Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for November 05, 2020

Yeah work that body

nice prescription, Jack

Might wanna phrase that a little differently…

“Endorphin Rush.” ✨

Jack is a real pal to all the gals!!

That is either the “stud strut”, or George Jefferson entering a room.

Well, we know where this arc COULD go…

Jack the love doctor.

I find it interesting that Bernice seems quite comfortable telling things to Jack that she didn’t want to share with her nominal BFF, Luann.

This time, I’m not sure whether the writers realize how that last line sounds or not. Jack is a freaking Boy Scout so I’m sure he doesn’t.

Jack, I don’t think that’s a problem for Bernice when you’re around.

Jack has feminine hips. Most men have inverted A line or straight line. Jack has a hourglass shape. I don’t find this attractive on men. Okay, he is not as hippy as most women, but he has a slight waist whereas most men have no waist and flat hips. My guess is Greg doesn’t draw buff men very well. Buff men have more muscles than the normal male body and I imagine it takes skill and practice to draw muscular body parts properly. Greg gave his upper legs too much muscle which gave him hips. Men can be flat lined yet muscular. I’d prefer Jack drawn that way. Hey, if the men in here can critique the female characters, so can I for the male characters. Equality and all.

Lol Jack be strutting.

And the tease goes on…and the tease goes on…

Working out is only a distraction, not a solution.

Good line from Jack. However I’ll be disappointed if it’s only Jack showing Bern exercises.

Personally I prefer to meditate. Shutting off the chatter in your brain sounds easy but it takes practice to achieve silence.

I just realized that Jack is kind of short.

If I had a nickel for every double entendre in this arc my wife would ask ”Is that a roll of nickels in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

I’m sure Jack can assist her in turning on her body and that should be mind blowing. But once that bridge is crossed…

I mean I do that too, but I’m autistic. What’s your excuse?

Seriously Bern, get a zanax prescription or something.

So.

Mr. Jack’s “solution” to Bern’s “problem” is ”distraction?” Oops. I meant, “exercise?”Looks Mr. Jack’s “solution” to EVERY “problem” is exercise.

Bernice – “Jack! I’m confused, I’m hurt, I don’t know what to say to my brother and my hair’s on fire!”

Jack – “No problem, Bernice! Drop down and give me 20!!”

I wouldn’t go so far as to derisively call Jack a “muscle-head.” But he should realize that sometimes a “brain” comes in quite handy.

I have to admit I’m a little surprised here. Of all of the ladies I’d ever thought Jack would finally get into the gym, this gal would be absolute LAST on the list. Tiffany? Sure. She’d be the natural choice. Jack could have gotten her back down to her old smoking hot size in no time. And Luann has imagined herself as a female bodybuilder on several occasions.

But Bernice as an “athletic bodybuilder” thanks to Mr. Jack? Boggles the mind.

And I hate to tell future “Ms Olympia” Bernice this, but even after she gains the ability to tear phonebooks in half, she STILL has her family issues to deal with.

Uh. They still make phonebooks, right? ;)

When I need distraction, I read Shakespeare out loud. It’s hard to focus on my problems when I’m busy trying to project somebody else’s feelings and words.

I can’t turn off my brain, and my body turned on me years ago.

If Ben wasn’t her brother, some people might think Bernice is attracted to him, since those are stereotypical symptoms of being attracted to someone. So, let’s put that aside, is Bernice feeling inadequate, comparing her life to Ben’s?

She was kind of hoping he would do that for her.

Has this strip changed from “Luann” to “Bernice”?

Americans need to exercise more. Jack is right.

That’s a nice spiky aura Bernice has in panel 2.

Uh, Jack? Rephrase…

Panel 3: “Well you certainly turn my body on Jack! Tee hee hee! Tee hee hee!”

Double-entendre much, Jack?

I am sure you are just thinking of healthy exercise, but there are a lot of less innocent minds out here (not to mention G&K)….

if nothing else, Jack is providing more fodder for Bernice’s fantasies. :-/

Bernice, it’s obvious that you have a serious complex when it comes to your big brother.

Zoloft or Prozac, Bern. See your doctor, OCD is a manageable condition.

Wow. Bernice is more open and honest with Jack than Luann! I think Jack is good for Bern no matter how it turns out.

Didn’t we already do that at the start of the week?

Jack is right. Exercise relaxes you when you are anxious and mentally tense. Just running ~ 4-5 blocks does the job. Maybe Jack will become Bern’s personal trainer. But first she needs to put on some sneakers.

Think I understand where Jack is going… distracting yourself turns the brain off a little and lets you be more open to things. Know when I’m out hiking or walking my mind tends to wander a little on many different things but you’re not steadily focused on one thing. Doing that enables you to get a little more in touch with yourself and Jack’s way is to do something physical.

Turn on your body? Hmmm… All kinds of implications in that phrase. Still, that’s something Bern should have done some time ago. Maybe she wouldn’t be so mentally tangled now.

That’s actually a very good advice. Exercise helps relieve stress and feel at peace with the world (after you do it for a while, at the beginning it’s just a torment). I can’t see Bernice doing physical exercise of any kind, but with Jack tutoring her… I really like this possibility ♡! The problem is, Bernice need something to help her right now!!!

Jack is making Bernice used her head, get over her fears and GO SEE BEN. Nothing weird there.

It does look like her head exploding in Panel 2!

