Final Quest #17

Arthis wrote:

Isn't it due today?

Yup. It's out. Don't know what to say about it though.

I like the color in this one. I think it's just fine. Nothing bothers me at all about how its colored.

The color is fine. It's just all the shuffling around storywise. I think half of the Final Quest has been about walking from a to b and switching locations. It doesn't work for me

Generally, lately, the color has been just jumping out at me in not a good way-- so I'm pleasantly surprised here. I think Cutters outfit is finally working, thanks to the decrease in saturation of the turquoise, yellow and browns. Characters aren't fading into the background anymore-- they are clearly visible-- unless there is a deliberate choice to make them shaded. Foreground, middle ground and background elements are well balanced. There seems to be consistent lighting. The values are good. I like!

SPOILER ALERT.... Here be spoilers:



Story wise-- yes, this still feels like transition and getting the chess pieces in place. Admittedly, it feels rather late in the game for that still to be going on-- but whatever. I appreciate that there is some character development and progression in terms of resolving long standing conflicts. The original quest was all about moving from place to place as well-- but I think the difference is that there always felt like forward progress toward a consistent goal. Plus, a lot of action and forwarding of plot was packed into each issue-- uncovering or establishing mysteries at every turn. I don't think this feels the same way. It feels more like a long epilogue.... which I guess it kind of is.

The big things to happen in this issue, it seems to me, are the war men landing and Cutter finally confronting Skywise (or vice versa) over the mortality/immortality issue. The humans-- that's whatever. They've come to fight and everyone's gonna rally -- yada yada. Cutter and Skywise though are resolving, or finalising, some open ended conflicts they've been ignoring for a while now.

I wonder if Cutter's accusation is true? Is Skywise that pushy about  wanting his way? Or is that just Cutter being frustrated in the moment? I suppose he punches something-- hence the bloody fist. He's set up to do it right now-- probably slams his fist into the ground next to Skywise's head. (I don't like to think of them beating each other up over this but I guess that's possible too.) I wonder if Cutter will let slip about the  Timmain business? I bet that Skywise uses his soul name, despite Leetah's warning, and things get revealed that way.

Thought for the day: If Cutter were to push Timmain or vice versa-- would he be pushing himself around? And would that count?

Thanks for the review. I won't be able to read it before the second half of December (at least), so I appreciate to read your comments and thoughts ;-)

Oh it's out? I totally spaced it (again).... would love to hear more of what people think about this. Sounds like the coloring isn't as garish in this issue, I know from the preview it looked decent, so it's promising to hear the trend continues throughout this issue. Would love to hear others' views on the storyline. I'll probably get the issue later this month or something.

*Last page*
...what.
I mean, hurrah, Skywise might get punched, hurrah.
Interesting.

Kinda...clumsy issue tbh. And some bits feels weirdly bad fanfictiony, if that makes sense...

I like the promise of the issue tho, the stage being set and all that. The issue was, yeah kinda bad, but it's got tension which I very much appreciate. VERY happy about Venka deciding Rayek needs to stop messing about, yet taking care of him by insisting Ekuar needs to be there. And whoho to the fighting at the end! Love it! Lets get some fighting and argueing and resolve some issues!

I'm also suspecting this last quest is not really about solving Cutters issues tho, he seems to be at peace to me now, but something else. Maybe someone. Maybe more than one... hmmm... I love that there are so many dream-throwbacks, but I wish they could be a little bit more subtle about it. Maybe that's just me obsessing about dreamtime, but it's kinda obvious how all the dreams are just falling into place one by one right now, I don't need someone to shove it in my face.

As other said before, this is the great shuffling issue.

So the compost elves's existence is pointless? And why did I have to see Savah naked? The "evil is a human concept" part was bullshit, elves called Winnowill evil and heartless countless times before! And Shuna, stupid old lady, teaching a language takes at least half a year (if the languages are related), there is no way the humans will learn it sufficiently before the attack of the Djunslander.

The best part of this issue was certainly the build up of the tension between Tammain  Cutter and Skywise. Or maybe the Dart and Mender?





I don't like the lineart of FiQu per se (too clumsy and crude in my opinion),

...I can't get over how much I like the the 3 panels the comes after Skywise pushes Cutter.

I think the tree elves were supposed to be symbolic.

GAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!

namuhna wrote:

Kinda...clumsy issue tbh. And some bits feels weirdly bad fanfictiony, if that makes sense...

YES!!!!

I am sorry but - so stilted, so flowery - I can barely stand it.

Still digesting. But right off the top of my head -- why do Andri's pants go from orange to blue in a page?

I think Two-Edge may develop a crush on Ahdri.

