A MOVING EXPERIENCE - For better than five years now, we've been creating and producing ELFQUEST and trying to live somewhat normal, somewhat civilized lives in one, cramped house. As we said in issue #9, "GENUG!" We've finally taken the plunge and moved the entire ELFQUEST production - studios and office - to a new location. With more room! The peace (and privacy) at home now is heavenly, and ELFQUEST finally has the space it deserves. PLEASE NOTE - the mailing address will remain 2 Reno Road, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603.
WARNING - To parents who read ELFQUEST to very young children. The events of this issue take a turn that your child may find upsetting. Please take a moment to preview the story, and use your discretion. Thank you.
TAKE A BOW - Several letters have arrived from readers claiming that Strongbow has been shooting arrows from the wrong side of his bow. Actually, according to several archery experts we've spoken to, as well as the Encyclopedia Britannica, the arrow can be shot from either side of the bow, depending upon whether one uses the Mediterranean grip or the Oriental grip. Then too, for all we know (he certainly hasn't told us!), it might be Strongbow's particular talent to be able to hit his mark no matter how he nocks the arrow. And again, Wendy will always draw the art to make the scene the most aesthetically pleasing to her eye - in this case (issue 14, page 25) the bow and arrow were drawn to emphasize the left-to-right momentum of the action within the panels.
WHEN'S THE NEXT ONE? - Many of you have asked when ELFQUEST Color Book 3 and the next ELFQUEST novel will be out. As this is being written, the art for issue 15 is not yet finished, and Book 3 will contain that art, so our best guess for the publication of the next color volume is Spring 1984. As far as a second novel goes, that quite frankly depends upon how well the first one sells, and if Berkley Books asks us to write another. We've heard that the novel is doing well, and if it continues to do so, time will tell.
BALLYHOO DEPARTMENT - Perhaps, if you follow what's happening in the world of mainstream and independent comics, you've noticed how everyone these days seems to be trumpeting the news that they are printing their books on "new, improved, whiter, brighter" newsprint paper. Son of a zwoot, looks like we led the pack again - since we've been printing ELFQUEST that way since issue 9, over two years ago! Ever since 1977, we've worked to give you the best magazine for your money - without riding anyone else's coattails - and by the High Ones we intend to keep right on doing just that.
ANIMATION NEWS - Things are progressing. It's a slow business, but events are on schedule; we're in regular communication with Nelvana, and they are working on the story treatment/screenplay. We're still not in any position to listen to voices or music. If you're not familiar with Nelvana's work, be sure to see their feature length film Rock and Rule when it comes out this year.
THE GAMES ELVES PLAY - Last issue we announced that Chaosium will be developing an ELFQUEST role-playing game for publication this Fall. We are also proud to report that, in conjunction with the game, Ral Partha will be producing a line of EQ gaming figurines, for release at the same time. Look forward to a lot more 25mm elves than you've seen before!
See you in 120.
Richard
I just came to the realization that my initials are T.A.M. Maybe Leetah does have the wrong guy.
Todd Alan McDaniels
No address
***** Maybe so, but we think we'll let you and Cutter discuss it, somewhere private... and soundproof.
I have detected one serious flaw in your
publication: your letters page is almost uniformly
gushing with praise. This is entirely your fault, as
you publish a magazine of such high quality that
no one can find anything seriously wrong with it.
Still, it is the voices of dissention in any system
that provide innovation and keep things moving...
Paul Dworkin
Pittsburgh, PA
Seldom, if ever, do I write a letter that is a "total
rave." This is not one of those times. Seldom do I
write a letter that contains no criticism. This is
one of those times.
Issue #13 was the finest issue up to that date. But I still wonder if it was a bit of a fluke. I wonder no more. Issue #14 is very definitely superior to #13 and by a fairly wide margin. An obvious reason is the ever-increasing closeness to the Ultimate Resolution (I can't help but think of it in capital letters now) of the current plotline but it is far more than that. One couldn't help but fear that after so many years and so many pages the plotline would bog down under its own complexities or meanderings or that the verve would go out of your presentation. No such problem. Your mark remains fresh, the plot becomes ever intriguing. In addition, the characters become ever more real, with shifting subgroups developing within each group. The tensions and uncertainties are ever more believable and a source of great speculation. And there's still more: suspense, excitement, ingenuity, determination, humor - all present before but richer and more plentiful now. If you can keep improving at this rate until #20 (a seemingly impossible task!), you'll have an incredibly memorable conclusion to your epic.
