly after the name change.[1] Drew claimed in one of his Starting Notes that the name change was prompted by a letter from a teen-aged fan whose mother had thrown out his comics after finding I, Lusiphur comics amongst his collection.
Drew Hayes' work was influenced by Dungeons & Dragons, Elfquest, and Cerebus. Lusiphur was originally one of Hayes' Dungeons & Dragons characters. The book version of the character was based on Lux Interior of The Cramps, Glenn Danzig of The Misfits, and Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy.
"(...), the first Elfquest series is one of the most amazing comic book runs ever. Period. You can blame the length of my Elves' ears on Wendy Pini." [3]
"Dave Sim and Cerebus influenced me in every other way." [4]
"No one impedes us...no one denies us....and if need be....no one survives us...," said Dominion. "My hands, my hands," says the man with no hands...
Amrahly'nn, the world of Poison Elves, is one where magic and technology meet. An example of this is Lusiphur's magical semi-automatic handgun that never runs out of bullets. Hayes had described the world as "...a mix of Tolkien's Middle Earth and the Neo-Romantic world seen in the Adam and the Ants video for 'Stand and Deliver'".[5]
The beginning sees Lusiphur left to die in a desert. He stumbles upon a lamp, with the subsequent genie. After a failed attempt to ask for a million wishes, he settles on three: A powerful Elven sword named Cinlach, super speed to get out of the desert, and the “well of souls,” an assassin tool.
Genie gives him the wishes. But to give them, she has to take them from somewhere. Cinlach comes from an Elven Warduke named Ailwon Sann Fenlach, who quickly notices it missing. He is a veteran of many long-ago wars against the Orcs even if age and time have worn down his fighting acumen. Sann Fenlach has his mage transport him to Lusiphur’s location in the desert where he challenges the elf to a duel for stealing his property. At first the Fenlach is winning, due in part to his mage immediately fixing any wounds Lusiphur can inflict.
The turning point comes when a magician named Tenth steps in. Tenth was quietly reading in his study when he felt a temporary shock. The genie drained his power to accommodate Lusiphur’s request for super speed. Tenth also pinpoints where Lusiphur is located and sees that he is currently fighting Sann Fenlach. He also sees the disparity in the fight. Lusiphur is a young but experienced assassin, having to fight for everything he ever had. The High Lord is sedentary, fighting his last significant battle hundreds of years ago. In the meantime he has been sitting on his throne recounting past battles. Tenth sees that he is relying too much on the magical connection and severs it.
After Lushiphur defeats the High Lord when the odds are more even, he starts burying the body. Tenth then arrives to take back the small sliver of power that Lusiphur took from him. Tenth wants it to be a fair contest however. Lusiphur could best Tenth in a physical contest and Tenth could destroy Lusiphur quickly if he chose. The wizard has not had a challenge in a while, and so decides to make a sport of it.
In “Tenth’s Game,” the Elf is given a fighting chance: Make it across 50 meters through an arch. If he does he will survive. His only weapon is a temporary power of shape-changing into animals given to him by Tenth. The wizard promises to only use his shape-changing powers in return.
The two play a cat-and-mouse game, both at one point turning into panther-like creatures. Lusiphur gets his teeth on Tenth’s throat. Up to this point in his existence Tenth has thoroughly beaten any competitor. Lusiphur has made the wizard fear for his life for the first time in many years. In desperation Tenth morphs into a dragon. Lusiphur follows suit. The dragon battle drags on, until Lusiphur disappears. Tenth assumes he is dead and scans the ground for his body. A cockroach passes through the arch unseen.
There have been a number of miniseries and ongoing title spin-offs from the core Poison Elves book, and they have generally been written by other creative teams. The two currently ongoing series are Poison Elves: Dominion, about Lusiphur's adventures prior to the Poison Elves series, and Poison Elves: Lost Tales, which are self-contained stories about various characters from the Poison Elves universe.