Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for January 20, 2020

now you know, Luann, how Gunther felt

Effective Critique. ✨

Go Gunther! Don’t Stop!

He’s going pretty easy.

Gunther is ready to GROW A PAIR at long last.

WONDERFULLY played.

And there are some here who have stated that Gunther has no spine!

Now we see the effect of Bets on Gunther. Gunther is angry at Luann and yet he is managing to explain his perspective without a screaming, temper tantrum. I would say it’s an improvement, but the week is not done yet. We may still have a screaming, temper tantrum before the week is out.

Ah, No YELLING or SCREAMING. Gunther took the gentlemanly high road and dealt with Luann LOGICALLY. And GOOD for Him!

Unfortunately, THAT won’t work on Tiffany. In fact, it would be WORSE. The last time Gunny yelled at Tiffany, she was actually turned on by it.

BUT, note that while Gunther (And everybody else) was fully aware of Luann’s ex-B/F, Quill, Gunny also KNEW about Luann’s CLOSE friendship with Jack and her date pic dates.

HOW did he know about THOSE guys? Did Luann tell him, or did he “pry?”

But you know? If Gunther REALLY wanna hit Lu below the belt, he’d ask her how “intimate" she got with Elwood Druit, that obnoxious, annoying, little troll that once gave Lu a (FAKE) engagement ring, and asked her to marry him. THAT, would get her attention.

So. Will the rest of the week be Gunther “confronting” EVERYBODY involved in the gossip? And will the arc end with Gunther having that LONG OVERDUE talk with Bets about her excessive social media usage?

Like I said before, THIS is getting Good!

ZIIINNG!

I don’t know. GnK gives us arcs that change the Luannaverse like the marriage of characters, and throw-away arcs like the girls go camping. I suspect the gossip arc is a throw-away.

Looks like Gunther is just warming up…..

Go Gunther!

Now is it just me, or is Gunther coming off as a just a little bit creepy in the first panel? Yes, I know he’s trying to teach Luann a lesson as to why it’s not appropriate to pry into one’s private life. But going by his facial expression and pretty much the timing of what he said to her in the opening panel, it is more than a little off putting…

I notice Luann isn’t inviting him in or he doesn’t want to come in.

Gunther it might be a good time to bring up her actions the night of your first date with Bets: get it all out there.

I seldom care about clothes or color variations etc, but there is a bit of continuity glitch. The attire Luann is wearing on the Sunday walk with Bernice is the same outfit she was wearing on the Saturday episode when Gunner showed up on the doorstep, and what she is wearing in this installment. Just seems odd as a choice, and confusing. Obviously there are 2 possibilities. Either the walk happened just before he showed up, or is in the aftermath. I suspect the former, because I think the result of the discussion now is gong to be more serious than a slap on the wrist.

Ok, Luann – cough up. We are inquiring minds, and we want to know.

Go Gunther!!

Walking in the other man’s shoes sometimes pinches.

I gotcha, uh huh, huh

You thought I didn’t see ya now, didn’t ya, uh huh, huh

You tried to sneak by me now, didn’t ya, uh huh, huh

Now gimme what you promised me, give it here

Come on

Gunther for the point.

Enjoy squirming Lu….

And where’s Quill.

Maybe it’s just me but is Luann the only person in this strip that doesn’t grow up?

“Well, Gunther, let me put it like this: When I saw Jack naked in art class, I thought it was scary. But when I saw you naked in the library? I thought it was funny!”

Tiffany had a relapse. Tiffany made a grownup decision to stop the dependency with Dad’s money after Dad choses Ann Eiffel.

Could the “real” crisis (in her mind) be…that she’s never gotten anywhere?

Gunther is not a dweeb, Luann! Stop being a silly goose and ask for forgiveness! But the arc will probably end today.

MYOB. That is the play so far with this set up panel. This arc has so many connections to other arcs, the rich history of all the involved characters and their relationships including Gunther’s current one with Bets, and how Luann truly feels about it, I withhold prediction about this’s arc but it’s bound to be a humdinger.

It will be a humdinger if the 8th grade dweeb and Luann decided to explore a relationship as a couple!

Not quite sure why you would want to be friends with anyone as petty as Luann.

‘I give you the boy, … give me back the man …’

The snark is strong with this one….

I would discuss my private life with close friends. If I was Luann I would honestly answer Gunther’s questions and not be embarrassed to talk about my intimate life with a long time friend.

Dude you are going way too easy on her

Nailed it or should I say Nailed HER!

At least she isn’t making excuses. I’ll credit her for that.

That is pretty good way to show her to MYOB without tearing her a new one.

I didn’t know Gunther was so amazing with irony. I’m loving him here♡. And Luann must be ready to make him a ton of apology, or tell him all her most private moments… She already regret having been so nosy. Interesting that Gunther too thinks there is something between her and Jack♡♡♡.

Gunther’s continuation seems milder than his Saturday opening salvo would have indicated. However, it is more in line with Gunther’s basic character portrayal. Confrontational but not manic. The tack he is taking at this point seems to indicate that reconciliation is in the offing; perhaps with a bit more respect for the G-man.

