Greg Evans: Interview with the creator of comic strip Luann
The week of Dec. 4, 2016 will be a big one for cartoonist Greg Evans. After about 15 years of courtship, Brad Degroot and Toni Daytona will finally tie the knot in his comic strip LUANN. Their slow-burning romance began with Toni’s first appearance on Feb. 25, 2002, and since then they have had to deal with many awkward moments, years of will-they-or won’t-they to their eventual falling madly in love and now their upcoming wedding.
Greg Evans took the time to chat with Michelle Tompkins in December 2016 and told us about his work, the evolution of his characters, the three subjects he stays away from and more.
TCC: Please tell me in a sentence or two about LUANN for people who have not seen it before?
GE: LUANN is about one young woman’s endless struggle to become an adult.
TCC: How did it start?
GE: At age 37, I had endured a dozen failed attempts to get a strip picked up by a syndicate (the strips I was sending seemed awesome to me at the time. Now, I can see why they were rejected). I was about to give up my dream of being the next Charles Schulz when I noticed 6-year-old Karen walking around dressed in Betty’s clothes, makeup and jewelry. The idea of a saucy little girl popped into my head (think female Dennis The Menace). As I began working up ideas, the name “Luann” emerged and the character became 13. Suddenly, instead of inspiration coming from my head (resulting in contrived strips like “2 crazy clowns!” and “weird used car salesman!” and “a bird and a cat who are BFFs!”) inspiration was coming from my heart, from experience, from my own family. That made all the difference. “Write what you know” yes, but I think it’s more important to “write what you feel.”
TCC: How would you describe Luann’s evolution over the years?
GE: She began as a 13 year old, insecure, plain, Charlie Brown loser-type whose main focus in life was the adorable and elusive Aaron Hill. Today, she’s a young college student who still struggles with doubts about who and what she should be. But she’s a lot less plain and more self-assured. Also, her world has expanded from a cast of around 8 in 1985 to a huge roster that I’ve lost track of!
TCC: You don’t shy away from controversy…how do you decide what topics to cover?
GE: Since Day One, I knew there were serious issues involved in telling the story of a teen girl. I wanted Luann to be a real person with real problems. So, over the years, I’ve found ways to do stories about menstruation, drugs, pregnancy, condoms, bulimia, drunk driving, cancer, etc. I’ve always wanted LUANN to be entertaining AND enlightening.
TCC: What are your favorite story lines?
GE: Characters who are sane, normal and pure are hard to write for; they’re boring. The fun ones are evil (Leslie Knox, Dirk), wacky (Knute, Goth Guy), obsessive (Bernice, Gunther) or totally clueless and self-absorbed (Tiffany and, sometimes, Luann). So when I can put a clueless with an obsessive or an evil with a wacky, sparks fly. Those are my favorite story lines.
See more at: https://starsandcelebs.com/2018/11/interview-greg-evans-creator-of-comic-strip-luann/
