The lower half of that view is about what my neck of woods has looked like since August, what with this drought we’re having. Again. Third major drought we’ve had since 2007. And cruelly, around the anniversary of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge going up in flames, partly due to a pair of deliquent teenagers who were playing with matches up in the Smoky Mountains, and literally got away with murder (yes, even though lives were lost because of those fires, they were found not guilty).
A question for anyone who actually knows: In real life, would it be standard operating procedure for the newbie tandem jumpers to get hooked up to their instructors before the door opens?
Note: If today’s strip departs from strict realism on this point, I don’t mean to tear Greg a new one over it. I’m just curious. I also don’t mean to imply that such an inconsistency is reason to believe that what we’re seeing is Luann’s fantasy and that (as some are predicting) it’s really Frank who’s doing the jump.
I think I would rather try ziplining first, but I’m cheering for you, Luann. I was told today that skydiving is 15,000 feet and above and that few do it, so is this called something else?
Luann:1. Go for it.2. Drop all your so-called “friends.”3. Take the course for solo jumping.4. Take flying classes.5. Make new friends at the airfield.6. Scratch all this. Don’t do what others tell you to do (including yours truly). Do what you feel like doing. 7. Be awesome.
This reminds me of a joke. A paratrooper was about to jump and his sergeant gave him a tip. “If your parachute doesn’t open, ask Buddha to save you!”
He jumped and the parachute wouldn’t open, so he yelled “SAVE ME, BUDDHA!” A giant hand came out of nowhere and caught him. Then he said “Thank god!” and it dropped him!
I like the change of perspective in the drawing. It puts you aboard as the observer. Luann is the main character, the arc is her experience and there’s no wimpy Gunther or annoying Tara creeping in to distract and detract from Luann’s adventure.
I like the “Straight Line” punctuation on Luann’s face. It is a faint smile? It is confident. Can she see through her “Blank Zero” punctuation glasses. Obviously she is Blue Skying it, but focused, not airheaded. She could have on Google Glasses. Greg is really very subtle when he is not being un-subtle. Minimalist monologue. Really gettting into her thoughts. They’re not deep thoughts, just Stream of Consciousness. A “serious” installment but light, bereft of drama, she is still sailing smoothly. There are other details I have not pored over. Like, Clouds. Are the clouds saying anything? Did I see any? I don’t remember. She is Looking at Clouds from Both Sides Now. Am I just interpreting Dylan? The Joker? Am I a Choking Smoker? Is it Dylan interpreting the Beatles interpreting Dylan. Am I a butterfly dreaming I am Confusion dreaming I am a Butterfly. Is this just Confusion? Am I manic. It is Four Fifty “F” Three in the I Yam what I Yam. Tell me why I cry? One thing I am fairly sure of. This will continue this rich vein of Not Everything Is A Joke. There are many here among us who feel that Life is But A Joke. Then, I predict some light moments. You don’t have to do a lot of slapstick when you are falling through the air at terminal velocity like a safe falling to the sidewalk or a concert grand piano falling a mile to the floor of the Grand Canyon. She isn’t Wiley Coyote on top of the piano, oblivious as he plummets silently to the infinity of cartoon non-death due to indestructibility. Like all teens into young adulthood, Luann is immortal Can’t lose her parachute and not be saved by a Deus Ex Machina. This is real physics, more or less. Clouds float. People don’t I wouldn’t be surprised to see a strip about someone dying, but Spoiler Alert: Greg is not going to kill some main character at random Knute will not recieve Narcan and turn blue and fade away. It would be a side character. An old teacher. It is okay to kill teach.
Terminal velocity. The velocity which the drag of the air around you creates a force equal to the force created by gravity on your mess. Doesn’t really mean velocity what you terminate or die — not normally, anyway.
It is a shame what Luann has to do to satisfy the readers who thinks she’s gotten boring.
Live2Read: I think she’s done things. If this is a dream, it is a dream of a dream, but one you wake up from before you hit the ground. I’ve come pretty durn close and my heart was in my mouth when I woke up. I’m afraid of the old skydreamer diver’s tale that if you hit the ground You Die.