I wonder if this confrontational mood will spill over onto his relationship with bets and “intimate” postings???

Good for you Gunther, well played. Good to see him get a spine.

She realizes she stepped in “it”, but GOOD!

And where will Greg take this for the rest of the week? A discussion about privacy seems like a pretty lame episode in the overall arc of Bets invasive postings. Will Gunther and Luann wind up further apart or closer in their relationship? Where will Luann wind up in her relationship/intimacy angst? Will the Night at the Gulag emotions rekindle?

There is certainly much to anticipate this week. I hope Greg doesn’t let us down. :o(

You’d better fess up, Luann.

“Sarcasm: Making the world a better place…one insult at a time”

Sic him Puddles!

Take off your coat, Gunther, and we’ll turn this into a show and tell.

The sarcasm is strong in this one.

Sounds like he did a lot of questioning of the witnesses that is pretty much what happened.

Luann is learning that payback is a bi…

Take that, Luann!

Way to go, Gunther! I approve!!!

Hand over clothes action.

Wow; Betts borrowed him his sack back.

It’s only Monday

Wonder how Gunther lost the tip of his thumb?

Look who grew a pair.

This should be where Luann says she is sorry.

Luann, your nosiness is like a boomerang, and has just come back to smack you in the face!

Gunther is getting what is now called a shiny spine and standing up to Luann. Now, he needs to set some boundaries with Bet, too.

Date Pic Guy??

well, that was mega burn, and now the shouting match shall begin

L., push back! Demand to see the photos of them boinking in their cosplay outfits.

I expected Gunther to simply yell at Luann as he would have done when he was just a bit younger. Kudos to Greg for avoiding the predictable response; it helps show how the characters have grown through the years. Now I can look forward to seeing what comes next.

7

Thankfully… Gunther approached this in a rather kind, gentle, but firm way. No yelling…. which makes me happy!

But what will occur this week? Hypotheses:

a) we will see Gunther confronting all the gossip mongers one by one.

b) Luann will apologize, and she and Gunther will keep talking and the two of them will stop just short of a kiss before they realize their “love” for each other….. and then Gunther has to decide what to do.

c) Luann apologizes but then ask Gunther more probing questions about Bets and Gunther just walks away.

d) we have a surprise mid-week story shift onto something else….. perhaps Shannon confronts Brad for his Santa portrayal at the Mall and so Brad comes to “talk” with Luann too.

But, the one aspect I think appears likely even if any one of the above happens….. likely this week will not have Bets in it.

Seriously, this strip should never have gone in this direction. Next you’ll be telling me Toni and Brad have been making out too…

Gunther Gumption Goin’!!! … YES!!

My take: I guess I’m having a Lord Hearteater moment.

This looks and feels like Ross and Rachel in Friends.

I’m starting to think that Lord is right: G&K are playing a long game here, and that long game is Gunther and Luann!

Nice job Gunther. Hope she learned her lesson.

Off topic here but I just heard that the comic strip “Retail” is ending. It was funny and relevant and I wish the author many more years of success in future endeavors. I hope it will Archive somewhere soon because it really is worthwhile reading. And many thanks to the poster who mentioned it to me. I think it was someone on this forum that’s why I’m posting this. I want to say thanks for treating me to a very entertaining strip I would never have known otherwise.

I love Gunther. He nailed it!!

Actually Luann should simply tell Gunther she hadn’t done it with any of those guys. In trying to find out about Gunther – I think Luann was mainly trying to evaluate her own progress in life. I don’t see this as Luann digging up “dirt.” And not many of their peers would be judgmental if they learned Gunther & Bets were doing it. In fact, most that knew Gunther very well would be glad to hear that Bets yanked Gunther out of the crib. If Gunther and Bets do break up – I wouldn’t be surprised if either Tiffany or Luann wanted to be next.

Gunther is showing a lot of maturity – more than Luann.

For those who are still scratching their heads over “What did Luann do wrong?”, or trying to pass the blame onto the victims (Bets and Gun) for having a social media page… here’s a much milder and less personal analogy. You invite your friends over to your house for a get-together. The rooms that are open, and intended for free access to all the guests. Living room, dining room, kitchen, downstairs den/entertainment room, bathrooms. People gather in these public areas, talk, have a laugh, eat, drink, have fun.

Some rooms in your house have closed doors. Your bedroom, the home office. One guest is not satisfied with staying in the public areas and starts to snoop around, open your closed doors to see what’s in them, because they’re “curious”. You catch them. The nosy biddy tries to use the excuse, “But you invited me into your house! It’s assumed that it’s normal for me to want to check out everything in it! Even the parts with the closed doors!”

How well does that fly?

This is the part where Luann figures out that she’s totally screwed…

Perfectly handled.

There was that interesting exchange in the janitor’s closet with Quill. . . . And him buttoning his shirt in the last panel.

Are all his months alone with Rosa being entirely wiped from the communal memory?

