Luann (comic strip)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Luann is a syndicated comic strip, distributed in newspapers by United Features Syndicate since March 17, 1985, featuring the ups and downs of life for a typical American teen-aged girl, Luann DeGroot. Luann is written and drawn by Greg Evans, who won the 2003 Reuben Award as Cartoonist of the Year.

1 Characters
2 Topics
3 Specific Storylines
4 Aging of the characters
5 Luann Musical
6 External link

[edit] Characters

Luann DeGroot: The main character of the strip. She is a teenager at Pitts High School. Although the official setting of the strip remains untold, clues point to either Pittsburg, California, or Pittsville, Wisconsin as the real setting. The majority of the topics center around Luann. Luann often suffers from a poor self-assessment of her attractiveness and popularity (especially her large feet), when in fact she actually scores quite well in both areas. She doesn't believe she has any Dutch blood in her but loves the wooden shoes equated with its culture.

In recent strips, Luann and Bernice, while gossiping about the 'Humungous Talent' scam they pulled on Tiffany back in July 2006, spilled it all while Tiffany was listening to them, who in fact was not angry about the scam at all, on account of having gotten a role in an upcoming play. Luann, Bernice, and Delta have all started their own MySpace page as well as shown here. To keep up with the competition, both Luann and Tiffany covered the walls of the school with MySpace ads for their pages, but were ordered to take it down on Miss Phelps orders. After that ended, Luann took up an activity of reading stories to kids, and was accompanied by Gunther. After seeing how much the children loved her, Luann felt more confident about herself.

Bernice Halper and Delta James: Luann's two best friends. Delta (an African-American) is portrayed as a go-getter, while Bernice is more laid back and observent. In 1998, Delta was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. The following year, Delta got the necessary treatment and the cancer was removed, and she was in remission.

Nancy and Frank DeGroot: Luann's parents. Frank is portrayed as clueless to a point while able to point things out, while Nancy is portrayed as more aware of what is happening but not able get through to her children.

Brad DeGroot: Luann's older, thickheaded and sloppy, but soft-hearted brother. Luann usually shows a lack of respect toward Brad (and vice versa), who for most of the strip was portrayed as lazy and aimless. He used to work at Weenie World, a hot dog and hamburger restaurant similar to Wienerschnitzel. However following the events of September 11th, 2001, Brad has decided to drop the lazy, worthless couch potato' stature and take the entire course necessary to become a firefighter, which has earned more respect from Luann. This is where it all began for Brad to become a firefighter. His recent adjustment in the strip has resulted in a near parallel storyline that has given almost equal time as a Luann storyline gets, from saving Zane's life from a burning building, to making friends with Toni Daytona, to saving her psycho boyfriend from dying in a car accident, and to graduating Fire Academy, but ultimately being struck by Dirk for protecting Toni from his abuse once again. In recent strips, Brad, now a full-time firefighter, has begun considering moving out of his family's home and into his own place. At that same time, Nancy and Frank have bought Mrs. Horner's old home, and agreed to renting it to Brad.

Tiffany Farrell: Popular and beautiful cheerleader, who serves as Luann's main rival. As Miss Chamber of Commerce, she also goes by the name Sheraton St. Louis, a name evocative of real-life socialite Paris Hilton. Luann and Tiffany formerly battled over the affections of Aaron Hill, but once Aaron moved to Hawaii, they found that their rivalry extended to topics beyond competition for one guy. Luann sees her as five pounds of makeup in micro-mini and stiletto heels, with all the behavior of Batman's enemies but virtually none of the IQ. In fact, Tiffany's constant consideration of Luann as a potent rival exposes to the reader how incorrect Luann's own low self-assessment of her beauty and popularity really is. In May 2005, she videotaped Miss Phelps and Mr. Fogarty dancing together at the Spring Dance, and then accidentally told Luann, who threatened to tell both the teachers what she did, until Tiffany videotaped her changing in the locker room with her cell phone camera. Luann kept quiet about the cell phone violation, until September 2005, when Tiffany wanted the book report Luann did on Moby Dick to turn in herself for a grade, which she got an A+ on, and threatened to distribute the video of her in the locker room to the public if Luann refused. After reporting her to Miss Phelps failed in a case of denial by Tiffany, she released the video to the public, but Luann and Gunther caught a shot of Tiffany aiming her cell phone on the mirror in Luann's locker door, resulting in exposing Tiffany and suspending her for a month. She has an official MySpace account, mentioned in the strip, here.

