......And so are we! We are proud to welcome you back, once again, to Elftown's own e-zine,
The Town Herald - Issue 18, the Zodiac. Though we did not have as big of an ET member turn out as in previous issue, we are still very proud and confident in the issue we have put together for you this time around. It may be smaller than average, but it still put outs a big punch, with some fantastic articles, great reviews - and I must say some reviews that the Herald hasn't seen in quite a bit, like wiki reviews - as well as some beautiful work by ET artist and writers in the Poetry and Art corners.
This is also our reinstatement issue for our bi-monthly schedule. Our last issue was put out after several long months of staying aloof, behind the scenes, and without much activity. And, personally, I am very impressed with our Staff for putting forth the effort and work they did in just two months after going so long without a set schedule. Take a bow, pat yourself on the backs - you've done some more outstanding work, guys. We also welcome yet another new comer, [
Thunder Cid], who is going to be leading a new sports column for each issue, kicking off this next upcoming issue with an in-depth piece on the 2008 Olympics in Beijin - exciting! I can't wait. We also welcome Elftowner Comics thanks to [
Hendercrazy]'s very own wiki
The Comic Workshop, bringing brilliant comic panels from talented ETers to be displayed in the Herald.
We are a bit meloncholy this issue though, as we ran into a bit of trouble with our featured cover artist this issue. Once upon a time, we had a regular set Art Department that was in charge of all features, graphics and illustrations - and that included providing a cover every issue. Though, as staff came and went, had internet troubles, or other life issues that were more important, it became harder for one of our own Staff members to provide a cover piece every month (as we were a monthly publication back then ;P). So a nifty, new lil feature was put in place - Feature a new ET artist as a cover artist each issue. This quickly grew into an impressive, and amazing feature of the Herlad, as it allows us to feature amazing pieces, and artists, that everyone might not know about, and provide them the opportunity for a bit more exposure, and to tell us something about themselves, their work and that specific piece thanks to our "Featured Artist" interview we provide in each issue. I loved this - this is great, and it really serves and stands for what ET should be, for everyone - and I loved that about the Herald. Though, we could not find one this issue - everyone contacted were either uncomfortable with the idea, which I'm sure they all had their own personal reasons - and that is fine....or they were on the much more "proffessional
" side of the community, that required payment to feature their pieces as our cover. Which, unfortunately, we just cannot do. The Herald, like all of ET, is a volunteer ezine, with no funding availble to spend on anything. :( So this issue, we had to revert back to old habbits and have Staff members provide a cover for us - which, indeed, did not turn out too badly thanks to the beautiful and inspiring work by Heralder [Chimes], and the last minute efforts of myself :P. Though, next issue we absolutely will continue the tradition of our Featured Cover Artist, and hopefully we wont run into anymore snags.
Thanks So much for joining us once again, and don't forget to keep an eye out for our next Issue, Due in December - and don't forget, you can contribute too by checking out the Art Corner, Poetry Corner, The Comic Workshop and Herald Guest Submissions!
--[Mordigen]Editor-In-Chief