COUNTDOWN - Finishing is the hardest thing. Did you ever notice, when carrying a heavy load, that as long as you can't see your destination everything is relatively easy? However, as soon as the set-down place comes into view, your muscles suddenly lose all their strength, and you're certain you won't make it. With this issue of ELFQUEST, Wendy and I are 90% finished. There is a great temptation to view that last ten percent as near insurmountable, let me tell you. But therein lies the conclusion of this long - for the elves and for us - quest, and there's no stopping now.
AN IMPORTANT "BY THE WAY" - This and the final two issues of ELFQUEST have been scripted differently from all the preceding ones. When EQ 17 was done, Wendy decided to write the dialog for all three issues at the same time, for maximum impact and continuity. The reason I bring this up is that it gives me a chance to correct a misconception that many readers seem to have - and that is the one that simplistically divides the creation of each issue of ELFQUEST into "Richard writes and Wendy draws," which is an injustice to Wendy. Actually, this is how it goes: The basic ideas for EQ are Wendy's, and we both know the entire story start to finish. When it's time to start the latest issue, the two of us sit down and co-plot all the scenes and events. Wendy is the one who writes out the script, which I then edit. Once that's finished, Wendy does the art - pencilling, inking, and lettering, as well as covers - while I put together the editorial, letters, and ad pages. Once all this is done, I get the finished issue to the printers and then to the comics distributors. With the exception of a couple of issues way back when that I lettered, that's how ELFQUEST has always been done. For the record.
THREE SHOTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT - Over the last couple of months we here at WaRP have lucked into some things that, in this sometimes frustrating world, have given us reason to sit back and reflect that things aren't all that bad all the time. The first was an episode of SESAME STREET that aired around Thanksgiving. The actor who played Mr. Hooper had just died; and the show's producers made the bold decision to allow the character to "die" as well, giving both the surviving characters and the audience - mostly children - the opportunity to experience, however indirectly, the reality of death and its attendant grief and compassion. Bravo.
The second was that we finally had a chance to view the movie NEVER CRY WOLF, based on the book by Farley Mowat. Granted, Walt Disney Productions has not had a record of shining successes with its films recently; but if this movie is still playing anywhere near you by the time you read this, go see it! It is mostly faithful to Mowat's account of his researches; it is by turns spooky, hilarious, profound, earthy; the acting and cinematography are superb. We recommend it highly.
Finally, the third boost we received was right after EQ 17 appeared in the stores. Now, we knew that the issue was going to generate comment and mail (the letters pages here are proof of that!), but we were anxious right then for our first feedback. We were doing a signing at one shop, and a young man - who gave his age as 11 years - came up to us after buying and reading his copy. He said briefly how much he had liked the issue as a whole, and then said - regarding the Warriors' Dance - "Thank you for not talking down to us." To which we reply now, "Thank you for understanding."
RECOMMENDATION - You may have noticed, in the past couple of years, the proliferation of independent comics companies - a growth in which WaRP is proud to have played a seminal part. One of the best, in my opinion, of the new four-color forces is First Comics, not only for the consistently high quality books they produce, but also for some of the pithiest and mordant editorials this side of Stamford. In particular, I recommend you pick up any of First's May issues - no, not just because there's an article on ELFQUEST in there - for an excellent editorial by Mike Gold on Action for Children's Television. If you feel uneasy when you hear the words "comics" or "television" and "censorship" in the same sentence, you'll want to give Mike's words a look-see.
ON TO ONEONTA - Awards may come and go, but on February 11 we were honored beyond words when the New York State Jaycees presented Wendy and me with their Distinguished Service Award, the highest award the organization bestows on non-Jaycees (incidentally, it was also the first time the award had ever been given to a couple instead of an individual). It was an evening - and an honor - we will always cherish. Our thanks to all concerned.
SOMETIMES WE LOSE THE GOOD GUYS - On November 13, 1983 Raoul Vezina died. He suffered a fatally severe attack of asthma, one of those causes of death that, somehow, seem just a bit too bizarre to be real.
Raoul was a friend. Maybe we didn't know him as well as the folks up in Albany, and at Fantaco where he worked. But every time we went up there, for whatever reason, he was a smile, good conversation, and warm company.
Most people will remember Raoul for SMILIN' ED Comics, featuring the feisty rodent of the same name. There are many, and worse, ways to be remembered. If a sense of humor could ever be said to be at the same time wickedly sardonic and gentle, then Raoul Vezina had one. They're rare - and now there's one less.