Crystal: Tiffany's best friend. Crystal wears goth makeup and clothing, almost the exact opposite of the shallow fashion- and looks-obsessed Tiffany. She has a handicapped brother who looks up to Zane as an older brother.

Aaron Hill: The boy of both Luann's and Tiffany's dreams. He has been seen to be both vain, and thus favors Tiffany, and considerate of actual feelings and thus continues to spark interest in Luann. He lives in Hawaii now. In August 2005 Luann won a free trip to Hawaii and visited Aaron, but learned about his new chinese girlfriend, Lian. He has recently set up his own MySpace page, and has sent a message to Luann talking about his recent events in Hawaii, including having broken up with Lian, sparking another love craze for Aaron in Luann.

Miguel Vargas: Foreign Exchange Student from Spain. He once saved Tiffany's life by performing CPR after she almost drowned in the pool. She showered him with her love, until she used him to steal Gunther's test paper so she could copy the answers. He took the blame for it and in so doing, chose to return to his home country for a better life.

Stuart: Lifeguard at the Pitts Public Pool. He once saved both Luann and Tiffany from drowning in the pool (after Tiffany, in a panic, almost got Luann drowned, who had been trying to save her). She grew some love interest in Stuart after that and even asked him out on a date. She was willing to take the next step with Stuart until he mentioned his wife, which broke Luann's heart, and they never even dated again afterwards.

Gunther Berger: A highly intellectual student with poor fashion and gentlemanly qualities. He has an on-again, off-again romantic interest in Luann at times and in Bernice at other times. He has recently gotten contacts in replacement of his glasses, attracting Luann in more ways than ever.

Knute: The upbeat, skateboarding, class clown and Gunther's best friend. In the story, Knute and Gunther often team up to create a working but often unsuccessful result. He and Crystal have shared feelings for each other but never showed much more than that, finding they are the exact opposite of each other in every way.

Elwood: The "Elvis Jr." of Pitts High School. His first appearance was here He is half Luann's height, has a very cocky attitude, and is willing to walk in and out of any woman at anytime he pleases. He once accepted Luann's offer to take him to the Spring 2005 Dance, until he 'was asked by someone better', but then went back to Luann once again to go with her, who turned him down for turning her down. He was a character created for several story arcs,and hasn't appeared since these stories ended.

Mr. Fogarty: The school history teacher. He secretly loves Miss Phelps.

Miss Phelps: The school guidance counselor. She secretly loves Mr. Fogarty.

Miss Allison: The school P.E. teacher. She, like all other fitness teachers, is very tough and hard-nosed with her students. Out of all the teachers Luann knows well at Pitts High School, Miss Allison seems to be the only one Luann looks up to as a mentor figure.

Principal Hightower: The principal of Pitts High School. His name practically speaks for itself when referring to how high he is above the faculty. His identity is never seen, except for his hands when they're faced down on his desk.

T.J.: Brad's best friend, who comes up with outrageous schemes, and when they fail, manages to leave Brad holding the bag. Nearly everytime he goes off the strip and returns, he always replies with 'here. there' or 'had things to do.' Known for usually being a very sarcastic smart aleck with Brad. After Brad broke up with Toni, TJ considered trying his luck with Toni, despite his best friend's advise against doing so, telling him he would only receive a heart break from Toni and, shortly thereafter, a face break from Dirk. Whether or not he has actually gone through with hitting on Toni is still unknown.

Captain: The firefighter captain of Fire Station #3, and Brad's superior officer. Brad first met him when he began the physical exam for Fire Academy. While his name remains unknown, he is very straight-forward, disciplined, and 'tough-as-nails'. He has assigned Brad and Toni to take Reddy to local schools on more than one occasion, and has assigned Brad on the simple tasks of his rank as a firefighter.

EMT Supervisor: Brad's supervisor during his 6 months of EMT service before taking his Paramedics class. As gracious as he was about Brad fearlessly saving Zane from dying in the fires of the Borderline Bookstore, he had to file a reprimand on Brad's record for violating safety rules, acting outside his training scope, and not wearing proper safety gear. Like the Firestation Captain, his name is not given.

