Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for January 03, 2020

Gunther appears to not liking this kind of publicity.

I don’t think Gunther has even an inkling of what Bets is doing with her “Bets and Gun“ enterprise… or why.

Okay. This is getting painful.

Not everyone enjoys the limelight of being a celebrity

I see a personality clash coming on.

So Gunther did not keep on walking and get lost in the crowd. Too bad. Now he is surrounded by fans and trapped. Should have gone on walking, Gunther. Look at Bets – she is soaking up the attention. Is this someone you want to have in your life?

Drop Bets.

Take the blonde.

Girl.

I wonder if this is the sign of a future breakup.

Bets is a little needy.

Gun looks like a deer caught in a headlight…

She made him a star.

She made him.

On the other hand, someone else will until he decides to take control of his own destiny.

I remember talking with a student a few years ago who didn’t participate much in class (mathematics). She told me she couldn’t because she was so shy. But her other major was theater. So I asked, how can you act if you’re so shy that you can’t ask a question in a math class? Her answer, which has stayed with me, was “Oh, I’m not shy when I’m someone else.”

It bugs me that Sailor Moon’s outfit has the wrong colors.

Bets will probably leave him when she realizes he doesn’t want to be a star. She’ll try hard to change his mind by showing him how great it is to be known but he’ll resist fame.

From “Blazing Saddles”: “Mongo just pawn in game of life…”

.

From “Luann”: “Gunther just pawn in game of life. Right now, Gunther in travelling circus…”

Poor Gunthie. Ya gotta feel for the guy. He just wanted to attend a fun event with someone he likes and have a good time. Instead he’s being made to pose and perform for a bunch of total strangers because Bets has an (apparently) insatiable desire for fame and attention.

Will Gunth lose his shyness from all of this? Or will Mr. Bashful “lose his marbles”?

He should “moon” them and leave.

She is sabotaging the relationship. She is not considering how Gunther really is, she is only seeing how she likes things. She isn’t respecting his space, doesn’t even seem aware of it.

Oh, good lord….

Gunther: End. This. Relationship. Now.

…or jump in with both feet and start enjoying the ride.

I foresee a Hollywood producer or director spotting them and possibly getting an interest in them. Or a game developer using them as models for a new game.

PPS: This maybe Gunther’s ticket to get out of that house and away from Lesley!!

This is just a lame way to make Gunther look like a nerd. By now, I think he would have either figured out how to enjoy this, or dropped Bets a long time ago.

Gunther has had serious issues with social interaction. One way to look at this is Bets is throwing Gun into the pool so he has to learn how to swim. Keep in mind that they are not online 24/7. I still hope to see some nice quality together time between events. If that doesn’t happen, well Tiffany still seems to be available to curl up with and watch Star Trek. It would be a major breakthrough if Gunther admitted to Tiffany that he needs her help as much as she needs his. We have seen recent evidence that the new Tiffany likes to give.

Bets is a Social Media Influencer who is trying to create a huge audience for potential $$$. Next Step: " Bets ‘N’ Gun" sponsors. Will Gun get a 50 % cut?

If Coser Tiểu Nhu is at the Con you will get a cuteness overdose.

“Stardom isn’t a profession…It’s an accident.”—Lauren Bacall

They need to charge money for those photos like the Star Trek celebrities do at cons. Then they could pay Tiffany back some of those overblown eBay commissions they took from her.

Hmmm, “bets and Gun?” Social Media stars! An extrovert loving a relationship with an introvert? Is he shy and afraid, or she to bold and assertive? Should he tell her how he feels (as I suggested), or is she telling him not to be so shy and afraid, and embrace the publicity? Time will tell.

Pop-Culture Op: Bets and The Gunth remind me of the Tributes in The Hunger Games and being paraded around The Capitol to their adoring fans to gain Sponsors.

They should switch to Instachat

Is it just me or does that first fan look a little like Knute?

Reminds me of “Drive my car” by the Beatles. Poor Gunthie looks totally lost!

Tune in tomorrow boys and girls when Gun finds his mojo!

Gunther doesn’t like the public but Bets doesn’t seem to notice? Sounds like a YouTuber.

Publicity from geeks. What could be worse?

Instead of going and enjoying the convention, Gunther suddenly finds himself(and Bets) part of the show. And Bets is clueless as to how Gunther feels about it all.

Gunther. If Sailor Moon ask you to pose you shut up and POSE!

HOLY COW! Bets is Version 1 of Tiffany! Greg can’t produce a strip without a glamorous attention queen! Tiff chubbed up; Bets slimmed down.

