The Von Straussens

This week, we take a look at yet another family here in Sunnyville.  Today we are going to meet the most prestigious family in all of Sunnyville.  I’m talking about the Von Straussen family.  These upstanding canines originally come from Germany and are the richest family in town.

Frederick and Greta Von Straussen

Frederick Von Straussen is one of the most well known figures in town.  Born in Sunnyville and raised in Munich, he is the owner of the Terrific Furniture Company, a family-owned factory outside of Sunnyville that makes furniture shipped all over.  Frederick’s ancestors started the factory as a small operation that made furniture by hand and today, the factory employs a number of people within the towns of Sunnyville and Solton.  In fact, Rusty’s father and Sam’s father both work for Frederick!

On the right there is Greta Von Straussen, Frederick’s wife and actually his cousin too.  Born and raised in Dusseldorf, Germany, she is the lady of the manor.  While her husband is out at the factory, she is responsible for running the family’s luxurious household.  She tends to view herself very highly and it’s not hard to see why her daughter behaves the way she does.  Speaking of her daughter, let’s meet the Von Straussen children.

Rose Von Straussen

Rose Von Straussen is the older of the two children.  The Von Straussens are the richest family in town and the local shopkeepers adore the family for all their business.  In fact, because their parents have so much money, Rose and her brother (who we’ll meet in a minute) can have anything they want.  Rose is quite spoiled.  Because she can have the latest gadgets and gizmos, the best clothing, etc., she thinks this makes her better than everyone else.  Because Rose is also used to getting her way, she’s quite bossy and will bully others, especially anyone smaller than herself.  In fact, I’ll open up a page from my sketchbook to show you something.  Normally, I don’t like anyone learning my trade secrets, but…

Rose and Rusty sketch

This is an actual page from one of my sketchbooks.  I pretty much had Rose’s character defined from the start.  As for Rose’s younger brother, let’s meet him now.

Konrad Von Straussen

Konrad is Rose’s younger brother.  Like his sister, his parents will buy him anything he wants.  He likes having all those nice things…but he’s different from his sister.  Konrad tends to be more friendly because he learned from a young age that money can’t buy happiness.  Konrad wants to be happy and wants others to be happy as well.  He’ll be more open and friendlier than his sister when interacting with others in town, especially Sam and Rusty.

As the chief inspiration for Sunnyville was the anime series Maple Town, I based the Von Straussens on the Fox family.  Rose and Konrad were strongly influenced by Fanny and Freddy Fox.

Well, that’s all this for this week.  Tune in next week for another family profile…and this weekend, I’ll put up some more comics.

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About Max West

I am a freelance artist and the creator of Sunnyville Stories, an independent slice-of-life comics series.
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