Toni Daytona: Brad's neighbor and semi-unrequited love interest (and now fellow firefighter). Her first appearance was here when they met in CPR and First Aid class, which is where their path to become firefighters began, and they went on from EMT Training, and to the Paramedics class together, until Brad failed the physical exam for Fire Academy and they both went onto Fire Academy alone, but continued to remain in touch. She seems to have shown some love for Brad, but whether it is real love or just friendship has remained unknown. After Brad had Dirk arrested for violating his restraining order too many times (and for other actions that proved to Brad he's only been pulling an act, but Brad for reasons unknown has not let Toni in on yet), they stopped speaking. She has recently returned to the strip on her job with Brad of visiting elementary schools with the Fire Station Mascot Reddy, and they both failed the act terribly while arguing in front of the kids about their break-up.

Dirk: Toni's jealous former boyfriend, who, like Tiffany Farrell to Luann, serves as Brad's main rival, and who has been both emotionally abusive toward her and physically abusive to Brad, and often had severe anger problems. He first appeared here The grudge between him and Brad set off starting here when Brad drove off with Toni and away from him one night, and Dirk chased after them and ended up crashing and, had it not been for Brad who rushed to his aid and rescuscitated him in time, would have died. Since then, Dirk had been trying to keep Toni away from him any way possible, even trying to strangle him to death, proven here. After striking Brad at his Fire Academy Graduation Ceremony here, he was arrested and issued to stay away from Brad and take an anger management course, but continuously violated the restraining order, (since October 2005). In the beginning of May 2006, he was thrown to jail again because Brad called the police on him for violating his restraining order. They cannot keep him behind bars forever, so his return to the strip is still in the question.

Diane: Brad's first love interest. Brad, like the way he was back in the day, was very confused by her motives and character. Before she left for the last time, she found she and Brad had very little in common. Much like the fate of Lyman from the classic comic strip Garfield, she disappeared from the strip and has not returned since then. This was the last time she ever appeared in the strip.

Rosa Aragones: The new girl at PHS. She was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Italy, France, and Mexico, and can speak English as well as French, Italian, and Spanish, much to Luann's puzzlement of why she's in school.

Mrs. Horner: An elderly lady that Luann visits from time to time. Frequently gives candid advice to Luann. In March 2006 she moved out of her old home and into a new retirement center, but she needed the help of Luann who asked Bernice, Brad, and Toni to help her move her out, but Dirk followed Toni to the home, and in order to impress and be near Toni, helped the moving job finish faster, but when he picked up Mrs. Horner's clock, an envelope full of money fell out, which Dirk looked into and pocketed, intending to steal it, and when he was caught by Brad, he claimed it to be his, but when Brad swiped it at the perfect time to return to Mrs. Horner, Dirk turned his story around and claimed to have found the envelope in the clock and intended to return it to her. He would have been kicked out had Mrs. Horner not believed his lie. She has recently sold her old home to Nancy and Frank, who have begun renting to Brad.

Zane: Teenager paralyzed from the waist down. Former boyfriend of Bernice Halper. He was once saved by Brad in a fire.

Ann Eiffel: Former manager of Borderline Books. When she hired Bernice as an employee, Bernice began working with Zane, one of the supervisors of Borderline, Eiffel became very jealous and kept them away from each other as much as possible. Bernice suspected Eiffel of trying to come on to Zane, but when she fired Zane, it turned out Eiffel was extremely feminist, and sexist, and favored Bernice much more. For firing Zane, Bernice developed a very rebellious attitude, which led to Eiffel becoming more forceful to her, until Borderline CEO Jim Hernandez entered the store and transferred Eiffel to the new bookstore in Tokyo, Japan (Who happened to have known Zane very well, and was arranged to remove Eiffel from the store as a means of payback for firing Zane).

Eddie Munter: The new manager of Borderline Books, who replaced Ann Eiffel after she was unwillingly transferred. While Munter is normally very humorous and good-hearted, often ending his comments or jokes with "Kidding!", he knows when to be tough and decisive with his employees, earning the respect of Bernice and Zane shortly after he took over.

