From: SkyFall@eworld.com
OK Richard, you just caught my attention. Again... (Hey, I'm only the publisher and editor-in-chief here... don't forget Joellyn and Steve! - RP)
I just got HIDDEN YEARS #22 and I'd have to say I was pleased and shocked after reading it. I had just been casually following HIDDEN YEARS since the split, but this issue caught me off guard.
It started out all right. It's been a while since I've seen Skywise jump around like that. And the page with Ember thinking, "...all the chiefs... all the weapons...", I like the way Steve drew Cutter, Bearclaw and Mantricker. (Steve, you're doing a great job drawing the series! Please keep it up.)
Then we come to the part that really drove me nuts... Pardon me as I quote: "I don't think so, Stargazer..." "What? Why not?" "You're not what you were. Better for one to go... who still has the wolfblood."
Ouch. That HAD to hurt... I can just hear Leetah's final words echoing in Skywise's ears.
I don't know, is it just me or does it seem like the others are slowly distancing themselves from Skywise? Treating him like some throwback cub?
And then we have the issue's entrance of Teir. (You knew I'd get to him sooner or later, didn't you? He seems to be the talk of the town... er, rock.)
I rather enjoyed the "mock" swordfight Skywise had with Teir.
As for where he comes from, I don't know. I'm tentatively going to join the "He's got to be a product of the Go Backs' Troll War celebration" group. The close up of Teir's eyes, the match of the color to Skywise's... What better way for Skywise to feel uncomfortable about him then to have him be a relative? (I won't say SON yet... I'm still looking for some evidence.)
Just something interesting to think about.
Then, when Skywise starts to question Teir, we have the small altercation between Scrabble and Stubtail, just in time to divert everyone's attention so Teir can get away. Even more interesting. If Leetah says that he doesn't have magic, then there has to be some other force causing the animals to act so strangely. Another elf? Or is Teir such a powerful magic user that Leetah can't tell?
And it seems our mystery elf has taken a great liking to our favorite Chieftess... For example, the page where Teir brings the shagback to the tribe and offers to show how to hunt them. First, the line where he's talking to Ember and the emphasis is on the word you'd". Second, the fact that he personally helped Ember with the bittergrass. There are several other places I could point out, but I think you have the idea... And this is the only good thing I can see (so far) that comes from Teir showing up. What seemed for a while like a pairing between Ember and Skywise has now ended.
I hope. I'm not sure I could handle Ember joining with Skywise.
Hmmm... It seems that this issue has put the EQ portion of my brain on overload. There are too many possibilities. It'll be fun to see where it ends up!
All right, "To Be Continued..." Issue's done, so I turn the page a couple times. I see the cover preview for the next issue. The title has me worried a bit... "Alpha and Omega," the beginning and the end. Beginning and End of what? AARGH! Another mystery! And who is that on the cover? From the hair, it looks like Skywise. And that fire. And what's that on the ground?
A shadow shaped like a wolf? Hmmmmm... This is getting good.
PS. I really liked and appreciated the Map of Abode. I like being able to see *where* things are happening in relationship to the others.
Timothy
From: moonweaver@cybercircl.com
Oh, please... I've been collecting ELFQUEST since day one and I'd FORGET that we got in touch? I sent a couple of posts to shards.com - is that also offline or did I get through? (The online addresses for the various Elfquest magazines were offline for a couple of months in July and August, but we're back on the cybertrack now - RP) Just some general comments on the issues, with Joseph Campbell references on Two-Edge/Venka and the search for the beloved. Yes, there's been a 2-month gap, but it's been hectic around here so no problem. It will be getting even more so, as I just found out yesterday that I'm expecting! Another generation on the EQ road.
Just got the latest HIDDEN YEARS - #23 - I think Ember's ego needs a good reality alert. Though she is facing some similar situations as her father had to, she is not under the same life-or-death-of-the-tribe pressure. Though Teir seems like an interesting fellow, I don't believe that this union is Recognition material for her, though his courtship is a nice experience. I don't know whether her wolf instincts and his shamanic approach would blend very well. But then, it could make an interesting spur to a vision quest... has Ember sought and found her soul name yet? I know it hasn't been in any issues, but perhaps they just go through this at a certain age, or does an experience trigger the need (as it often does with we human folk - an emotional shock or situation gives us the will to uncover our higher self). Did you get the idea of the soul name quest from the shamanic vision quest as rite of passage?
I was saddened by the death of Skot, but pleased that he went out like a warrior. It seems that Ember was very sensitive to Pike's reaction, and that Skot should be honored as a Wolfrider, but her focus was very easily broken when the situation was closer to home (breaking off her talk with Leetah and Skywise). Perhaps this is her Achilles' heel - the instinct of "here and now" rather than preoccupation with faraway situations and people. Or perhaps Cutter's overprotectiveness was the real detriment.
Anyhow... to our original subject... do you feel that Campbell was an influence on your structure of the EQ world, or are the archetypes more from your own and Wendy's personal views? Inquiring minds want to know...
Beth
I'd have to say that it's a case of parallel development/discovery. Having come relatively late to the writings of Joseph Campbell (and a bit earlier to those of Carl Jung - you know, the originator of the phrase "the Jung and the restless..."), it's easy in retrospect to say that Cutter has been our take on "The Hero With A Thousand Faces." But the little guy was simmering in Wendy's imagination long before we discovered Campbell's codification of the Hero's Journey. Sort of gives a touch more credence to the idea of a collective subconscious, wouldn't you say? (And by the way, I recommend a wonderful book - "The Writer's Journey" by Christopher Vogler - to anyone interested in structuring stories in the same vein that we've done with ELFQUEST. The Joseph Campbell connection is unmistakable.) Keep those cards and archetypes coming, and see you in 45! - RP