Seeing as how this issue of NEW BLOOD marks a dramatic turning point, not only in the the adventures of the elves of the World of Two Moons, but also In the title itself, it is only appropriate that we have some words from the instigator of that change. BARRY BLAIR has been telling elfin tales for as long as we (Wendy and Richard) have; who better to shepherd the Wolfriders along a new quest...
October 12, 1993. 11:46 pm.
It's late at night and it's raining out, and I'm sitting here looking at a blank piece of paper. Again.
This is probably the third or fourth try at this editorial. The first few attempts mutated into some really bizarre tellings of my life story. Not that my life hasn't been really bizarre, it's just that ELFQUEST isn't the place for the relating of such strange goings on.
So why, you ask, have I had such a hard time writing a simple editorial? The topic is what did it! Wendy and Richard thought it would be a good idea for me to write about just exactly how and when I became interested in drawing and writing about elves. I suppose the reason for their asking the question is that, at least within the ELFQUEST bullpen of creators, I'm the only one who's been drawing my own elfin stories and publishing them for years by myself. I'm talking about ELFLORD, Of course, the title I'm most recognized for. (On the other hand, perhaps Richard just wanted to take a break this month from doing an editorial and over the breakfast table one morning simply said to Wendy, "To hell with it, let's get that idiot Blair to write the damn thing, pass the jelly!") (I am maligned - I did no such thing! - RP)
Whatever the reason, it's resulted in a lot of pondering and memories, not to mention a whole lot of paper with weird notes on it. Hmm - maybe I'll publish my memoirs.
Where did I first encounter these little buggers who would eventually change the course of my life? You know, I'm always tempted to put a contemporary slant on the whole business. How's this:
It all started with I was about six years old. I remember lying in my bed late one night. For some reason I couldn't fall asleep; it was as if something was impending... At first I thought I was dreaming; I couldn't move and there was a really bright light outside. Then suddenly, I don't know how, I seemed to sense a kind of presence - an alien intelligence of some sort. I squeezed my eyes shut and cried for my parents but I knew they could not come. When I gathered up the courage to steal a glance at the far end of my room, there they were - little tiny people with big eyes and thin bodies. I heard them talking in my head: "Be not afraid, we will not harm you..."
All right, all right! I'll stop! Let's get serious! I want to get to bed some time tonight...
When did the elves come to me? It's really a simple answer: They've always been there. It's the explanation that's difficult. Maybe we're all born with a little elf in us, that tiny bit of you that believes in magic and in dreams that come true - sometimes. I know almost everybody is an artist is his or her own way; to express anything in a clear way is an art. People who build houses that last are artists. So are great chefs, teachers, producers, sports heroes, musicians... you know what I mean. It's just that writers and artists get to express what's inside them on paper for all to see - and that can be nerve- wracking, let me tell you! Whatever flows out of you as an artist, at least to me, is the sum total of your life's experiences. I think truly great artists have done a lot of living. I know that a lot of my own experience shows up blatantly in my work, whether by design or subconsciously. Usually the latter.
I'm a Canadian. I was raised in Ottawa, in the province of Ontario. At the age of nine I was adopted by a Chinese family and grew up pretty well immersed in the culture. (All those ELFLORD and SAMURAI fans are going "Ah-hah!" now.)
Canada, a part of the British Commonwealth, was a strange place at the time, both Victorian and Native American - a result, I guess, of General Wolf beating General Montcalm at the Plains of Abraham outside Montreal about a hundred and twenty years ago. I grew up along the shores of the Ottawa and Rideau Rivers, building log rafts and searching for Algonquin arrowheads. The place was steeped in mystery and legend. Tales from both Indian and European cultures abounded. A child in such an environment couldn't help but be affected, prowling the forests of Rockcliffe Park or sitting on a fallen tree in the silence of a still autumn morning, mist swirling around the fiddlehead ferns and wet red maple leaves, suddenly disturbed by the passing of a great black horse carrying its rider back to the RCMP barracks...
I always drew, and even though I didn't know what it was, I loved fantasy. Anyone who spends time in a big forest can easily imagine the little people darting from tree to tree just out of your line of vision - Manito and Wendigo, spirits of the deep forest; and the Green Man, Hern the Hunter. I used to drive my teachers wacky with drawings of elfin warriors all over my notebooks. However, I had some great teachers who just let me go with it and, slowly but surely the elves took shape: Hawk, Windblade, and all the rest - and a ton of adventures followed. Great times! ELFLORD was a very medieval story, filled with all the fantasy trappings - dragons, ogres, and so on - but very different from ELFQUEST.
With this NEW BLOOD storyline, the possibilities are endless, and the chance to explore a whole new world awaits... but that will have to be another editorial.
It's late and my eyes are fuzzy. I've still got a cover to finish before I turn in. Until next time, take care and (what is it they say?) "Shade and sweet water."
* * * * *
And now... it's letter time!
Recently got my hands on the "Satireday Evening
Post." Being a new fan I still have a lot of catching up to
do, but this is almost perfect. This reminds me of the great
work of MAD magazine. Some of the jokes were of the
inside type, but more than enough of them are from every
other place to make the entire piece enjoyable. Also, I
could swear that some of them are real vintage. Of
course, age is in the eye of one's self as I should know (as
an active member of the "Rocky Horror Show").
Oh, also got issue #8 of HIDDEN YEARS. And I'll say it right now. Rayek is one of your best. Only he would attempt the impossible. Not only to take them back to the stars, but to rescue the High Ones at the same time. For failing at this ultimate quest he is to atone for his crime. What no other would or could think of, he did. It is quoted that Cutter's advantage over the other chiefs is his imagination. Well, compared to Rayek, Cutter will always be second.