I want to know who this "old, brutal enemy" in the Frozen Mountains is. The ringleader of the trolls' rebellion? Or is it a troll at all?

I don't think Cutter's behavior/attitude in the pages we saw initially in the preview are illogical or out of left field. He went completely feral when Timmain revealed the truth about their shared selves; it makes sense he'd swing to the other side of the pendulum for a time, eventually coming to a 'happy medium'. I think he reached that in the last couple pages.

Speaking of those last couple pages, I liked how Cutter was answering Skywise with the absolute truth, but Skywise didn't grok it because he doesn't know about Tam-Timmain. As for Cutter's accusation, think back to his pillow talk with Timmain: "Everyone's gotta be immortal and go to the stars because I can't stand to lose them." It could be The World's Best Afterglow speaking, but Skywise has always had a selfish -- I almost want to say proprietary-- streak when it comes to Cutter.

I like Daboi's conversation with Rayek. Though the elves can confirm that there's an afterlife for humans (Kahvi's comment about Lehrigren's spirit going off on its own journey), they don't know what it is.

A Two-Edge / Ahdri duo would be cool, and i can see how he'd develop a crush on her.

Is Tim-Tam trying to break Skywise's brain? How easy would it be to just say to him "We'll talk about this later." But instead s/he answers with this ridiculous riddle-y nonsense that is just destined to freak Skywise out, while they're in the middle of a highly charged situation. And then when Skywise freaks out at Cutter's asshole-ish-ness, Tim takes a break to let Tam's raging Id off the leash.

That "No one pushes me ever again, not even you" - that smacks of someone will killer PTSD. Like he was mindraped by Timmain and now he's being triggered by Skywise's sendings.

See... if FQ had given me ANY hope that Wendy might deal with this in a meaningful and plausible way, I'd cheer this as "digging deeper in Cutter's trauma." But past precedent suggests they will resolve this in the span of three pages - and by resolve, I mean Skywise will be shamed in front of everyone, Cutter will assume a heroic pose as Leetah fawns over him, and this catastrophic example of a broken relationship will be handwaved away as "a lesson of pain."

On the other hand, if one assumes that this Timmain-Cutter connection cuts both ways - does that mean everytime Cutter loses his shit, that's Timmain losing her shit? That's hilarious. I am SO incorporating this freak-out into the Alternaverse somewhere!

PS: And yeah, why did we need to see naked Savah? Even she seemed rather uncomfortable with the idea.

So apparently I'm sicker than I thought because I didn't remember until almost evening that it was EQ day!

I did get my copy. The colors do seem much better this time. I'm not artist enough to be able to articulate exactly what has seemed off before or what is better now. All I can say is that whatever seemed off before wasn't seeming off this time.

Though there's something weird about Savah's hairline for a few panels. It looks so abrupt it almost looks like a crewcut.

Savah's sequence with the forest elves seems like a lot of build up with little pay off.

Venka's determination to have it out with Rayek is interesting but kind of a forgone conclusion, given "Rogue's Curse." I'm having a hard time imagining a way for this to end that doesn't get her killed or somehow permanently iced.

I was enjoying the idea that Old Maggoty was the new power behind the trolls but she's been on another continent. Oh well.

wingthing wrote:

Is Tim-Tam trying to break Skywise's brain? How easy would it be to just say to him "We'll talk about this later." But instead s/he answers with this ridiculous riddle-y nonsense that is just destined to freak Skywise out,

Or Cutter could have been on the verge of explaining he and Timmain are the same self when Skywise leaped to a logical but wrong assumption of what he meant. And Cutter, having only recently accepted this fact, and possibly not sure what it means for the relationship between him and the rest of the tribe let alone with Skywise, just blows up.

For the folks unhappy with Cutter's "Timmainness" earlier on... well, there you go.

Oh, duh.

It's Door. The one who is the new power behind the trolls. Except apparently he took off with Chot to follow "The Call."

I think it's wonderful to see Savah actually do something.

Is Cutter ever going to explain why it's so important he lives and dies on WOTM? If it was a case of "I cannot imagine living anywhere else" that would be one thing (and that was the assumption I had always been working under). But if he's accepting the whole integration with Timmain, which he seems to be starting too... then... well, he's going to leave WOTM anyway.

And with that off-hand comment about "whether I die today or live to be Bearclaw's age, what does it matter?" ... well, if he dies, won't he reintegrate with Timmain? Does he really want that? And if he's totally indifferent to cutting short his time on the planet as a mortal then seriously, why not just go full immortal now? Is death a political/ideological statement to him? Is he outright lying in sending (that would be a great twist - I've always suspected Timmain can lie in sending) and it does matter, and he actually wants to live as long as possible as a mortal to maximize experiences/stay away from reintegrating as long as possible? (If so, then I stand by that remark to SKywise being pretty mean-spirited.)

