Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for January 22, 2014

Aaaand…she’s back in place, again… for more punch lines,and ‘comedic pies’ in her face…. Duck, Tiff!…. Or should that be, "Duck lips?’….

That is hilarious!

Into each life some rain must fall. Ol’ Tiff is due for agully-washer!

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Son’t gloat, Lu, it’s Not Nice. Not too much, anyway.

Picture frames and toilet paper never goes out of style, somebody screwed up when restocking the store aisle.

“Seeing The Big Pitcher”“Framed”“What’s The Meaning Of This?”“Nothing Ventured, Nothing Bargained”

“♪98¢ Picture Frame On the Wall, 98¢ Picture Frame…♪”“You’re Going To Hollywood Discount Mart!”or“It Looks Like We’re Not On Broadway Anymore, Photo!”

Sounds like Tiffany is returning to her roots with the help of the 98-cent store. Nice to know your market value.

What’s wrong with that? Having her photo in the stores is just what she wanted. So what if the picture frames cost only 98 cents? That just means that there will be lots more of them, and hence more of her photos in the stores, than if they came in a really expensive frame. It was a modeling job and she got paid for it. Sort of like what she and Luann are doing now…

And don’t forget the “usefulness” of having that boy and dog in the one picture, and that pretty lady in the other, for someone to attempt to cut said pictures out and stick in their wallets, and perpetrate that that’s their family, or something similar…

I also don’t understand the “humiliation” of Tiffany because she only has had small modeling roles or bit parts in unsuccessful movies. Tiffany is portrayed with many faults, but that is one of her admirable qualities! She is goal-oriented and willing to start on the ground level to get where she wants to go.-If she had refused the modeling job (or the part in Elviis Jr’s movie) because they werent glamorous enough? Now that would be the actions of a spoiled, lazy teenager. Tiffany can be spoiled, she can be lazy and mean. BUT she goes after what she wants. She searches for and finds opportunities, then takes advantage of these situations.

“Brought to you” by…

Scrawny Paper Towels…. “Well, we’ll try to pick up as much as we can!…" – Snott Paper Products… “The only absorbent, quality paper product… Is it quality and value? Well, it’s Snott!…”-

and by….Ritz $99 Stores… “We’re glad to help you stretch your Swiss Bank Account, everyday!”….

Tiffany would be happy if her photo were used on the package wrappers for the “Halloween stuff” or the toilet paper. That’s what models do – they get their photos printed on products, and they get paid for it. A job’s a job, and it’s all valuable experience for adding to your portfolio. She’s building up a professional resume’, which is more than most of her classmates are doing. A kid saw her photo on merchandise in a store. That counts as a win, I’d say.

Tiffany would do better to focus on how impressed the little boy is.

We had that “look how they’ve grown” strip not long ago that showed us present-day Luann and Gunther alongside their earliest incarnations. Do we have something like that for Tiffany?

The 98 Cent store? Wow, not even the full 99!

How rude.

So, Tiff has been remaindered. Well, that’s just a small setback. Think forward, Tiffany! And don’t be so hasty in quitting the teaching thing: the little kids, for what ever reason, love you!

In this setting, Tiffany is reminiscent of Cameron Diaz in the movie “Bad Teacher”. She eventually became a guidance councilor who helped dorky boys become cooler.

Panels Two & Three: WHO the Hell, Cut That Little Kid’s Hair???

The price of fame.Or is that, the price of frame? ^Ha ha ha ha!!!!!!

Herbie, the Steamy Pile

So because Tiffany was the villain long ago, she is forever cursed to be bullied by the rest the cast?^Greg is the one who has stated that she is the “villain”. Every show, comic, cartoon, etc. has a “trope”, someone who is set to be cast as the “foil/antagonist”, etc. Someone is cast as the “protagonist”…. think of it, this way. Holmes had Moriarty, but Moriarty and he respected each other, deep down. But one could not be who he was, without the other to create “conflict” for the story. That’s the same way Greg has said that Tiffany is, Vs. Luann… Where were you guys this summer, when a few of us were trying to reason with people about her redeeming qualities?.. Could’ve used your help, Lol!!… – Perhaps you can go to Greg’s “Luann” Facebook page, and communicate this, as well… maybe if he sees enough of us wish to see a new direction for Tiffany, he could “retool” or re-write a new direction for her…. – Of course, please understand that if She is rewritten to be less of Luann’s foil, or less of the antagonist, Greg may (or Karen or Mrs. Evans will push for) change to have a new antagonist to start it all over again… unless that character is made to be truly despicable enough that people will be more “accepting”, though there are some of those floating (or were) around in the strip…

