Elf*Quest Online

[filkertom]

a_winged_prayer in scans_daily alerts us to WaRP Graphics' decision to present every single issue of the seminal fantasy comic Elf*Quest online by the end of the year. And they've already got some stuff up now.

Who's your favorite member of the Elf*Quest cast? (Understand that I really only know what I consider to be "the core saga", the first twenty issues. There have been a lot of new characters since the original mid-80s run.) Mine would be a toss-up between Cutter, Winnowill, and Nightfall. But the whole cast is fantastic.

Comments

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Heh. Believe it or not, I only saw an issue or two, so have no favorite from the series.

However, I do have a sidewise favorite set of characters, who appear in the Skeeve/Aahz books by Robert Asprin (and now with Jody Nye). (No spoilers, so if you've read the books, you'll know to whom I refer; otherwise, go read them. They're awesome.)

[vik_thor]

Cool! I will have to read them again! (Been way to long since I've read the series, and my copies have been lost...)

Favorite, I think would be Redlance.

[allisona.livejournal.com]

I've always liked Skywise best, though I'm also very fond of Nightfall and Redlance.

[ericcoleman]

I'm right there with you on Skywise ... still, I'm always a fan of the sidekicks.

Holy Carp!

[nimitzbrood.livejournal.com]

I've actually never read Elfquest because I didn't know where to start and because of out-of-print problems! But this changes all of that!

And just in time too - with the new house I will not be able to afford many paper comics...

Re: Holy Carp!

[laurel-potter.livejournal.com]

You should be able to find the Marvel reprints without too much trouble. They are (arguably) better because they're in color and have added scenes.

(really, really need EQ icon...)

[atalantapendrag.livejournal.com]

My fave would have to be Winnowill. She's just so deliciously evil

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's my thought. :-P

[vulpine137.livejournal.com]

Woohoo, now it will be easier to corrupt others :)

As for favorite characters, it's hard to pick. Bearclaw, Redlance, Skywise, Nightfall *whistle*...there really wasn't a bad character in the bunch. Even the villains, for the most part, had depth to them, they weren't just bad for badness sake. I really need to reread the series, it's been way too long.

[bryanp.livejournal.com]

Like you I never read much beyond the original core story. I'll have to check this out, thanks. I don't think I could pick a favorite right now; it's been so many years since I've read them.

[sunfell.livejournal.com]

I like Skywise. Heck, I like them all, but Skywise was the 'geek'- if elves could be geeky. He was the 'what if?' guy.

I need to let my sister know about this- she's getting broadband in a couple of weeks, as well as a new computer, so she'll appreciate this. (She's still in a dying WinMe machine. Yeccch!)

[siliconshaman.livejournal.com]

I think Skywise would take to computers like a duck to water... assuming he ended up in a close analogue of our 'real' world that is.
[betcha someone's written a fan fic of that!]

[poltr1]

Skywise, myself. I even named a computer at work after him. (Then it developed hard drive cancer. :( )

[susan-the-rogue.livejournal.com]

Favorite characters? Hmmmm....I suppose my main favorites would be Cutter, Skywise, Ember, Moonshade, and Crescent.

[eleri.livejournal.com]

I was always fond of One-Eye myself, and was NOT happy about his situation, at all.

Wolfrider gave some fantastic insights into Bearclaw's character, which was nifty.

I always really wished they would have stuck with the original concept of Hidden Years, and used it to present little short stories from in between major arcs, or things that were hinted at historically, and such. Instead they tied it into the main story arc :/

[hms42]

No favorites, but I do enjoy the OCP tape/WaRP graphics CD that exists.

Harold

[cadhla.livejournal.com]

From the original saga? Probably Dewshine.

I was in an ElfQuest fan holt for about ten years. My view of canon is bizarrely skewed.

[laurel-potter.livejournal.com]

I was in an ElfQuest fan holt for about ten years.

Ooo, which one? I was in about 10, lol. Timberlake, Shadow Island, Great Water, more... and I ran Rapid River.

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

Nightfall was always my favorite. She's a babe. But then, what else do young male fantasy fans think about? :)

[ravenclaw-eric.livejournal.com]

I always liked Rayek a lot, and felt really bad for him. (I've only ever read the core story, so I don't know what happened to him after he left.)

But then, the whole "Recognition" thing always struck me as fuel for the fantasies of adolescent girls of all ages. If I had my hands on whoever it was invented the whole concept of romantic love, much less exalted it so in our current culture...let's just say Bangladesh Dupree would faint dead away at what I'd likely do. Either that, or beg me to teach her.

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

I actually think "recognition" explains all the marriages I know that only lasted until the couple produced a fantastic kid. Clearly, they were meant to procreate for the good of the race, but actually getting along? Not needed. (Think Tydalk and Dewshine.)

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

"Real men don't read 'Elf*Quest'!"

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

... Not only do we, it helps us get the girls.

For that matter, with the right girls, so does reading Judge Dredd. ;)

[maiac.livejournal.com]

Coincidence -- I was just thinking of Elfquest recently, wishing I'd kept custody of the books. Having them online will be great.

Leetah was my favorite.

[annathepiper]

Strongbow, hands down. Mmm, Strongbow!

But Rayek is a close second (I played him for a while on Two Moons MUSH), as is Dewshine (from whom I took many of my early online login IDs as well as email addresses).

