Due to the irregularity of this letter column (maybe we should force-feed it a high-fiber diet), it's been a few months since we last met here. And since we've received a fair dinkum pile of letters in that time, I thought it might be informative if I answered one question that very many of you have asked.
(Q) What are the names of the
Wolfriders' wolves?
(A) Here's the list we have:
Bearclaw -- Blackfell
Cutter -- Nightrunner, then
Warfrost (but you don't know
that yet)
Skywise -- Starjumper
Ember -- Choplicker
Strongbow -- Brierstring
Moonshadow -- Shyhider,
then Holtfinder
Treestump -- Lionskin
Dewshine -- Trollhammer
Scouter -- Bristlebrush
One-Eye -- Smoketreader
Clearbrook -- Whitebrow
Redlance -- Firecoat
Nightfall -- Woodshaver
Rainsong -- Silvergrace
Pike -- Hotburr
That's what we have so far; anyone else hasn't yet told us the name of his/her wolf. Now a lot of you have also asked for a list of all the Wolfriders' soul names. You'll just have to wait on this one-- some names you know, some you'll find out by the end of the series, and some even we don't know!
And now to your letters...
Fantastic! This comic is spectacular!
It's hopelessely, insanely,
ridiculously brilliant! It is
purely an utter work of genius!
The world doubtlessly revolves
around this magazine! It's definitely
the best thing that ever
hapened to planet Earth! How
did you masters of comic-making
ever manage to create anything
so amazingly perfect! How
about I say something a little
meaningful? P.S. It's a good
comic!
Henrik Hagtvedt
Sandefjord, NORWAY
This sort of thing could come to replace the morning cup of coffee as a way to jump-start the brain --RP
(1) What did the warriors from
the frozen mountains do with
Greymung?
(2) How did Skywise get interested
in the stars and how did
he and Cutter get to be friends?
(3) Could you show Cutter getting
into more sword fights?
(4) Is Cutter ever going after
the treasure that Picknose
wanted?
Todd A. Morris
St. Catherines, Ontario
(1) They were very polite. They
had him over for dinner.
(2) Good idea for a future
story there, methinks.
(3) Oboy, just you wait.
(4) I think he just found it. --RP
I was reading my old issues
and at Issue #6 a question popped
into mind. In Blood of Ten
Chiefs, the stories are mainly
flashbacks told by Longreach
the storyteller, right? Is he the
same as Longbranch in Elfquest
#6, or is one of them a misnomer?
That was the major question,
here's the minor one: What
was One-Eye's name before he
had the run-in with the humans
and lost his eye?
Ryan Smith
Iupelo, OK
Yes, Longreach and Longbranch are one and the same character; we may discover why he changed his name at some future time. About One-Eye's name... Do you have any idea how hard it is not to answer, "Why, TWO-Eye, of course." --RP
(1) Since Ember will be the
next leader of the Wolfriders,
does she have a soul name?
(2) In Issue #5, page 20, panel
7, what happened to Huntress
Skyfire's left ear?
Carrie Cooper
Lincoln, NB
(1) Ember certainly does have
a soul name, as do all the Wolfrider's
chief's children or not.
(2) It probably got nicked on a
hunt at one time or another. If
she ever went south of the border
and got any more, those
would be bonus notches. --RP
Just asking. In Issue #20
Aroree says that the Gliders do
things the Wolfriders can
scarcely imagine. What does she
mean by that? All they seem
to do is sit and watch Egg or call
their birds and fly around. Do
the Gliders think of themselves
as kings and queens? Nothing
against them but it seems to me
they are stuck-up-- mostly Winnowill.
I am eager to see the
coming issues but I think the so-called
"High Ones" think too
much of themselves.
Chad Brockelman
Wichita, KS
Perhaps, but try to imagine the games that these incredibly old, incredibly bored beings might make up in their own minds while seeming to sit, for years at a time, watching the Great Egg. Some of them, anyway, might not even think of themselves at all any more --RP
(1) What does "Shade and
Sweet Water" mean?
(2) Why is Two-Edge's voice
ringing through Blue Mountain?
(3) Did Pike ever have a lifemate
or lovemate?
(4) When will we see Rayek
again?
