ERRATA
Sometimes, when you run very hard to stay in place, mistakes happen. HIDDEN YEARS has had some lately.
It would seem than Petalwing the preserver has generated a clone, since the original is over in SHARDS.
Also, Ember and Leetah's coloration appears lately to have taken a turn to the light side.
There is, we believe, an explanation. It involves great logistical distance between artist and publisher, language barriers, and oft-missed and pushed-back deadlines.
Explanations, however, are not really justifications, and we apologize for these inconsistencies. We've taken steps to ensure they don't happen again. Because "good enough," isn't.
The Editor/Publisher's Lot, part one - RP
I was reading HIDDEN YEARS #17 over the
weekend and I found some problems, mostly with the
preservers in the story. There are two preservers but
there's no continuity between them. Also, it's clear in
Shards that Petalwing stayed with that half of the tribe
while Berrybuzz (and some other preserver who is a
dead ringer for Petalwing, by the way) went with
Ember's half. I have no idea who is proofing the books
any more or if they get passed around to everyone like
we did when there were fewer titles, but... The problems
I found might have been relatively minor to many but
to the fans who have been in this from Day One or
thereabouts, they are going to rankle. It's the little
things that kill you...
I ought to write a "Nitpicker's Guide to the World of Two Moons" or something. Whatdya think? Hey, they have one for the Star Trek Universe, Two, actually - one for the original series and one for the Next Generation.
Catherine Kouns Born
<<street address removed from archive>>
If anyone could put together said "Nitpicker's Guide," it would be Cat who, for a while, was Warp's own marketing maven. I sincerely hope that, should such a volume come to pass, it is done for amusement's sake, rather than necessity's! For, despite Warp's Two Rules of Storytelling (Rule One: There are no inconsistencies. Rule Two: If an inconsistency is found, refer to Rule One.), there's a wide gulf between an event that is misremembered by a character, and an outright goof.
And then, there's the Editor/Publisher's Lot part two... - RP
From: Obita
Subj: Elf-Addressed. HIDDEN YEARS #16
(via America Online)
Just picked up my first ELFQUEST (HY #16) since HY #11. So I might have missed something, such as a necessary change... however, I was greatly disappointed at the lack of brown in Ember and Leetah on the interior, unlike on the cover. Maybe I'm just overly sensitive, being brown-skinned myself, but I felt very left out of the EQ universe all of a sudden.
(I replied via email, and detailed some of the problems we'd had with that issue, and that the "color change" was neither intentional nor perma- nent. - RP)
Glad to hear that ! I'll try not to be so sensitive. But, sadly I live in a world that constantly tries to make me feel "less-than." Take the incident in Union, South Carolina, for example. Who gets the blame, and how easily the nation believed it to be true.
T. Jackson
For those who have not been following the news (one of the more effective stress-inducing techniques), this is a reference to the senseless and tragic murder of two young children allegedly by their mother who, for over a week, maintained that they had been carjacked by a black man. And many people were reported to have believed her, on the strength of that accusation alone. - RP
While I was reading HIDDEN YEARS #17 it
occurred to me that we longtime EQ readers have
actually watched Ember grow up. A delayed reaction,
I know, but it still felt... nice. Her maturity's happened
almost in real time and was less fractured than any
other character, such as Dart, Tyleet or even Suntop
(and just think, I always saw him as the golden boy...).
When the split was first announced my reaction was,
"This is going to be bad, and boring." Now I'm happily
surprised. Ember shines as chief and HY hasn't become
the dull coming-of-age story I dreaded. I certainly
didn't expect Moonshade to become a parallel
to Strongbow, either. Not that I've enjoyed everything
that's happened so far, but I recognize the good stuff
when I see it.
Dina Grozen
<<street address removed from archive>>
And we're pulling together a whole bunch of story threads for Ember and crew that we sincerely hope you recognize as good stuff! - RP
Sb: HY #17/Roko
Fm: Angel Robinson [72102,2165]
(via Compuserve)
Applause applause applause for ROKO! Tell me about this person? Please??