Jack’s 50% correct— It’s Body – Mind – Spirit. When the Mind is hamster-wheeling, focusing on either Spirit or Body usually helps.

His non-answer shows he understands somewhat. At least that’s my impression. I don’t think he’s strutting as much as stretching.

Frustratingly, GnK have yet to give us a hint to the reason for Bernice’s mental distress over meeting Ben!! Arrrggghh! (It is Talk Like A Pirate day, isn’t it?)

Jack is being helpful to Bernice. More than anyone else would.

I think her body is already turned on.

Exercise is a prescription for depression, and Jack’s suggestion to concentrate on exercise, power walking in a way I think, is what he is trying to do. I know in my personal life that exercise has helped lift me out of a depression, and even now at 73 I know I need to get back to exercise—in spite of chronic arthritis—to get me to be a bit more chipper even now. Jack has also always been a fitness character, one who is shown to believe in the power of fitness and exercise, even after his football career did not pan out. Instead of letting that dissuade him, he doubled down on fitness. I think that Jack is trying to help Bernice get out of her own head, so she can think more clearly. By the way has anyone see male power walkers, or power walking? The way the male hips move in that might be feminine to some bigots of ignorance, but this is an actual sport, with form, and to think it makes some one narcissistic and gay is just plain stupid. I’m sorry but I call out rank prejudice when I see it. Right now I think my thought that this might be good for Bernice and possibly to a relationship may pan out, but lets look at this in the story and not stereotyping.

Good advice…..

Cue Olivia Newton John

♬Let’s get physical, physical♬

♬I wanna get physical♬

♬Let’s get into physical♬

♬Let me hear your body talk, your body talk♬

Meditation is a great way to stop incessant thoughts. I focus on my breathing and imagine all thoughts being dropped into a flowing stream. I do this before I sleep.

I tried that once and my body revolted.

Jack’s right. Physical exercise can help you work through stuff in your brain, and can help get you out of a rut of mental rumination. I really struggled with depression when I was in college, and long walks helped a great deal.

And if it doesn’t end up working, it’s still good for you, so it’s a win-win proposition. ;-)

Jack is a very smart guy Bernice. Take notice.

Jack is right! Exercising helps chemicals form in yer brain that make you happy! That’s why I’m happy walking my muscle-puppy, then collapse after.

Some growth for Bern.

I can see the confusion for her though. Her brother, whom she doesn’t know and who abandoned her ( they used to email, but he stopped ) comes back to his birth parents with step kids in tow. Bern gets kicked out of her childhood home and her old room given to her “brother” and his two children. All at the time Bern “lost” her RA job and had to leave the dorm. Her parents made a choice and it wasn’t her. She should feel hurt and even betrayed.

Jack. He is a good guy and I would still rather see him paired up with Lu at some point. He is a good man, he likes physical things. He matches up good with either Bern or Lu on the opposite scale.

Bernice must be a Leo, just like my Wife. Overthinks and stresses for nothing

I’m glad Bernice realizes what she’s doing to herself. Exercise would release her stress. But by itself it won’t give her answers. Maybe if she takes her mind off all those things, she will get clarity. Jack’s posturing is a bit over the top, but I like his enthusiasm.

Good advice, Jack!

Jack is right. Nothing fixes an overwrought mind like exercise! Even if it is just walking around the block.

Give her a hand, Jack.

Nothing wrong with Bernice that decades of therapy can’t cure.

Ah, at last… the advice Bernice needs.

Jack could be a professional jockey. He’s short enough.

Help me out here – they tried to explain the relationship between Ben and Bernice but all that happened was my eyes glazed over. So, is one of them adopted? What’s this,“When we met…” stuff?

Exercise your body: a good way to stop worrying and lower blood pressure. Quick acting, and has beneficial side effects.

While exercise is a good way to start feeling better even better advice is to confront your problems. In this case Bernice is paranoid about meeting a brother that as far as we know did nothing to make Bernice fear seeing him again. tyge has mentioned this upstream. Until some valid reason is given for Bernice’s fears this whole sequence is stupid and illogical (technically illogical first which makes it stupid).

Everyone talks like Jack is going to become a vet. That was something Luann suggested to him because it was so good with Puddles. There’s no evidence that Jack has ever taken her up on that suggest. And anyway it occurred during a time when Jack was involved in all sorts of things, much the way Luann once had all sorts of skills and talent (including a savant’s skill at set design). None of those things stuck making Luann seem talentless and uninterested in anything. Likewise I’m not sure anything has stuck with Jack.

Jack’s bad knees has never been mentioned before this, as far as recollect. He never mentioned quitting football because of them.

tomorrow: Jack demonstrates “Push Ups” for Bernice, and she gets all twitter-pated.

Yeah, Jack has curves where there shouldn’t be. Why is this arc crawling?

Metrosexual

Bernice, you need to close your eyes and search in your over-achieving brain to find the “suspension of disbelief.” And as soon as you find it, glue it down. The more you over-analyze, the closer you move to a total mental breakdown.

To me his answer isn’t weird, because hes completely right. Its been well proven through hundreds of studies that exercise combats anxiety, stress and depression. Anyone suffering from any level of any of those feelings will benefit from regular exercise, even if its just taking a walk. Yes, he is comfortable in his body and clearly works out a lot and has big muscles, but if you dont judge by appearance, he says insightful things. He’s not a dumb hunk by any means.