Puddles: Luann's dog, so named for his tendency to wee in the wrong spots.

Monroe: Zane's dog and special canine companion. He is a Golden Retriever and has grown to be a very faithful companion for Zane.

Reddy: The Fire Station Mascot. He is a small, 3 foot, Fire Truck, with a remote controller and a built in speaker connected to a microphone and head set, to appear as though he is speaking with his partner. Brad and Toni have brought him to local elementary schools on more than one occasion in order to demonstrate the importance of fire safety.

Cuddles: Luann's cat, a recent addition to the strip (the storyline has Frank DeGroot as being allergic to cats; thus, Luann must keep the two separated). Recently Luann gave Cuddles to Mrs. Horner, to spare her father from his allergies. While Puddles showed some hatred towards Cuddles mainly over territory and attention from Luann matters, he also showed some love as they've cuddled and slept together a few times. Cuddles' original name was Sassy (Clearly a reference to the classic novel & film Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey), until Mrs. Horner found a better name as Cuddles.

[edit] Topics

The strip has attained a degree of notoriety for its mixing of consideration of real-life topics with the lightness of being a teenager in high school. Evans has occasionally sprinkled in such topics as Luann's concerns about her first menstruation, Dirk's jealousy (which has led to emotional abuse of Toni and physical violence toward Brad), birth control, drunk driving, handicaps, and other social and policy issues that are of interest to young people. Evans drew praise and some criticism in 1998 for a series of strips based around Delta contracting Hodgkin's Lymphoma. After September 11, 2001, the layabout Brad was inspired by the actions of the FDNY to become a firefighter and there have been extended storylines following him every step of the way. (Oddly enough, on November 14, 2001, the satirical newspaper The Onion ran a story supposedly detailing Evans' struggle to address the events of 9/11 in his strip. [1]) Some of Evans' topics show to teenaged readers an inspiring young citizen ideal for teenagers to live up to. Other topics show to adult readers the daily trials and tribulations faced in youth in case the reader forgot or in case things have changed since the reader was young many years ago.

[edit] Specific Storylines

Here are the more famous story arcs of the Luann Strip, along with the time period they took place.

The Trouble with Derek: 1987 (5 Weeks)

Luann's First '.': 1991 (2 Weeks)

A Very SADD Story: Unknown (2 Weeks)

Delta's Hodgkin's Lymphoma: 1998 (2 Weeks)

Goodbye Aaron: 2004 (2 Weeks)

Toni & Brad vs. Dirk (In general): 2003 - Present (On & Off) Most recent: 4/27/2006 - 5/12/2006

[edit] Aging of the characters

From 1985 to 1999 Luann was vaguely in the 8th Grade in the Pitts school system. This younger era of the Luann strip focused on topics among children in junior high school and within Luann's family at home. As might be expected, since eighth grade is not exactly the most substantial year in the typical person's life, after a certain number of years fresh topics for Evans were becoming exhausted or trite. Also, by 1999 Luann’s (the comic strip’s) popularity was widespread and broadbased, permitting both a volume of feedback from readers who wanted more of certain topics as well as a certain degree of comfort that the established popularity would bouy a small adjustment to the strip. Also by 1999, distribution of Luann had changed to the current United Features Syndicate, which also welcomed expanding readership of each of their strips.

From 1999 to the present Luann has been slowly aging from 15 to 16 years old at perhaps the rate of one Luann month per one reader year. Based on a comic strip from February 21, 2006, it was revealed that a four week period in the comic strip takes approximately 17 reader weeks (from the start of the Sassy storyline). Luann and her classmates have progressed from Pitts Junior High School to Pitts High School. Luann has learned to drive. Her approximately 19-year-old brother earned his firefighting certification after his graduation from high school. Bernice raised a seeing-eye dog for an organization that helps the blind. Luann and Aaron went out on a real date. None of these storylines could have believably or appropriately been enacted by junior-high students, but do show a look at high school students as emerging young adults who are half filled with childhood and half filled with the real life of adulthood, just as the typical American was at that age.

All attempts at calculating the passage of time are merely for fun, since it is just a comic strip and cannot be bound by real time. Brad's quest to become a firefighter, the raising of a puppy to a trained seeing-eye dog and such events have progressed far faster than they realistically could while Luann remains the same age.