WaRP Graphics
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| Comic publisher | |
| Industry | Comics |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Founder | Wendy and Richard Pini |
| Headquarters | Poughkeepsie, New York |
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Key people
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Wendy and Richard Pini |
| Divisions |
Apple Comics Father Tree Press |
| Website | www.elfquest.com |
WaRP Graphics, later Warp Graphics, is an alternative comics publisher best known for creating and being the original publisher of the Elfquest comic book series. It was created and incorporated in 1977 by Wendy and Richard Pini. The company title is an acronym formed from the founding couple's name: Wendy and Richard Pini. (In later years the capitalization was changed from WaRP to Warp, a mostly aesthetic move.)
In addition to Elfquest, WaRP also published several other comic book series, including MythAdventures and related titles by Robert Asprin, and Thunder Bunny, created by Martin Greim.
WaRP was also the original publisher of A Distant Soil by Colleen Doran, until Doran left under acrimonious circumstances, alleging that publisher Richard Pini was attempting to claim copyright on her work, which Pini denied. The Pinis later sued licensee publisher Starblaze Graphics claiming publication of unauthorized Elfquest reprints, as well as for attempting to secure the rights to the A Distant Soil series. WaRP alleged breach of Warp's contract with Doran. WaRP in breach of their contract with Doran, claimed full copyright and trademark interests in Doran's work, and later claimed to have created the entire series themselves Starblaze countersued; the dispute was settled in 1988. WaRP ceded the full rights of A Distant Soil to Doran, and dropped its claim to having created the series in a written public statement and release.
From 1978 through 1984, Warp Graphics published the 20-issue original Elfquest series. When Elfquest subsequently went on hiatus, publisher Richard Pini began to contract the work of other writers and artists, to establish a line of generally fantasy-oriented comics titles. In 1986, Pini turned Warp's publishing and marketing duties over to Michael Catron's Apple Comics so that Warp could concentrate on editing its comics titles. Titles packaged by Warp for Apple included the anthology series FantaSci, Vietnam Journal, and Lee Marrs's Unicorn Isle (which only ran to #5 of a projected twelve issues).
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