Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for August 21, 2014

Dez sure is having odd friends.

“My Ferret Lady”“Merry Pop-Ins”“Dez’ Side Story”

“Here Comes The Sun” (♫)“The New Zoo Revue”" Work Study"“Just Say No !” “32 Favors”“You Can’t Weasel Your Way Out!”or…“Look What The Sun Dragged In”

Bernice…march yourself and that ferret directly off to the Dorm advisor… ;)

(♫) “….Though their dorm is not for rent… Dez will make it permanentIf your alligator is discontent… To Dez, it must be sent- but no checks, please!

The word is, the word is, word is out on the street…They’re lined up, and waiting- out-siiiiide!…….

(♫) Sson to enter the lawyer, who thinks she’s Tom SawyerGetting Bernice to do everything on the first….day…. (♫)”

I know, give the contents of the bag to the ferret and call it a day.

Dez duz things for everybody!(Any requests?)

Just be glad she didn’t bring a Tanuki.

Or “Hodgepodge Lodge”….

I am not quite sure where Greg is going with this…nor am I sure that it is at all plausible… Well, this is one of those “hi” and “bye” days…Enjoy! ;)-——————————————————————————-“Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”(T. S. Eliot, 1888-1965)

Well, I did, too!

I think we’ll be seeing her sometime around next week.

Oh GREAT.

NOW We’re gonna Permit WEASELS to Run around the Dorm Room.

Bern, I Don’t Know Who the HECK This “Dez” Person Is, But Between Hanging Devil Masks on the Wall, Receiving Possible Contraband, and Allowing RODENTS to Run Loose, She Appears to be Someone Who has ZERO Regard for the Wishes of Her Roommate.

I’d Ditch the Dorm and Stay with my Parents, If Were YOU, Kiddo.

PS: Oh and Bern? The Food You’re gonna Keep in Your ‘Fridge?Roomie’s Gonna EAT it……,

And once that Ferret is in the bag.. frisky will only be the half of it!

Meh-Thodology: “Dez does things for everybody.” No – it will be Berneice. Dez is never there…

This kind of stuff I got clued in on before I went to college, I was there the MINUTE they unlocked the doors to the dorm to move in. That way I was there before something else showed up. Looks like Bern got a returning upperclassman as a roomie…

And if I was Bernice I’d march the paper bag and ferret down to the HR (head resident) and turn them in. And ask for a room reassignment NOW.

More accurate rephrase of Luann’s line.

“May you live in interesting times, Bernice…”

i think DEZ will be revealed tomorrow (i hope)

“Somebody should have a chat with Mr. Evans about Drawing Asians. Sun’s appearance is dangerously close to a slant eyed, smiley-faced stereotype.”

Asian?!!? Gee, I Though Sun was a Vulcan…..,

i think its a racial stereotype i’m just guessing that’s how Europeans see Asian people

What would also fall flat, if her mannerisms were like the one oriental detective from the old “Dick Tracy” cartoons….

I love a parade. Smile, Bernice, you’re on candid camera.

Dez is part of the group “have roommate, they will do everything for you, you pay me”

Backatcha! (with clarification)

Could we have a more racist depiction of an Asian woman?

Probably

Is it me, or is this drawing a little racist?

Oh, I really hope this develops into a new strip.

Viper; Sun-with-ferret; will we see a short week’s worth of offstage voices that turn out to be not Dez but leave weird stuff for her?Bernice is getting off to a very bad start by not asserting her co-management of that dorm room; she should not allow Dez and friends to walk all over her, or it’s going to be a very unhappy semester for her….

Ya know….. I’m beginning to think that Dez is an upper classman, at least a sophomore. How could she know all these people before arriving to the dorm as a new incoming freshman?

So, we’ll get another “Hi!” bubble tomorrow, and on Saturday, hopefully, we’ll finally meet Dez!< rolls eyes >

Ferrets are nice pets. My friend had one for several years. It was a hoot watching that critter rune around and play. Most pet Ferrets have had their musk glands removed. Thus, they do not have an odor. Even if they haven’t had those glands removed. If they are groomed and bathed regularly. The scent is not overpowering. Also, you will not see mice or rats if there is a ferret in the house or apartment!

No animals were permitted in dorms when I was in college.

