Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for January 24, 2020

friends should stay out of their business, yes, but Bets’s social media fans on the other hand…

I sense another argument looming on the horizon. ✨

The lady has a selfie/social media addiction issue. Plot set.

And we go back to the beginning …

I sure liked frame 1. However frame 2 and 3 have us wondering how long this will last. Gunther manned up to tell Luann No. But can he stand up to Bets?

Say good bye to Bets and the Internet! It is hard to give an addiction!

Good to see that Bets didn’t seem too angry at Luann. Leaves the door open for further interaction of some sort.

Ah Bets, put the phone down and just focus on your guy. He’s there! Right there! Try LIVING in the moment instead of recording it.

I’m glad to see the kitten is still around.

Whether Gunther talks to Bets about his clear discomfort at her presumed addiction to plastering them all over social media, I just want to say that Luann wanted to do the same thing last panel. This is what Millennials and Gen Z’s do the battle of the Social Apps. Luann was always curious about this relationship even if you go back to the time Bets first met Gun(ther) at the Fuse. Bets was very suspicious of Luann in particular at those panels, but eventually seemed to calm down. It’s ironic, this whole set of arcs started when Pru encouraged Luann to get out and talk in person to her friends, and not be so focused on her phone. From there it all started with Gunther and date-pic,.. But I claim my selfie pic attempt in the last panel from yesterday as relevant fact, however the motives, outcomes, end games, whatever is wide open. There are three protagonists here, Gunther, Bets, and Luann though IMHO.

I just noticed—-the kitten’s still there. Wonder if Al and Irma know Les lied about him running away yet?

Trouble in Paradise.

Your words mean nothing, Bets. “Just you and me” and then you posted a picture to share with EVERYONE. You are the one inviting everyone into your lives.

I gotta feeling Gunth’s about to blow it.

And in years to come, we’ll look back and say “yep, that’s when it started”.

Will they have a baby and she will post the birth?

Omg Bets, I hope Gunther either sets her straight or dumps her

Punk sighting! Awwwv<3

I think Bets is more in love with being in a relationship than being with Gunther

Just you and me and our thousands fans.

Gunther had no problem setting down limits for Luann. It’s going to be harder doing the same with Bets, the object of his affection. I hope sincerely that he’s up to it!

Tired of Bets pathological need for attention! Get lost Bets!!

It’s coming. Wait for it. It’s coming!

“All that matters, Gunth, is just you and me, and hundreds of others…”

Yeah! Just you, me, Punk the cat, the beanbag, Les, my mother, Luann, the UNIVERSE!!!

Sometimes I wish I never left the jungles of Peru! Sigh.

A lot of readers think he should go ballistic on Bets. Since he didn’t go ballistic on Luann, I doubt he will on Bets. I suspect he will have a nice discussion with her to cut back on the selfies and only take them when they are at events or the like. If she truly cares about him, she will comply, so only time will tell. That conversation might happen Saturday – with Gunther talking and then the strip moves on to a different arc comes Monday, leaving us hanging as to how Bets responds.

BTW, since a lot of people said Gunther should be confronting Tiffany too, he may already have before he went to see Luann. When he first confronted Luann, he told her “Didn’t think I’d trace it back to you, HUH?”. Also, uncle Al overheard Tiffany telling TJ. See: https://www.gocomics.com/luann/2020/01/18 .

You’re going down, clown. Better check that temper at the door when you shuffle back to seek forgiveness and advice from old, trusted pal, Luann. A lot of people mistook anger for backbone. Re-think that. And, Gunther, call home and tell your momma to sell the outhouse, because you’re about to lose your a**.

Bets and Gun are cute. But bets stop sharing your personal life on soical media.

I bet Kim does this exact thing with Kanye all the time.

Personally, I only know about the Kardashians through the near impossibility of not knowing about them, and suspect Gunther may be in the same position…

…but he needs to get to know them now. Time to do some research to try to figure out how the men in that fishbowl can tolerate it.

I had wondered if Les had been able to keep his cat. But it looks like they still haven’t gotten any furniture since the bean bag and area rug incident.

