Well.
It was an experiment worth trying, at any rate. However, no one goes into a business to lose money, and so this will be the last ELFQUEST reprint issue. Apparently the terribly convulsive market conditions that have been making comics news all summer have reached all the way to Poughkeepsie. Either that, or else most new readers prefer to start right off with the COMPLETE ELFQUEST GRAPHIC NOVEL set. We hate leaving this off in the middle of the story, but the rest of the adventure is there for you, after all, in the color graphic novels.
And that's all the glum news that I'll allow in this final (for now) editorial. Because there are two items of what I think is very good news to pass along. The first concerns those very half-dozen ELFQUEST color books I just mentioned. For the last few months, the Father Tree Press editions of the COMPLETE ELFQUEST have been available in better bookstores everywhere, and particularly in Waldenbooks and B. Dalton outlets. Now, even better, Waldenbooks stores have installed a special spinner rack just for graphic albums -- like the six ELFQUEST volumes -- that you'll find right near the magazine section. No more trying to figure out just where they've hidden the elves! So let everyone know where to go for the full-color adventures of Cutter and crew -- and if your local Waldenbooks branch doesn't yet have ELFQUEST on display, ask when they will.
The second bit of news is one that's got us very excited here at Father Tree. Very simply, we've begun work on the next EQ series (working title: "ELFQUEST III" -- guaranteed not to give anything away!). And the story looks to be a ring-tailed, 24-carat doozy. We're looking at a series of ten to fifteen issues, and we hope to release the first one sometime next spring.
Now, since you asked (I can hear you, you know...), I'll just say the following things about the story: First, there are clues scattered throughout SIEGE AT BLUE MOUNTAIN. For example, you know that Kahvi has kept the fact of Rayek's daughter's birth from him -- so far. You also know that Rayek has really been "energized" by all the spirits of the Gliders from Blue Mountain. What do you think he'll do if he discovers Kahvi's deception, hmmm? And of course there's Winnowill, all alone on her desert island. Helpless? Hah! And then there's that mysterious, compelling cry for help that only Suntop can hear, coming from...nowhere at all. And what do the trolls want with a rock-shaper, anyway? And... and... Trust me, from the conversations that Wendy and I have already had about this new story, it's going to give new meaning to the word "Quest"! So be on the lookout for announcements in comics trade journals like THE COMICS BUYERS GUIDE and at your local comics shop -- in 1990, the ELFQUEST begins anew!
--Richard Pini