This collection is located on-site.
To access the costume/textile/artifacts, you will need to make a special appointment. For more information, please contact rbml@columbia.edu
The Wendy and Richard Pini papers contain documentation of the publishing history and the visual creation of the ElfQuest comics and graphic novels, as well as the unpublished works of the Pinis and their creative contribution to the comic arts industry. The papers contain both published and unpublished works and materials from Wendy Pini's childhood days to the success of ElfQuest with Richard Pini as a team, dating from 1962 to 2020, with the bulk dating between the 1970s to 1990s. The majority of the collection consists of original artwork, draft scripts and panel layouts, and the full run of the published ElfQuest comics and graphic novels. Also included are Wendy Pini's childhood works and the unpublished original artworks and materials from Wendy Pini's adaptation of Stormbringer, as well as drafts of scripts and novelization of ElfQuest's Journey to Sorrow's End, legal records, fanzines, fan art, fan mail, materials related to the Pini and Elfquest, and Wendy Pini's 1976 "Red Sonja" cosplay photograph, cosplan, patterns, and costume parts.
Series contains ElfQuest original artwork, scripts and panel layouts, artworks by others, published runs of the comics and graphic novels, as well as fanzines and fanworks, dating from 1977 to 2006. The ElfQuest comic book series was first published in spring of 1978 in Fantasy Quarterly, then the Pinis founded WaRP Graphics, a self-publishing and small press company that sought to produce higher quality publications to better showcase Wendy's artwork. The ElfQuest was published in comic book form by Marvel Epic from 1985 to 1988. In 2003, Warp Graphics licensed the publishing rights to DC Comics, and then to Dark Horse Comics in 2012.
Subseries I.1-6 are series titles arranged in chronological order by their published years. Materials include original artwork of front and back covers in color, as well as black and white pages for each series, dating from 1977 to 1998.
Subseries I.7 includes scripts, drafts, panel sketches and layout, story outlines, character sketches, drawings, background information, treatments, and various supporting materials for the ElfQuest series, dating from 1977 to 1988.
Subseries I.8 consists of original artwork and materials for the Rebels, Chaosium Roleplaying Game, ElfQuest Animation and Videos, Marvel Epic ElfQuest, "Elfquest Fun by Others", unpublished Elfquest Newspaper Strip Tryout, and other original artwork including drawings, sketches, character pages, situation scenes, designs, empty panel pages, etc., dating from 1977 to 1999.
Subseries I.9 contains the full run of ElfQuest comics and graphic novels in published format, dating from 1978 to 2004. They were published by Warp Graphics, Father Tree Press, and DC Comics.
Subseries I.10 includes fanzines and fan works created by ElfQuest fans and lovers around the world, dating from 1977 to 2006. Materials include fan letters, fan arts, and fanzines in printed format published by various ElfQuest fan-created "Holts", where fans form groups to share story-telling through communication by mail, zines, emails, and online forums. Also included is a life-size sculpture of Petalwing and a Queen-sized fan art bedsheet with art drawn on cotton fabric and signed by fans.
Series II: Early Works, 1962-1974
Series consists of original artwork from Wendy Pini's childhood and college days. The Childhood Works subseries includes two artworks by Wendy Pini when she was around 11 years old as a young artist, featuring sketches of Blacky the Horse. The Stormbringer subseries contains original art and process materials for Wendy Pini's animated film adaptation project of Michael Moorcock's Sormbringer. Wendy Pini began the project in her freshman year of college in 1970 and ended around 1973-1974. A selection of artworks were later published in Law and Chaos : The Stormbringer Animated Film Project; Poughkeepsie N.Y: Father Tree Press; 1987.
Series III: Materials related to Wendy and Richard Pini and ElfQuest, 1975-2020
Series consists of published and unpublished works, derivatives, academic papers, comic magazines, parody comics, and articles on ElfQuest and/or about Wendy and Richard Pini, dating from 1975 to 2020. The series also includes many interviews, ElfQuest parody comics, and collaborations with the Pinis published in various comics and comic magazines. Materials related to the novelization of Journey to Sorrow's End, ElfQuest animation movie, and the cartoon series are also included in this series.
Series IV: Red Sonja Cosplay, circa 1976-1978
Series consists of 8 boxes of cosplay costume parts and one folder of patterns, lists, cosplan, and a photograph of Wendy Pini in her Red Sonja cosplay. Wendy co-authored Marvel's Red Sonja comic #6 (1977) and was twice the winner of the Red Sonja look-alike contests at SonjaCon in New York City in November 1976, and a convention in Philadelphia in July 1977. She also wore this cosplay for the "Sonja and the Wizard", a 20-minute show where she performed with Frank Thorne as the Wizard at the San Diego Comic-Con in 1978. An article in the Erotic Worlds of Frank Thorne, no. 6, 1991, features and writes about Wendy Pini as Red Sonja at various conventions.
Collection is in 4 series.
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
This collection is located on-site.
To access the costume/textile/artifacts, you will need to make a special appointment. For more information, please contact rbml@columbia.edu
This collection has no restrictions.