Hey. Punk? Where’s your favorite scratching post, Les, lurking? :o)

After “no one matters but us” she turns right around and posts another intimate pic for Luann to voy! The girl be totally tone deaf and self absorbed. Yeah.

It’s late and I can’t sleep. Am I talking too much? :o)

Bets needs validation, she gets that from social media.Bets needs Gunther for the likes.In the jungles of Peru, Gunther had no competition but felt loneliness and left the jungles. Gunther has to share his time with Bets with the world and feels the need to be inclusive with Bets. Gunther told Luann to back off and needs tell Bets the truth.

Take her phone. Get a hammer. Put the phone on the floor. Apply hammer. Then take her to the phone store and buy her a dumb, flip phone! Politely tell her; It was that or me…YOU choose! OOOPS. Too late.

Just dump her already, Gunther. She doesn’t under the concept of privacy. She’s just another vapid millenial lost in the digital world.

OMG, what if Gunther became a meme? Something like that picture with the caption “Ermahgerd, my boyfriend’s wearing my shirt!”

Time for Gunther to go get his true love Rosa!

…. and we are right back where the mess started up again….

… and the whole social media world makes three

Who is she bragging to?

I hope the kid does not blow it. Gunnie is not perfect, a bit ocp himself if one has followed him through the years and his obsessions over people like Rosa and Bernice. Yeah the gal is pushing the envelope but that does not mean it is time to break up ala Rosa but perhaps Gunther mans up and asks her to do something he likes or simply put the ****ing phone down for a minute. It is not too much to ask most people y’all!

Look at it this way. Home movies!

Did anyone notice that Gunther wears WHITE socks and Bets is not.I wonder if Bets has seen Gunther’s feet! Maybe Gunther is not ready to be seen. This is probably the end of the arc unless the socks are off tomorrow.

No but I really only had one question Bets. Who is “US” though? One very intriguing question indeed.

This arc is similar to the movie plot from “Trading Place” where Luann and Bernice “wager” that Luann can “crack the facade” of “Gun N Bets” by apply “pressure” on the Dweeb to spill it. Gunther push back and Luann lost the “wager”.

So, when they finally do go to bed together, she’ll post a pic of that too? (bedclothes covering, of course)

Well, “social influencer” is an actual job these days with the very popular influencers raking in over a million dollars a year.

So much for that delusion!

It’s hard to argue that you want privacy when your girlfriend is putting every move you make on the internet for strangers to look at and judge.

You cant tell someone to mind their business when you post your life on social media for everyone to see.

It would seem that Bets follows this mantra…..“You only live once. So spend 15 hours a day on the internet, desperately seeking attention from strangers”.

Just you and me and 1800 followers, but let’s get mad at Luann if she says anything.

The first panel is so adorable♡. Gunther tells to Bets the whole story and she agrees and hugs him. So lovely♡. So much so that she wants to share the moment with all her friends/followers and Gunther is speechless… Maybe it’s time to discuss with Bets about her use of social medias.

Let’s just give the strip over to that baby kitty walking around.

Social media happy this one is

Poor Gunth. Finally has a hot GF and he will do what all nerds in his position do. Avoid conflict for fear of losing her even though he hates what she’s doing.

Just watch. He will talk to everyone but her.

I think many here don’t understand that business major bets is starting a business. Even if it’s not a social media business she’s building a customer base for a future company or creating a profile that will allow her to put 100k social media followers on her resume.

This will be trouble

Just you and me and 8 billion other people!

Like I said, some jive turkeys never ever learn.

“You and me just cannot fail

if we never ever stop”

“You and Me”, The Moody Blues

Bets is making “Gun” into the most desirable man on social-world. She better watch out! She’s already turned Luann’s head; and maybe Bernice to a lesser extent.

https://www.gocomics.com/luann/2020/01/11

Whatever happened to Luann’s Zucchini in a bikini shirt?

I had an ex like this. While the old days would keep a photo album, she had it on Twitter or Instagram because that WAS her photo album. She SAID was too lazy to set anything to private, but I always suspect she just liked showing off. Sweet girl, but we broke up due to a misunderstanding on my part. She has her happily ever after now, so it’s all good. How do I know this? She never took a picture off her Twitter lol

DTMFA.