Argy3: Ooh, Tish. I love it when you use French words like Colorist. I think that was intentional. Wowzers. This isn’t just pink Bubblegum music. Not that there’s anything wrong with “Yummy Yummy.” That was a deep meaning song. In an Airhead way.
Dorothy Glenn: Why isn’t my Reply feature working write? Do I need a new MacAir after only 6 or 7 years? Or should I just keep closing Safari and/or rebooting. Hmm, New Mac or New Transmission. So many choices, so few inheritances.
Anyway where were we? “Maybe the doors will open.” Yes, and I hope they aren’t slapstick opening doors like for Slim Pickens in the last scene from Dr. Strangelove, riding an A-bomb to glorious, ecstatic oblivion. Kind of like what is going on in the Non-Comic world. “Yeeeee-hah! Yip yip yip ki-yay!” Thanks, Kubrick, the Stanley Downer of the World.
Argy3 Yes. Literally. It is called a “Close Reading.” Like pointing out continuity errors in a classic movie, “Oh, there is someone in a Roman Soldier costume sipping a cup of coffee in frame million-and-three.” Or, in “Truman”, he is ambivalent. Not only that, there is a character arc in “Catcher.” Or, perhaps, Argy3 they are just enjoying the strip and the many details hidden and obvious, and the details not there and not obvious, or the backstory seems prismatic. That/those/them kind of person(s). At least they live for reading.
I like how epic Luann’s text sound, it fits the panel si well and she looks so cool! Everything is put as something that will change Luann forever and it’s amazing. Maybe I’m exaggerating because for years I’ve wanted to see her with greater self-esteem, try new things that make her happy and be more determined in taking risks. But I really love this. Writing seems like something Luann is really good at. I wonder if she’ll read this report in Mrs Horner’s class and if Tara and Piro will be there to listen. They didn’t go with her. But without them, she never would have tried it.
In a bit of irony, my late FIL loved Luann. I was thrilled when I found out we both followed the strip. Now, with the exception of my Husband, all the Men in his family are pilots. I was going to share yesterday’s strip in his memory. Then I remembered, that I’m also FB friends with Dad’s nephew. (also a pilot) However, nephew’s Father, (Dad’s brother) was killed when skydiving. He jumped and his shoot didn’t open. True story! Today’s strip is beautiful. The countryside below and the look on Luann’s face. She seems a little “too” calm for the Luann we know and love.
I am surprised at the comments here, because I don’t find this Luann series to be entertaining AT ALL. I simply don’t care that Luann is skydiving, and can’t figure out why I’m supposed to. Wake me when it’s over.
When I was a Bluebird one of the girl’s dad had a plane and he took us up in it and we flew over Eugene, could see my house and backyard! We all thought it was so cool!
The creative tension is clearly “in the air.” Is it Frank or Lu? I think them both but at different times. I think that because the drawing includes her prose, which is good, descriptive, exciting, expectation clearly expressed. Plus the two-panel set-up itself, showing Lu with a determined looking demeanor, her view, out the plane, and that blonde hair very prominent. No, to me all indications are she is jumping.
I wonder if Greg and(or) Karen went skydiving like this? And you won’t fall at 120 mph, on average, because you’ll start (not counting the horizontal speed vector from traveling in the plane) at 0 and have to accelerate at a rate of roughly 32 feet per second squared (minus some due to atmospheric drag). Given that the two of you are wearing loose flight suits and will be falling with your arms and legs spread out, and several other considerations, you might not even hit that high of a speed.
It would appear that the whole week is likely to be in this platitudinous style. It takes one who has really lived through something to write about it poetically. The real jumper was Greg.
OK, a nitpick: Luann should be helmeted, at this stage of the adventure. It’s only Tuesday. The wind in the hair thing is admirably attempted today, but limited by goggles and hairstyle. Tomorrow sees the brain bucket emerge.
When I made my first jump at Airborne school, I was heard to exclaim OOOoooEEeee. Which was quite tame compared to some of the exclamations I heard. One poor guy simply screamed the whole way down. He got washed after he landed.
