Analysis of Wendy's Elfquest art

The plot=Basically the main character is driven to find immortality after watching his father die in a board meeting, finds love with a needy scientist/former model and when that goes sour watches a plague roar through Sivarsi 9.

Characters=
Anton Prosper- reclusive heir to the largest fortune in the whole universe. Holes it up in his enormous estate of Penumbra. He keeps himself guarded, finds out that he is very much like his hedonistic father and is a scientific genius. Really does nothing about the plague until it's too late and ultimately dies from it, Loves to play headgames and test people.

Steffan Kabala-Scientist, former model, genetically engineered son of a top scientist and in my opinion the worst character. His jealousy, neediness, insecurity and elitism is what drives the plot as he was the one who stole the formula in a giant hissyfit of being ignored by Anton. Simply put, Steffan is obsessed with Anton and full of character flaws with few redeeming qualities.

Madame Kabala- top scientist, fashionista, diva, essentially a glamorous Wicked Witch who's very opportunistic and intimidating. Doesn't really think things through.

Tono Trankule- The description is Donald Trump meets Tony Soprano which is apt. He's a huge blowhard who's only redeeming quality is affection for his daughter. Who he's still not above exploiting.

Bunchh- Blue skinned female presenting hermaphrodite who loves to plan events and design elaborate costumes. Huge hair, flamboyant, very nurturing and eventually commits suicide in despair at the rift of Steffan/Anton.

Fronda Trankule- sheltered debutante who has a flirtation with Daryel and nearly dies from the plague yet survives.

Daryel Mirrin- Honest farm boy who rejects immortality and is essentially the opposite of Steffan. He has strong integrity, loyalty and ethics. Also bashed by the Masque forumites for being bland, although I found him to be refreshing.

Partygoers- easily the worst of the worst. Gloats about surviving a deadly pandemic, only cares about themselves and easily turns on Anton when the plague hits Penumbra.

Bittie and Ix- Basically Artificial Intelligence Paparazzi. Somewhat akin to the Preservers and disappears as the situation worsens.

The plague itself- called the Red Death and is badly administered attomons (immortality makers) Spreads through contact with people dissolving in a bloody ooze. Something about the glitch ridden World Computer unable to handle attomons and Anton has his own computer to bypass it.

The art= Very much computer generated. Characters here are emaciated to making Elfquest elves look robust in comparison. My guess is that Wendy was going for the supermodel look.

Fashion= Men have more elaborate fashion as opposed to the women. In fact men tend to look like peacocks in style.

Sexuality=And plenty! Frequent orgies of mixed gender copulations none of which is left to the imagination. Anton is omnisexual. Steffan gay and Daryel mostly straight but perhaps bicurious. Bunchh is probably as omnisexual as Anton himself. None of the sexualities are presented as wrong or deviant which I approve of and there's even a few hints towards some polyamorous in the background.

Overall story= Very Gothic and Tragedy. The outcome in both Wendy's version and Poe's are identical. Tho I will say that Poe's is superior. And I've lost count of how many times I wanted to throttle Steffan throughout the whole story. Steffan to me is the villain.

Oddly enough, I feel the exact same disgust towards this presentation video:


...

I dunno, main guy looks an awful lot like Strongbow...or is that just me?

It's not just you. Anton not only resembles a human Strongbow, but Steffan a Skywise/Rayek fusion, Bunchh a blue Nightfall, and Daryel is very Cutter like both in look and outcome on mortality. Elfquest art is superior however.

Another note about Masque of the Red Death was how much of a cypher Fronda Trankule was. She had a superiority complex almost as big as Steffan's and had little agenda outside of her father. She was stupid enough to get injected with attomons, nearly died from it and was out of it for most of the latter plot. Basically, there could have been more done with her character, but wasn't. She was naive, elitist and lacked agenda.

Prism mentioned the elder Prosper dying in a board meeting.

We all know what that's like.

PCoquelin wrote:

If you wonder why the early 80s' was the very best time for Wendy, in my eyes..
It was not grim, yet..

"Masque", though science fiction, drew its fashion sense from the 1980s.  But it was definitely grim.  Too grim for me to bother following it.  I thought it could be just as horrifying without all the gore.

Violence can be simulated by showing people's responses, for example, or the use of silhouettes.

Amazon page for Stargazer's Hunt

Regarding "Stargazer's Hunt":

Embala shared Leanan's link with me in "Trollbabe's Tales", showing a few pages of sample art.

Two of these pages show Trolls from a time thousands of years after the Original Quest.

It's disappointing to see that the Trolls have become more Elf-like.

In addition, they may or may not be taller, but they are definitely paler compared to Picknose and family.

Those Troll are another thread of developement .- distant cousins from another planet and anoter initial palace ship. But it's right ... their positive developement is accompanied by a more elf-like look.

I'm on the fence about that. I really don't have a problem with the lighter complexion since Sun Folk have  the darkest skin among the elves, then you have the technicolor Wavedancers and Fungus Amungus Hidden Ones. Plus, we have ugly elves with the Hidden Ones, so I'm ok with these trolls being pretty, in some ways they resemble gnomes. Troll culture really hasn't diversified like elf and human cultures. Not much difference between Greymung and Guttlekraw's kingdoms except the latter was cannibalistic and enslaved their fellow trolls while the former was cowardly. Picknose's clan was more honorable, but the real divergence was with the Misfit Trolls. I think there was some troll tribes in the Chaosium RPG book that clashed with humans and were polluters, but that's that, I'm fine with the pretty troll's looks, but their near worship of elves is unsettling as is the total lack of conflict for millenia.