A couple of years ago, Raoul did a sketch for us that we've always loved; we'd like to share it now - it's on page 39. Thanks again, guy.
WHAT ARE WE DOING? - Be sure to tune in to ELFQUEST 19 in May - it will contain the most potentially dangerous advertisement we've ever run. Help!
PARTY TIME - Finally, you may or may not know that Wendy and I are working our butts off to try to have ELFQUEST 20 finished in time to premiere at the World Science Fiction Convention in Los Angeles over the 1984 Labor Day weekend. We figure that some sort of celebration is in order, no? So we're working with the convention committee to put together a bash that will make the years leading up to it worth a memory or two! More next issue.
See you in 120!
Richard
***** First off, I want to thank everyone who wrote in on ELFQUEST 17. Never, not even on issue 15, have we received the volume of mail - from all points of view - that we did for "The First War." Nearly all the letters were well reasoned and courteous, no matter the sentiment expressed, and Wendy and I appreciate it. Just wanted you all to know.
I am not an artist and therefore haven't the
background to do justice to your craft. I am
trained to critique words, plot lines and character
developments, as are the bulk of your readers, I
suspect (we have all done book reports; how many
have done picture reports?). I propose this lack of
training in critiquing art as an answer to Richard's
question. Nevertheless, let me try to explain my
appreciation of your craft.
Let me state that if ELFQUEST had been just a random novel or graphic project drawn by a Marvel or DC artist, I would not have become as deeply engrossed in the Quest as I am today. Your art alone finally trapped me. When I arrived in Boston three years ago I entered a household with six complete growing sets of EQ, three sets for reading, three for treasuring. I was up to my knees in EQ! I picked up issue 1, flipped through it, and put it down. I disliked Cutter, was irritated that here was yet another universe-against-the-humans tale, and was not about to get involved with anything that appeared so depressing at first glance. But what art! The figures were cleanly drawn, each character had expression (more than one in many cases), and although the book was in black and white, I saw it in color. That takes talent - yours, not mine. One-Eye, Issue 1, page 14, last panel almost caused me to override my initial reactions and become involved. He was not upset at the burning of the forest, he was crushed, despairing. The look in his eye was mirrored in the eye of the wolf he rode. Such depth of planning! I will put up with much for depth, but One-Eye was not a principal character.
The piece de resistance, the image that trapped me, came in issue 6, page 4, panel 5, Cutter and Suntop. I had not read a word, I just happened to see that panel. There he was, the one character I disliked, and another character I did not know, and I was enraptured. They were totally dissimilar personalities, one could see that in their eyes; they were completely in awe of each other and profoundly in love.
What is the definition of fine art if not that which excites at a glance complex emotions and images in the mind of the observer? The above panel held me much the same way Monet's "Waterlilies" did when I first saw it. The battle in Guttlekraw's mine-pit exacted the same sickening horror as David's "Raft of the Medusa." Leetah's serenity as she prepares to receive her lifemate in the forest of the Preservers is no less alluring than De Vinci's "Mona Lisa."
I cannot say your art will have the same endurance, or achieve the same critical acclaim, as the great artists, but you and they succeed in similar areas. They understood their mediums, mastered the necessary skills, and advanced their craft through innovation. After 17 issues of equally high quality, you have proved both your understanding and mastery of your medium and skill. Your greatest contributions have been the establishment and definition of standards for that elusive genre, the graphic novel. ELFQUEST is replete with graphic symbols of ingenious subtlety: the linking or contrasting of characters through their jewelry, costuming, and hair. Your artistic parallelisms function exactly like literary parallelisms and would be the envy of any good writer. For example, it took three panels to put Savah into her trance, it took three to bring her out. An arrow brings the Wolfrlders and Gliders together. an arrow separates them. Leetah's approach to Rayek during the Go-Backs' celebration is almost identical to her approach to Cutter when she accepted Recognition twelve issues earlier. By these devices and many others you have left the mundane area of comic books and moved, in my opinion, into the arena of serious adult art and literature.
Your work reminds me very much of my other favorite "graphic novel," the windows of Notre Dame de Chartres in France. Richard's summation of the typical comments you get put me in the mind of wandering around the cathedral and listening to the tourists and French commenting on the windows. To wit:
"Gladys, isn't the color just gorgeous? I can see so much detail!" (By which she means she can see folds in cloth, tufts of fur on animals, and wrinkles in faces.)