我的中国，我玩笑话，我去撒尿撒尿在你的焦炭。

Could “Des” be “Desmond” or “Desi” or “Destin”? Oh, my…is this a co-ed dorm?

Never got why any sane person would own a ferret, and…nobody takes the first week of school off.

Isn’t Moony University supposed to be in California? I thought keeping ferrets as pets was illegal in that state.

Of course, I’m sure a lot of us are assuming that the bag Viper brought in contains illegal drugs, so maybe the next person who shows up will also be offering yet some other illegal thing.

Holy crap what an offensively drawn Asian character. Straight out of the 40s or 50s (though he forgot the fangs). Tomorrow, a Native American in full headdress and buckskins. Maybe an islander with a bone through her nose next? And finally Dez will be Mexican, with a huge sombrero and serappe. Maybe she’ll nap a lot. Come on, Evans and syndicate, you seriously thought this was okay???

I agree ORM. This is a rather implausable situation.

Not sure if the ferret should be a deal breaker between Bernice and Dez…. keep in mind…. Dez has not surfaced yet…. all we have is the words of two other strangers (Viper and Sun) that Dez said or should do this or that. I do not think there can be any sort of “deal breaker” scenario that would be logical UNTIL Dez actually shows up and until Bernice actually evaluates Dez herself.

Wesley…. Haha! I thought that too about Sun…. her smile is even MORE pronounced than TJs!!!!

Bernice better grow a spine pretty soon

This is the sort of racial depiction that can get comic strips dropped by lots of newspapers, once the angry letters to the editor start showing up. What was the syndicate thinking, to let today’s strip get through?

Greg, there is a better way to draw an Asian’s eyes. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=how+to+draw+asian+eyes&qpvt=how+to+draw+asain+eyes&FORM=IGRE~Ferrets are illegal to own in California. ~Ferrets are meat eaters, and they have been known to attempt to make human flesh dinner. They also chew up paper and cloth and everything else they can possibly chew up. ~Bernice’s future: “The ferret ate my homework.” “I have nothing to wear. The ferret chewed up my clothes.” “Ouch!”~However, this is becoming an interesting storyline.

Ok, I’m a little offended, that has to be the most blatant oriental caricature I have ever seen.

I suspect that we will NEVER see ‘Dez’. All we will ever see are the friends of Dez, who show up and give Bernice all kinds of problems. Anyone want to bet?

Are freshmen students even allowed to have pets in their dorms?

So far, the people who find this drawing of an Asian character inappropriate.

+ TORAD_07

It’s generally thought Luann takes place in So California. Ferrets are basically illegal to own in CA, and Fish and Wildlife services can cond=fiscate them and fine you!! Nice start to the school year!!

I thought I’d wait before calling the cliché-police on that one and I am very glad that quite a few people have stated the obvious: terrible-racial-cliché…. only missing bit would be to write “fellet”…. I don’t know, Luann was never prone to that sort of super-clichéd drawing… Funny by the way, how some want to push the problem away to other planets “so this is what EUROPEANS see Asians like…” (yeah, ‘cuz we don’t have tv and internet and never see any members of those elusive and rare peoples here..) No, dear, that’s how CANADIANS … hope we don’t have to endure other types… orthodox jew, muslim-girl, yobo from UK, Lederhosen-type from Switzerland/Bavaria/Austria… omg nooooooooo

Bernice will have to tell Dez to take care of her own business. She is not obligated to at this point. So the bag and the cage goes on Dez’s bed.

Well, these things come in “threes,” so I’d want to see what the third thing is. Then, we’ll probably meet Dez.

ReallyBad… I think I would not categorize the drawing as INAPPROPRIATE as much as I would say how I could see some folks feeling it is inappropriate. What I personally feel is that the drawing is rushed, simplistic, and not in similar detail to the other characters. If Evans were to add detail to a similar level as the others, then I think the issue would resolve and no one would be concerned.

I wonder whether Dez is a Supremes-approved corporation.

By “non PC” you mean racist insulting so say it.

I meant exactly what I said… “non PC Stereotype…”

I am thinking that Bernice and Sun will be developing a very “special” friendship…

Boring very boring lets get with it. No one would take that rat

Chill — her grin isn’t any different than TJ’s. Are we also to assume that Sun’s ferret will be skewered and cooked for a future meal? Hide yer cats and dogs, dormies!

