AYOOOAH!
Elfquest is now in the Internet in a Big Way! If you have World Wide Web access of any sort, come visit the brand new Elfquest homepage at http://www.elfquest.com where you can preview coming comics, order from the Warp*Store, join in the ongoing Q&A, get Elfquest news before anyone else, and generally get connected to the World of Two Moons and Warp Graphics!
I just got SHARDS #6 last week, and all I can
say is *WHEW!* I was really worried about Treestump
and Clearbrook. But they didn't get ripped to shreds. I
am still worried about Clearbrook, though. Treestump's
right in thinking that the hounds' bite may have some
kind of venom. If Clearbrook dies of something so lame
as an infected bite... $@!*%!!! Someone find some
whistling leaves quick! (Ah, but not all death is glorious,
to come in the heat of battle. - RP)
The Djun is crueller than ever, but I suspect that Two-Edge built the death-birds. Brrr. What's he up to? And Winnowill's expression as she sees that man ripped apart. Brrr again.
As I see it, the Djun is being very cruel to his people, having them ripped apart by his hounds and metallic birds. And Shuna knows it. I think that the elves will ally with an army of humans to fight the Djun. This will be much, much more difficult than the troll war. The elves have no armor. Two-Edge is madder than ever, and worst of all, Winnowill is involved. The Djun will no doubt give a very good fight to the finish, unlike Guttlekraw with his cowardly please for mercy.
I'm nervous about the outcome of this war. It seems like there will be very few survivors. We've already seen all the gliders killed. The Go-Backs as well. So what's to come? Damn this waiting thing! I'm taking the Palace and flying ahead to the future - sometime around SHARDS #18!
Kristin Hogan
<<street address removed from archive>>
From: skyfyre@big12.metrobbs.com
Subj: RE: Elfquest, what else?
Got another message for you! I picked up SHARDS #7, and WOW.
I've been enjoying SHARDS, a lot. For one thing, it has the best EQ feel to it. But it's also got some good artwork. I'm really thrilled about two things in it. 1- Face fur on humans. It's so well done, and allows for variety in a teeming populace. (And probably a little easier than coming up with totally unique people for crowd scenes.) That, and I like face fur normally. Keep it up. 2- Clothes. After so long with humans with no sewing skills, it's nice to see humans dressed. Okay, so humans had clothes once Nonna and Adar showed up, but still... there's such a variety in the clothing fashions of Abode, too. From the nobility to the low-towners, it is done so well. Especially considering what some comics do. (Same type suit on every guy, even the heroes in the same type body suit, etc.)
For the story, I loved the irony. As Winnowill tries to take over on top, Shuna is taking over on the bottom. I think Shuna will be more successful, for the same reason the Wolfrider's will be... she is not fighting for personal power, but to reclaim what is hers (and all Abodeans in the Djun's domain) - freedom. Winnowill's just going for power, and that's never all that successful.
Another ironic bit was Strongbow talking. The Go-Backs have him talk because he's more adept at human speech than they... Strongbow, who sends so often it's a shock to see him speak! The same Strongbow who doesn't like humans, talking to one.
All in all, a nice story, with enough tie-ins and cliffhangers to drive me batty.
I also want to reply to those who are arguing that Cutter must die. I disagree. He MIGHT die, but it's not a guarantee. There are quite a few reasons that he might live. First of all, he's not big on death. He can accept it, but he tries to avoid it. Secondly, I don't think he's done growing. We saw him sink into depression without his family. We saw him rise from it, into smoldering rage, when they returned. We saw him discard that rage with the Big Fight. And we saw purpose return to him with the need to regain the palace. We also saw purpose to live for the return of his family become a part of him. I don't think he's done, yet. Third, we're talking about Wolfriders here. In the First Palace War, there were NO Wolfrider deaths. (One-Eye died BEFORE the Wolfriders set off on the war proper, One-Eye's death being part of the reason.) Yes, they were armored, but so were the Go-Backs, of whom nearly half of their large tribe died. Even better, there are "Wolfriders" with strong magic [Venka (Wolfrider by upbringing), Zhantee (Wolfrider by choice), and Mender (by birth, I hope he gets a wolf someday)]. Even Rayek, who remains a wild card, but who will fight for the palace. I don't think there will be that many fatalities in the end... if any.
I will say that, in my opinion, Cutter will cease to be the center character. He certainly was in the early books, and later books kept him as the focus. However, in a continuation with what was started the first time Strongbow stood up to Cutter, other characters are getting looked at carefully. This is made easier by the temporary tribe split, and further split for the attempt to conquer the Djun. We are getting good looks at all the 'minor' characters, and better looks at some of the major ones. I think this will continue, and the focus will become the whole tribe, rather than the tribe as it relates to Cutter.
(Consider, for a moment, how much we really knew about One-Eye before his death. By comparison, we have seen more of the Go-Backs turned Wolfriders (so to speak), even though they have been very minor characters.)
There's one last really good reason not to assume any character must die, or must live. In my years of reading ELFQUEST, I've yet to see the story follow the expected course. There is ALWAYS something popping up. The end result might be the same, but there will be some serious doubt for a time...
Skyfire
You know what they say about what happens when you assume. Keep those cards, letters and furry bits coming, and we'll see you in 45! - RP