Stargazer‘s Hunt #1

1. Jink is obnoxious
2. please don’t ever have a someone talk about putting stuff “into the two nether pipes” of a three year old again. Ever!!!!
3. In a world, in which you don’t have to kill, a world which is totally of your making, why have predators? How do you randomly decide which animal deserves to die for your unnecessary appetite for flesh?
4. The language is terrible. When did the elves decide to speak like modern day this world humans?
5. Jink (my phone wants to type junk) is obnoxious

Did
Did Wendy actually draw this?

It's terrible. Absolutely terrible. =D

Edit: Ok
hahhahahahahaaaaaa
I've read all of it now
It's terrible. Abysmal. Art style, story, dialog, character designs, art mistakes.

Strongbow's there. He's smiling. Terrible.

I like Venka's girl tho!

Oh oh, I have not yet my copy, but what I hear of you makes me think of earlier comic books drawn by Berry Blair (was that the name?).
But hey thanx , Shadowpath, that you tell us about Satreeka. I hoped veeery much to see her and maybe Venka again in the new comic. Ooooh I am so curious how she looks like and how her character is. If she is like Rayek, or more like Venka....but please don`t spoil about her. i want to read by myself.

Shadowpath wrote:

Did
Did Wendy actually draw this?

The answer is no. Sonny Strait drew it.

Leanan wrote:

Shadowpath wrote:

Did
Did Wendy actually draw this?

The answer is no. Sonny Strait drew it.

Wendy only did the cover.

I really like how it looks for the most part... there are some spots that don't look quite complete, but I don't know if that's intentional or not. Jink acting like a normal kid is a nice touch, a little obnoxious, but playful... just like her adult counterpart. Satreeka is so adorable and I can't wait to make a mini of her... probably won't be til next month. It kinda seemed rushed on the language... I donno.

Can't wait to read more

Leanan wrote:

Shadowpath wrote:

Did
Did Wendy actually draw this?

The answer is no. Sonny Strait drew it.

Ahh, that explains why it's terrible then.

"Satreeka is so adorable"

AAaaaaaahh, I can`t wait to see Rayeks grandkid, Could someone make a photo of her and send it to me?
Still have not my comicbook, wiiiine!

Yeee, look in your sketchbook. If this does not work I'll show you a snapshot. Promised.

The link in my sketchbook leads to 2 pages of the new comic. Where is Satreeka? The silhouette on the backcover??? Looks more like a vanishing Jink.

Thank you very much, Embala, now I have read the whole story, and I must say:
Yes, the art is shitty! Gah! Venka is drawn ugly, all elves and Wolves too. Satreeka is drawn ugly, if I would try to draw her, I would not know, how to turn her into a "Wendyish -style" elf. There are too less clues for me, just brighter skin, yellow or brown (?) eyes, blond curls and her clothing. The best information is: she floats (but that does every elf there, so it doesn`t mean anything , if she would be on Abode). ok, she likes to jump into a pool of mudd. and laughs , thats what I like.
Venka is a helicopter mother, that can`t be healthy to let kids not know, what death and dying means. One day they have to learn, the sooner, the better they can understand and integrate it into their knowledge and sight of the world and of life. That is brutely shocking to learn about death when one is long time grown up!

What does that mean: “stuffed up into the two nether pipes” ??? I simply don`t get it as no english speaker.

Jink says: "I dunno" -Yup, this is not Elfquest language. It sounds odd.

In rude German it would mean something along the lines:
*in den Ar*** schieben* ... nur dass bei "two nether pipes" auch noch die Vagina gemeint ist.  
And this is unnecessary rude, totally inappropriate and clearly out of character for Old Maggoty (unless she's suffering of dementia and lack of implulse control by now).

Uargh There is a "puke" smily emoticon missing, I would have used it now.
I guessed something with the ass , but this is disgusting out of the mouth of an old troll-grandma. Well, maybe she is dement.

I think the "two nether pipes" means the butts of both elves, nothing else.

As for the art - sloppy and especially the lupine anatomy done badly.  Rather disappointing...

Venka and Maggoty out of character is even worse.