[skemono.livejournal.com]

Who's your favorite member of the Elf*Quest cast?

Two-Edge! How can anyone not love Two-Edge?

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

Another Strongbow fan here. But really, there was hardly a character in the series that you could dislike; some of them weren't sympathetic, but they were all fully-realized.

I fell away from comics before we'd gotten to see much of Ember, but she had a lot of potential. I'll be looking forward to reading her adventures online now!

Too awesome for words...

[msgeek.livejournal.com]

Good to see it available online.

[tomreedtoon.livejournal.com]

I never did get into ElfQuest. However, as an outsider, I wonder what master plan, if any, the Pinis have for their creation. I know they have noodled around with doing an animated version of the books, but have never gotten a solid offer or more than a few minutes of animation done. And as I understand it, they have re-released their old strips with coloring, but they haven't drawn anything new in almost a decade. (If this is an error, please correct me; as I say, I never got into it.)

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

My understanding of the animated film was that their story was "optioned" by a studio. This meant that the Pinis got some money every year and every five years the studio would decide to keep the option, or return the rights to the creators. The Pinis (IIRC) got no say in whether the option renewed or not.

The purpose of this was not to make a movie. The purpose of this - from the studio viewpoint - was to prevent any other movie studio from taking the story and making a film. And since the contract only required the studio to make progress toward a film and no hard deadline on the film itself, it is a cheap defensive move on the part of the studio. Think about it - they can spend 50million on making the film, or 50K holding a few dozen stories hostage so they don't have to worry about other studios making them. If it was your money, which would you choose?

[gan-chan.livejournal.com]

There have been a couple of new stories by Wendy since they moved to DC, but nothing on the scale (or the story quality, IMHO) of the early work.

[madrona.livejournal.com]

Bearclaw. I couldn't even tell you why.

[siliconshaman.livejournal.com]

Woo! I finally get to read issue #3 !!
[you have no idea how long I've been chasing that wild water fowl!]

Plus all the later tales I could afford [new house, new baby, lack of comic-book dealers etc etc].

Oh.. and I'm a Winnowill fan...I just love how she's so delightfully evil and yet so genuinely flawed.

Although Leetah and Skywise run a very close second...

[starsongky.livejournal.com]

I fell in love with Skywise, literally - my husband (then my boyfriend) took me to my first con back in 1986, dressed as Skywise. He made the whole costume in suede and fabricated the metal faceplate, cuffs & sword in his brother's body shop.

As far as my own fave, just check my icon - Rahnee the She-Wolf, Timmorn's daughter and 2nd chief. Her tales are my favorites in the "Blood of Ten Chiefs" short story collections. I'm a big Werewolf RPG fan so she's the character I identify with most.

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

I am also a Strongbow fan. Back in the day, (1988?) I made and wore a Winnowill costume, complete with the slit up to my waist that went over *very* well at cons!

[wildcard9.livejournal.com]

Skywise, without any question. His story is a key part of the story even after the original quest.

[laurel-potter.livejournal.com]

Nightfall and Redlance. They just really compliment each other, and their romance is so wonderful!

Hmmm... I need an Elfquest icon...

[dbcooper.livejournal.com]

I always liked Skywise best, because while he was a Wolfrider through and through, he never lost sight of the fact that there was not just a great big world out there, but millions of great big worlds. That's the kind of guy you want advising the chief. The fact that he also did quite well with the ladies didn't hurt him in my estimation. :)

I also enjoyed Strongbow, because he was a good example of a truly moral compass. Though he occasionally challenged Cutter for the chiefdom, it was usually so he could make a point about the tribe not giving up what it meant to be a Wolfrider. In battle, he always fought for the tribe, even when he disagreed with its direction. (I suppose the fact that I got into Elfquest and the Navy at about the same time colors my perception of him.)

Looking back, while I liked those two characters best overall, there were very, very few I didn't like. I mean, how could one not sympathize with Clearbrook's difficulty in letting the soul of One-Eye pass into the afterlife? Or Treestump's patience--both with the young chief and in his love of Clearbrook? Or Leetah's strength in willingly leaving her tribe to embrace an entirely new way of life? (Or, for that matter, Leetah's curves? ;) )

I could go on, but I think I'll leave it there.

[johno.livejournal.com]

I can blame Julia at a Windycon for getting me hooked on Elfquest.

Young and cute and talented, blowing us all away.

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

I always liked Kahvi the Ice Bitch myself.

And I totally want to see a Strongbow vs. Legolas Elven Archery Contest. *Human lover!* sneers Strongbow at his opponent; "Hey, we're just friends!" Aragorn protests.

[batyatoon]

Skywise, hands down. Come on. He's the astronomer. And the smartass.

I also have a weakness for Ember as a kid, because she's such a daddy's girl.

Winnowill is one of my favorite villains of all time, though. (In Diane Duane's ST:TNG novel Dark Mirror, the mirror-universe Deanna Troi put me very much in mind of her. Take a moment to imagine Winnowill voiced by Marina Sirtis.)

[jannyblue.livejournal.com]

Yet another vote for the silver-haired smartass as "favorite".

I have the first 4 graphic novels from the 80s on my bookshelf. The covers are pretty badly beat-up around the edges from being read so many times, but the pages inside are perfectly fine for reading.

I've read through book 8, but haven't read further because I heard it gets "weird" after that...