"Martha, Martha! Come and see! Isn't this cherub the cutest thing you've ever seen?"
"Madams," says a passing guide, "that is the demon Belial, not a cherub."
And finally, the French school master who has brought his class on a day trip to the cathedral. Moving at a brisk pace so one cannot look at the windows, he indicates that this window, ici, is a superb specimen of 12th century craft, while that window, ia, is a poor example of 14th century craft. Whereupon resorting to an authoritative guidebook one learns both windows are of the 13th century and are considered equally superb. Like the windows of Chartres, your art cannot be taken for granted; or rather, it will withhold its secrets from the unwary and uninterested. Nuances of background and crowd scene action alone propel the plot at different levels. Unless one looks, one may not notice that Treestump and Clearbrook do not take part in the dance, causing the thoughtful readers to wonder why. Unless one took note of who was with whom during the celebration, one might assume you put Pike and Vaya together in the closing scenes of last issue only to fill space or vary pace. The trauma of Vaya's loss is intensified if one notices that she and Pike spent the previous night together.
Recently your art has manipulated focus, forcing the eye to move much the way a movie camera would to create tension and panoramic effects. The most current example is, I believe, also your best: issue 17, page 22. The elves are crawling through winding passages, the eye crawls back and forth across the page; Cutter and Skywise see the pit first, we see the pit having been primed to see it with their eyes. That the focus panel is part of the panoramic panel is a technique I have enjoyed hugely. I also compliment you on the use of Petalwing as a unifying visual element since its appearance.
Your particular use of multipanel progressions is, to my limited knowledge, unique, and always moving. The two examples that stand out are in issue 10, page 32 (I had no sympathy for Strongbow at all until that sequence, and it is indicative of your style to allow me to go for issues building the strong emotional opinions which you gleefully decimate with a few brush strokes) and issue 16, page 15 top (Rayek or no Rayek, love and Recognition endure - I love it!).
David A. Vogel, Jr.
Burlington, MA.
***** Again, I'd like to thank everyone who responded to my query last issue regarding Wendy's artwork. A number of letters came in voicing sentiments similar to "It's difficult to comment on the art in ELFQUEST; I don't have the words to do it justice; it's like trying to describe the feeling of a beautiful sunset." Believe me, I understand the difficulty - but give it a shot anyway. We are not soliciting praise only - we are genuinely interested in all critical commentary. Having recently rediscovered the satisfaction of forcing myself to write down thoughts and impressions of any number of things, I can heartily recommend the exercise to everyone.
And then there was the mail dealing with EQ 17's story. Oh my, where to begin...
The Go-Backs sure have a way of "dancing!" I
don't like the party on pages 12-15. I liked it when
you wrote adventure and fantasy. I personally am
not much interested in romance - or rather, excessive
romance.. I don't mind Recognition,
life/lovemating, and loving romance, but not
lovemaking orgies. My gosh! I'm only 12 years
old! Redlance with another woman?! I realize that
Nightfall is hanging on to his stomach but she's
also with this other guy. And don't you think
Ekuar's a little old? I see he's with another old
person, but really!
Amy Sinclair
no address on letter
***** I remember when 1 was 12 years old, the idea that "old" people - particularly teachers (in their 20s and 30s) did the same sorts of things I did (eat, go to the store, so on) was very strange to me. There used to be an ad on TV that said, "You never outgrow your need for milk." I guess we can consider milk and love equal in that context. Another reader wrote and voiced the opinion that Ekuar's participation in the celebration, because he is maimed, was "kinky." However...
Let me congratulate you on the way you have
shown Ekuar. To many he would appear handicapped
at first glance - after all, he has only one
arm and one leg. However, through your skillful
storytelling you have shown him to be anything
but handicapped. Having worked with the so-called
handicapped I can tell you this much: it is
not they who are handicapped but we who refuse
to look beyond their obvious missing part or
inability to do something, and not see the person's
inherent worth and abilities. Again, thank
you.
Franque the
Rainbow Wizard
Norristown, PA
I am a busy 36 year old woman, a
homesteader/part time writer with a 14 year old
daughter; I also have a lifemate and we are
Recognized. He is an artist/shaman to whom I
have been married for over 10 years.