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Wendy and Richard Pini papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Gift of Wendy and Richard Pini, 2013.
Accessions: 2012-2013-M141, 2013-2014-M059, 2013-2014-M145, 2013-2014-M168, 2013-2014-M195, 2014-2015-M125, 2014-2015-M126, 2015-2016-M145, 2018-2019-M060, 2023-2024-M065
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Collection inventoried by Carolyn Smith in 2017, revised by Karen Green prior to processing, 2023. Processed by Yingwen Huang, 2023. Finding aid created and published in 2024.
One box of Stormbringer materials sent to mold remediation, December 2023. Materials to be integrated into Subseries II.2: Stormbringer, after remediation.
Wendy Pini (maiden name: Wendy Fletcher) was born in San Francisco in 1951 and grew up in Gilroy, California. Largely self taught, her artistic talents were influenced by turn-of-the-century illustrators, film and TV animation, Shakespeare, Japanese history, fairy tales, myths and modern fantasy. Wendy began exhibiting her artwork at sci-fi conventions in the mid 1960s, garnering awards and recognition.
In 1972 she married Richard Pini, and in 1974 began her professional career as an illustrator for SF magazines such as "Galaxy" and "Worlds of If." Through the mid-1970s, Wendy also trod the boards at comic conventions as actress/dancer in "The Red Sonja and the Wizard Show." This led to her first professional comics work, writing an issue of "Red Sonja" for Marvel Comics.
In 1977 Wendy and Richard co-founded Warp Graphics, and the following year ElfQuest was born. Widely regarded as the "first American manga," ElfQuest continues to be a publishing phenomenon as well as an inspiration to its readers. Tens of millions of copies of comics, graphic novels, books, calendars and other merchandise have been sold worldwide.
Wendy has worked for nearly all the major comics publishers such as Marvel, First Comics, Comico, DC Comics and, most recently, Dark Horse Comics. She wrote and painted two critically acclaimed graphic novels based on the hit TV series "Beauty and the Beast," and supplied the text and illustrations for "Law and Chaos," an art book inspired by the writings of Michael Moorcock.
In 1997 Wendy had the privilege of designing the elfin mascot and mission patch for NASA's Enclosed Laminar Flames (ELF) investigation, an experiment performed in space by members of the crew of Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-87).
From 2007 to 2010, Wendy took a walk on the dark side to produce her adults-only graphic novel based on the classic Edgar Allan Poe horror story "Masque of the Red Death." Her animated web comic received millions of views, and the book is currently available as a limited edition, 400 page hardcover volume from Warp Graphics.
Richard Pini was born in 1950, in New Haven, Connecticut. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), receiving a degree in astronomy and astrophysics. Always a fan of science fiction, at college he found new diversion in comic books, and it was in the letters pages of "The Silver Surfer" in 1969 that he chanced upon a letter written by one Wendy Fletcher.
A correspondence began, spanning a period of four years. The two eventually married in 1972, and Wendy embarked upon a career as an illustrator for sci-fi magazines. Speaking of Richard, Wendy states "When Richard and I first met, a lot of things fell in place for me. Almost immediately we began working on our life together – it was almost preordained. Richard and I have a lot to accomplish in this lifetime."
His degree in astronomy from MIT led Richard to a position at Boston's Hayden Planetarium as lecturer, photographer, script writer, and special effects technician.
From 2015 to 2017, Richard wrote or co-wrote, and worked closely with Flesk Publications (a producer of high-quality art books) to bring out three ElfQuest/Wendy-related titles: "The Art of ElfQuest," "ElfQuest – the Art of the Story," and "Line of Beauty – The Art of Wendy Pini," which was nominated for a Comic-Con International Eisner Award (the comic book industry equivalent of the Academy Awards) in 2018.
In 2019, both Wendy and Richard were inducted into the Eisner Awards Hall of Fame for their lifetime achievements.
THE BEGINNINGS OF WARP GRAPHICS:
In 1977, Wendy and Richard decided to channel Wendy's writing and illustration energies into the self-published, ongoing series called ElfQuest. They incorporated as Warp (an acronym of "Wendy and Richard Pini") Graphics and got to work. The first issue appeared in February, 1978. As the first continuing fantasy/adventure series created, written and illustrated by a woman, ElfQuest became a phenomenon in the comic and fantasy/science fiction markets.
In 1979, Richard and Wendy moved to Poughkeepsie, New York, where Richard took a position at IBM. Two years later they made the decision that he would leave that job to become a full-time publisher, editor, marketer and co-creator of ElfQuest. It is Richard that Wendy credits with ensuring the success of the company. "He learned publishing by the seat of his pants. Neither of us knew anything of publishing, but after being turned down by Marvel and DC, Richard figured it out. It is and was his business ingenuity and problem-solving ability which makes ElfQuest the small press giant that it is."
In 1981, Richard established Warp Graphics in the mainstream publishing world by making the bold move away from selling ElfQuest volumes exclusively in comic book shops. This brought new respect from the comic genre and introduced new readers and fans who found ElfQuest at mainstream bookstores such as Barnes & Noble.
Source: https://elfquest.com/
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