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CSUN University News Clippings

Profile of ‘Luann creator and CSUN alum Greg Evans

(September 15, 2009)

By Rosalie Robles Crowe
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
“Luann” creator Greg Evans always wanted to be a cartoonist, even when he was growing up in Burbank, Calif.
But his career took a detour through the teaching profession while he searched for ideas to cartoon.
He had tried comic strips off and on beginning in his college days at San Fernando State College (now California State University-Northridge). But they were always rejected.
Finally, he figured out what was wrong:
“I was thinking too much. I was trying to find a subject that was missing from the comic pages — a clown or a policeman — and using my head instead of developing something from my heart.”
Luann was born from watching his 6-year-old daughter play dress-up. Only instead of telling about a young child, he advanced his ideas to the teen years.
And it worked.
The strip has evolved from “a joke a day” strip in 1985 to the current humorous but often thought-provoking story lines. But a funny thing happened after he began developing these story lines.
“You create characters and set them on this path. And they start acting on their own.
“I’m surprised myself at the turns the story takes.”
For his efforts, Evans was awarded the National Cartoonists Society’s 2003 Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year, putting him in the company of the giants of cartooning. He had been nominated for the award in five previous years.

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