Ever since we began ELFQUEST back in 1977, we've affectionately termed the last few days of production on any given issue "crunch mode." It's the final, all-night phase in which we do our best to catch all the editorial or artistic glitches, to check and double check. And then we sit down and read the story -- as if for the first time.
All my life I've been nuts about roller coasters. The bigger, faster, more convoluted the design, the better. Completing the eight chapters of SIEGE AT BLUE MOUNTAIN turned out to be a wild two-year ride I didn't expect -- many steep hills and deep plunges. Actually, Blue Mountain itself would make a terrific theme park ride, like the Matterhorn at Disneyland; if ever we open up "Warpworld" it'll be the main attraction, complete with posted health advisories! Until then, though, we hope that SIEGE #8 will tide over the thrill-seekers among you. This one moves really fast, with lots of twists and turns. I had a ball drawing it and Joe clearly put extra enthusiasm into his inks. One suggestion: for full impact you'll want to read all eight chapters in order. We tried it and were surprised; we got so caught up in the story we forgot how we ended it! Enjoy!
Richard has generously vacated his editorial seat (but just for this one issue, mind you!) so that I can thank the talented (and sometimes extraordinarily patient) friends who helped bring SIEGE across the finish line. Deep thanks to Janice Chiang, who not only managed to recognize our characters even when the faces weren't drawn in, but also created definitive Preserver lettering. Thanks also to Mike Catron and Hilary Hughes and Apple Comics for getting the books out no matter what. To Joe Staton, who exceeded my expectations and inked all those @#*! little elves with great style and affection, I say let this not be the last time we team up, partner.
But above all, to Richard who is (and I guess always will be) EIfquest's biggest fan, thank you, Babe. 1988 was not just EQ's 10th anniversary. It was the year you brought our elfin kids home where they belong -- home to stay. And since "home" means Father Tree Press, I'd also like to thank Janet Scagnelli and her incredible team at Chelsea Animation for the wonderful coloring job they've done on all six Tenth Anniversary volumes. Just wait until you see SIEGE AT BLUE MOUNTAIN in full, glorious color -- it looks just like a movie on paper!
No, we didn't forget you out there. Thank you for enjoying ELFQUEST and for sending so much positive energy through the years. Now that SIEGE is done, you'd think we'd be ready for jams and umbrella drinks down in some sunny St. Warm. But just to show what sickies we are, we're already getting excited about the next ELFQUEST story -- there are clues scattered all through SIEGE. So, until we gather for the Howl again, know that the elves are alive and well and thriving in Poughkeepsie.
With love and warm
wishes for a superb 1989,
Wendy
Well, not entirely vacated. Wendy has pretty much said it all -- I'll just add my own thanks to her for the double-yeoman work, late hours, putting up with pressure and crazymaking, and still managing to be a real pro. Oh, and also for the Babs's cookies, may there be more of them now.
I don't know why the final refrain from the rock opera Tommy comes to mind right now, but it seems like the way to close:
"See me, feel me...
Touch me, heal me..."
Take care of each other, all.
Richard
"Father..?"
"You... look like a thistle!"
Then his great bow falls to the ground as the
archer embraces his only son...
I've read it 29 times and it still brings tears to my eyes. There are few words -- just love and beauty and a kind of fierce passion in the reunion of this forest-born Wolfrider and his long-absent desert-bred son. All I can do is sit back and sniff happily. All family reunions should be so beautiful.
Cindy Rosenthal
Ann Arbor, MI
In SIEGE AT BLUE MOUNTAIN #7 I noticed Winnowill's
reference to the stars. Odd, that in the same issue, the
lone Wolfrider who gets trapped is the one who loves the
stars -- Skywise. Timmain knows it's not coincidence!
You've really got me worried. I just adore Skywise and if one more rock wave comes his way, he's finished -- if he doesn't run out of air first.
On a more hopeful note, I think Kureel is about to redeem himself. Once he finds out what "Winnie" has planned, he'll rebel at the limitations she's going to impose. And poor Rayek, suckered into helping her. No wonder Clearbrook felt sick. I would too.
Not only am I worried, I'm also running scared. The cover of #8 is frightening. Dart! Geoki! Yet they clasp hands -- good omen, that. "The Conclusion" -- such a final impression. I sincerely hope that Winnowill will take her "perfect" Gliders off to the stars and leave alive whoever wants to stay. She only wants to kill the ones she can't control, but I think she's overlooking something. She acknowledges that the Wolfriders's souls can go where they will after death, so doesn't she know they'll go along to thwart her? Out of spite, if nothing else?