“Frame!…I’m gonna live forever…”^Good one!…

And think of all of the TV shows, movies, etc. with characters this exact same way… the one girl is somehow jealous of the other, a bit insecure… in the long run, she really didn’t have to be, but for one reason or another, she was… (Tiffany and she were best friends in Elementary School, but that all changed when boys [particularly Aaron Hill] came into the picture)…. so, they are really able to get along, but Greg has Luann usually delivering a punch line at Tiff’s expense… same with Crystal.. but after all is said and done, it’s not as antagonistic in the end … it just is that this is the way that writers generate their material… as bad as the “High School Musical” franchise, and other related movies, (and still other movies not in that genre) is, you’ll see the same character setup, for all of the writing “juice” to power the plot. And in the end, we are left to wonder will things change or not, and sometimes they do, sometimes not… depends on the way the writer feels the direction should go…

“…where you pick up a picture frame and in you find an old picture of a current celebrity…”^I perceive an EBay bid happening over similar items….

Don’t forget that TJ has also performed a reverse “dine and dash”, where he got the truck, and then had Quill to do all the work while he’s nowhere to be found….

Tiffany is a sad character who gets bullied everyday while trying to pursue her acting dreams. ^So one song that can go on the playlist today, is “Behind Blue Eyes” by the Who… -The thing is, Greg states that he’s can’t ever get around to reading the comments on GoComics… Karen is usually helping Greg to update the Facebook page, and they only blog once or twice a month… but those are the two places that they’d be more likely to hear responses… Facebook and the “Cartoonists Studio” blog site… I’ve seen it myself, there….

I also enjoy Tiffany, as well….she’s a “human” (albeit in 2 Dimensional form), after all…..

Yyyyuuuupppp!!!!….

What makes little sense is that everyone assumes Tiffany is a tramp. In fact, she hasn’t been involved with nearly so many guys as Luann, who is portrayed as an ideal role model on account of her “inner beauty”. We almost always see Tiffany alone (or with her BFF Crystal, whose main role is to hurl a non-stop string of insults at her "friend) and not with boys. So why is she regarded as a tramp?

The location it was in the 98 cent store was between the Halloween stuff and the toilet paper.

The picture frames are not usually in the same isle as the seasonal merchandise, and the seasonal merchandise is not usually in the same isle as the toilet paper.

Halloween was a long time ago, so the Halloween stuff has been marked down to 49 cents. The frames are next to the marked down stuff, so they must be not selling well and are also marked down to 49 cents.

The discount shelves are located near items that everyone uses so the discounted merchandise will be noticed by the customers and bought on impulse.

Sorry Tiffany. A pretty face in a flimsy frame does not make the frame sell well even in a 98 cent store, but at least it is a start.

-Luann, sometimes you can be a little-I don’t actually think this bit of dialogue is really Luann, I think this is Greg speaking directly to us. I honestly think today’s cartoon is Greg telling kids that they need to think long term about job choices; that a job that depends on looks might not be meaningful in the long run and not just because the pix end up at the 98 cent store. For a long time, for women especially, jobs that depended on good looks were very short jobs. Just like jobs that depended on the althletic ability of football players or boxers were short.-I think the words that Greg put into Luann’s mouth today weren’t intended to be a joke, or a way to humiliate Tiffany. I believe Greg was breaking the 4th wall in a unique way, and trying to communicate to the teens that he thinks read the comic. He has to be aware of how tough the job market is now; he has kids. -I think this was his way of gently suggesting that they need to think about a job that can outlast their looks or althletic abilities….

Crystal would work around to the sides and out flank her.^And in addition, she wouldn’t be a “butt” of jokes….

- I would suggest Knute, but I do not really see him as bad so much as clueless-I see Knute as kind of like the ‘Jughead’ character in the ‘Archie’ comix…

Ok, but I think Ecclesiastes 2 is also to the point….

-I think your issue is with Greg, not with me.-The only thing I was saying is that I thought that Greg was trying to tell kids that they need to concentrate more on a long-term type of career arc, one that will last longer than a career based primarily on physical attributes. He could just as easily have put those words into the mouth of any of his other characters who have been talking about long term plans lately. Like Delta, for example, or Bernice….

