I
took a lot of crap back in the day for being an Elfquest fan. And
make no mistake, I was a fan. A really big fan. Elfquest has been
easily dismissed by many comics fans (and I'm going risk sounding
sexist by saying primarily male comics fans), as being too cutesy.
People tended to see the art style, with the big eyes and the
child-like anatomy and protagonists who smiled in wonder a lot and
misunderstand what the series was about. Apparently, it appeared
girly, or silly, or too pretty at a time when Miller's Daredevil and
the Wolverine mini-series were starting the grim-and-gritty ball rolling.
As popular as fantasy has been in fiction, as Lord of the Rings has
proven, there are still a huge contingent of people who just can't
take anything with elves or other fantasy creatures seriously. Weird
aliens and Lovecraftian monsters, it seems, are just fine, but
dragons and fairies push the bounds of acceptance.
Whatever.
Elfquest was so much more than what people assumed.
