Of all the characters that populate the universe of Elfquest, the Rebels are the oldest - at least, the oldest to survive in very much the same form as they were conceived. As you will see in these pages, the quintet of space-faring adventurers look much the same as they did in the mid- to late- 1960s, when Wendy first drew them for the fanzines of that time.
Of course, back then, the kids were Earthlings like the rest of us, and the underpinnings of the stories were a little looser than we'd be comfortable with these days. But the spirit was the same. Five sets of hands, heads and hearts were thrust out into the great unknown to find what they were looking for. To come to terms with what they were rebelling against. That hasn't changed.
Once Kings of the Broken Wheel was up and running as a series, back in 1990, we realized that with the Palace of the High Ones, not only was space opened to us, but also all of time. If the tales of Cutter and his Wolfriders were happening in the "present," and the Ten Chiefs occupied the "past," then what of the future? Once a question like that gets asked, there's no stopping the flow of ideas.
Jink came along first as a story concept, but the Rebels were only about three minutes behind. They already existed! Why not just move their stage of operations from Earth to Abode? They'd still be rebels; they'd still love a mystery. And did we have a mystery to give them!
What did happen to the elves, anyway? - RP
[ NOTE: The remainder of this letters column consists of examples of early Wendy
art depicting the 'old' Rebels. Despite being drawn about 10 years before EQ,
and not designed to be part of that world, the characters-- including "Rosie"--
look remarkably like their modern counterparts. --MK ]