I agree, Prism.

Generally I am also disappointed that almost none of the Elfquest characters appear to be modeled after anyone of African descent.

My fanfiction Trolls actually distance themselves, as a community, from Troll 'kingdoms" because they choose to be free people.

I'm going to revisit this and do more analysis on the humans, primarily up to Hidden Years.

The first humans are the ones from the beginning when elves, trolls and Preservers crash-landed on the planet known as Abode. They are not Modern Humans but rather Homo Erectus or even Australopithecus. They wear hides, sport clubs and are fearful with bulging eyes. Their reaction to what was essentially an intrusion is drive out the invaders. Understandable in our eyes, but not to elves or trolls. These humans are what shows up in Nightfall's nightmare and what haunts the collective memories of elf/troll and Preserver alike. Tech wise; low, the hides appear untanned and there is no fire plus they're out in the open, so very basic shelter. They appear as simple, fearful brutes, but we never see their tender side.

The next humans we see and the primary antagonists are the Gotara worshippers. Previously nomadic before arriving at the Holt and ruled by the fanatical Spirit Man who was mentored by someone just as bad. Clothing is austere, unadorned and plain with little jewelry and that is worn by the Spirit Man. Women appear to be subservient and are not allowed in ceremonies. The Spirit Man's control over his people is absolute and he ruled through intimidation, manipulation and superstition. The people live in tents or caves. They are as wilderness savvy and cunning as the Wolfriders tho as Demon-Tricker proves to be the equal of Man-Tricker and he certainly has those who would follow in his footsteps. But, by the time of Bearclaw, the Gotara Worshippers are fanatical, genocidal and did not think things through when torching the forest. It bites them in the ass true, but also does so much damage.

Next up, we have the individual humans, both sets connected to various tribes. The first is a family unit led by Aro, his brother Dro , his wife Thaya and their son. They are gaunt, dressed in rags with brittle hair but are riding a horse. Aro is defiantly fanatic, Dro insane, Thaya trying to be a voice of reason and the unnamed son just observing. The tribe that takes them dwell in tents, have dogs and appear to roughly be the same tech level as the Gotara worshippers. One thing I've noticed is how loyal the little family unit are to each other which is good. Their fate is unknown, but I wonder if they would be better off bleeding the horse for nourishment,

Then we have Nonna and Adar. Adar is from the Red River tribe (Olbar's) and travelled to find and marry Nonna of the Hoang t Aysho. They live in a cave, but the cave was shaped by rock shapers and is adorned. Both wear tailored clothing and Nonna makes symbols. Again, both are very loyal and devoted to each other.

Then we have the Red River tribe or Olbar's tribe. While they are superstitious like the Gotara worshippers, their standard of living is higher as evidenced by basketry, tooled leather and more ornamentation of the people. Bone Woman, the spiritual leader is clad in nothing but bone and rules in much the same way as Spirit Man except she plays on Olbar.s fears and that of his people. She also works against him, conspiring with the outcast Thief who also happens to be Olbar's brother. The Red River tribe is more joyful and at ease than the Gotara worshippers. They live in tents and have probably grown more prosperous at the time of Siege at Blue Mountain. Olbar is definitely not as fearful and far more lusty than 3 years ago. As a side note, the Red River tribe seems to be tall and robust. Olbar is easily the tallest human in the whole series, but his brother Thief is near that and Adar not much shorter.

Then we get to another outcast couple, Selah and Malak both of the Red River tribe. They wear jewelry and a loin cloth with nothing else, meaning they probably left at night. Selah is her father's daughter and fiercer than the gentle  Malak. We know nothing of their fate once they left the Forbidden Grove.

Now we hit the Hoang t Aysho. They live on the Blue Mountain in caves with a select few living in Blue Mountain. Clothing is heavily embroidered with feather accents and there's some rudimentary weaving as the young woman sent to the Gliders is wearing a net cloak. Women and men appear to be fairly equal.
For those who live in the mountain, it is technically a life of leisure... at the whims of an increasingly volatile Winnowil who only views them as pets and they essentially end up as starved prisoners. Their clothing is highly decorated and ornate. Their nominal leader is Kakuk who sometimes reaches Winnowil.
The Hoang t Aysho are as fanatical as the Gotara worshippers, which is why a hunting party of Hoang t Aysho teams up with a remnant pair of the Gotara worshippers. And evidently the Gotara worshippers have learned how to tame the horse. Most of the gorgeous embroidery from Prisoners of Blue Mountain is gone by Siege at Blue Mountain.
Of course when Blue Mountain crumbles, the Hoang t Aysho migrates to another land. And in some accounts become the Mesoamerican version of humans and somewhat delusional thank you Barry Blair!

Then we veer off to another continent across the ocean and the humans there. Little Patch and the Neolithic people he comes from.

Little Patch is the first human to be raised by elves as he was abandoned at birth due to his birthmark. When he hits puberty, his hormones causes him to seek out his birth people. His clothing is more tailored than theirs, but not by much. And there is much as to how he's the superior hunter and protector.

However his birth people are fairly advanced themselves. They weave, keep livestock, farm, use archery and have canoes. Their clothing is tailored, they live in huts and have a sizable wall for protection. There's probably other advancements we don't see and a good chance they're not too far off from Bronze Age in a few more centuries. However, I dislike how easily the Wolfriders were ready to kill a senile, elderly Little Patch. They did a better job understanding his descendant Shuna to be honest.