The reason I feel I must write is to balance the flood of "Oh my God, how could?" letters from various respectable people that you are certain to receive on the subject of the scenes following the war dance in ELFQUEST 17. I'm equally sure you will also receive on the same topic a certain percentage of responses from the flesh-monger/swinger types saying, "Hubba hubba!" I would articulate a third point of view: thank you for your presentation of the elves' balanced viewpoint. You have done it again - challenged the foundation of Western civilization by showing us an alternative to the monogamy/jealousy lifestyle forced upon us from every direction. Yes! It is possible to relate in a loving sexual manner to more than one partner at a time. The concept that friends make the best lovers and lovers make the best friends is an excellent way to build a conscious community of truly caring people. As a basis for powerful telepathic communion. it works and you don't even have to be an elf!
Cutter's recognition of this simple truth and his acknowledgement that Leetah should not have to stop loving Rayek In order to love Cutter show he is the best man in the sense of being capable of deeper emotional insight. Perhaps he has learned from Scouter. And to those who will insist that such insight is the mark of a modern cosmopolitan attitude and thus inappropriate to a barbarian chief, I refer them to the cultures of the people of Samoa and the Inuit Eskimo tribes. Examples abound. Ancient pre-patriarchal societies also discovered that empathic loving and sexual bonding could be a group activity that nurtured and strengthened the tribal ties, making the hardships of life easier to endure.
You did such a beautiful and tasteful job of rendering those love scenes as illustrations with so many simple suggestions of curves and exquisite movements filled with passion and joy, and yet nothing was gross or overly explicit. I am reminded of a similar treatment in literary imagery on the same theme - the "Night of the Four Moons" scene at the end of The World Wreckers by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Even though her elves, the Chieri, differ considerably from yours, you both succeed in evoking the same spirit.
I suppose just to be on the prudent side you could have fronted #17 with a warning for very young children such as you used in #15. After all, you did make a point of shepherding the elf children upstairs before the dance began. But for those anxious parents who insist that their human children be given that same option, I would like to point out that it is one thing to shield your children from violence and pain, and it is quite another to shield them from gentle exposure to joyful lovemaking. There is an unnatural lack of such exposure for children in our society fostered by the "Ignorance is Bliss" school of thought. There are precious few positive sexual role models offered to children within the appropriate emotional context. They receive, no matter how protective the parent, a confusing welter of conflicting input: negative Judeo-Christian moralizing, cold clinical textbooks, Playboy's sex-for-sale and the Heavy Metal magazine slash-and-screw approach (not to mention what most kids from second grade on up learn in the school hallways anyway -- RP). I support the ELFQUEST love and learn approach to the problem of consciously raising issues for exploration by all age groups; for one thing, it feels good the way you are doing it! Besides, you have said often in past issues that EQ is not intended to be "a children's story" and though we have all experienced a loss of innocence on this quest, thanks to the depth of your vision there has been no loss of idealism.
Morning Glory Zell
Uklah, CA
***** Quite frankly, we had and have a reason for putting the warning in issue 15 and not in issue 17, which I will discuss after the next letter.
Our two children have been avid fans of your
ELFQUEST series. They have all the books as yet
printed. They have introduced many of their
friends to EQ also. We have supported them in
their interest as we felt that the books were good
material for young minds in advocating bravery,
loyalty to family, friends and principles, as well as
imagination and the finer qualities in elves and
people.
However, my children are 8 and 12 years old and I am sure many of your fans are children or young (pre-teen or young teen) adults. in view of this I am sorely disappointed in issue 17 in your lack of good taste and discretion.
I have not objected to your handling of love and sex in previous chapters as it has been fairly subtle. However, your recent inclusion of group sex and the sharing of lifemates has gone too far considering that so many of your readers are very young. I do not object to adults choosing among alternatives in how they regard their love lives, but young children are not ready and do not have the maturity to develop set attitudes as to what sex should mean to them (the number of unhappy, pregnant teenagers in our country today is sad testimony to that). To portray so explicitly such a specific and personal attitude and philosophy to them as the norm - and a glamorized norm - is doing them a severe disservice.
I know that you are trying to appeal to an adult audience. However, many of the finest fantasy books (Dune, Tolkien, McCaffrey, etc.) have not needed to deal with this issue to hold on to their adult readers. I do not think you do either. It certainly does not seem essential to either plot or character development for this series. It seems to me it just cheapens the series and you folks don't need "cheap tricks."
