Next up in our "Meet Your Creator" series, where you get to know our cartoonists in their own words, is Greg Evans of Luann fame. The comic, now in its 27th year, follows Luann DeGroot through the trials of being a teenager dealing with love, family dynamics and self-discovery. Greg has been acknowledged by fans and his peers as one of the best cartoonists of this era, with a large GoComics fan base and having won a 2003 Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year. While it's great for simple laughs, the comic strip has tackled major issues like adoption, the war in Iraq, the economic downturn and 9/11 with humor and sensitivity. Now, here's Greg.

After nearly 30 years of crafting brief snippets of writing, called a "comic strip," I find it difficult to string together more than a few dozen words at a time. But, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then this first blog is HUGE. 

Here, in photo form, is my blog, "A Few of My Favorite Things."

My family. L to R: son, granddaughter, wife, daughter-in-law, daughter, daughter, old man.
 

My job. No, I'm not in the Navy. I was part of a USO-sponsored cartoonist visit to entertain troops aboard an aircraft carrier. The National Cartoonists Society has done dozens of these visits (including to hospitals and bases in Iraq and Afghanistan) to show support for our women and men in uniform. When a job gives you opportunities like this, it's a great job.

 
 

 
My peers. I was afflicted with the Cartooning Disease as a child. My heroes were people like Walt Disney, Charles Schulz and Mort Drucker. I never met Walt, but I've been fortunate enough to spend lots of time with my cartoonist idols and friends. Here I am with Brian Crane and Jerry Scott, assisting the late Bil Keane.

I'm a Disneyphile. I grew up in Burbank, not far from Disney Studios, and dreamed of being an animator. I've been to Disneyland about 50 times, so at least I can say I've tread where Walt has tread, along with a gazillion other people. In the photo, that's me in the middle.

I love being a cartoonist, but my other love is writing musicals. This all started when someone suggested I write a LUANN musical. Not knowing how impossibly difficult it is to write a musical, I went ahead and wrote one. I turned out OK, so I wrote another one, "Wrinkles," and it turned out OK so now I think I'm a genius. I'm working on two more. Here's the cast of the first production of "Wrinkles."