Thanks, Storm ... I'll prefer to see it the way you do from now on. Less disturbing. Still - bad enough.

In general I like what I see. Seriously. Not comparing with the OQ I fell in love with or Siege and Kings - nothing will come close enough to those for me. Coming from FQ the new issue is okay for me - or: as expected. Wolves, toddlers and young children are not Sonny Strait's best discipline. The colors are not as dull and dead as in FQ - tho Homestead is somewhat "overecposed" and obversaturated in exchange. I like that the eyes are back to liveliness!

The story ... for now we got a sightseeing toor through Homestead and - as I see it - a (re)introduction of the main cahracters of this new arc. Venka is out of character (just like Maggoty) - her way of upbringing Satreekah is a recipe for catastrophes. Anyone still wonder why the Firstcomers were so helpless-disoriented at their first encounter with Abodean Humans?

Strongbow is living in a reservation. Confirms the opinion of a friend of mine at the end of FQ: What the heck is he doing In.The.Palace.? Or on Homestead ... he seems to know he is wrong there. Want to tell him - yell at him - send to him: Get.Out.There.! Nevertheless the scenes with Strongbow are what I like best.

Skywise is his usual self. Still not knowing what's going on and what he wants and needs. Okay, okay - the story IS supposed to tell his story ... his developement hopefully.
TimTam2.0 ... for me this cliffhanger is annoying. And not because it#s a cliffhanger. It seems that the only reason was to show smexy Cutter as a marketing device. and even more annoying because TimTam was shown complete with chiefsknot and neckring this time. Becoming an integral part of the body by now, or what?

I've liked how Satreekah has enjoyed to fall in the mud - childlike innocent fun. Venka's irritation was so out of place - getting dirty shouldn't be a matter at all on a magical world like Homestead. Venks seemed to have forgotten or suppressed everything from her upbringen. Massive PTSD from her being shot?

Will I go on and see where the new story will lead us? Of course I will. Standing instruction for my physical issues is set.

It’s about what I was expecting. After Final Quest I’m not expecting OQ standards of either art or story. The art was terrible in places...
Yes, Jink is obnoxious. The story refers to her as Skywise’s ‘remarkable’ 3 year old. Well...remarkable is certainly one way of describing her but not necessarily the one I would use. I hope she’s not going to be too Mary Sue-ish, and perhaps I’m reading too much into it, but Strongbow’s comments that even when she’s yelling he likes Jink’s voice, and that she sends better than he does smells of Mary Sue-ism to me.

I didn’t much like the TimTam reveal being used as the cliffhanger again. And where the hell did the gold circlet and the hair tie come from? Are they flesh??? {{shudder}}

Timmain seems a little clingy - Skywise goes off to visit a friend for ten minutes and then she’s all “beloved I’m near, come to my side”. Let the guy hang out with his friends occasionally, sheesh!

Overall though, it’s ok. I’ll keep reading it.

Quote :

but Strongbow’s comments that even when she’s yelling he likes Jink’s voice,

The way I read it that's proud Daddy's sending, Stargazer.

Otherwise we seem to have pretty much the same general view on Stargazer's Hunt.

We have the term "Nervensäge" (literally: nerves saw) I'd like to use for Jink. Dictionary suggests among others "pain in the neck" ... or "play the squeaky wheel" - that's a very descriptive term! XD

Embala wrote:

Quote :

but Strongbow’s comments that even when she’s yelling he likes Jink’s voice,

The way I read it that's proud Daddy's sending, Stargazer.

On looking at it again you may be right Embala...there’s only one sending star. I still find it improbable that she already sends better than Strongbow - a notably powerful sender - at three years of age.

‘Nerves saw’ makes perfect sense in English even though we don’t have the term. Perfect description for Jink!
One thing I did like was Skywise’s regrets at missing so much of the lives of people he held dear, and his determination to be there for Jink. He’s obviously done some growing up.

Jink is annoying, she's like the kid in the Star Wars prequels: special powers, pilots vessels at a young age, all people like her even if there's no reason to do so.
Even if Maggoty meant Jink and Skywise, she's still talking about inserting shards into the anus of a small child. No idea how that survived proofreading.