I feel that you have made a severe error in judgment in including this episode in the book. I would hate to take away a delightful book from my children because of a few sections that are not really essential to theme or story, but if this kind of indiscretion is continued, I am afraid I will have to do just that. I am sure other parents will feel the same.
Therefore I am asking that in future chapters you handle this aspect with the subtlety and good taste you have shown in the past and with a little more judgment concerning your young readers. We have edited the offending pages and I am returning them to you. May I suggest that you do the same in your color edition Book 4.
Connie S. Durand
Pagosa Springs, CO
***** One of the great things about getting a lot of mail on a given topic is that it allows me to reply to one writer with the letters and thoughts of others - a sort of ex post facto dialogue. You have raised a number of points in your letter that will be touched upon later in this column, but there is one that I need to respond to immediately.
Of course, the "offending pages" you returned were 12 through 15, the "orgy scene" (as it has come to be known). This raises a question that is colored with a grim irony. Does this mean that the pages of war, of bloodshed and violence, of Clearbrook in a berserker rage chopping a dead troll's face into hamburger - are inoffensive? That they are OK for 8 and 12 year olds? The thought of it - given the "Violence is acceptable but sex is not, especially on TV, the Great American Babysitter" society in which we live - is worrisome.
A number of letters came in wondering why we did not put a warning at the beginning of EQ 17 as we did in issue 15. The reason is simple. In issue 15 we established that the tone of the rest of the series was taking a darker and necessarily more violent turn, and that the departure from the tone of the earlier chapters could be upsetting to young children. A further warning in issue 17 would have been redundant; we'd already alerted parents to the possibilities of violence and war - and those are the obscene things in life, not sex. We firmly believe that it is the parents' duty to provide guidance for children - not the school's, the church's, television's, or ELFQUEST's. It is the parent who should provide an anchor for the child buffeted by the sea of ideas that surrounds him or her every day. More following the next two letters...
ELFQUEST 17 arrived today - really, between the
dances and the blood, you've got a real shocker. I
sure hope those who read EQ to children read
each issue in advance. They should, anyway, from
now on; I expect each issue will be a greater
shocker than the last, as we wind up (not "wind
down") to the grand finale.
Vesperpaw
Longview, WA
In EQ 17, pages 12-15 were quite a shock. I
guess I just wasn't prepared for what I saw. Don't
get me wrong, I'm not criticizing you two. You
guys probably get more than your share already.
I'm just commenting. I thought the scene was
done with tactfulness and grace. It was extremely
well balanced and beautifully done with extended
arms, legs and feet. To young children, it would
seem that the elves have on skin-tight clothing
that most comics are well known for.
Lisa Riley
Sunnymead, CA
***** Though we are very proud that so many parents feel that ELFQUEST is fit material to share with their children, we have often gone on record as saying that we are not doing ELFQUEST specifically for children. We support parents reading each issue, either before or with their children. A concerned parent, reading issue 17 to a child, could very easily skip or interpret the "mature" matter without spoiling the story. But in the final analysis, ELFQUEST is a personal - and adult - story, even if it reaches across age barriers.
First off, thank you for EQ 17. I realize that this
will probably be a very controversial issue, but for
me it really hit home in an unusual way. I'm former
Air Force and I also work very heavily with the
ministries at our local church. I'm a youth advisor,
and our youth group is absolutely crazy about
ELFQUEST (so am I!). We all could not wait for
#17, and when it finally came out I dashed to our
bookstore and took a whole handful for the kids.
Without even looking at them I gave them out at
choir practice to several ecstatic elf fans.
Well, I got a call that night, asking if I would please open the issue and read it. Boy, what a shock I got! To be honest, my first reaction was, "How dare they? Look what they're showing these kids!"
But my second reaction was, "Show these kids what? What life can really be like? How people, elf or human, react in love and war?" I was confused with my own feelings. Even though this book is about elves, humans can act much the same way. I remember the closest I ever came to war, when I was stationed In Korea recently. I remember Vietnam and I have friends and relations who were there, but basically I was too young to know what was going on. I remember Korea, though, under its present form of martial law. I remember not understanding the unreasonable, to me, hatred North and South Korea bear each other. I remember the rage I felt when innocent people died in flareups between sides, and how we all wanted to get even, because the South Korean people had become our friends. I remember the sadness I felt at watching two closely related nations fighting at each other's doorstep. I remember the fear we American forces had, not knowing which alerts were real and which were only exercises. The bad times were really bad, but our good times were rollicking good, the best. Whether we were there as medics, supply, maintenance, airmen, soldiers, or sailors, we shared all our moments together, especially the good, because as Kahvi said, "Life gets no sweeter than this!" Maybe we humans don't celebrate quite so freely as the elves, but we still do it with gusto.