Sure, I found a few faults with #14 (there's always room for improvement, right?), but it seems strangely inappropriate and ungrateful to mention them now. (But don't you yearn somehow for the informative aspect of criticism, something not present in the same way in praise?)
Congratulations. (Praise) Keep it up. (Request/Command)
T.M. Maple
Toronto, Ontario
To tell you the truth, the only thing I don't like
about ELFQUEST is the letters column. And even
that I don't mind, as much as the letters that often
irritate me - the type that goes into long,
philosophical dissertations on the "meaning" of
ELFQUEST. Hell, it's just fun, a truly rare commodity
these days.
Kim Eastland
No address
***** Every so often, we get letters that have more to do with the letters pages of an issue than with the art and story. That's good - we very much like knowing that folks are reading all the parts of the magazine we produce.
To respond to the comment that the EQ letter column is "gushing with praise," I (Richard here, the one who puts these pages together) would just like to say that I do try to keep a varied mixture of thoughts and viewpoints in each issue's printed letters. By far, the majority of letters that come into ELFQUEST do praise the book; were I to give printed space to letters of compliment and letters of criticism (constructive and otherwise) in proportion to the numbers of each we receive, it would probably be embarrassing. We always welcome any constructive comments, no matter the subject or presentation.
For that reason too, we enjoy hearing readers' "dissertations" on ELFQUEST and its meanings. EQ is fun, yes, and meant to be so, but it also does have levels of meaning that we, the creators, put into it. And these may not be the same meanings that a reader gets out of it. We are all very different, with our own individual perceptions and reactions; it's what makes for an interesting world.
I read "that Tolkien stuff" this year, and was
frankly bothered by the Norse posturing and the
empty heroics. Cutter is much more alive than
Frodo ever was. Bilbo comes closer. When I used
to be a voracious reader of comic books, if I was
particularly enthralled by an issue, I would read it
from cover to cover 10 or 20 times in one week,
devouring every penstroke and nuance of expression.
I have read the saga of the Wolfriders
more times than I can think. What I'm trying to say
is that ELFQUEST isn't some old comic book, it is
a new member in that elite field of timeless and
beautiful stories that are inaccurately labeled
children's books. A children's book simply means
a book that can be read with as much joy at age 40
as at 10.
But! EQ is a graphic novel. To deny this is to deny an integral part of Wendy's vision and WaRP's creation. Comics are perhaps the most maligned art form ever to affect the world on a daily and powerful basis. What office bulletin board is free from some related cartoon? Who fails to find any situation in life beautifully summarized in ink? And yet, putting sequential pictures with word-balloons down as serious art or literature is considered at best a bad joke. Comics are for kids!
Well, we know this isn't so. This rambling point is actually leading somewhere. I feel that it was a mistake to create the ELFQUEST novel. By trying to "legitimize" the story by putting it in the holy medium of the written word, you are admitting that the other is not the best way to present the story. Why can't children, or for that matter adults, get the version that is the true vision and work of your hearts. I'm sure you disagree with this point, or else you wouldn't have written the book, but I hope that if the story lasts into the future, it is in the illustrated form.
Jonathan Freemen
Willowdale, Ontario
You have a new fan. It was a cold and windy
December evening. I was going to see a movie. I
had arrived a few minutes early, so I decided to go
into a paperback book store next door. As I
wandered into the SF-Fantasy books, an
unusually large book caught my eye. I bought it
and then went to see the movie.
When I got home that night, I set down to read the story that I had bought. I read the preface and immediately thought, "Oh no. Here are a couple of comic book writers who are going to try to write a novel." Well, I decided to read it anyway. I was surprised. I really loved it. As a matter of fact, I was so involved in it that I cancelled an engagement that I had one night because I was getting near the end. I was completely involved in it.
The very next day, I sought out the only comic book store in town and bought ELFQUEST #s 1-14. I must say that after being introduced to the characters by way of the novel, I am sorry to say that the comic actually was a letdown. With the vivid descriptions and details done in words alone, I was really expecting something more when you had all the art at your disposal. Tears came to my eyes when I thought that Nightfall had given up on Redlance in the desert - when she "sent" her soul-name to him and he didn't even have the strength to respond. In the comic, this was not mentioned, nor was the scene that explained what happened to One-Eye's eye. All in all, I thought the book was much better.
