I was a teenager when I started reading this strip in the 80’s. Gene was depicted as a little boy then, but not too much younger than myself. Now at 52, I’m clearly closer to Arlo’s age depiction than I am of Gene’s.
This is the thing that has always bugged me about this strip: Luann never does anything! It’s her friends who grow and change but she basically does nothing and stays the same.
So true! I’ve long complained that Luann is the least interesting character in this strip.