Gun can’t get too mad a Lu, given their long history, and the fact that she opened the pathway that led to Bets. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein should be required reading, due to the message, which is applicable here: Build whatever monster that you wish to build, but know that it will eventually turn on you.

“Oh, ouch,” is a bit of an understatement. Good for Gunther, says I.

I would ‘un-friend’ her for awhile.

Since I am the only one here who doesn’t understand how someone can post all of their private moments (including a passionate kiss) on social media, and then object to someone trying to get more info, I guess I need to go read a different ’toon for awhile…

Now here’s the weirdest thing… I don’t always check online, so I read today’s strip in the newspaper. Before I got my glasses (to be able to read the dialogue), I looked at the faces, and I was take aback by Gunther’s calm expression, and the open hand in Panel 2. I thought he was going to thank her for broaching a subject, and that he and Bets had a little talk, and all’s good. But once I got the glasses on and read the dialogue… whoo hooooo!

I like Gunther. :-)

If a young man has fallen for a young woman who doesn’t return his attention, the standard advice is “you’ll get her interested if she thinks you’re turning to someone else.” The theory, I guess, is that you own anyone who’s stuck on you, so you don’t need to earn what you own, but you won’t ever be entirely happy to give it.

Now Gunther is characterized as too sincere to manipulate Luann by taking up with Bets (or Rosa or even Tiffany), but Luann has always regarded him as an ace-in-the-hole. At least it seems to us (I think) that it seems to her that she hasn’t really lost him as long as he’s not actually “doing it” with anyone else.

So I expect this arc to flirt at least with Gunther’s realizing that Luann is panicked about losing him forever…and that somehow he didn’t know she cared. But it’s a comic strip not a rom-com…so only a little of that can come out a little at a time…

Touche, brother! Gunther with a spine works for me.

Good for Gunth!

He’s SEETHING.He’s as nasty as an asp in the reeds, The sleeping dragon has been aroused and is not going to let it go.

Time can never mend the careless whispers of a good friend. – George Michael

The question now is whether time, or anything else, can mend this friendship.

I’m kinda reminded of the current Impeachment excursion into a moral jungle. Many of Trump’s supporters say yes – he did those things – but not a strong enough reason to remove him from office. Luann did what she did and got caught. In my opinion, if Gunther gets on his high horse and decides Luann can never be a friend again – that would signify Gunther is still plagued by the same demons that warped his life to date. At the heart of the issue, single people no longer have to wear a Scarlet “A” in shame if they are found having sex outside of marriage. I don’t think there was much if any damage to Gunther’s “reputation,” and arguably it may have improved his “reputation.” Gunther has been stunted emotionally, but now he seems to have got past this curse enough to find intimacy with another person.

NG: HEADS UP!

Preliminary work.

Wound healing.

Elderly and mention of diabetic work late in the write-up.

https://scienceblog.com/513594/we-know-exercise-is-good-for-your-skin-this-protein-mimics-those-effects-in-mice/

Let her know, Gunther!

I believe Luann will admit that she is jealous (after all) and that she ‘struck out’ on her date pic effort while Gunther was successful. Gunther will encourage her (as Jack did) to be more assertive, to accept people as they are and meet a person half-way instead of expecting the perfect relationship to just land in her lap.

He really knows how to apply the Cat-O-Nine Sarcasms.

He is being both delicate and jabbing. Good show. Gun is using a prickly softness.

Note the tabloids make millions selling stuff that should be nobody’s business. Luann’s curiosity about her friend Gunther’s situation is a normal reaction. If Lu ran into Les in a bar – she might cozy up and steer the conversation in that direction. If Les doesn’t run with the bait – then mission aborted. However Luann running into the Fuse and not worrying about who might hear it was a big mistake – but compounded by others. All this to say I think many commenters are too tough on Luann. She’s a good kid – but far from perfect.

Hahahahahahahaha!!! No where to run on that one Luann. No more digging into his stuff anymore. Good for you Gunther, done with taste and class!!!

Gunther is the lead batter….. Bets unseen is next up in the lineup!

You’ll be surprised Gunther because NOTHING HAPPENED!

Stick it to her, Gunny. Luann has it coming. She is stuck at “15 years old.”

Too easy. Looking for a bit of redemption tomorrow or he’s a weenie.

Looks like we’ll hit 400 comments with this one.

He’ll cave on this!

I think the Evansi should gladden the hearts of all posters on GoComix and change the name of this ’toon to “Gunther and Gang”, and just eliminate Luann altogether.

Way to go Gunther!!!!

Learning he is, growing he is. A pair he’s finally grown. But if there’s one thing i can say about Gunther, he doesn’t have the heart to hold a grudge, no matter what someone does to him. He will likely hear Luann out and forgive her. He just wants her to taste her own medicine.

Gunther is an unlikable dweeb with the mood swings of a tower sniper. I think that if any psycho crime was committed on campus, the criminal profiler would have a ball with “the Gun.” Luann and Bernice may be dull, but they’re not dangerous.

Gunther ain’t the timid boy she knew in highschool anymore… subtlety in that last panel was more effective than rage. And Luann deserved it!

When did Gunther get so mean and throw so much shade?