Poison Elves

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.
Origins and influences.
Drew Hayes' work was influenced by "Dungeons &amp; Dragons", "Elfquest", and "Cerebus". Lusiphur was originally one of Hayes' Dungeons &amp; 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.
Publication history.
"I, Lusiphur" (December 1991 – December 1992) – "Poison Elves" (February 1993 – February 1995)
Hayes originally self-published the series during the early 90s under his company Mulehide Graphics under the title of "I, Lusiphur". The title was changed to "Poison Elves" because the similarity of Lusiphur to Lucifer led to the misconception that the series was Satanic in nature. Sales were reported to have increased significantly after the name change. 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.
The first ten issues of the Mulehide series were published in a larger magazine size format.
In 1995, Drew Hayes signed on with Sirius Entertainment, a move that increased his exposure, fan base, and publishing rate. To date, twelve trade paperbacks have been released, stopping at issue #75. However, the last issue of the main series published by Sirius was #79. Hayes died in 2007, thus bringing the series to an abrupt end. 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.
A continuation of the original series, "Drew Hayes Poison Elves #1" [March 2013], published by Ape Entertainment and based on Hayes' outline for future issues, picks up almost precisely at the cliffhanger point at the end of issue #79 .
Only 3 issues were published before the series abruptly ended which was possibly connected to David Hedgecock, Ape Entertainment CEO leaving the company to join IDW Publishing. An unknown number of completed issues remain unpublished.
Background and setting.
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'".
Characters.
Lusiphur.
Lusiphur, originally named Luis Amerillis Malaché, was found by a married elven couple in the Carpathian forest in 1380. He grew up in their inn in Port Sarnwog. However, his childhood was an unhappy one after a drunken patron set fire to their establishment leaving his adoptive parents desperate for money. His father sank into depression and was later killed in one of the city's violent class wars. With nowhere left to turn, his mother was forced to enter into the only profession she could, prostitution.
In 1390, things took a turn for the worse when an abusive client battered Luse's mother. She escaped without being beaten to death, but in her hurry, she stepped on a nail. The wound became infected and gangrene soon spread, crippling her and leaving her bedridden indefinitely. Her Elvin immune system prevented her from dying, prolonging her suffering until she begged a young Luse to end her suffering. With no money for a doctor or medicine, the young elf had little choice. He slit her wrists with a razor blade to set her free from the suffering. The image of her death would haunt Luse for the rest of his life.
The orphaned Luse learned to survive on the streets alone where he adopted a new identity which he uses today, Lusiphur Malaché. He spent his younger years working for a crime lord called The Nick, where he was involved in risky heists. During this tumultuous time in his life, he met and fell in love with the beautiful priestess Elf, Lirilith. However, he was unable to leave the gang and the continuing life of crime drove the young lovers apart. (This part of Lusiphur's life is chronicled in the mini series, "Lusiphur and Lirilith" written by Drew Hayes and illustrated by Jason Shawn Alexander).
Plot.
The beginning sees Lusiphur left to die in a desert. He makes use of a lamp, with the subsequent genie, that he received after trading the dead body of a Doppleganger to his ex-wife, Hyena. 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, Lusiphur at one point turning into panther-like creature to fend off Tenth who had become a hawk. Tenth turns to a fly, so Lusiphur turns to a rattle snake, but he cannot figure out how to move a rattlesnake. This was when Tenth turns to a Unicorn, causing Lusiphur to panic and he chose a Nightmare (A black batwinged unicorn that bleeds acid and breathes fire.) Tenth becomes a Drake, where as Lusiphur turns to a black Dragon, knocking Tenth into a mountain. After recovering Tenth becomes a gold dragon, the two fight. 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. The dragon battle drags on, until Lusiphur disappears. Tenth assumes he is dead and scans the ground for his body. As Tenth searches for Lusiphur's body, he tries to go through the gate as a dragon, but he finds he can't fit. So Tenth becomes a Hell hound and goes through the gate, the moment he crosses it, Lusiphur appears out of nowhere and nearly carves Tenth's heart out. Lusiphur had become a flea and let Tenth carry him through the gate.
Books.
Spin-offs.
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.