Seems Dez likes to share space, or her roommate’s space and time, with everyone.

Interesting if Dez looks almost exactly like Bernice.

And a possible connection with these characters dropping things of at Chez Dez’ is that perhaps these people knew Dez in HS, and they are continuing their relationship through the new fresman years, and that Dez had moved into the dorm rather early, while Bernice may not have “gotten the jump”, right away…

Uh, that’s not her responsibility, Sun. YOU go over and let it out for two hours. And Dez was not supposed to agree to that without discussing it with Bernice first. Bernice needs to go to the desk and request a roomate change now.

Time to go to housing & DEMAND a different room or roomie! And submit the bag & ferret as evidence.

Thanks! I didn’t have time at the moment to pull up a link!

I say it is an initiation prank for Bernice. Next thing will be a guy telling her about the wild party that will take place later that night in her room.

Bern is a doormat

Sun’s grin takes up about a third of her face. That’s different from TJ’s, but it is consistent with a lot of cartoon stereotypes.

Nice stereotype Asian. I’m surprised Evans didn’t have her say “so solly”

I’m starting to wonder the same thing, too.

> So, if Greg had made her dour and not particularly friendly, like Viper, all would be OK?>Portraying a character as friendly doesn’t require depicting her with a grin that fills 1/3 of her face. If that’s how you show friendliness, then Luann, Bernice, Brad, Toni, Frank and Nancy, et al., are very unfriendly people. The huge grin has traditionally been used in stereotypical cartoons to depict Asian character who were terrible villains as well as “good guys”, and it has nothing to do with friendliness.

Add one “o” to Money University and you get Mooney.Evans is slipping in his opinion of college costs.

“Put the paper bag in with the ferret – problem solved.”-Yes, thanks for rewording my post.

Translation: More pronounced (detailed) eyes…

Did Sun leave a bag of ferret supplies along with the Mustela putorius furo ? Because the one she had over her shoulder in the first panel has disappeared by the second.(If that were a real ferret it would be bouncing all over that cage and would have nipped Bern ’s fingers by now.)

Caught-out!

Learn to say NO and mean it

I think someone is practicing on character designs.

Let the ferret out only 2 hours a day?? That’s animal abuse. Sun needs to re-home her ferret.

One good turn leads to a doughnut….or a return…

Yeah, Greg’s depiction of an Asian is insulting, he should have checked at Disney’s Mulan characters for “the look”. And, by the way, what is Viper……Arab?

Thank you to Greg for explaining his intentions with the development of Sun. She looks okay from the neck down, but above the neck needs completely redesigned. Otherwise I think I might enjoy getting to know her. I gather that Viper will be showing up again and again, and I bet she will get more tats.

Taking classes on line is looking more appealing isn’t it?

Why should Bernice’s roommate’s friends become continuing characters in the strip? Why should we even want to meet the roommate herself? It’s time to cut Luann off from the crew at Moony Uni, rather than bringing more of them into the cast. The focus should be Luann and her new classmates at Pitt CC. Let’s just hope some editor takes a careful look at Luann’s PCC classmates before we get to meet them, to avoid any further embarrassing debacles like this one.

Or an attempt to vilify persons named (Samoa) Joe !

Last call….

Wow… Greg’s comment is perfect and fits in with what I was thinking about the matter as well…. to me Sun was mostly just less COMPLETE and less DETAILED than most of Greg’s other drawings. I figure Sun will improve as we see more and more renderings of her. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++While I can see the point some people are making about “stereotypes”, I do not feel that was Greg’s intention, nor his plan. And, I think his comment helps to clarify that.

I wish you’d all get your terminology correct. There is nothing racist about the image. Stereotypical perhaps, yes, but not racist.

I stopped after early nineties. But his name has been on several of the promos, so he is a bit of an icon for the “modern product”. Which isn’t saying too much, heh, heh…..

" I have always strived for diversity in LUANN – …"-————————-“Diversity” my lily white keester. The largest minority at Pitts H.S. was “silhouettes”. Even when seen, the other students weren’t diverse. And don’t get me started on the makeup of the town’s fire department..I suppose we should count it as a good thing that the syndicate colorist didn’t give Sun a yellowish hue.I thought Evans showed these strips to his family?And none of them had an opinion on the depiction of this character?