Life is precious to us. We need to reaffirm it as often as we can, and remember what it is we really should be fighting for, instead of spilling blood over petty feuds as we are now. Whether children learn these things here in a book, on the street, or in their homes, shouldn't they learn to hold on to life with the joy and fierceness that the elves do?
For a report back, after I talked to the children and parents involved, the children all said they enjoyed EQ 17. The older children said they'd seen more flesh in other types of books, but found the story really great. The younger ones liked that Cutter wasn't eaten by the wolves. All of them were saddened by what the loss of One-Eye had done to Clearbrook. Unfortunately, none of the parents had read any ELFQUEST, but after I talked to them, some of them actually sat down and read all 17 issues. They found nothing objectionable, and I think they even liked it. Maybe they'll read the next issues too. Thank you both for this elfin experience. Your many years of hard work and love have made something beautiful for everyone to share.
Laura Jean Stone
Charlotte, NC
First there was Conan the Barbarian; now there
is Cutter the Cuckold. And, like Conan, Cutter has
a taste for whores too. I sure never would have
guessed that "WaRP Graphics" actually
described the contents of the book - warped
ideals graphically depicted. Say, when you were
first trying to sell ELFQUEST, perhaps instead of
going to Star*Reach or Marvel, you should have
tried the raunchiest underground comics; it would
have fit in, no problem. But look on the bright side.
Now your reviewers have a new adjective with
which to describe ELFQUEST: sleaze.
William Charles
no address on letter
***** Wendy replies: I remember being righteously outraged by the bedroom scenes in Christopher Plummer's version of HAMLET. What, I fumed, had SEX to do with Shakespeare? I was fifteen then. Live and learn.
Young or old, we humans are pretty confused about sex. We've devised moral codes and taboos to keep us off each other's sexual turf. Many of us, once we've laid claim to a partner, live in fear of deception and abuse of our trust. Words like "whore" and "cuckold" are charged with centuries' worth of cruelty, arrogance, jealousy and genuine pain. Did you know that most slang words having to do with women carry some of the dirtiest connotations in our language, but those having to do with men carry a kind of sly admiration? We're still a long way from sexual freedom and equality.
Despite their low birth rate, the elves' attitudes regarding reproduction is enviable. Children are rare and precious gifts, belonging to all. Child abuse is unthinkable and a sexual bond is not normally equated with ownership. The terms "whore" and "cuckold" do not exist in the elfin vocabulary. Pleasant. But elves are creatures of fantasy, while we, fortunately or unfortunately, are only human.
I'm only 8 years old, but I thought Cutter had
better morals than that. Of course, I'm assuming
that he made love to Kahvi, since that point
wasn't made too clear (but it was tastefully done).
I know three-matings aren't too uncommon, but
Leetah doesn't seem the type (and she's the one
whom I suspect would have the final say in the
matter).
Gregory Alston
no address on letter
***** Since so much concern has been expressed about EQ 17's effect on young children, it's a pleasure to receive a thoughtful and articulate letter from one. Gregory, since the elves don't think like us, their morals are different from ours. Leetah knew Rayek for hundreds of years before Cutter came along (she's only known Cutter for seven years), and actually she did have the final say, because it was her choice, as well as Cutter's, to go to Rayek.
I must admit I was shocked and still am by the
fact that Leetah was not completely faithful to
Cutter, and vice versa. I thought that lifemates
who were Recognized could not be separated in
this way. I thought the bond could withstand old
desires, but Leetah didn't even seem to desire
Rayek much. It seems she willingly breaks the
bond as a favor to Rayek more than anything else.
Rayek should not have made it so obvious that he
desired Leetah, for lifemating is a bond to be
respected. What does Cutter do about the
situation? He supports sharing his lifemate with
Rayek, which foreshadows a change in Cutter's
and Leetah's relationship. Let's face it - love is
possessive, and a change in that love could be
taking place. Would Cutter have shared Leetah
seven years ago in Sorrow's End?
