OQ Readthrough: Issue 1, Fire and Flight

[elf]

LINK: Issue 1: Fire and Flight
Questions for this issue:

• What did you most notice about the humans?
• How do the trolls compare to cave-dwellers in other fandoms?
• What do you think of elf/troll relations? (Not those relations, you pervs; what do you think of their social arrangements?)

Main OQR post with prompt questions
Note: These aren't mandatory questions; they're meta prompts. If you don't care for any of them, or want to tangent from them to some other topic, that's fine too.

Comments

[elf]

Firsties: Icons. Grab at will; credit enjoyed but not necessary. (I'd love to see lots of EQ icons; I'm hoping that if I make simple ones from each issue, that'll inspire more skilled iconmakers to play around with the images.)

       

Meta:
Comparing this to later issues--Wendy hadn't yet figured out how to make human speech different from elf speech. The humans here talk in rounded bubbles (although a little more angular than the elves', I think, but hard to tell 'cos they're mostly yelling at each other), and don't use the later < > to indicate the coarser human language. Hmm. Also, the characters weren't as polished as later, and the wolves were perhaps a little oversized... maybe we can chalk that one up to memories being affected by adrenaline.

Less-fun meta: sexism.
I didn't notice this when I first read this issue (when I was, what, 13?), but looking at it now, after reading much of the series and with much fannish meta practice... when Cutter sent for his tribemates, why did he call Scouter but not Dewshine? I can understand not calling Nightfall if she was tending Redlance, and not calling Moonshade, Woodlock or Rainsong, all of whom were tending young children--but why not Treestump and Dewshine along with One-Eye and Scouter? For that matter, why not Clearbrook?

Later, we learn that Nightfall is one of the fiercest hunters of the tribe; I'd expect Cutter to ask someone else to tend Redlance (either Dewshine or Clearbrook, if the families with children are presumed too busy), and call Nightfall away to help confront the humans.

I don't like the "women's job is tending the menfolk" idea; it gets in the way of my happy squeeful "all elves are valued for their unique talents" concept of the EQverse. Harrumph.

[dancing_serpent]

Also, the characters weren't as polished as later
Yes, that's something I noticed, too. At the beginning Wendy seemed unsure about proportions and mimic. We know that she found and developed her style pretty quickly, though.
As someone who practically devours tons of comics and mangas the progress in an artist's skills is something I like watching.

For a wolfrider Cutter is still young and I always guessed that he's still too much influenced by Bearclaw's way on how to lead a tribe. I didn't really agree with most of Bearclaw's views, but maybe I'm drawing on faulty or confused memory here. I'll try keeping an eye on that during the read-through.

[elf]

Cutter's influence by Bearclaw doesn't explain why the men get mostly weapon or activity names, and the women get mostly passive "nature" names.

This is toned down later, and I like to think that maybe the Wolfriders have been forced into the position of "women care for the family, especially the kids," by their bare-survival lifestyle. (I know what I'd like to think is probably not what influenced the naming choices.)

At some point, I want to put together a full list of names of all the characters. But that's a long-term complex project. There's a partial list at Wikipedia, covering the main characters, but I'd like to scrounge through all the issues & novels (we'll pretend I can find a copy of the novels) for character names, and see what patterns show up.

[dancing_serpent]

Yes, we kind of start into the series like that. But the names of the wolfriders are changing all the time depending on the circumstances, don't they? I remember Redlance got his name awarded after saving Bearclaw - before that I think he had a less martially sounding name. Something simply after the colour of his hair? I don't remember all that well. Sunstream became Suntop, and One-Eye wasn't always One-Eye, too.

maybe the Wolfriders have been forced into the position of "women care for the family, especially the kids," by their bare-survival lifestyle.
That makes kind of sense to me, though. *g*

[anke]

About the sexism, I just blame it on Wendy Pini not having thought about it much so far, and thus sticking with "normal" gender roles.

I'm glad things gradually got better over time in this comic. :)

[blnchflr]

I don't like the "women's job is tending the menfolk" idea
No, I was also disappointed - though not surprised considering when it's from - at the sexism. Boo.

[elf]

Later, that was explained as Bearclaw's reaction to Skywise's mother, Eyes High, being killed by humans--after that point, women weren't to be involved in any interaction with humans.

[blnchflr]

Yes, thinking about it, considering how few of them there are, it makes sense to protect the women to ensure procreation.

[dancing_serpent]

What grabbed me most the first time I read it was that the whole conflict between men and elves started from a mixture of fear and misunderstanding. It's an age old topic and also very modern, too, and that's why it still makes an impressin on me. So many fights and wars start because of the very same reasons.

I loved how the flashback was done, especially the art. The humans looking almost ape-like while the High Ones are tall and slender and fine-boned - and then the contrast: the smaller, sturdier wolfriders and the taller, "normally" proportioned humans. The evolution of both species makes the huge amount of time that's passed from the fall of the palace until the present very clear to the reader.

[blnchflr]

What grabbed me the first time I saw EQ covers was pretty, pretty elves :oP

Reading them for the first time as an adult, I was surprised at the brutality/gore of the beginning - it leaves a strong impression now, which would only have been bigger when I was younger.

I'm also fascinated by the story being told from the Other's POV (the elves) - humans becoming Other to the reader :o)

And the evolution is definitely cool!

[dancing_serpent]

Reading them for the first time as an adult, I was surprised at the brutality/gore of the beginning - it leaves a strong impression now, which would only have been bigger when I was younger.

That's kind of surprising, because it isn't like that for me. I could deal much better with brutality and gore when I was a child than I can do now. By now I have experienced RL brutality and gore for myself, so reading about it/watching it is much more difficult and makes a deeper impression on me because now I know how that feels.

So re-reading EQ as an adult is far more intense for me in that regard.


I'm also fascinated by the story being told from the Other's POV (the elves) - humans becoming Other to the reader :o)

Oh yes, most definitely!

[blnchflr]

Icon freindz!!1

[dancing_serpent]

Hellooo, sexy! *g*

In reply to questions:

[blnchflr]

As I said above, I think the Othering of humans in the tale is nifty.

I don't know enough trolls in other fandoms to compare - they seemed a lot like the LotR trolls (movie version. Yes, I know, I suck). I didn't like the artwork on the trolls - the artwork for elves and humans is much more "serious" compared, if I'm making sense.

I very much liked the idea of the symbiotic relationship between elves/trolls!

(ETA: Now with icon \o/)