THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 16, 1995 TAG: 9503160033
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAM STARR, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
GUNTHER IS A REAL nerd, the kind of boy who gets tripped while carrying a lunch tray and slapped with wet towels in the locker room.
The bespectacled character of the comic strip ``Luann'' also has no fashion sense. He goes to school in a flannel shirt buttoned up to his neck, black pants and nondescript black shoes.
And his social skills are zip, too.
But on Friday, readers will see the bumbling bookworm as an awesomely cool, hip-hop happenin' dude, thanks to Karen Yang. The senior at Tallwood High School in Virginia Beach is one of about 50 people nationwide - out of 3,000 - whose design was selected by cartoonist Greg Evans for Luann's fashion show, which runs in the strip through next week.
Yang's design proves clothes do, indeed, make the man. A bulked-up Gunther is wearing cutoff shorts, a T-shirt, black vest and untied black combat boots. Check it out.
What a hunk. Now maybe Luann will finally return his affection and stop obsessing about studly Aaron Hill.
``Yeah, I gave him a totally different, hard look,'' says Yang, who submitted eight sketches to Evans two months ago. ``I wanted to give him some more confidence.''
Evans, a former high school art teacher, was impressed by Yang's detail in her character sketches. She designed clothes for the eight main characters - 13-year-old Luann; her brother, Brad; her best friends, Bernice and Delta; glam queen Tiffany; Brad's friend TJ; airhead Knute; and Aaron Hill, but only Yang's entry for Gunther will appear in the strip.
Yang drew the characters so accurately, said Evans, that he didn't have to reproduce Gunther for the strip.
``Karen has a very unique style and is real good at cartooning,'' said Evans from his San Diego home, where he produces the popular strip. ``She's talented, no doubt about it.''
Yang, a soft-spoken 17-year-old who favors baggy jeans and turtlenecks, doesn't consider herself a fashion designer. She's an advanced placement art student who enjoys drawing, she says. Yang, the school's yearbook staff artist, will attend Virginia Tech this fall on a partial scholarship for accounting.
The contest sounded interesting to Yang so she put some designs together ``for fun.'' Luann is one of her favorite comic strips.
``I just drew what I see people wearing at school,'' says Yang, her reddish-blond cut hair into a chin-length bob. ``It wasn't a competition to me. I thought he was going to put everybody's designs in there.''
The strip is 10 years old this week. Evans asked readers to send in their designs two months ago because he wanted to do something special, more ``interactive,'' to mark the 10th anniversary.
If Evans used all 15,000 drawings that were submitted, the fashion show would have dragged on another 10 years. Evans selected the designs based on originality. The winners' prize is to have their fashions in print.
``We had no idea at the response - drawing is something people are skittish about,'' said Evans, 47. ``The youngest entrant was 4; the oldest was 74. There's a lot of frustrated designers out there.''
Yang, a member of the National Art Honor Society and National Honor Society, whipped up her designs in one evening.
Carefully copying (but not tracing) from the strip, Yang began her work. She chose bathing suits for Luann, Aaron Hill and Tiffany (a bikini for her, of course). Bernice wears a funky jumpsuit. Delta shows a little attitude in black knee boots, a short dress and a black leather jacket. Knute is dressed in baggy jeans and an oversized shirt.
Gunther is the only one who appears out of character.
It's unlikely that Gunther and Luann will get together, even with his hot new duds, because Evans uses the two for a ``triangle'' story line. Gunther loves Luann, she has a crush on Aaron Hill, but he likes Tiffany - who only likes herself.
But Evans is open to the possibility of romance between Gunther and Luann.
``There's always a potential for a story there,'' he said. ``They did go out on one date, to play miniature golf. But I think Luann is always going to look at him as a friend. It's another case of unrequited love.''
Whatever happens, Yang is excited that her fashion will be printed in the strip. It will be her first published work. But Yang, who isn't used to all of this attention, is taking her brush with fame in stride.
``Every day, someone comes up to me,'' she says, ``and asks, `What did you get for the contest?'
``I just did this for the fun of it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Tamara Voninvki, Staff
Karen Yang's fashion makeover for Gunther was selected from more
than 3,000 submissions.
Drawings
Also shown are six of Yang's other designs for the strip.
by CNB