At some date in the future Tiff will be thrown into this mix.

“Sail on, sail on, Sailor” - Brian Williams, The Beach Boys…

Poor Gunther.

Maybe Greg is hinting at how he thinks Gunther and the Version 1 of Tiffany (Tiffany Then) would have turned out. Maybe Greg is planning to give a Gunther-Tiffany Now relationship another try at future date.

Maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part.

Now, how to monetize the audience.

The obvious big revenue opportunity is to have Gunther sell custom costumes. Price ‘em high; good work gets good money in this field. Plenty of competition at low price points; differentiate and become the Con Louis Vuitton.

Advertising on the live stream for local comics stores. Tiff, Elwood and Eyez of Zeye can come into play.

Paris, the Kardashians, Duck Dynasty and now Bets-N-Gun! $$$

Sailor Moon?

Wow.

You want more irony, gentle readers?

Tiffany has gone to these type of events, dressed up in a sexy Zeye outfit. And she didn’t get nearly as much attention as Bets is now getting. And Tiffany craves attention as much as Bets.

Kinda sad.Bets beats Tiffany in the cosplay and attention gathering department, while Luann beats Tiffany in the singing and dancing department.Like Gunther, the poor girl can’t seem to win.

As for Bets? Unfortunately today’s Strip appears to have validated Bets media obsession. H3LL, some “folks” are even saying Gunther should throw caution to the winds and “enjoy the ride.” THAT, is a MISTAKE.

The one bright spot? The blonde Sailor Moon girl (Who looks a lot like Kaylie from the dog park) zeroed right in on Gunther!

It would be real interesting if she tries to slip Gun her phone number, under Bets cute little nose. ;)

What’s going on here?

And the introvert side of Gunther kicks in.

Funny how a bunch of people who read a comic strip every day are complaining that the characters have no privacy.

You wanted front row, pal? You got it!

I can’t say much agains GenZ on this. Why? Anybody ever hear of “Forgotten Weapons” and “Gun Jesus”. I own a Gras and am looking for a 8mm Lebel all due to the research from a guy from Arizona.

Break up now, Gunther.

And the band plays on… This is like being on the deck of the Titanic and being told listen to the band play on while you find a nice deck chair and watch things unfolder.

This reminds me of a recent taco bell commercial where the guy says that he is an instagram boyfriend. Heart-hands sun — TAKE THE PICTURE!!

oh, pose gun

and relationship finis!

I would encourage Gunth to try out this persona for a little bit. Adventures come in many forms.

I miss Luann, and Bwad, and Toni…

Sigh. No one gets to be happy in this comic.

Gun should really push the limits here. A cam girl he may have.

Now we know who she REALLY is.

I’ve attended the local comic con (100,000+ attendees every year) for several years and I have never seen cosplayers with this kind of following.

It’s interesting to me that Gunther is holding Bets’ hand in the first frame, as though he’s trying to both direct where they go at the Con and take some responsibility for their relationship. But as soon as the ‘fans’ ask for a pose, Bets ‘strikes a pose’ that has nothing to do with holding Gunther’s hand (and being part of a couple). At the same time, Gunther is talking to her and saying that there are too many ‘huge fans’, and she is saying there is no such thing. This isn’t just about Gunther being shy; this is about two people headed in very different directions…

I said it a few days ago, and it bears repeating. She’s good for him. She’s a doer, and is trying to get him out of his relentless Type A thinking.

Sigh. What a trainwreck. At first, it looked like Bets’ problem was social media addiction. However, now she has a IRL following, an entourage that hounds her (and Gunth) constantly for “a pose”. This will obviously ruin their ability to enjoy the convention, with those idiots following them around, demanding this and that for their own entertainment. This arc will definitely go on until next week.

It does appear that at the earlier Star Trek convention, Bets and Gunth were in-costume, and they had enyoyed themselves. That convention was obviously pre-Internet-fame. At this convention, the “we” becomes a crowd. And worse, Bets is basking in all the attention, completely oblivious to how Gunth feels about things. So this tells me that this downslide happened over time. Like any addiction.

This will all come to a head next week. There’s 2 ways it can go: breakup, or her shocked realization about going too far into the social media celebrity Pit of Hell and digging herself out of it.

I see the beginning of the end of this romance…or, the beginning of the end of Gunther as we know him.

He’s an introvert, she’s an extrovert. I predict it’s going to get in the way of the relationship.

These people need to get a life.

Too many Bets in this world

Gun it!…

If I were Gunther, at this point I would realize that Bets and I were not made for each other.

