More from the electronic universe. A couple of people have asked, "Don't you print letters that come in on paper any more?" To which I reply, "Of course I do! But I have to get letters on paper first!" So unlimber those pens and pads, and let us hear from you.
(And by the way, I've decided when printing electronic mall to leave all the wonderful idiosyncratic symbology intact. It adds to the flavor of the communication and besides, it drives my spell-checker absolutely nuts.) - RP
From: Dorinda Hartmann
<dmhartma@STUDENTS.WISC.EDU>
Subject: Re: Cutter's hair + tattoos
Neale wrote:
>>>I personally would like to get one, but I like to give blood, and giving blood after getting a tattoo is a bit of a no-no. Yeah, that's one of my reasons as well.
>>>Also, for those who don't have one, if you could get a tattoo of EQ, what would it be? Well, in some sort of fantasy where I actually got an EQ tattoo, and I had the money to go whole-hog and do it properly, a picture I would like to immortalize is the group shot from HIDDEN YEARS 9.5, where Cutter shows Rayek what "Peace" meant to him -- Cutter, Skywise, Leetah, and the twins all sprawled in loving and peaceful slumber. Sure, it's big and detailed and full of color and would be really hard to do, but of course, this is a make-believe tattoo, so I can do it however I want. :)
It's so hard to decide. If I tried to get a tattoo of my favorite character, eventually I would run out of bare skin, because I love so many of them.
>>>I really like the Timmorn one in BLOOD OF TEN CHIEFS #5. #5 is out?!?! I'd better log off... I gotta catch the bus for the comic shop!!!
Dorinda
To: 72077.12@CompuServe.COM
Subject: Blood of Ten Chiefs: Talon
Just a brief comment or two regarding the latest BLOOD OF TEN CHIEFS.
Firstly, just to put things in context, I have not read any of the BoTC short stories, so I'm just reading the stories as presented in comic form. I've enjoyed the series, so far, mainly because I do like having the full historical background to what's going on.
As to Talon, I didn't mind the story, but there were two things that did surprise me. From the cover, I had the impression that the dinosaurs would be something akin to velociraptors, whereas they looked a little like odd dragons in the interior art work. That's not necessarily wrong, this being the World of Two Moons, but it wasn't what I expected.
The other thing was the Taal game that the elves were playing. I have no worries about the game itself. It's the word I'm puzzled about. Apart from soul names and such, just about every elven word and name has been translated into English (e.g., Cutter, Strongbow and so on). The words "Taal" and "Taal sticks" don't seem to make sense unless they're words that have come from an elven name or words that have been borrowed from humans. Were this not the case, I would have expected the stick name to be translated and descriptive of it's function ("scoring sticks", "thwacking sticks" or whatever).
I should be picking up the latest Wave Dancers this arvo, so I dare say you'll hear from me, after I've read it.
Shade and sweet water.
- Mark "Scunge" Wann, Gwynneville, Australia.
Not every name that we - or any of Team Elfquest - come up with will necessarily have a "direct-to-English" meaning. Sometimes we just like the music of a word. It's like elfnames: some of them are descriptive and some are simply sounds. - RP
From: Dorinda Hartmann
<dmhartma@STUDENTS.WISC.EDU>
Subject: BOTC #5 (teasers, maybe, but no
spoilers)
I just couldn't take it anymore -- I had to comment on BOTC #5, even if some people haven't gotten the issue yet. So I kept myself from putting real spoilers in this message. I'll just speak in generalities, and those who've read it will recognize what I'm talking about.
First of all, I really liked it. A lot. For one thing, we finally get to see a little of Freefoot, who is one of the chiefs not talked about much so far in EQ.
I also like those "What Has Gone Before" synopses in this issue and all the other recent EQ comics. Very helpful for readers who need to catch up, or who (in this case) haven't read the BOTC story in question from the original novel. Like me.
This issue was the issue of cool sound effects. My favorites are from the bear cub: mooook mooooooooook (punt!) meeeeeeetttt eeeeeeeettttt...