At least he didn’t draw her Manga style.

First lesson Bernice needs to learn at college: “You’ll have to talk to Dez. I can’t take responsibility for her.”

True!

No, some schools do room checks, others don’t. No room check, no problem. Room check, hide your pet and all of the evidence.

“You can’t draw Asians like that anymore, it’s not appropriate.”*RB – Agreed!!!!

Where is his food?

Bern has to ferret out who this Dez is.

Time for Bern to start saying NO !!

On the way release the ferret into the wild.-Not a good idea, for fear of a revenge tactic.

Here’s an interesting analysis of the “Charlie Chan” character from Wikipedia: –

“Interpretations of Chan by twenty-first century critics are split, especially regarding his ethnicity. Positive assessors of Chan argue that he is portrayed as intelligent, heroic, benevolent and honorable — in contrast to the adverse depictions of evil or conniving Chinese people then current in print and on screen. Others state that Chan, despite his good qualities, reinforces certain East Asian stereotypes, such as an alleged incapacity to speak fluent English and the possession of an overly tradition-bound and subservient nature. The Chan films of the 1930s and 1940s were shown successfully in China, where the character was popular and respected and not in the least seen as sinophobic.” – And here is a link to the pic file, for reference…– And to the rest of the article , as well…

Also, on “Bonanza,” … Hop Sing:

I remember “Hop Sing” rather well. The Bachelor Father one is a bit more distant, but a faint memory.

Sort of in the vain of Bonanza, I recall that McHale’s Navy (Ernest Borgnine) featured a Japanese POW named “Fuji.” But this character despite a little of the stereotypical speech (actor himself was Japanese and became a successful businessman post show) was not a caricature by nature, and, actually, was treated with respect by the crew… like “one of the gang.” In fact, he was instrumental as a foil to Joe Flynn’s “Capt. Binghamton” character (ol’ “Lead Bottom”).

Sun reminds me too much of “Chop Chop” from the Blackhawks comic book.

No one is saying that he couldn’t change Sun’s appearance. We’re saying it’s disappointing that he is so insensitive that he would introduce a character whose appearance needs changing.

In today’s world, it’s simple. Flip a coin: heads it’s racist, tails it’s politically incorrect.

Yes, it seems like he has some changes in mind for Sun. I appreciate his quick apology.

The actor’s name was Yoshio Yoda.

Yep.. and he went on to be a successful businessman after the show.

Where’s Crystal when you need her?

> The actor’s name was Yoshio Yoda.>Didn’t he go on to bigger parts, in the “Star Wars” movies?

“just goes to show: cartoonists are human too.”^What I’ve been saying, all along!

I’m sure that 99.39% of us are ready to “turn the page”… in more ways than one!

Not at all. “Dez” is obviously a special character and we’re building up to something. Press on Greg.

Nice that Greg responded and owned up to it.

I realize that Greg has already apologized, more or less, but I would like to add myself to the list of those who find the depiction of Sun to be an embarrassing racial portrayal.

I have no idea why someone would bring a pet to college and then keep the pet in another person’s dorm room rather than their own. Nor do most colleges allow pets to be kept in the dorms anyway, much less animals which are illegal to be kept in the state. And foisting one’s pet off on a stranger (who hasn’t agreed to take care of it) and giving them orders on how to care for it isn’t a great portrayal of a “happy” character anyway.

My advice to Greg would be to write this particular strip out of the Luann canon. If we ever see Sun again, she needs to be drawn quite differently from how she was drawn in today’s strip.

Jeex folks – drop the friggin’ "racist’ comments – it’s a comic strip… first wife was Korean, second, Chinese – my son is, obviously, half-n-half (I’m Irish) … I didn’t think twice about how Sun looked – clothing, hair, face, and, yes, the smile, is a normal look to me… go live in China or Korea a while – look at more than one or two Asian people a while – read the comics -they look the same to me. And I doubt that many, if any, people “Protesting” are actually Asian -

No food, water, or extra bedding? Due to fluctuations…

Magoo’s Cholly Long had 3 prominent incisors. When they brought the original series nack. They lost the pseudo-Chinese dialect and lost most of the humor.

OMG. It will never get better. What is WRONG with Evans.