Beginning of the end?

This is how GK will trash this relationship.

Remember gunther, dont look.. just don’t look.

Ah hah! Now I understand. It was not a gossip arc, it is an arc about Gun getting ticked about Bets publishing their intimate moments.

She’s using you stupid

Now “gun” needs to talk to her about posting and realize luann has a point and say he is sorry.

Kinda hard to have people stay out of their business when she’s posting it for the whole world to see.

I don’t know why he’s so bothered by Luann wanting to know if they’ve done it

A number of people seem to believe Bets is addicted to selfies… perhaps she’s trying to show Gun that she’s a bit of an exhibitionist? This can get much more interesting!

To Bets, Gunther is a trophy and business asset (increases her followers) and merely a means to an end. And for Gunther’s sake that’s what I hope this is—the end.

Uh, oh. Not when ‘Gun’ is already annoyed.

I think Gun will have an adult conversation with Bets about her social media addiction and it’s intrusiveness. At least I HOPE so…

Anyone notice that Les’s kitten Punk is still there? First panel. I am happy for Les. Bla bla bla Gun and Bets. Bring on Tiffany.

Reminds me of Harry and Meghan.

Gunther——time for that talk NOW! But he won’t. I suspect this is the end of this arc. Pretty ironic! GandK are a couple of sly doggies.

They need to jump to YouTube, start a channel and make some money.

I think that selfie in Panel Four was especially for Luann’s benefit!

Bets does have a problem, but it’s NOT a total game-changer for Gunther. She clearly has no idea that he might be uncomfortable with it. What most people forget is, when Bets was introduced, she was very tolerant when his friends started butting in and Luann texted in the middle of their date and she didn’t even know him that well. Most woman, especially those who have had terrible luck with guys like she did, would have walked out, but she gave him another chance and now they’re both happy. Sure she has a problem with social media, but that is both a minor problem, and a very common one. Chance are, all of us know/follow someone like Bets and wouldn’t totally ghost them ‘cause of it. All normal couples have a few problems with each other. It’s not the problem itself that’s bad, but how they deal with it.

End of the arc? One can only hope.

But this is still “just” Friday. A lot can happen tomorrow.

Thanks to whoever pointed out the kitten – meaning this is going on at the Gulag or, as I like to refer to it, the Den of Despair.

Which begs another question: Les lives there, too; how are Gun and Bets getting this “alone time”?

Something just ain’t right here – and it’s not necessarily Bet’s “selfie”…

These 2 are so cute together w/lots in common; but he needs to strongly express cutting back on the social media exposure. Social media aka Look@Me…folks are plain bewildering!?

Yeah, it’s time to dump Bets. Because, if Gunther said “It’s ME or the phone…” I think we all know which she’d choose.

“All that matters is us, Gun. No one else,” is right on the edge between being in love and being abusive. Abusers often try to isolate their victims from other friends and family. I hope Bets isn’t headed in that direction, but I won’t be surprised if she is.

Ah yes – a tender moment..

There are still people who get, uh, intimate in their car parked in very public places (one couple did this at a police station near a city hall where I worked, years ago.) I see not a dime’s worth of diff between those public displays and the ones on social media. Bets has no more concern for ‘privacy’ than those people in their cars, and Gunther is as obsessed with her as she is with public displays, so he will never try to set any limits for her.

Now, if someone could only compose – ’Ode to a Beanbag Chair’ !! …

… Then immediately post it ONLINE!! ;)

Yes, keep Punk the Kitten!! … THEN, he’ll run over to the reporter-kitties at Breaking Cat News (also at GoComics), and THEY’LL report all this to the whole world, and then some!! :)

Wouldn’t bother me that much if Gunther kicked Bets to the curb. Her internet addiction would be almost impossible to get rid of.

So much for birds of a feather flock together…

Interesting that Bets is showing a clear insecurity issue! … And Gunther (one of THE most INSECURE characters on Luann, has shown a true, SECURE stance and confidence (especially toward Luann)!!