I absolutely LOVED the two pages 22 and 23. I found this sequence well-timed, well-depicted, well-drawn -- and surprisingly, very moving. I say "surprisingly," because I never expected to get so caught up in it. I actually choked up, especially on page 23, panels 4 & 5 (5 being the little inset panel on panel 4).
The swordfeet are great. Their build, their movements, their expressions, their sounds, all combined to make them leap off the page from static drawings to moving beasts. They seemed to be plausible, living, breathing animals. A fine job all around.
So there's my capsule review. Thumbs up!
Dorinda
---------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Apr 1994 22:38:47 -0500
From: Damn the electric fence!
<PEPOLLAR@VAX1.ACS.JMU.EDU>
Subject: Re: BOTC_#5 (teasers, maybe, but
no spoilers)
>>>Dorinda Hartmann
>>>This issue was the issue of cool sound
effects. My favorites are from the bear cub: mooook
mooooooooook (punt!) meeeeeeetttt eeeeeeeettttt...
I loved that too!! Bear football!!
- Stkowski
From: rudolph@sjuphil.sju.edu (Judith
Rudolph)
Message-id:
<9403102017.AA21140@sjuphil.sju.edu>
To: 72077.12@compuserve.com
Subject: suggestions ...
Hi again!
Well, I graduate from college in two months, so I'm on the internet as much as I possibly can be. For me, it's easier than using 'snail mail' [U.S. postal service] - hope you don't mind.
A couple of quickies first - 1) in Hidden Years #8, you said your Compuserve address was '72077,12' - when I wrote you the test yesterday, I used a period instead of a comma [I have another friend on Compuserve, and his had a period, so I tried that first] - I don't know if it makes a difference or not - I just thought you might want to know that in case you get letters in the mail from people who haven't been able to get through 2) just how many letters *do* you get (e-mail and regular mail) ?!?
Now for the longer part {you'll forgive me if it's a little *too* long - I read all four series currently running :}
BLOOD OF TEN CHIEFS: They aren't *really* new characters - not like the WaveDancers. We've heard of and seen pictures of Skyfire, Two(Swift)-Spear, Bearclaw, etc. I like the stories so far - it sort of fills in some of the gaps from the Wolfriders' past and helps define them a little better - makes them more *real*. I do have a question though - during which chief's reign does the tribe become all 'Wolfrider' - we still see, in BoTC #4, two distinct kinds of elves?
Anyway, I've taken quite a bit of your time. Just two quick suggestions - I like the centerfolds you've been putting in the more recent issues. It brings back memories for us longtime readers, and gives a little crash-character course for all the newbies. Might I be so bold as to suggest, for future issues: 1) Family trees. We aren't likely to *ever* forget that Ember is Cutter's cub, but how about Shushen? Newstar? Especially now that you're doing more of the bridging work - i.e. Deir's VOL in HY #7 [is Savah the little blond one? I don't remember *ever* seeing her hair, but still, this little feeling ....] It would be nice to keep track off who's who. [and would make things seem a little more realistic] 2) A timeline. DEFINITELY a timeline. Either by issue or by event [i.e. Rayek hijacks castle. Forevergreen quest, etc.] Even for me, a longtime reader, it's difficult to follow the timelines. Maybe, in a future issue (or in your return letter :} you can give another explanation on the passage of time on the world of Two Moons, and the lifespan/expectancy of the various elves. I mean, when they say 'turns of the season', do they mean a year? What are their stages of development? Is Ember a sixteen-year old with a mother who is 600? Do they grow to adulthood quickly and just stay that way? How long before an elf goes grey ?
Sorry about this - like I said, e-mail is a pet of mine. Besides, I haven't written in 9 years :} Looking forward to your response (if this letter hasn't killed you).
judy rudolph
A timeline is definitely in the works. As for all the other questions, we have or will answer them. How's that for short and sweet? See you in 30! - RP