Telling anyone that something “will give their life meaning” is really a nasty, condescending thing to say. What kind of jerk would say that? Our heroine, ladies and gentlemen!

At least it wasn’t part OF the Halloween stuffThat’s something over which to rejoice

> “if anything he was shooting for a ‘Tiffany is selfish’”>Selfish how? For wanting to be successful as an actress, and for working at low-level modeling jobs to gain experience and help attain that success? That’s “driven”, but how is it “selfish”?

Sometimes, a story brings together two rivals, by adding a third person to have the first two to pool their talents, and then later down the line, you get the reluctant: “Okaaay….I confess…you’re really not that bad, and… I…uh….” “Go on, spit it out!” “I like you, okay?” …..

Teaching and acting are no more meaningful than the other. One helps people learn usually close to useless information, while the other makes them feel better.

Yes, it would be better if Tiffany used her ambition for pursuits that have a higher average salary. But, teaching little kids doesn’t fit into that category.

Luann and Tiffany have always been antagonistic towards each other. Neither is an angel or a devil. Luann annoys me more though. Universe help us, somebody actually shows ambition and doesn’t want to pay 100% attention to me! Their lives must have no meaning!

“She gets hammered for things Luann could do and get praised for.”^Basically…. they are really two sides of the same coin…. . they approach the same thing in two different ways, but they are much more alike than different..

Horrible, horrible writing…………Yo ReallyBad…You aren’t by chance my x-wife???

It’s not “dense”. It’s complexity. Two things going on at once. Happens all the time in strips. Don’t believe me? Read “Jump Start” by Robb Armstrong….

As always, a case of Perception/Perspective/Point of View… which is the reason there is a comment section and why there are such things as book discussions…… – One size does not fit all, and all of us will view things based on experience (Perspective) personal feelings, whether influenced externally or just a mode of our personalities (Perception) or sometimes our station in life/situation/background (Point of View… – If there were ever a time when everybody would agree on everything at the same time, then there would be no need for a discussion… we all see the same thing with different eyes…..even composers were said to perceive different notes of music as “being” different colors to them…

And it can also be argued that Tiffany’s reaction isn’t necessarily self-centered… it could simply be that she truly feels content in her station in life….. – Or it could be her “self-defense” mechanism, trying to not seem as though Luann is in any “superior” position… it’s what “frenemies” do…. it’s also the way that some girls respond to some girls… they don’t want to appear as “weak” or “needy” around anyone else… that in particular is the dynamic between Tiffany and Luann towards each other….

An innocent, but great slam on Tiff.

HIghway 101…

You know, mock Tiffany if you want. She has been in a movie, done modeling and knows who she is.Luann, who is at sea about her future and sitting on pretty much zero personal accomplishments, has an amazing gall to say such things. So sick of “Luann is special and Tiffany is awful” when the writing has to tell us this. What we actually see is that Tiff is the strongest character in the strip, one who will rise above the nasty sniping of her high school classmates and leave the dust of the nasty little town she lives in as she goes on to a good life.

You’re saying that you’re as big a jerk as Luann? I think you’re being too hard on yourself.

For the MOST part, Tiffany gets “meaning for her life” from narcissistic attention – such as naming herself Sheraton St. Louis (think Paris Hilton) and getting herself crowned as such. She seeks to be the center of attention and spends much of her time primping and applying makeup. You may think that shows dedication to pursuing a goal, which would be laudatory, but her attitude is too egotistical to serve her well in any career, and when beauty fails her, she’ll have nothing to fall back on..Luann (and Crystal) are not being mean spirited in pointing that out, they are trying to help Tiffany to more honestly evaluate her goals & ambitions. Sure, they use sarcasm as a tool, but Tiffany is too self-absorbed to perceive the sarcasm or get the point. Greg is trying to get the point across to young women, that beauty alone, is inadequate to achieve worthwhile goals in life. It’s bound to be an illusion. References to Ecclesiastes are right on – Vanity is an illusion and an unsatisfactory goal.

I also have trouble with the concept that pursuing one’s own goals, rather than dedicating you life to helping others, renders your life meaningless. We all find “meaning” in different things.

Lo, how the Mighty hath Fallen!

Love the kids face in the third frame