Chad Sidor
Edmonton, Alberta
(1) What does... ?! Ahem,
well. It's an expression used by
the desert-dwelling Sun Folk.
Cool shade and good-tasting
water are two very important
things to them, so it's friendly to
wish those two things to another
elf. Better than "Have a nice
day" at any rate.
(2) Because it would sound
awful thudding through Blue
Mountain.
(3) Vaya was about as close as
he's gotten to either, so far.
(4) You mean you missed
him? --RP
A thought suddenly occurred
to me while re-reading Elfquest
back issues-- it only took three
years for it to occur to me. When
Winnowill jumped off the stairs,
why didn't Leetah just run downstairs
and heal her in body and
mind before she could crawl
away? Surely it wouldn't have
taken Leetah all this time to
think of that. I trust there is a
perfectly simple explanation.
Lee Mendham
Chatham, ENGLAND
Well, after Winnowill jumped, Skywise looked at Treestump, Clearbrook looked at Redlance, Nightfall looked at Scouter, Pike looked at One-Eye, Strongbow looked at Dewshine, they all looked at Cutter, Cutter and Leetah looked at each other, and said, "Naaah." --RP
(1) is Dewshine really Cutter's
cousin?
(2) What is it about Preservers
that Winnowill fears?
(3) Why did Winnowill change
Tyldak?
(4) Is Winnowill really a High
One?
(5) If so, why did she threaten
Cutter's children?
Angela Healy
Uniondale, NY
(1) Would we lie to you?
(2) You know the answer now
--they could awaken a dream in
Lord Voll, which sadly has
brought tragedy.
(3) Because he asked for it.
(4) She certainly thinks so!
(5) Because she was desperate,
and desperate people do
unwise things. --RP
My friends feel that Elfquest is
boring, childish, and that you're
beating a dead horse with it.
They go for more ruthless stuff
in which everybody gets blasted
with lasers or get their heads
chopped off or something totally
grotesque. Not that I don't
like grotesque things, but I like
Elfquest exactly as it is. It is totally
symbolic, and has a web-like
plot and surprises in each issue.
One question: How did Wendy and you get such an exciting storyline and plot?
Brady Ryall
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Well, we sent off to this post office box in Schenectady, see, and... Actually you said it yourself-- it's symbolic. To one degree or another everything that happens in Elfquest has happened to one or both of us at one time or another. Now, all you amateur psychologists out there, have a field day! --RP
(1) Is there a male-female distinction
among the Preservers?
There seems to be only one sex,
whichever that is.
(2) How exactly do Door
Brace, and Egg survive? If they
are alive, they must eat, right?
Will they grow old and die?
(3) Winnowill-- tsk, tsk. How
can someone so pretty be so
evil?
(4) What is a Preserver's job?
Alfonso J. Villasana
San Jose, CA
(1) Nope. "Its" are all they are.
(2) Winnowill takes care of
them-- somehow, if nothing disturbs
them, they'll stay that way
forever.
(3) Believe it.
(4) I could say "to make jellies
and jams," but you'll find out the
real reason at quest's end. --RP
At first I thought that elves had
been on the planet with two
moons about 300 years. But then
I remembered that Leetah was
600 years old, Savah was much
older, and Savah wasn't even the
firstborn of the High Ones! How
long have elves been on the
World of Two Moons?
Nicole Robinson
Honolulu, HI
They've been stranded about ten thousand years, all told. From Timmorn to Cutter, there've been eleven chiefs, and we know that at least some of those chiefs lived a good while. Bearclaw, for instance, made it to age 1200 or so. --RP
Is my Elfquest #2 worth more
money because of the mixup in
pages?
Mike Alspaugh
Schofield, WI
How did that one get in here? No, sorry, every copy of #2 has the same snafu. Now, if you had a copy with the pages in the correct order... (I can hear the X-Acto knives and Magic tape humming now.) --RP
Back in Issue #13 Skywise's
mother was taken from him
when he was an infant. The Wolfriders
looked for her but could
not find a trace of her. Could it
be that she is still alive somewhere?
And if so, could Skywise
start his own quest to find his
long lost mother?
Linda Brinson
Summerville, SC