Robert Melton
Stockton, CA
***** Which is why there's the comics AND the novel. There is no single medium of expression that could successfully communicate all the detail and texture that we see in ELFQUEST. So we portray those things in the comic that are best shown in visual terms - things like facial expression and the manipulation of time. And we put into the novel things that would not have worked in the comic - like the deep and private thoughts of characters like Nightfall and Leetah. When the animated film comes out, it will be different from either the comic or the novel, because of its strengths and weakness as a storytelling medium. Each of these different faces of ELFQUEST will be just as true as any other.
I finally read the novel. I've had it for a while, it
was just being saved for a special time. Last night
was the time.
I was up on Kitt Peak for several days, programming one of the telescopes. The night was clear - perfect for observing - but the humidity was 100%. None of the domes could be opened. I retreated to my room and opened a book I had been saving.
My expectations were fulfilled. Oh, the marvelous relationships it was filled with! Cutter and Nightfall, Greymung and the trolls, Sun-Toucher, Yurek, the wolf names. So that's where a soulname comes from, and it's nice to know that Nightfall and Redlance may still Recognize each other. I was never really that fond of Rayek, but I finally appreciated his dilemma. As he said to Leetah, "Only you appreciate the old powers as I do, only you understand what I am and what I need!"
As I continued reading, the emotions became more and more intense. Being unable to maintain such intense emotions without exploding, I took a break and had nightlunch. The moping observers soon returned me to this planet (there being no creature as despondent as an astronomer who is told that he can't open up, even though the weather is clear).
Before returning to the book, I needed a stroll across the mountain. You are quite right when you say the desert sky is magnificent. I pity those who have never seen the sky from a place that is truly dark. Being an incurable speculator, I began to wonder about a certain nameless world. Where does it lie in its galaxy? Certainly the elves are not in or near any star clusters. Do they have an equivalent of our Milky Way? I expect the planet is somewhere in a galactic arm. What do Skywise's constellations look like? I may never know. Has Skywise spotted any planets yet? Are there any others to spot? Do the elves have a concept of Dark Time and Bright Time? Skywise must have seen that it is more difficult to see the stars while the moons are up. For a nocturnal group, the elves have probably paid close attention to Dark Time, since even they might lose most of their depth perception then. With two moons, Dark Time must be rare. I'll bet Skywise treasures such times.
Jay Parks
Tucson, AZ
***** Indeed he does, as does his larger, round-eared counterpart who, even though he has not worked professionally at it for several years, is still an incurable astronomer at heart. Poughkeepsie has its dark spots, but nothing to compare with some of the western states where the horizon is flat and the nearest lightbulb is 50 miles away.
Excellent storytelling.
The care of Savah and Leetah to avoid passing hatreds on to young Suntop (issue #14) exhibits the eloquent sensitivity of this series. Here, the Mother of Memory (physically kidnapped by Winnowill in #8) gently tells Suntop that their common captor needs healing. The Healer, herself having endured psychological torture and assault at the hands of Winnowill, risks her life to cute the abductor of her child. Both exhibit a special courage and compassion that the sword and sorcery genre has long needed. Strongbow, strutting his stuff in #14, weighs his own desire for revenge on Winnowill versus the needs of the tribe and shows himself proud, while the whole situation with Winnowill in the past two issues tactfully reminds us how the deceitful can turn compassion against itself if the compassionate are not on guard.
And Cutter (issue #13), understanding immediately why Leetah would have let herself be blackmailed to protect the Wolfrlders, emphatically shows why he's fast becoming one of the influential characters in graphic fiction, his strength coming as much from tenderness and comprehension as from resiliency end fierceness. All this, and more, and still there are people calling ELFQUEST infantile? Someone's not paying attention.
No less intriguing is the revelation of Winnowill being the mother of the enigmatic elf-troll Two-Edge. The fact of her motherhood throws her cruel baiting for Leetah (#13) into a perversely ironic and all-too-familiar light. In contemporary terms, it's reminiscent of the abused immigrant whose first learned word of English is "nigger." Sad.
Michael Hopkins
Buffalo, NY
This letter is directed at those who have written
condemning Winnowill. Perhaps they should also
consider that Lord Voll led the Gliders into the
Blue Mountain - perhaps before Winnowill was
born - in a retreat from the outside. It was fear of
"diminishing" - changing - that caused them to
hide from the reality of the world in which they
lived.