Wonderful stuff! There are a few scenes in there that are very nearly perfect. And two frames I consider indistinguishable from Wendy. What does O.F. stand for? Male or female?? human???
Anyway, as you may have guessed, I really enjoyed this issue. I thought HY #16 was artistically questionable, but if Roko can keep this up, I will end up looking for posters and things like that. I only had a couple of negative comments - Redlance is looking hard, which he is not, really. Soften his face a little. And in distant shots of the face, they are sometimes elongated, which causes them to look a little odd. However these are minor glitches... the big one is this? Is it just me, or has Leetah turned pale and dyed her hair? I seem to remember her as a very dark-skinned deep-redhead... now, her coloring is almost indistinguishable from Moonshade... (and in the novel, so long ago) much is made in one sentence of how different in color they are. So, what is up here? Can we color Leetah's hair red again at least? After all, if the skin color was just a deep deep tan, it could have faded by now, but the hair wouldn't have turned brown... Next, she will have violet eyes...
Dewshine looks a little odd in pink and green... but that we will get used to! I do miss that fringe though! Loved it... The elves don't change their colors much, will anyone else change?
And, what compilation volumes are due out? I have up through BEDTIME STORIES. By the way, in the BEDTIME STORIES, love that transition from Lion to Griffin... beautiful! I will have to make an embroidery out of that...
Shade and Sweet Water, Starhawk
Yes! Yes! Yes! HIDDEN YEARS #17 is getting it.
This is very close to the original Elfquest. OK, so there
are a few (minor!) grumblings, like:
- Did Leetah dye her hair? She used to be chestnut!
- Two monsters in two issues. Boy, Winnowill must have worked overtime! (Sorry, the critter in #16 was/is natural to that world. There's some ugly beasties on the World of Two Moons without any assistance from Winnowill! Remember the big whatever-it-was that Skywise saw when he was out getting the whistling leaves for Cutter? - RP)
- Tyleet jumping onto Patience on page 19 would have flattened her wolf friend. A wolf is definitely not a horse... or a no-hump.
But this grumbling fades beside the general good. Colors are clear, areas "sculpted" and a happy medium between the elegance of Wendy's art and the humorous traits of New Blood has been found. And clothes! Finally I see what I've been yammering at you about - clothes that fit. I agree completely with Jeremy Parlier in Elf-Addressed #17. Feels good to have someone share your views.
The interaction of the new tribes comes natural, even down to minor bickering, jokes and Moonshade's' feeling of out-of-sorts. So keep on doing what feels natural.
PS. Have you noticed that Ember's tribe-to-be includes most of the mothers of the New Blood: Dewshine, Leetah and Moonshade. Any reactions?
Katarina Ljung
<<street address removed from archive>>
Re: HIDDEN YEARS #17...
AHA! This is what I've been missing! I hadn't been able to put my finger on it, but now I've figured it out. All the new folks who've been working on Elfquest have been doing a decent job, but I've been missing something which had first attracted me to it back in the 1970s - sweetness.
HIDDEN YEARS #17 was exciting, cleverly written, the characterizations were on target, the story made me curious and interested, but O.F. Roko's art absolutely made the book for me! Wendy's artwork, in the beginning, especially, had a sweetness about it. Not saccharin, but a gentleness which was, and has continued to be, very emotionally satisfying. Roko has this same quality. And I'm so jealous! The use of color in this issue is the best I've seen in your new books. I wish that I was as talented. Who is O.F. Roko? Should I have heard of this person?
Monte Wilson
<<street address removed from archive>>
I'm not aware of other comics work that Mr. (yes, it is a he) Roko has done, although he has done illustration and animation work in his native Brazil. For the foreseeable future, though, welcome Steve Blevins to the HIDDEN YEARS art team! Let us know what you think, keep those cards, letters and agitated leptons coming in, and see you in 30! - RP