But "bye bye" and "parking" also survived proofreading. Also, why are the elves living in a city? Why is it called city? Are there even enough elves around to form a city? I mean, there aren't that many who left Abode and even if, the number is probably lower than 2,000.

The cliffhanger is not a real cliffhanger, we already had the exact same reveal once.

Yeah, and isn't it pretty obvious how the story will go down from here? Skywise will freak out and Jink will wipe his mind, which will upset him even more and Jink will fly to Abode. Hey, she even talked of Fun twice this issue.
The only open question remaining is, will there be a grown up Jink à la Future Quest? Obviously, no one will answer how a child, with no navigation system or any idea where the planet lies, found Abode.

Ha ha "Nerves saw". Yes, that term of my language fits so good, I would use it for Jink (Junk) too .
WHAT was that? She is 3 years old? Never! I have 4 children and my youngest is 3 now. I have seen enough that I can say : Even if there are differences between elves and humans, NO 3 year old sentient being is that far developed! I saw her for 5 years old not one year younger, the proportions and the level of development may fit to 5 years. Of course there are those "wonder children" with astonishing abilities, but a 3 year old kid lives in a "dreamy" world where they live together with imagined "friends" and "living"toys , cling to the parents , have a simpler vocabulary than Jink (and with it also a lower ability to think on high level) and a task for a 3 year old is to learn to play with others than only autistic with oneselves (starting Kindergarten), the task is to become less babylike more social. Jink plays and talks like no 3 year old ever, she reacts too complex to Skywises sorrowful brooding. Maybe a 3 year old doesn`t even notice the sorrow, because it lives in it`s own world. If it is able to recognize sorrow on a face, they may ask: "What is it?" And that was it, nothing more than probably: "You do not have to be sad, everything is good. " Or something like that

Off Topic: @Stargazer: Did you draw your wonderful avatar? It `s gorgeous! Luv it. Let me guess: you are the female version of Skywise?
I would so like to download that picture in big.

Back to topic: Skywise: Since when does he regret that he could not raise Yun? When he met her the first time, his neck hair raised , because he did not want to have any children, and meeting her gave him a portion stress: "oh no , please not...!" Yun had to calm him down: "I`m fully grown, you don`t need to raise me" That's how I remember it. He was that "Don`t- bother -me -with -children -lover!

Yeee - thank you! Yes, I did draw it but it’s not intended to be me as the female version - I drew it when there was a spate of gender-bender pictures and stories, perhaps it was on the old Scroll of Colours.

@ Miss Gill - Language bugs me too but I had those moments way back during Shards when Two-Edge was disgruntled by the dismantling of his traps: "Vandals - at least pause to appreciate" or something like that.

Vandals - a human tribe on earth, not the World of Two Moons. RP was always insisting that Abode wasn't earth and yet he did use a historically inaccurate term to describe invaders. There was more but this one stood out like a middle finger to historians and lectors alike.

So I'm not surprised language has become even more sloppy.

Miss Gillespie wrote:

Even if Maggoty meant Jink and Skywise, she's still talking about inserting shards into the anus of a small child. No idea how that survived proofreading.

But "bye bye" and "parking" also survived proofreading.

That's one of the frustrating things about creator-owned comics, though - if it's not a technical flaw (misspelled words, punctuation errors), then it's only something to be corrected if the creators think it's a mistake. Which seems to be the vibe where EQ comics are concerned lately, tbh.

I can't speak much to the story, as I only read the preview pages, but the issue with the art, I think, is that it mostly looks like someone aping Wendy Pini's style as opposed to Wendy's designs being translated to another artist's style. I'd never have mistaken the work of Carol Lyon, Steve Blevins, or Lorraine Reyes for Wendy Pini's, but that was never the point back then. These days, though? There have been some subtle and not-so-subtle movements by the Pinis in their recent work to minimize the contributions other writers and artists have made to Elfquest over the decades, even while Wendy's ability to complete comics at the pace demanded of a modern comics market diminishes. So getting someone who's willing and reasonably able to deliver an imitation of Wendy's style is just what the situation calls for. The problem is, that leaves the art looking like it's come from an artist who's still learning to draw by imitation rather than reference, which means the quality of the art is going to be pretty OK at best, stiff and lifeless at worst.