But Lord Voll did not foresee that Winnowill was to become a woman of great intelligence, creativity and drive. She has been forced to spend her ages-long life in a large, elegant cage. The decision was probably not hers but she lives with the result. Because there is nothing else but stone, she has decorated her cage with the lives of those around her - Egg, Brace, Door and, insofar as possible, Lord Voll. If Lord Voll could have foreseen the results of his retreat - a cold stone cage, no children, no future, only each other year after year - would he still think the cage was safe from "diminishing?"
Charlotte Peterson
Danville, IN
***** We will never know, but certainly the events of this and the previous several issues would have been much different.
There's a lot of debate lately about the way the
Gliders live. Are these folks decadent? civilized?
living in the style befitting the High Ones? My
initial reaction to Door, Egg and Brace was that
they were being held captive like Savah, but you
tell us they chose the lives they lead. The letter in
#14 saying "they have found the 'why' of
existence" was an eye-opener. The childlessness
of the Gliders is another point for reconsideration.
The original High Ones rediscovered their fertility
under the extreme pressure to survive on this new
world; they were childless when they arrived.
Children were becoming rarer among the Sun Folk
as a result of their safety from humans and the
powerful protection of their Healer. The closer
elves approach immortality, the less need they
would have for children. All this adverse comment
on the way the Gliders live is due to our human
prejudices; we aren't really equipped to judge
what they are doing is right for them. Right?
Wrong, I think. Consider what the Gliders themselves have to say on the subject. Lord Voll was desperately unhappy about the lack of children. The Gliders looked at Ember and Suntop with envy-tinged yearning. Aroree seems the happiest Blue Mountain elf we've seen, and obviously she's proud of her people's works and deeds, but she's also strongly attracted to the liveliness of Skywise. Under what possible conditions can a Glider be pictured as rejoicing the way Cutter did when reunited with his family? I'm not saying that the Wolfriders' Way is the perfect way for elves to live, but there's a lot to be said for it!
On to another major topic of debate: Winnowill. Savah lost Yurek, who refused food, drink, contact, love to rebuild the Bridge of Destiny. Winnowill keeps the Doors, Brace and Egg alive on their chosen paths with her ministrations. She apparently has mostly told the truth since we've seen her, and lying to her humans, even when she is in a desperate hurry, bothers her. She has won the love of her humans, and is glad that she is able to ease pain; she is not merely a sadistic inflicter of pain. Though she despises the savage Wolfriders she is capable of admiring Suntop's courage. This is very revealing, since she thinks she's alone and so can't be trying to manipulate anyone with her comment. She may mean something very serious when she says she fears for Voll and desires to protect him.
But Winnowill a heroine? Despite the above comments, no. She does not love - she manipulates, changes, controls, and is willing to hurt and destroy what she cannot use. She trapped Savah, and was willing to hold her until she died. She showed no sorrow at the memory of the plant-shaper's death in the strangleweed. The crippled little creature with one arm and one wing (Ed. note - a trial run for Tyldak) must be another victim of her ruthless manipulation.
Still, I don't fancy seeing Winnowill cutlets. She learned little from Savah, but Savah learned something significant about her, and told Suntop she needed healing in body and mind. Is it her "evil," her lovelessness, her "taint" that requires healing? Did Leetah's effort succeed, or might it yet? When last seen, Winnowill was still twitching, and apparently starting to heal herself. She can't be written off yet; she has many impressive qualities, and Savah evidently considered her worth saving. We may yet be cheering rather than booing her before the end.
Pat Sheller
Bettendorf, IA
One comment about Winnowill - in last issue's
letters E. Wilson mentioned shaving her head. If
he ever does, I want the hair!
Becky Slocombe
Toronto, Ontario
***** Hmmmmmm. Whether we sell it by the inch or by the pound, we'll make out like bandits!
It was rather painful to see the scene where
Cutter takes out his frustrations on the Wolfriders
- even his closest friend - with that tongue lashing.
It was such a... human thing to do! But it was nice
to see Cutter and Strongbow reunited with that "I
was wrong, you were wrong, so let's go correct
our mistakes." And it was wonderful how you
reinforced this in the scenes in the Bubblegang
cave and the strangleweed net. Hopefull, when
Strongbow sees that it was Cutter's use of
unorthodox methods and resources that enabled
him to overcome an unorthodox situation, it will
give him a greater respect for Cutter's decision-making
talents.