I love freefall, it feels like you are flying and have an almost magical ability to do anything a hummingbird can do plus much more. I wish the jumps were longer.
LOVE THESE! The narratives and colors are wonderful! The landscape in today’s strip is beautifully drawn! I like that Luann’s expression is confident because they could have easily gone a different direction and drawn her as comically distressed. This is fantastic!
When I did this, it was before the days of tandem jumps. I did static line, where it opens the chute for you. Our plane had no seats, and no door. We sat in the order we would jump against the from bulkhead, between each others legs. I was first, so I was the closest to the door. I remember thinking as we took off, “If I fall out here, the cute isn’t going to help!”
To those “folks” that complained bitterly about having to BUY a “novella” from Greg and Karen this past Summer?
Well, the Evans Crew are giving You guys a mini novella for FREE this week.
So, Merry Christmas to ya’ll.
As for Me, I have My SIGNED copy of the road trip Novella in a prominent place on My bookshelf next to My cherished collections of Liberty Meadows books and Budd Root’s __Cavewoman._ ;-)
So she got warnings, rules, and tips. This implies that she really did get the necessary course before a jump would even be allowed. So when did it happen?
You put your hands OUTSIDE the open door. If you put them INSIDE the door, you won’t go out. I think I read that in S.L.A. Marshall’s “Dropzone Normandy.” Great book.
Looking at an art that is drawn different from Greg’s normal illustrations led me to be suspicious. Is this Luann’s creative writing exercise imaging what it’d be like to skydive? Guess we’ll find out.
I’m looking at her mouth. She will jump. She never takes chances on things that don’t matter. Time has come to do it. Besides – it’s a tandem jump. You have an expert attached to your back.
I just had a horrible thought. What if this is one of those dream sequences and on Saturday we see Luann waking up and Frank jumping out of the plane? I would be really disappointed.
For everyone who still thinks this is Frank doing the jump, here are a few points to keep in mind:
1. Just because Frank showed enthusiasm for skydiving doesn’t mean he will do it. How many times have we shown enthusiasm for something, only to not actually do it? Exactly.
2. Constantly asserting that Frank is doing the skydiving completely takes away from Luann’s own experience.
3. Luann has never really done anything daring before (save for the camping trip she took with Bernice and Dez that turned out to be a total disaster), and this skydiving is an important moment for her. Because it is, Greg and Karen chose to present her dialogue in the way they did. She is not writing an essay—at least not yet. If she was writing the essay right now, she’d be writing it in the past tense. If you look closely, you’ll see that her internal dialogue is written in the present tense.
While I’m at it, I might as well present a final point: if any of you making this ridiculous claim think you can do a better job on this strip than either Greg or Karen, then apply.
I think we are getting to watch the jump and read the esaay at the same time. The essay was written later, but in present tense. It’s more powerful that way. Why do we get to watch two things that happened at different times (jumping and writing) at the same time? Comic strip magic, and very well done. A+ on this one so far.
It’s so great that Luann is doing this on her own (inciteful move on G&K’s part to have Tara & Piro pull out) where it allows her to ponder and think about the magnitude of what she is doing which she would later put into writing, instead of having to listen to Frank’s chatter, Tara’s comments.
The one thing I learned in my brief Air Force career is that one should never leave a perfectly good aircraft, under any circumstances. They are designed to fly; you are not.
If you are doing a HALO jump you fall at about 225 mph until you stabilize at 120 on lower, denser air, usually starting at about 12k feet. Scary the first time when done over the ocean at night.
lvlax 5 months ago
WOW! I think I can see my house from there! ;)
Well, I’m pretty sure this is all a creative writing fantasy and we’ll find out Frank is the one who really jumped.
For those who think Luann is actually going through with it.. How do you explain the different helmets and colors etc.?
beb01 5 months ago
Seems like Greg has been up in the air once or twice. Nice art. Karen is doing a good job with Luann’s essay.
Tyge Premium Member 5 months ago
Pretty good prose, Luann.
