Originally posted by Thornbrake on April 22nd, 2015
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 exceptional wolf moments from over the decades. (Click on each image to view a larger version.)
1. A New Wolf-friend (Original Quest #8)
It doesn’t get cuter or more wondrous than seeing Ember joyfully seal the bond with her first wolf-friend, Choplicker. (Sadly, this also foreshadows a very different reaction a little later in the Original Quest story.)
2. These Boots Were Made for Snitching (Final Quest #1)
The aptly-named Filcher lives up to his name in this hilarious and true-to-life incident. (We don’t know how it is elsewhere but here in real life, pups just love to steal slippers. Who says art doesn’t imitate life?)
3. Back Into the Deep Woods (Original Quest #4)
It is one of the most somber moments in ElfQuest: the ending of the tale of Bearclaw’s final battle, with his wolf Blackfell bearing his lifeless body into the dark forest. We’ve never been entirely certain there wasn’t something … other … about Blackfell.
4. Tiptail Panics (Hidden Years #25)
There is something equally endearing and heart-breaking about Pike’s wolf’s fear of Winnowill’s shapechanged monsters. If you’ve ever lived with 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. The Warmth of a Wolf
Goodtree, the plant-shaping Wolfrider ancestor, is kept warm by the thick fur of her wolf-friend Leafchaser in this gorgeous — and spooky — winter scene from the 1990 ElfQuest Calendar. (Just where are those chills coming from?
6. Somone Wants Attention (Kings of the Broken Wheel #4)
The best part of this two-track scene is not reading between lines of Cutter and Skywise’s conversation (although that’s pretty delicious). It’s watching Warfrost silently, but very determinedly, demanding scratchies.
8. Strength in Numbers (Shards #6)
The monstrous Peace Hounds of Citadel Mound got the best of Treestump and Clearbrook’s wolves during the Shards war . . . but Scratchbark and Clicktooth were not down not for long, oh no.
9. The Prodigal Returns (Hidden Years #1)
Lashpaw has the distinction of being the only wolf to have most of an entire issue of ElfQuest dedicated to him. It is the tale of Lashpaw’s exile, near-fatal illness, the elf-friend who wouldn’t give up on him, and his triumphant return to the pack.
11. The Pack Gets a Cover (Original Quest #12)
The entire wolfpack got its own back cover in issue #12 of the Original Quest, and it was epic. Here also is the “who’s who” naming the wolves and matching them to their elf-friends, which appeared in the letter pages of a later issue.
12. Survivor (Hidden Years #11)
Holdfast survived the death of his littermates, and was saved by Cutter (with a little help from Timmain). It was a helpful reminder — to the elves and to us all — to celebrate individual victories, however small, even in the face of larger challenges.
13. Just Goofing Around (Kings of the Broken Wheel #2)
Good old Starjumper was longer-lived and seemed a bit more clever than most wolves – the perfect match for fun-loving Skywise!
14. The Hign One and the Wolf Pack (Original Quest #13)
This atmospheric scene is from the 2000 ElfQuest “Greatest Moments” Calendar. It depicts firstcomer Timmain observing the wild wolves that would become the unknowing participants in a decision that would change the nature of her people forever.
15. Breaking the Rules (Hidden Years #19)
Patience was a timid, low-ranking wolf in the pack. She wasn’t the most exciting or adventurous wolf, but she was totally devoted Tyleet. More than once she put herself in harm’s way to help her elf-friend. A wolf should share food with the pack first, but Patience had a higher loyalty.
16. Briersting Attacks (Original Quest #15)
Briersting: a badass name for a badass wolf. Strongbow‘s wolf-friend gives Guttlekraw’s trolls a snarling warning to stay back – a warning he is fully capable of following through on – in the midst of intense battle between elves and trolls in the Frozen Mountains.
18. The Ultimate Sacrifice (Hidden Years #28)
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 even while making a valiant effort to save the Wolfriders.
19. Goodbye, Old Friend (Original Quest #9)
We cried when Cutter made his final farewell to Nightrunner. The old wolf had come to the end of his time with the elves. Yet, the parting perfectly embodied everything that’s right and natural about the Wolfriders’ life-code, “the Way.”
20. The Allliance Renewed (Original Quest #9)
It is a ritual nearly as ancient as the Wolfriders themselves. Elves and wolves periodically reaffirm their bond of trust and brotherhood through the age-old tradition of the wolfsong. Here, all come together once again before setting out to follow Cutter on his fateful Quest.