The orgy I could handle, but not the unfaithfulness between Cutter and Leetah. I can't help but sense trouble because of it.
Jessica Goldstein
Lewisville, TX
***** Nor has the emotional bond between Cutter and Leetah been lessened by even a fraction by the "sharing" during the dance. We were a little surprised by the letters that mentioned "husband and/or wife-swapping," since nowhere in EQ have we come anywhere near those particularly human (and not even worldwide) terms; they, along with "marriage" and "faithfulness" carry connotations that are absolutely inapplicable to the world of the elves.
Because we are not capable of the telepathy the elves call sending, because we can never express ourselves perfectly, because we can never know if someone is telling us the truth, human societies have found it worthwhile to restrict, with various moral and legal rules, how their members act. Some of these rules are beneficial; some, simply useless; and some, hurtful. But it is because we fear the consequences of deceit and mistrust that a statement like "Love is possessive" can even exist.
Would Cutter have shared Leetah seven years ago? Of course he would have. He had - and has - no jealousy of Rayek, or of Rayek's centuries-long relation with Leetah; all he wanted to do was attend the biological need of Recognition - which has nothing to do with emotions, or with lifemating, or with love (remember Dewshine and Tyldak). Rayek was never a threat to the bond between Cutter and Leetah that eventually grew into love.
Through the long, grueling battle scenes, you
managed to convey a sense that violence is the
real obscenity. You showed the truth - the lust for
revenge, the grim effort, the real pain that was
being inflicted without exploiting the gory
details for shock value. I appreciated that the
fighting was not glorified or associated with
proving the virility of the warriors. It was shown as
a necessary evil, not fun or pretty.
I thought about how war for larger quests and purposes treats individuals heartlessly as pawns, as things to be used. I was struck by the irony in the last panel - as though the horrible death (or worse) of Vaya could be even slightly rectified by honors given later!
Cat Carney
Cottage Grove, OR
From issue #6 onward the story seems to have
become more... crowded. Not necessarily with
characters, but rather with the amount of action
and change and development. I think we have all
noticed that the tale has grown darker as well. The
most recent issue (#17) has been the darkest yet.
It was filled with savagery.
I took Richard's advice about asking myself why I was reacting this way. It became obvious that, if looked at objectively, it could be seen that the characters and overall tone of the story is simply a reflection of the ugliness and savagery that the elves are finding on their quest. The warped personalities of the Blue Mountain elves and the rough-hewn, granitized attitudes of the Go-Backs are bound to have a darkening effect after the sun-bathed, casual peace of Leetah's old tribe.
The "orgy" scenes... If anyone thought that these were joyful I think they missed the point entirely. There was as much darkness and savagery in the sexual lust of the dance as there was in the later blood lust of the battle scenes. In both cases the Wolfriders stood out in flashes of tenderness among the general confusion. Thank you for the poignancy of seeing Treestump give quiet comfort to Clearbrook amid the raging emotions of the others.
I only hope that Wendy will close this particular quest with the same feellngs of grace and diverse beauty and joy that have highlighted other parts of the story. The elves will be more mature, they will have grown and changed. Some will have changed for the better and some may have grown harder and changed for the worse. But the possibility of an ending filled with hope and peace and even greater diversity than ever... well, it's there.
Sandra D. Lopez Decoteau
San Antonio, TX
I shared Leetah's desire to heal a hurt that
drove her to Rayek, and appreciated Cutter's
nobility. It would have been sweet and beautiful if
not for the previous panels. Frankly, I was deeply
disappointed and disgusted. The scene was
neither joyous nor sympathetic. In fact the entire
episode was neatly summed up by the grotesque,
goblin-like shadows on the wall of the stairway on
page 13; stark, gross and ugly.
Darragh Metzger
Kent, WA
***** I have to say it again, and Wendy agrees - sometimes doing this book can be a stone pain, but the mail on issue 17 is making it worth while. What a privilege to share such divergent thoughts and reactions to the same scene, as typified by the above three letters. Thank you all again!
Yes, there was a dark and ugly side to the dance. It is the tension and desperation that comes of knowing why there is a celebration tonight at all; that the darkest, most vile dance of all - war - starts tomorrow. Ugliness begets ugliness.
Re: EQ 17, pp 13-15. Liked it.