Who knows? … Regarding Gunther and Bets, perhaps this twain SHALL meet! …

Step up Gunther!

They, and all the folks at the convention, have “a lot in common”. They don’t. If Gunther and Bets can’t communicate, talk to each other, and respect each other’s feelings, compromise, I think this relationship is doomed. He was angry and honest enough to set Luann straight; can he be that honest with Bets?

Boring Boring Boring lets get on with it. Your stuck in a rut.

Not much heat in the bean bag brothel.

So let’s recap: there’s been no new information regarding whether or not Gunther is sexually active, and despite being called out it was made clear yesterday that Luann hadn’t actually learned anything from the experience. And Gunther remains a willing yet uncomfortable participant in Bets’s social media addiction (but we already knew that from their last appearance together).

So what exactly did the last three weeks accomplish, besides making Luann a lot less likable?

What the hay? Is Bets an exhibitionist or something???

Cute but really annoying.

Judging from the first panel, it appears that Bets keeps her cell-phone safe in Gunther’s armpit.

7

It is very pleasant seeing a more casual Bets & Gun moment.

What we have here is of course, two opposing comfort levels. Bets is VERY comfortable in having much of her life “social media-ized”. Gunther is not so comfortable having his life “social media-ized”.

But, as any successful couple understands…. this is an opportunity for COMPROMISE. And, at least in a rudimentary way I think compromise has been underway already. For me, the “lingerie” picture posted on social media of Gunther was the peak of the couple’s collective divergence from each other. In the intervening "social media captures* it appears that a) Gunther, although still somewhat uncomfortable, has been also a bit accepting of some of the social media aspects being in their relationship and b) Bets has been now only posting images that positively reflect on their relationship.

In my manner of thinking about Greg’s story arc…. I tend to envision that Gunther and Bets have had some rudimentary discussions about “social media” following the “lingerie” post and that has led both to start migrating to a more cohesive middle ground. Admittedly, it appears they are not yet in full “middleground agreement” …. but I feel confident that Greg will get them their over time.

I believe that there is a middle ground of comfort that they can both have in their relationship and that it can include some social media presence.

(Apologies for the typos in the above…. they are abundant. It seems too daunting to try to re-edit them, so I am letting them stand. Keep in mind, I attribute them to having had neither coffee nor a pipe this morning. :) )

If they do the deed, Gunther should wear a mask.

Mordoc consistently asserts, and Pohka implies, that Gunther is Greg’s fall guy; a kind of Charlie Brownish, lovably pathetic, character who just can’t seem to win. I won’t belabor the similarities.

His relationship with Bets seems to be going the way of the relationship with Rosa. Gunther was committed to Rosa to the extent that he left family, friends and country to be with her. But it turned out Rosa was more committed to an ideal than Gunther. Now he’s beginning to realize that Bets may be more committed to her image among her social circle homies than an enduring relationship with him.

His relationship chances with two main characters, both Luann (Gulag) and Tiffany (field trip), crashed in much the same way that Lucy would snatch the football from Charlie Brown; quickly and with a sense of “What just happened???”.

Even so, the way Greg cycles his stories, I believe at the end of time Gunther will end up with either Luann or Tiff. He’s just too nice of a guy. Who knows? Maybe Les will end up with Bets. They’re both pretty much self-absorbed.

Will Gun and Bets survive the social media elephant in the room????

I don’t have a problem with friends posting selfies, but I do ask them to ask me (if I am in the photo) before posting out to the world. Perhaps Bets could ask Gunth before doing so in more intimate moments.

You can see the oxytocin.

I don’t think the exhibitionism is the core problem here. It’s a symptom of possessiveness…she’s marking her territory, her property, and I suppose, treating him like a trophy. He is losing agency. And the interesting thing is that both outside and inside (Luann) the narrative, the question is what is he getting back for that. In fact one could look at Luann’s seemingly merely prurient curiosity as her instinctive need to test an obvious theory about what her friend Gunther could be getting back for giving up so much.