Full confession - I read issue 1 online for free. I refuse to pay for this. I doubt I will continue reading the series. If I do, it will be once all the issues are released in a collected volume. Hopefully my library will carry it. But I won't feel too bad if I never read this or any future EQ tales.

I don't like Sonny's art. I preferred, in this issue, Wendy's rough layouts over Sonny's finished linework. I would be willing to pay (less than the current price) just for her roughs. I don't understand why Wendy can't take 3 or even 5 years to produce a complete graphic novel on her own timeline. The fans would wait, we've waited longer before. I'd prefer that over what we're getting now. I don't pretend to know the realities of the comic book market or Wendy and Richard's financial obligations. We've all got bills to pay. But I can't imagine taking some extra time to produce a quality product with Wendy's art would hit them too hard in their bank accounts? In the long run, I'd say that is a smarter move financially that putting out sub-par product. The fans aren't going to stick around out of loyalty and nostalgia forever (looking at you, Terminator, Star Wars, etc..) Eventually they're going to realize the jig is up.

Speaking of fans, are we (they?) so starved for EQ content that we'll just accept anything? Obviously on this forum fans feel free to express themselves candidly. But my god, the Facebook fan page is nothing but constant ass-kissing and accolades. There is no room on there for critique or even outright expression of dissapointment. The Pini's have insinuated themselves into that group - I think they are now admins. They've shut down discussions before. It's a very subtle authoritarian style of control of discourse. By their presence alone they influence the tone of the discussion. They have their own official Facebook page. Why can't they stay on there and leave the fans to their own group? It's nice that they interact with their fanbase and they are so accessible, but their presence has created an environment where fans are afraid to express what they are truly thinking. We should be able to say the things we're saying here in that group.

Wendy's never been great about dealing with dissenting opinions, but it used to be you could have a pretty good conversation with Richard over on the old Scroll of Colors forums. Don't know what happened there, but they've been in echo-chamber mode for some time now. If they essentially want their own version of the Byrne Robotics forums, whatever. I'm not buying his new stuff these days either.

It is entirely possible they're putting out books at this pace because of financial issues; generally speaking, comics are not a steady, easy, or well-paying gig (especially when splitting whatever revenue there is between multiple parties). The Pinis are nearing their 70's; most folks are looking at retirement at around that point, if they're not already there, as opposed to taking on new projects. It could well be Wendy is farming out art duties on this story because she's not capable of doing all the heavy lifting herself, or that she's doing the art on a project for later release and had to choose where to put her limited time and energy. Also, age could be a factor in that Wendy has more story to tell and isn't sure how much time she has left to tell it, hence getting out as fast as possible.

Regardless, though, if you're going to put out a project in the comics Direct Market, single issues are usually the best way to go, return wise. Putting out the single issues, and then a later collection means a steadier cash flow than just the collections, since single issues provide a quicker return, help absorb printing costs for the collection up front, and act as advertisements for the collected edition. At some point, every artist has to decide where the balance between artistic expression and pragmatism lies, and I can't fault the Pinis for opting to tilt more toward the latter than the former given the realities of the comics market. There's a lot of competition for shelf space out there.

But I do agree that this could be where the Pinis lose some long time fans. After SatS, I do think there was an expectation that the books would be all Wendy, all the time. A Wendy cover with someone else essentially tracing Wendy's work in the interior is going to feel like a bait and switch to some.

Elfquest fans, I've generally found, don't tend to have the same buying habits as "Wednesday Warrior" type of comic fan. They don't necessarily do a lot of buying of single issues, they find out about new offerings via community more than advertisements and Previews, or even just by seeing new work in the bookstore. So it's easier for them to miss new stuff and catch up in large chunks. And having FQ with this as a follow-up be the re-entry point after a few years could be an unpleasant shock.