Old school fan finds elfquest again

Seeing as this is my first post to this usenet, I will make the
obiligatory (and well-deserved) fan testimonial.

I was just a young shy kid in the mid 80's, raised on a diet of Reagan
republicanism, Rambo movies, and GI Joe when I stumbled across an
issue of the Marvel Epic reprints of some comic called "Elfquest".
Issue 8. Up until then, my monthly diet had been a who's who of the
usual suspects. Xmen, superman, etc etc etc. bulging biceps, machismo
posturing, mechanical writing.

But something about this lonesome issue 8 stuck out. I would later
describe it in adult terms as a mix of lush cover art, an intriguing,
more organic style, a different paradigm....but to be honest, back
then, XMen hadn't come in yet, and this just
looked....different....and cool.

It had begun. Within a few months I had copies of the famous Starblaze
color collections, and had fallen in love with a story that spoke,
ironically, of truly human experience. No hackneyed story lines, no
two dimensional villians, no world threatening plots...just survival,
love, and a story that drew you in and woudln't let you go. An
experience that became one of those treasured memories of books from
your childhood. Up there with Bridge to Teribithia, The Dark is
Rising, Julie of the Wolves, and the like. Better even, for its
promise of more significance in later life.

As the years passed, I was occasionally suprised in the comic store by
a "new" elfquest series", and the infatuation would pop up again. Even
through college, as WARP expanded publishing what seemed like a
bazillion series a month, I somehow managed to spare some beer and
pizza money for that next issue.

I never wrote a letter, I never visited a website, I never sounded my
praise on the rooftops. I lost touch with elfquest in grad school, and
part of me told myself I was at the point where I was too old for
comics. Oh the rationalizations we make...

So just recently, reflecting on a childhood in the deep woods of NY,
having moved to the concrete plains of Houston, Elfquest popped back
into my memory.

and lo and behold, it's going strong. And I'm glad. Not just because
I'm incredibly happy for your perserverance and belief in a dream, and
not just because it promised a continuation of that story I could
never really cut myself off from...

..but mostly I was glad because I can take the opportunity to thank
you, Wendy and Richard. Not as a slavering fan-boy, not as an obsessed
elfophile, but as someone to whom your story has been the old
fireplace in my family's home in NY. No matter where I go, no matter
what I do, it will always be there, and it will always be a comfort.
Even if the fire is only stoked up occasionally, the memory of it
keeps you going through the cold. This is what elfquest has been to
me. Part and parcel of my childhood memories of great stories, and a
link to a warm, inviting place.

Thanks for your talent, and for sharing a damn great story and
artistic vision with us all these years.

Justin