Uh oh ……

unlax people. They will get past any minor character flaws if they truly care for each other. In the meantime, let them enjoy each other and this time together. It’s a whole different Gunther we’re seeing here.

“The kiss that was seen around the world…”

A first! Comic shows people seriously making out….

If they were to get married, no telling what else she’d be taking pictures of!!!

More and more, Bets reminds me of the folks who like to make love in a car parked in a very public parking area. You can call it ‘performance art’ if you want to. I think of it as proof that some people are not at all interested in privacy…

Oh Gunther…did you only grow half a pair? Tell Bets to knock it off!

Nice bean bag. Where do you figure they are?

Cute cat.

They make a cute couple; I hope it lasts (despite the comments of others) . i think one of the reasons why Gunther has been successful (w/ date pic) relative to Luann is that he has been willing to accept flaws in a relationship for the sake of the larger picture of shared interests. Bets and Gun corresponded extensively before deciding to meet, so that when they did meet, they knew what to expect and probably had plenty to discuss. I think Luann met w/ Doug before ever really talking to him (online). And instead of embracing the opportunity (to meet) she spent all the preceeding days plotting how she could escape if she didn’t like him, a self defeating approach. And then when they did meet it appeared that she just sat and stared. There was no communication. Luann wants the perfect prince to land in her lap; her expectations are too high. Nobody can meet them.

I wonder how Moe is doing. We need to have an arc about him.

Alright, get on with it, or “get it on”. Pull the trigger, or holster your gun, “Gun.” Do it or don’t do it, but quit wasting my time. Let me know what happens some other time ’cause the fabric of this arc has worn very thin. All these years and nobody gets naked for anyone except Zebo and he pays $50 bucks for art class models. This is like one of those European soccer games. Everyone gets excited but no one scores.

Hey Gun, forget the posts and head for second base with that beauty.

The “End” is near…

Okay, just so it doesn’t go R to X rated. Now that you will regret putting up for anyone to see and use.

And all your followers.

Can we get the down to earth Bets we originally met. She didn’t live on her social media then.

Not liking Bets at all.

Whelp… We all have our quirks.

Take the phone out of Bets’ hand, Gun.

She’s a bit Unclear on the “Just You & Me” concept.

I just read the Ask Amy column on Arcamax for today. There is a letter from Bets about her social media posting and her boyfriends dislike of her habit. So funny! It really sounds like it could be from Bets.

So cozy and cute! —Probably borderline risqué for a family cartoon page, too. Now, if only Bets can get her addiction under control before Gunny gives up on her….

Lulu and the nerdy dork are the inevitable couple.

Uh… is Gunther sitting BETWEEN her lags?

Gun, ol’ pal, ol’ buddy? You’ve got the hottest non-evil female in the strip curled up on your lap right now. Do NOT blow this over a little FaceBookin’.

Gunther needs to dump her.

Judging from the preoccupation with Luann, I would guess that Little Elvis is not trying to get into Graceland.

She’s so adorable, though! I wonder if there will be a discussion or an argument next. If they are as intimate as we’re seeing, politely asking that she stop posting pictures that include him is reasonable. Encourage her to continue taking pictures of the two of them without posting them, and perhaps avoid asking her to take down any of the posted ones. I hope he doesn’t suggest she not do it at all. She is not addicted. That’s going too far. The closer they get, the less interest she’ll show in social media. Oh, and they are totally “doing it” by the way.

“And one of us is interested in both of us being watched by all of them. When you’re this good looking, it would be wrong not to rub it in. When you’re this happy, it would be wrong not to show others what real happiness is.”

The girl has a “ME” problem. To her, it’s not really about “US”, it’s about “ME”. She really has been telling him all along that he has to give up all his other relationships for her. Any relationship based on that is bound to blow up eventually; sadly, it’s often after marriage, since too many guys (and girls, when the situation is turned around, because guys do the same thing as she is doing here) are too afraid of not “being in a relationship” to do what is right.

This can’t last much longer…

Beyond gross

Agreed wit the media addiction and Les should be prepared to handle to gossip. If on social media, everyone is entitled to their opinion!