And Rayek's daughter could be the best thing that ever happened to him. And Kahvi gone forever? I think not. She is the only one who can truly tame Rayek's restless spirit.
And new for '94. Dart has sure grown up. He looks like some real warrior. But, of course, he is Strongbow's son. He would be a good one to go on a quest for the "Plainsrunners." Hint, hint.
Harold L. DeWaters
<<street address removed from archive>>
We think Rayek's kind of special ourselves, which is why he's been the featured character in most of the recent HIDDEN YEARS issues. And which is why the next Hidden Years collection will feature our favorite bad boy on the cover. Look for it in the Spring of 1994.
And speaking of Dart all grown up, we hope you've enjoyed this turning-point issue of NEW BLOOD. From here on in, it's Dart, Suntop, Mender, and all the "next generation" of elves on a brand new quest to a part of the world none of us have yet seen.
Just finished NEW BLOOD #8 and was wondering
if you count the Summer Special in the regular
numbering. Also, I realized I hadn't been writing to you
to tell you how much I am enjoying this title. The humor
pieces are great. There is no reason why folks can't
have fun with all of this, as well as the more serious
stories. Folks who are over picky about all this continuity
stuff forget that all these stories are for fun and
entertainment. Tell 'em to get a life, eh? I haven't run
across an issue I haven't at least liked some yet. By the
way, Gertler's stories are funny as hell. Give that boy
some more work to do. Thanks for the fun!
Carl Pietroantonio
<<street address removed from archive>>
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Continuity is good and bad. It's good if we want to craft an ongoing series that connects to what's already been done before, or to what we want to do in the future. We've got some of that in the recipe. It's bad if it keeps writers and artists from stretching their weirdness muscles and looking at things from strange angles and making people ask themselves "what if?" We want some of that, too. We're greedy.
We're in touch with Nat about some story ideas. As soon as we can logically find a way to work those Barbie-head Whistle Torches in to a story, we'll be on track. (Hmmm. Maybe they're actually long-lost artifacts of the High Ones from the Palace, and...)
Hello. The only way to learn to write and draw
good stories is practice, practice, practice. And a little
magic doesn't hurt. Minta Manning wrote a letter in
issue #8 of NEW BLOOD; to her I would simply like to say,
"What makes Wendy Pini so great is what makes
everyone else pale in comparison." Maybe Wendy
could hold classes on "How to Draw the Wendy Pini
Way," but I don't know how many people would actually
be paying attention or skipping class ("it's too hard, I'll
never make it, boo-hoo, sob sob").
I am not a collector of comics, but I do love certain stories, villains and artists. Like SANDMAN, with its inconsistent artists (somehow, this makes it seem as if different people in the stories think about or view the character in relation to one another, as if they're trying to make him conform to their own standards).
Or like the inconsistencies of writers, such as those who work on the X-MEN. Hey, everybody needs a break when they're doing the same comic month after month, and they also have other projects on the side. And then there's the ADVENTURES OF RALPH SNART, with its inconsistent storyline - I don't have an explanation for that one.
So just what is it that I'm trying to say? We'll, you've got to keep ELFQUEST - NEW BLOOD in order to see how other people interpret your stories, and how they try to show other people what they themselves have gotten out of the original ELFQUEST. And besides, if some of the bits from NEW BLOOD do have enough connection, they can enter into the "official" ELFQUEST.
Hmmm. A survey? Sorry, I don't manipulate people. Be yourselves and write from the heart. Listen to your two songs. I don't deserve to change its tune.
Now, about Peyo's Smurfs. I always thought the American TV show was the original. I loved the music for the show, but only having four female characters... I had to wonder about what the creator was thinking. How can I find out more about Peyo's original creation in Belgian comic format? Can it be found in English?
Melvin Pylypchuk
<<street address removed from archive>>
That's an interesting spin on a title like SANDMAN, the idea that the different artistic interpretations are actually different perceptions by the characters within the stories themselves. It's a good twist; we'll use it!
You misinterpreted the reader survey. We're not looking for input into ELFQUEST - We never have. We are however seeking information that will help us get ELFQUEST into more bookstores and comics shops making it more accessible to you. The more readers who fill out those forms (see the last couple of issues in all of our EQ titles) and send them in to the address at the top of the survey (not to us here!), the better we'll be able to provide what you all tell us you want!
About the Smurfs... I confess, I'm not any kind of Smurfologist, but there must be someone out there who can help. If anyone can help Melvin with his own info-quest, write directly to him.
I just got done with "King of the Hill," and loved
it! Bring on more bedtime stories! If I were Suntop or
Ember, I'd be making a habit of insomnia just so I could
hear tales like this. I can well imagine the bedtime
chore being passed to other Wolfriders, Skywise in
particular. This is a good chance for a dose of silliness,
and considering everything that has happened to the
elves, that's not a bad thing. I hope to see a couple of
morals in the tales that the two cubs hear, and possibly
stories that are already familiar to us (from the first
quest, for example), but seen through the eyes of
someone else who was there. Imagine Rayek's version
of his defeat by Cutter for Leetah's hand, or Scouter
telling his first impressions of Tyldak. Keep up the
good work!
Michael Brady
<<street address removed from archive>>
If you like the "bedtime stories," you'll love the collection when it comes out next year, because it will contain, in addition to all those we've already published in NEW BLOOD, a brand-new story by Wendi Lee, Terry Beatty and Gary Kato that has a completely different twist to it! And if the book does as well as we hope it does (particularly in book stores), perhaps there'll be more. See you all in 30! - RP