Jan Strnad
somewhere in the Midwest
***** Of course, there's always something to be said for simplicity.
I have just finished reading EQ 17 for the fifth
time and it still remains as big a shock as the first
reading. What is happening to these elves I
thought I had come to know? The same elves that
had such a respect for life that even human blood
was not to be spilled without regret now kill for
the sake of killing. Clearbrook has become a
mindless killing machine. Scouter wants revenge.
Pike just wants to stop something. And for what
goal? The Palace? They don't have a clue about
what they will find! The first-comers were inoffensive
and innocent of evil intent; are those who
seek the ancient home of the High Ones? It appears
not. What will our fierce warriors find at the
end of their quest, the quest that has been of late
so costly? Whatever it is, I sense it has something
to do with what the Sun-Toucher said years ago:
"You have forgotten what it means to be elves."
Dale R. Booth
Tacoma, WA
Cutter's speech on page 11 marks a not entirely
welcome change in him. "He still acts like a
barbarian," says Rayek, "but he no longer speaks
like one." How true. He speaks like a politician.
Rather then fighting for "survival, territory,
revenge" he asks the Wolfriders to, as Treestump
puts it, "risk my neck for something I can't see or
touch!" The Wolfrlders are fighting for a "higher
ideal," and higher ideals can cause the bloodiest,
most horrible wars. After all, the ends justify the
means, don't they? To make it more tragic, both
sides have a high goal, and it's the same one! The
Palace is the "birth-home" of troll and elf,
although the Wolfriders don't yet realize it. I'm not
sure if the Go-Backs know this or not, but if they
do, they probably don't care.
Allen Wilkins
Pelham, MA
Sniffle. The old, friendly-looking WaRP
Graphics logo is gone. Gone, too, it seems, is the
feeling that while these were tough times to live
in, it could also be wonderful fun - looking through
the world with the curiosity and surprise rarely
found any place other than childhood. The place
was full of wonder, and new things to see and
experience. Never anything our elf friends
couldn't handle. Suddenly things are changing,
both within and without the story. More without, I
would say.
I can't help it. I keep coming back to that logo. It seems to polarize my feelings. It's cold, sharp and very effective. And professional looking. With the end of ELFQUEST it seems that it's a time for WaRP Graphics to get going as a viable entity of its own, knowing it will be with EQ in a very short time. Somehow, I can't see the old logo on A DISTANT SOIL, but the new one doesn't seem to fit ELFQUEST. It leaves one with a feeling akin to graduating from high school. You're leaving something very safe and familiar with everything easily predicted for something very big, with many choices - and you're scared. Nothing seems familiar any more. And as Leetah so aptly put it, "it's cold here - much colder." Your product, ELFQUEST, is as wonderful as ever; the story and characters are as solid and believable as ever, although the plot has taken some turns I wish hadn't been necessary (realistic and needed - yes, needed, but I wish...). Whet good would it have been to simply fly with Voll over the mountains to find the castle? It would have made the quest a paper tiger with no teeth. So finding the trolls makes good sense, literally speaking. It just seems so strange, seeing life so hard for them.
Donna Hutt
Ontario, CA
I suspect many of your readers are going to
mourn the disappearance of the pastoral fantasy
quality that permeated the earlier issues. I am one
who does not. When the series first began to
move beyond this pastorialism I was concerned
that you were losing control of its tone. Looking
back now I see that your design is a carefully
crafted one.
With the unfolding of the saga we have also witnessed an unfolding of the complexities and potentials of elvish nature. At last it stands revealed as possessing all of the noble and ignoble traits with which we humans are familiar.
Carey Sublette
Riverside, CA
***** True so far, but we've not yet finished - and we are still able to say that no one has guessed or deduced where and how the quest will end.
An elf orgy? Now I've seen everything! I was
shocked by this shameless display of raw, unbridled
sexuality. You have touched the farthest
edge of my moral outrage. I wish I had more time
to tell you of my indignation, but I have an appointment
with a plastic surgeon to have my ears
pointed and pinkies amputated.
By the way, the Go-Backs' camp is north, isn't it?
Marthom Brown
Cleveland, OH
***** Yup. Second mountain peak to the right and straight on till morning (but you'd better start early to avoid the rush hour...).
***** I with I had another three pages just to devote to your letters. There were so many, so thoughtful - choosing and editing were difficult tasks, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Keep it up, and I may just do that "Letters to ELFQUEST" issue that people have been asking for! Keep those pens, pencils, typewriters, word processors and clay tablets warm - we love hearing from you.