A common situation when introverts & extroverts hook up.

Uh oh. New life experience for Gun.

Really had expected Bets to this much of an attention…

…seeker.

Anyone else notice that everyone is holding their phones in the “landscape” orientation? Dead giveaway that this isn’t real life!

Bets true colors are coming out.

loosen up and enjoy

Gunther holds her hand, and once again, she separates herself out for the limelight. Mazzy Star had a song for this: “Fade Into You”…

.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTWGgXvJZl0

tomorrow: Bets learns fame is a double edged sword, as she yanks Gunther away from an adoring fan.

They’re gonna put me in the movies…. and all I’ve gotta do is – act naturally! Seriously Bets, what you need is TJ because he would love it.

I weep for you, Gunther. You’re such a nice guy, but Bets is walking over you like a soggy welcome mat. Ditch the chick, Gunther. Find somebody who will RESPECT you, something Bets obviously doesn’t do.

I remember way back, when a channel called MTV was something of a novelty [and a ‘spectator sport’ of sorts (especially when they DID play music videos) – very similar to how this Manga Fest is}. … Mick Jagger advertised MTV with the slogan, “Too much is NEVER enough!” … That’s Bets’ stance here!

Gunther’s stance is more, “Enough is too much!” …

Not everyone wants to live in a fishbowl. Their fans will always know where they are. ugh.

Unh oh….

Oh, come on Gunther. Step out of your comfort zone once in your life.

I wonder whether all of Bets’s past boyfriends have been used, well, utilized, in this manner for social media? I’d be tempted to do a bit of googling. I mean if it was mutually agreeable at the time there’s nothing theoretically wrong with it but I would wonder about her priorities with what’s important about her relationships.

Sailor Moon!

At least Chewbacca isn’t taking a picture. He has some class.

Call me Boomer I guess, but what is the appeal of of what Bets is doing? Why does she have fans and followers? Seems like her pics videos etc. would be the same as countless others doing the same. Why wouldn’t the fans just post their own pics and videos of the actual celebrities and costume models that may be at the event? Is there really a market for celebrity imitators? Again, call me Boomer

I’ve been recognized for my youtube channel a few times when I go to conventions, which I find amazing because I only have about 14K subscribers, which may seem like a lot but that’s less than half of the number of people who would attend a venue like this and they’re spread all around the world.

It might be a bad idea, but Les went out with Bets, so Gunther should ask for an opinion from his roommate, step brother, bully, sleaze ball.

All we need now is The Violin Girl…

Introverts often like extroverts as partners, because the other person does the ice-breaking, makes the small talk, and makes social occasions easier to handle. But Bets isn’t just an extrovert. She wants fame. That could be a problem.

(And are cos-players actually famous in the real world? I don’t think so.)

I don’t blame him. I am not comfortable in the lime light and would have trouble in such a situation.

Is that Dr. Sheldon Cooper in a Star Fleet science officer uniform in the background of panel 2?

I dunno, is Gunther supposed to be speaking for the elderly people who can’t accept change here? “In my day, you didn’t get any fans until you appeared on the Smothers Brothers Show, or WTF it’s called. This event doesn’t count.” At any rate, this whole sitch will quickly be replaced by the meme “that moment when you realize your mother is your identical twin”. At which point Gun’s fame will be guaranteed for months! Bets will have to come up with something more relatable to post…

Bets is crazy about Gun. Gun is crazy about Bets. That means that they will tolerate one another’s foibles.

I sense conflict on the horizon…

Get used to it, Gunny! It is exciting! And wouldn’t it be nice to have a Sailor Moon groupie in case Bets doesn’t work out for you?

OK, Gun? Strictly man-to-man? To tell you the Gospel, with a cutie like Bets, sometimes there’s some silly s##t you just gotta put up with. I get it, she’s an extra and you’re an intro, but if all you have to deal with to keep a girl (who’s easily tied with Ann Eiffel for smokin’ hotness, BTW) is some occasional oversharing online plus an intense session whenever the anime con is in town, you’re way ahead of the game. As soon as you get to second base with her, this will all seem like a bad dream. Man up and support your ladyfriend’s interests.(And how Shinjuku-meta is it that Bets and Gun are at an anime fest now, while the last time they were together they were selling used panties online? I’m betting they hit either a maid cafe or a ramen bar next!)

Gunther has the amazing ability to date women that REALLY stretch his horizons. I thought I was marrying a wild lady because my wife made me go roller skating with her.

they are fading fast

Don’t blow this, Gun. The benefits out weigh how you get there.