The Wolfriders are the main company of ElfQuest, and they wouldn’t be Wolfriders without their wolf-friends. Some of the wolves are notable characters in their own right. In fact, certain wolves are as beloved among the fans as the elves themselves.
Here are twenty of the greatest wolf moments from over the decades. How many do you remember? Which ones did we miss?
1. Choplicker Bonds with Ember
It doesn’t get cuter or more wondrous than seeing Ember seal the bond with her first wolf-friend, Choplicker.
2. Filcher Steals Cutter’s Boot
The aptly name Filcher lives up to his name in this hilarious and true-to-life scene from Final Quest issue #1.
3. Blackfell Carries Bearclaw’s Body
One of the most somber moments in ElfQuest is the ending of the tale of Bearclaw’s final battle, with his wolf Blackfell bearing his lifeless body into the dark forest.
4. Tiptail Panics
There is something equally endearing and heart-breaking about Pike’s wolf’s fear of Winnowill’s shapechanged monsters. If you’ve ever had a pet whose anxiety you just couldn’t soothe, you can relate to this scene. You just want to comfort poor Tiptail and tell him it’s going to be ok.
5. Leafchaser Warms Goodtree
The treeshaping Wolfrider is kept warm by the thick fur of her wolf-friend Leafchaser in this gorgeous winter scene from the 1990 ElfQuest Calendar.
6. Warfrost Needs Attention
The best part of this scene from Kings of the Broken Wheel is not reading between lines of Cutter and Skywise’s conversation (although that’s pretty delicious), it’s Warfrost demanding scratchies.
7. Shadowsheen Tackles Bearclaw
Don’t mess with Joyleaf–or her devoted wolf Shadowsheen–in this pivotal scene from the Wolfrider story.
8. Scratchbark and Clicktooth Kill Peace Hound
The monstrous Peace Hounds got the best of Treestump and Clearbrook’s wolves during the Shards war . . . but not for long.
9. Lashpaw Returns
Lashpaw has the distinction of being the only wolf to have an entire issue of ElfQuest dedicated to him. Hidden Years #1 tells of Lashpaw’s exile, near-fatal illness, an elf-friend who wouldn’t give up on him, and his triumphant return to the pack.
10. Scrabble Helps Scouter
Scrabble helped a wounded Scouter escape death at the hands of Lehrigen in the Wild Hunt storyline, despite being mortally wounded himself. That’s the depth of the bond between Wolfrider and wolf-friend.
11. The Pack Gets a Cover
The entire wolfpack got its own back cover in issue #12 of the Original Quest, and it was epic.
Here is the “who’s who” naming the wolves and matching them to their elf-friends, which appeared in the letter pages of issue #15.
12. Holdfast Survives
Holdfast survived the death of his littermates, and was saved by Cutter (with a little help from Timmain). It was a wonderful reminder to celebrate individual victories, however small, even in spite of larger challenges.
13. Starjumper Goofs Off
Good old Starjumper was longer-lived and seemed a bit more clever than most wolves–the perfect match for Skywise!
14. Timmain Discovers the Pack
This atmospheric scene from the 2000 ElfQuest “Greatest Moments” Calendar depicts firstcomer Timmain observing the wolves that would become the key to a decision that changed the nature of her people forever.
15. Patience Feeds Tyleet
Patience was a timid, low-ranking wolf in the pack. Though she wasn’t the most exciting or adventurous wolf, she was totally devoted to her elf-friend, and put herself in harm’s way more than once to help Tyleet.
16. Briersting Attacks
Briersting: badass name, badass wolf. Briersting gives Guttlekraw’s trolls a snarling warning to stay back–a warning he is fully capable of following through on–in this intense battle scene from the Original Quest.
17. Windchaser Gets Rescued
Bearclaw rescued Cresent’s wolf-friend Windchaser from a horrific death at the hands of superstitious humans.
18. Longshanks Makes the Ultimate Sacrifice
Longshanks was the alpha male in Chieftess Ember’s wolf pack, and Dewshine’s wolf-friend. Though fierce, he lost his life to venomous shape-changed monsters in an effort to save the Wolfriders.
19. Nightrunner Says Goodbye
We all cried when Cutter said his final farewell to Nightrunner. Yet, it perfectly embodied everything that’s right with the Wolfriders’ Way.
20. The Pack Howls
The Wolfriders and wolves alike renewed their bond through the age-old tradition of the wolfsong before setting out to follow Cutter on his Quest.
