In February of 2018, with the conclusion of The Final Quest series and the kickoff of our “Forty Years of Pointed Ears” appearance tour, we launched a social media contest aimed at celebrating four decades of ElfQuest.
Fans who shared public posts about ElfQuest from their Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts using the hashtag #FortyYearsOfPointedEars were entered to win an “ElfQuest Treasure Box,” a collection of ElfQuest goodies from our personal trove. Each time the hashtag was used, it counted as another entry into the contest. The contest ended on December 31, 2018 and, collectively, fans around the world used the hashtag almost 5,000 times in celebration of ElfQuest.
We are excited to announce that the winner of the Treasure Box, selected at random from the hundreds of entrants, is John Watterberg of New York. John used #FortyYearsOfPointedEars multiple times on his personal Twitter and Instagram accounts, but also created a new Twitter profile called @ElfQuestForever devoted to sharing his love of ElfQuest, where he’s used the hashtag over 1,500 times (and counting). The effort paid off.
Upon learning he was the winner, John said, “I’m over the two MOOOOOOOOONS!!! Please announce, we accept, we’re kinda light headed.”
Included in the Treasure Box will be an original sketch of an ElfQuest character done by Wendy. When the contest started, John told his wife Melissa that if he won, the sketch would be for her. Upon learning that he was indeed the winner, John asked Melissa what character she’d like. She told him, “A young Fire & Flight Cutter. The Cutter that shaped me in my youth. Future father Cutter. Future hero Cutter. The Cutter I saw in you when we first met.”
We met the Watterbergs back in April 2018 at East Coast Comic-Con in New Jersey, one of the early stops on the Forty Years of Pointed Ears appearance tour, where they learned about the social media contest. Back then, they were a family of three, with one on the way. Today they are four, with baby sister Ember (great name choice, if we do say so) joining big brother Robbyn.
Here are some of our favorite of John’s many entries into the contest from his Twitter and Instagram accounts:
Before driving home Robbyn demanded we read the “Mountain Trolls battle” from @Elfquest. So Melissa got to read him Wendy & Richard’s words, the words from her most precious childhood memories, while they were mere feet away. PSYCHE-FREAKIN-DELIC! #FortyYearsOfPointedEars pic.twitter.com/dc3zNGPZ7o
— Rev. John Watterberg (@JohnWatterberg) April 29, 2018
The next #40YearsOfPointedEars begins with Fire & Flight… pic.twitter.com/grbF4oJyD1
— Rev. John Watterberg (@JohnWatterberg) July 12, 2018
Learning to read can be fun! #FortyYearsOfPointedEars pic.twitter.com/MfVt9asXXs
— Rev. John Watterberg (@JohnWatterberg) September 6, 2018
But it was a tweet from John’s @ElfQuestForever account which won him the ElfQuest Treasure Box. Here are some highlights of his posts from that account, which were mostly panels from the Original Quest with some astute and often funny commentary:
Beautiful and bittersweet. #FortyYearsOfPointedEars pic.twitter.com/YA3Nhhe3RW
— Forty Years Of Pointed Ears (@ElfQuestForever) October 27, 2018
Sounds delicious. #FortyYearsOfPointedEars pic.twitter.com/AkOs7V61Ro
— Forty Years Of Pointed Ears (@ElfQuestForever) November 12, 2018
Confrontation? #FortyYearsOfPointedEars pic.twitter.com/3x6N65eoqm
— Forty Years Of Pointed Ears (@ElfQuestForever) October 26, 2018
Uh-oh! #FortyYearsOfPointedEars pic.twitter.com/yY3xqcwqfe
— Forty Years Of Pointed Ears (@ElfQuestForever) October 26, 2018
Excellent subversion of the “women-as-adversaries” paradigm. Elves are family. #FortyYearsOfPointedEars pic.twitter.com/syPZIV3uq8
— Forty Years Of Pointed Ears (@ElfQuestForever) October 26, 2018
Iconic. #FortyYearsOfPointedEars pic.twitter.com/VPlMlcggJ4
— Forty Years Of Pointed Ears (@ElfQuestForever) December 17, 2018
Always bond with the abuela. #FortyYearsOfPointedEars pic.twitter.com/YSFKXzmtSr
— Forty Years Of Pointed Ears (@ElfQuestForever) December 12, 2018
This is so awesome. #FortyYearsOfPointedEars pic.twitter.com/vK2itXpFRx
— Forty Years Of Pointed Ears (@ElfQuestForever) October 31, 2018
Congratulations to John, and a hearty howl for everyone who participated in the contest over the course of 2018. Every one of your posts helped share ElfQuest with the world, and for that we are grateful. Here’s to the next Forty Years of Pointed Ears!
