Friday, Jun. 19, 2009

Coming to our comics Monday: Luann

By Ken Robertson, Herald Executive Editor

When we added the comic Tundra to the Herald on May 11, we asked readers for feedback on other comics they would like to see.

Then we consulted comics surveys done over the past few years by other newspapers.

And there was a clear winner — Luann.

She’s clearly one of America’s favorite teens.

Since her debut in 1985 as a 13-year-old, Luann has become one of the nation’s favorite comics characters, although she’s aged all of three years — as only comics characters can — in the 24 years since.

But now at age 16, “She has her driver’s license, a new hairstyle and a complex life,” reports her creator, Greg Evans.

She also has hundreds of thousands of devoted followers.

In March, when The Oregonian in Portland reported the results of its latest survey, Luann was the clear No. 2.

What was No. 1? Pickles, which also was the favorite of the Herald’s comics when we conducted our last survey several years ago. And The Oregonian’s No. 3 was Baby Blues, one of the comics we added to the Herald several years ago because of reader requests.

Some of our readers also suggested adding Luann, which, as Elaine Jones told us, “would be a good counterpart to Zits, which I also like.”

Luann also has been rated among the top five comics by readers in such large communities as Denver, San Francisco, Sacramento and Phoenix, as well as in such small communities as Torrance, Calif., and York, Pa.

Luann’s world includes “best buds” Bernice and Delta James; brother Brad, who’s a “lazy waste of perfectly good carbon;” parents Frank and Nancy DeGroot; the formerly flawless object of a long-running crush, Aaron Hill; the villainous Tiffany Farrell, who’s a brainless 5 pounds of makeup “in a sleazy miniskirt;” and Gunther Berger, the school’s brain boy but a clueless fellow who’s unlikely to be any girl’s — let alone Luann’s — boy toy.

And, of course, she has a dog, Puddles, whose name is no accident.

We hope you find her world as entertaining as many others have. Let us know, via e-mail, phone call, letter or by adding a comment in the comment box at the end of this blog.

Luann is replacing Adam, whose original creator, Brian Bassett, recently walked away from that comic. The replacement artist and changes in Adam’s characters have changed both that comic’s tenor and appearance, opening an opportunity for us to add Luann.

So far, you’ve told us we clearly picked a winner when we added Tundra. We’ve heard nothing but praise for the off-kilter snowmen, bears and other large beasts that come from the mind of Tundra’s creator, Chad Carpenter.

If you have any other ideas about our comics page, please send them along as well.

w Ken Robertson: 582-1520; krobertson@tricityherald.com

Stay updated with the latest news from the Tri-City Herald with an RSS feed: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/1309/story/97842.html