With tomorrow marking the milestone of 40 years for the
Elfquest series and the release of The Final Quest's last issue - which will be the final ever issue overall - we got a chance to ask the creators Wendy and Richard Pini some questions about the series and their 4-decade journey with Cutter, Skywise and the rest of the beloved characters that inhabit this fantasy world.
Check out the interview down below:
Q - Who was your favorite character from the comics?
A - That’s kind of like asking a parent, who’s their favorite child. The more meaningful question is, which character represents each of us most? People think Richard and Wendy must be Cutter and Skywise, but the truth is Wendy is Cutter, the chief (since she’s the one who originally came up with the idea for Elfquest) and Richard is Skywise, the companion who helps in all aspects of the creation of the comic.
Q - What are you going to miss most about making comics?
A - The deadlines!
Q - Which arc was your favorite?
A - Again, that’s not a question that can be answered. Each arc has its deep appeal. The Original Quest set everything up. Kings of the Broken Wheel was a time-spanning, gut-wrenching thriller. And Final Quest, well that one just wraps everything up after forty years. It brings together all the threads that were introduced over the entire span of the comic, and ties them all together.
Q - What would you say to the fans of the comic series?
A - We’ve probably said everything we’ve ever wanted to say via the pages of the comics. But looking at it another way, we would certainly want to send a huge “thank you” to everyone who’s read the stories over the years, who’s stuck with Elfquest through thick and thin, who’s taken this grand journey with us.
Q - What is your next big project?
A - We don’t have anything on the drawing board right this moment. We’re taking all of 2018 to celebrate Elfquest’s completion, and that’s got our full attention.
Q - Did you expect the series to go as long as it did?
A - Not really. When we started, we didn’t know very much about producing or publishing or distributing a comic book series at all. We just knew we wanted to tell this story, and we didn’t want to go broke in the process. Because Elfquest found success as quickly as it did, we’ve been able to keep the project going through good years and bad in the comics business.
Q - What was your favorite part about making the comics?
A - Aside from cashing the checks coming in from distributors (and later licensees)? The sheer joy of tackling a story problem, of discussing it and looking at it from different perspectives, sometimes for hours, until it got solved. There’s no feeling quite like landing upon a perfect bit of plot or script after a long story conference.
Q - What gave you the idea to start making the Elf Quest comics?
A - Wendy has been a storyteller all her life, and all her stories have been basically about one theme - characters who are outsiders, or who are marginalized, finding each other and finding family or community or safe haven. So the general idea had been there a long time. When Star Wars blew things wide open in 1977, and showed the world that science fiction and fantasy were OK for the general public to like, we realized the time was ripe to take our own shot and to start publishing Elfquest.
Q - If there is anything that you could do differently what would it be?
A - If we had known then what we know now, about how certain things work in the comics and entertainment businesses, we might have been able to avoid making some of the mistakes we did. But overall, we’re proud of what we created, and how we’ve handled it, and wouldn’t change a thing.
Q - Was there anything controversial in the comics?
A - Elfquest has always been a bit subversive and edgy, in its portrayal of different lifestyles and relationships. But probably the most famous “controversial” sequence is what has come to be known as “The Infamous Orgy Scene” in the Original Quest. On the eve of a big battle, several elf tribes who have banded together to fight marauding trolls, have an anything-goes party. There’s nothing actually shown, there’s no nudity, but the implication is clear that the elves are having consensual fun. (Which, if you think about it, makes sense. Tomorrow, the warriors are going off possibly to die, so they try to make as many offspring as possible while they can.) We got a lot of response to that. Most of it was very positive, thanking us for being honest in the storytelling. A few people were outraged though, and gave us grief for producing “smut.”
What are your thoughts on the answers? What questions would you love to ask the creators of
Elfquest? Are you a fan of the franchise? Let us know in the comments down below!
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