Barbara Van Look
Newton, WI
I was just reflecting on the SIEGE story-line and
decided to go back and read from the beginning of the
series to date. Just think, this whole adventure started
with Kahvi shouting at Rayek and throwing a haunch of
meat at the door to the Scroll of Colors. Bizarre!
I am assuming that #8 will tie up all the dangling ends: Kahvi and her child, Two-Edge's problems and his relationship with his mother, what's happening with Timmain and the Palace, etc.
Y'know, I never thought I'd say this, but I like Cutter and Clearbrook with shorter hair. Clearbrook is my favorite character and I'm glad that she seems to have a larger role in this series than in the original.
M. Lee/Jadestone
Toronto, Ontario
There is a natural law in the comics that pertains to your second paragraph. It's called Conservation of Loose Ends. It states that for every loose end that gets resolved, another is introduced. You wouldn't want us to break the law, now, would you?
My favorite scene had to be the reunion between
Dart and his parents. Second place went to the scene
between Dart and Geoki. I'm not sure what was more
terrifying, the full revelation of Winnowill's plans, or
Skywise trapped in the rock chamber, his hand frozen
inside. As a mild claustrophobe myself, and as one who
doesn't much care for being restrained, this particular
sequence has struck some of my deeper fears. Let me
say this calmly, though: GET HIM OUT OF THERE!!!
I was actually starting to like Rayek, starting to think he'd grown up a bit. Now, I'm not so sure. Winnowill certainly pegged his darker ambitions well enough, but I wonder how much of him she truly sees, given her own perspectives, which have to have had some effect on her outlook toward others. Will Rayek break free? Has his dream been shown to be a nightmare? Next issue.
Also, thank you for the extensive involvement of Suntop, who has always been one of my favorite elves. I like kids, OK? And to anyone who believes the Quest is over next issue, I have some oceanfront property for sale in Missouri.
Thomas Wheeler
Tucson, AZ
Once again, we are rapidly moving toward the end
of a quest. We have again been treated to a mature and
exciting story filled with laughter, tears, and some of the
best artwork in the graphic literature field. And once
again, our favorite clan of elves faces imminent destruction,
but this time at the hands of one of their own.
Cutter had said long ago that elf must not kill elf. I think that he is going to have to put this idea aside if he is going to save his race. Winnowill proved a very long time ago that she is one mean cookie. Her goal to save her kind from a slow death that the World of Two Moons will inevitably bring them was a noble one on the surface. It is when we dig deeper that we see the truth of the matter.
She never hid her contempt for the Wolfriders. But all-out genocide has never come into the picture before. Even her followers would suffer a horrible fate. Life without living, experiencing only through dreams? To a Wolfrider, death is preferable to that empty experience.
Once again, we are faced with the choice between true life and all the risk and uncertainty it can bring, and Winnowill's concept, stable but stagnant. Like many of our home-grown Nazis and others with that same idea, she could stand a good lesson in biology and evolution.
Now (just to get away from this serious line of discussion) I have a nit to pick. In the beginning of #7, Winnowill takes off Rayek's headband before they begin their... negotiations. Then we see him floating above Egg, headband in place. We've already heard about the mysterious elf, Hatrack. Is there now one called Headband lurking in the shadows? Blue Mountain is starting to get crowded!
I am eagerly awaiting the final issue of SABM and the conclusion of this exciting story. I also can't wait for further tales of the Wolfriders that are lurking in those fervid subconsciouses.
"The big wrap up"? Who are you kidding?
Wendy Goodman
Briarwood, NY
Thomas. Wendy. Tsk. Such skepticism.
The theme of SIEGE seems to be risk-taking. You
took quite a risk, moving Cutter and Leetah out of the
spotlight (though certainly not off stage!) and focussing
on other characters. Skywise has certainly progressed
beyond mere "sidekick" status in this one, and Scouter
-- he's beginning to give his chief competition in the
"hunk" category, and to be quite a complex character in
his own right. And the Treestump/Clearbrook relationship
(foreshadowed, I notice, way back at the end of the
first series) raises interesting questions about the nature
of Recognition. Well, like Scouter's, your risk seems to
be paying off. You sure pack a lot of story into a little
space -- and it's such a good story! May all your fleas
be vegetarians...
Leslie Holman
Seattle, WA
If Winnowill really is trying to gobble up all the
spirits in the Palace, I hope One-Eye and Bearclaw give
her something to choke on!
Jeremy Bottroff
Santa Barbara, CA
And that, as they say, is that. Of course there's more -- just hang in there. When it's right, we'll be back, and 'til then, shade and sweet water to you all.