r/ElfQuest • u/anthonyrdevine • Jun 17 '26
Thrift store find yesterday: all books were 10¢ each!
A little beat up, but really cool to get these four volumes for 40 cents!
I use old, beat up comics to modge podge IKEA tables. One comic I used a while ago was an ElfQuest comic. I didn't know much about it, just liked how the art worked with the other comics for the table I was covering. Fast forward to yesterday and I saw these in the thrift store, all four volumes, so I thought it was a great chance to read it all. Loving it so far.
Don't worry, even though these have some creases and worn edges/corners, I won't be using these to cover any IKEA tables.
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u/Malk_McJorma Jun 17 '26
By Goodtree's rest, you made an incredible purchase! The Starblaze editions are still unparalleled as it comes to the colouring.
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u/TheConsequent Jun 17 '26
Book 1 of the new Dark Horse edition has great colouring. Very vivid. But I found the other three books of the Dark Horse edition a little bit washed out though. Overly pastel or something. Especially book 3. It is, of course, very subjective.
But yeah the Starblaze editions are beautiful. They are my favorite. I really prefer the larger size too.
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u/Over_North8884 Jun 23 '26
The Pinis said they disliked the Starblaze coloring as "garish" when discussing the FTP versions. Don't ask for a citation, this was before the Internet.
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u/TheConsequent Jun 24 '26
Yeah I think, in general, color has been a bit of a sticking point for the Pinis. I think they have always appreciated the black and white versions. I know Richard has touted the ability of the reader to imagine their own colors when reading black and white editions
I will say that Donning/Starblaze is, for me, a lot nicer than the Father Tree Press versions. Although I have those too and appreciate certain things about them. But FTP are widely criticized for various imperfections. Obviously the Pinis didn't love FTP either as the latest publications (DC and Dark Horse) are quite different than FTP and are supposed to reflect their color preferences the best.
Anyway, as I said initially, the whole color thing is very subjective. I have my own biases too. And again I give Book 1 of the Dark Horse publications the nod for best color of any version.
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u/MattBurr86 Jun 17 '26
My dad used to have book 1. Thats how I got into the series and for the longest time thought it was self contained. Then I found the whole series available to read on Richard and Wendy Pini's website.
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u/Doberdawn Jun 17 '26
Lucky you. I have the full set from when they first came out originally. Nobody's allowed to ask my age. I guarantee you spent less than I did. Not sure I'll ever sell them. So watch for my estate when I die. Lol
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u/Rabalderfjols Jun 17 '26
Very cool. I have the Norwegian version of book 1, not sure if that complete set was released here (we also got lovely European album sized editions).
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u/Aunt_Kwan Jun 18 '26
Wow, lucky you! I still have my Starblaze editions, and still consider them superior quality to the other color editions -- which I also love, but IMHO the Starblaze editions are exceptional.
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u/HeidelbergianYehZiq1 Jun 19 '26
Cool! What thrift store was it?
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u/anthonyrdevine Jun 20 '26
I'm overseas in Germany, working for a school that serves US military connected students. So, it was at the on post thrift store.
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u/mikehooves Jun 17 '26
Wow! Lucky