I totally sympathize with Skywise's frustration. And yes, it's dramatic irony and suspenseful all that. But it's fabricated suspense. It reads like Cutter/Timmain/Wendy are all being deliberately vague just to confound the other characters and the readers.

Just wanted to say-- I agree with a little of everything being said. Good observations all around.

I do kind of hope Venka dies. That would be interesting. And Door seems like a good candidate for Troll dictator. Personally, I would never have thought of that-- but yeah. Flowery language to the extreme. I'm not sure how much it bothers me, since Elfquest has always had that element. But it is noticible in this issue. Still, if the term "heart circle" didn't bother you (that's what got me).... Speaking of that crew..:

Maybe Cutter was about to explain when Skywise got pushy. Or Ma be he was being deliberately cryptic... Though that seems unlike his character. I think it could go either way. Timmain is constantly cryptic. Cutter has been (up until now) constantly straightforward. It's a bit of a character conflict either way.

I don't think Timmain is freaking out or even aware of what's going on-- because Cutter cut her off-- right?

Say-- has anyone ever read this except from Joseph Campbell? Does it seem to anyone else as if Wendy is following this outline to the letter?

"It is by going down into the abyss
that we recover the treasures of life.

Where you stumble,
there lies your treasure.

The very cave you are afraid to enter
turns out to be the source of
what you are looking for.
The damned thing in the cave
that was so dreaded
has become the center.

You find the jewel,
and it draws you off.

In loving the spiritual,
you cannot despise the earthly."

I'm not even remotely bothered by Savah being naked and bonding with her tribe that way (also wondering if maybe she's going to chose to stay with them?), but on the other hand I found Dart and Menders interraction seriously embarrassing. Different standards of uncomfortableness I guess....

Anyway, apparently, according to Wendy on facebook, it's still all about Cutter. I was hoping he was maybe referring to a different situation than his own (or more than his own at least) when he told Twoedge that he's not the only one who is two in one. Biggest hope was that it would be about part non-elves in general, wolf and elf sharing wolfrider body, possibly even an answer to why on earth wolf-blood is so important to remove immediately for those who want to stay in the palace, and why Timmorn is all over the place and why Two Edge himself is so nuts and divided. I mean, "two in one"? That's a VERY new definition of what's actually wrong with both Tammain and kinda Two-Edge too, isn't it?

Reading wingthings's worries made me worried because I'm very sick and tired of Cutter being the infallable hero, and yet I suspect predictions of the dynamics when Tammain is revealed is spot on. It's particularly annoying since Timmain basically deceived everyone, which Cutter is now continuing, and that needs some serious repurcussions tbh...

However, I do not sympathize with Skywise right now at all. In the context of only respecting Cutters decision to keep his wolfblood, which is all that Skywise knows of and is angry about and attacking Cutter for, Cutter is 100% in the right. Skywise has no right whatsoever in pushing his agenda, and without context Cutter owes him no explanation at all. Cutter has the full right to control what happens to his own body darnit! I mean I'm very glad we don't have Moonbore begging and pleading at eachother anymore, but tho pushy and annoying they were always at their core respectful of eachothers right to choose even if they didn't understand, and Leetahs respect and love is nothing short of perfection (even if it's kinda undeserved considering Timmains deception). Skywise will have every right to be angry when Tammain is revealed, but right now he really doesn't have any right to be so judging by what he knows, and certainly not because Cutter wants to remain a wolfrider.

Yeah- but that has always been Skywise's character flaw-- hasn't it? Going right back to the original Palace war.

I like how your assessment of Cutter is all "my body- my choice"

Btw-- Savah's hairline looks odd (to whoever mentioned that) because the line work is a different color than the rest of her body. If it were all a dark line it would look more integrated.

Door is so going to be the new emperor of the trolls (maybe as a 'clever' throwback to the images of Winnowill as the troll queen?). Even though it does not make sense that he built a empire in a couple of years, and that Two-Edge knows about this, even though that he spent those years after shards with Venka. Oh, and he could mention that the new emperor is a powerful rockshaper.

Wouldn't it be nice, if "no one ever pushes me again" also applied to Timmain? Maybe Cutter will snap out of Timmain's trance?

Miss Gillespie wrote:

Even though it does not make sense that he built a empire in a couple of years, and that Two-Edge knows about this,

It wasn't a couple of years, though -- it was the 10,000 years that the Wolfriders slept. Two-Edge may have known about it because he had his own tunnels to go to the Frozen Mountains. Putting distance between him and mer-Winnowill would be reason enough to head north.