When LUANN launched in 1985, it was a dream come true. To be thriving nearly 38 years later, and now as a father-daughter team…well, we have so much to be thankful for. We are grateful to all the people who have made that dream a reality, including you, dear Friend. Thank you. ~Karen and Greg Evans
Being a Part of Something Bigger
From Greg: I grew up wanting to be a cartoonist…but I never imagined the special ways cartooning would connect me to others: In 1985 Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury), Milton Caniff (Steve Canyon) and Charles Schulz (Peanuts) organized cartoonists into a first-ever event: every strip in the newspaper on Thanksgiving Day would be on a single topic – in this case, world hunger. LUANN was only 8 months old and I was thrilled to be collaborating with my idols. We helped raise awareness, then auctioned off the original art and sold a book to raise funds.
“Comic Relief” supported “USA For Africa” and I decided to put the donation address right there in LUANN. Here’s what readers saw that Thanksgiving day:
But here’s my original art. See a difference?
Yup. I botched the address. Luckily, a sharp syndicate editor fixed it before it went out.
Lesson: if you want to save the world, don’t rely on cartoonists. Not this one, anyway.
Over the years, cartoonists have come together to support causes and celebrate milestones…
From Karen: this year we celebrate Charles Schulz, the creator of Peanuts, and an idol, mentor, and friend to so many cartoonists and someone dear to the Evans family. Today would have been “Sparky’s” 100th birthday so cartoonists around the world are honoring him with tribute strips: see our LUANN tribute to Sparky here. Earlier this month my dad and I visited the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California. The museum is celebrating Sparky’s birthday with special exhibits, limited edition postage stamps, and special events, including a new book, Charles M. Schulz: The Art and Life of the Peanuts Creator in 100 Objects.We had a fantastic visit with some of our cartooning family who were there for the book launch and enjoyed some special father-daughter time–like lunch here at the Warm Puppy Cafe where Sparky used to join our family for hot chocolate when we’d visit. Simply amazing, and humbling, the opportunities and community LUANN has brought us. Lucy said, “Happiness is a warm puppy.” We’d add “good people” to that list! What makes you happy? Feel free to let us know by replying to this email or chatting it up with other fans on facebook.com/LuannComic or in the comments at LuannComic.com.