Danny Barer
Walla Walla, WA
***** Several readers commented on or disapproved of Cutter's chewing out the Wolfriders. Granted, on an emotional level, it was a human thing to do. However, there's another factor that makes Cutter's action entirely appropriate as a Chief. We've ail seen how the Wolfriders venerate Bearclaw - almost blithely overlooking the trouble his temper often got them into. The Wolfriders are tough little people who respect a tough leader, and they don't necessarily require an apology for a fierce show of dominance, any more than wolves do. Notice how Strongbow doesn't resent being bossed around as long as it's by someone he respects. Let's face it - Pike was drunk, Skywise was off fooling around, and nobody was watching over the kids as closely as they ought to have been. This is part of Blue Mountain's insidious influence, which Cutter shattered with one good tongue-lashing. It galvanized everyone and got them ready for action. That is both the joy and the burden of leadership - sometimes you have to be rough even on those you love.
In answer to the "money grub" controversy
spawned in ELFQUEST #14: although I too
fearfully await what may soon be an avalanche of
Elfmobiles and EQ Slurpee cups, there are three
extremely valid reasons for the merchandising of
ELFQUEST.
(1) The fans want it.
(2) The creators of ELFQUEST deserve to be able to live on (or even profit from) the sweat of their creative brows. Besides, if they can make a good living from ELFQUEST, they can spend more of their time working on it, and less on having to support themselves in some other manner.
The third reason is even more valid, from a creative point or view. It is as follows: if the Pinis don't supply the fans with Elf-stuff, someone else will (supply and demand, don'tcha know). Besides being unfair, this would eat away at WaRP's rights to ELFQUEST through a legal precept called "easement." An example: if you allow people to take a shortcut across your lawn and later try to stop them, they can argue that you've never tried to stop them before, and thus they have an implied right to walk there. You have "eased off" on asserting your rights. Thus the term "easement."
If the Pinis don't merchandise ELFQUEST, thus leaving a vacuum that someone else fills, that someone could claim a form of easement (trademark laws being the obscure things they are) and siphon off not only a good deal of ELFQUEST profits, but also certain legal rights to the concept that the Pinis would lose though non-use.
Dan Eiler
Dallas, TX
Moneygrubbing?! I grew up in a family of artists.
My parents have been self-employed for
close to 30 years. It's how they make a living.
Artists are pretty much responsible for their own
success or failure. If they fail they have to try to
get up and try again or get out of the business. If
they succeed it's their own fault and more power
to them. It they have a product that people want
why not expand upon it and create related items,
if it can help pay for the overhead? If people don't
like what's being put out they don't have to buy it.
sales will drop, and it will be taken off the market.
But no one should call a self-employed artist, or
any other artist for that matter, a money grubber
it's not easy to make a living in the art field.
Keith Alan Johnson
Rollingbay, WA
I'm very happy that there's going to be an
ELFQUEST movie and I think it's a good idea, but
I'm afraid of what's going to happen when it
comes out. When the EQ movie comes out, EQ
pins, chairs, pens, pencils, ashtrays and more will
probably come with it. E.T. and Pac-Man were
good when they started but too much publicity
ruined them. I don't want that to happen to
ELFQUEST.
G.M.
Torrance,CA
***** Actually, too much publicity can't hurt. Too much merchandising, on the other hand, can. This has been, and continues to be, a concern of ours - how to provide the items that people want, and yet keep those items from flooding the market or becoming tacky. The legal and cultural areas of merchandising are so crazy and complex, it's someone's full-time job just to keep track of them. Rest assured, though; to the extent that we can, we'll do our best to make sure that ELFQUEST goes together with quality.
Regarding ELFQUEST #14: "...and he walked on
down the hall!" Loved it.
Tya Evatt
Gaffney, SC
***** Very appropriate, since we've now met two DOORS, and we're almost at THE END...
Will Dewshine and Tyldak become lifemates? I
sure hope not! I mean, how gross can you get? I
mean, like, grody to the max!
Eleanor Hunter
Raleigh, NC
***** Fer surrrre, y'know, like, gag me with a spoon. So anyway we hope to, y'know, see you in June for our next, rilly tubular issue!