J. Scarbrough 5 months ago
The lower half of that view is about what my neck of woods has looked like since August, what with this drought we’re having. Again. Third major drought we’ve had since 2007. And cruelly, around the anniversary of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge going up in flames, partly due to a pair of deliquent teenagers who were playing with matches up in the Smoky Mountains, and literally got away with murder (yes, even though lives were lost because of those fires, they were found not guilty).
diazch408 5 months ago
She is proving to be a good writer.
outonalimb 5 months ago
A question for anyone who actually knows: In real life, would it be standard operating procedure for the newbie tandem jumpers to get hooked up to their instructors before the door opens?
Note: If today’s strip departs from strict realism on this point, I don’t mean to tear Greg a new one over it. I’m just curious. I also don’t mean to imply that such an inconsistency is reason to believe that what we’re seeing is Luann’s fantasy and that (as some are predicting) it’s really Frank who’s doing the jump.
alasko 5 months ago
Luann fantasy dream, she passes out before getting into the plane?
Rhetorical_Question 5 months ago
Page 2 !
kenhense 5 months ago
Lu looks like she’s enjoying this. I couldn’t look out there and then go for it.
ronaldspence 5 months ago
it really is worth doing…good job Luann
Joe1962 Premium Member 5 months ago
Lu this your time to prove so many people wrong pull that ripcord girl.
Willow Mt Lyon 5 months ago
I think I would rather try ziplining first, but I’m cheering for you, Luann. I was told today that skydiving is 15,000 feet and above and that few do it, so is this called something else?
lrrodrigpr 5 months ago
Luann:1. Go for it.2. Drop all your so-called “friends.”3. Take the course for solo jumping.4. Take flying classes.5. Make new friends at the airfield.6. Scratch all this. Don’t do what others tell you to do (including yours truly). Do what you feel like doing. 7. Be awesome.
Argythree 5 months ago
Her world is opening up – she understands she has so many more choices in life than she thought she had…
pscyclepath 5 months ago
Colors are consistent here online; looks like Luann is really doing this… Good gal!!
pscyclepath 5 months ago
STAND UP! … HOOK UP… EQUIPMENT CHECK! (gimme another "OK"sign…) STAND IN THE DOOR! …. GO!
GeorgeInAZ 5 months ago
Stand up…hook up…stand in the door!
Wilde Bill 5 months ago
She is a lot calmer than I would be… assuming she is actually doing it.
Last Rose Of Summer Premium Member 5 months ago
I will not believe she actually did this until I see her land. This is just the essay she is writing. Her Dad is up in that plane.
Robin Harwood 5 months ago
This is actually interesting.
darkwingdave 5 months ago
Interesting that a first time ‘jumper’ is going completely solo and not tandem.
Johnny Q Premium Member 5 months ago
This reminds me of a joke. A paratrooper was about to jump and his sergeant gave him a tip. “If your parachute doesn’t open, ask Buddha to save you!”
He jumped and the parachute wouldn’t open, so he yelled “SAVE ME, BUDDHA!” A giant hand came out of nowhere and caught him. Then he said “Thank god!” and it dropped him!
Caldonia 5 months ago
Cliche city
kiwannabee 5 months ago
Well this is much better than Bets and her travel blog.
nightflight 5 months ago
I like the change of perspective in the drawing. It puts you aboard as the observer. Luann is the main character, the arc is her experience and there’s no wimpy Gunther or annoying Tara creeping in to distract and detract from Luann’s adventure.
French Persons Premium Member 5 months ago
If Nancy was writing this, she’d express guilt that her plane ride is contributing to climate change.
TSR1964 5 months ago
Luanne is letting us see a glimpse of her creative writing story. This is totally fiction
snsurone76 5 months ago
Luann is about to conquer the world—that is, before it conquers her!!
BTW, very good rendering of the landscape.
AmazingMrWonderful 5 months ago
At first I thought that this is where the strip ends (her chute doesn’t open, etc.). However, first-time jumps are done in tandem.
Troglodyte 5 months ago
Nice knowin’ ya, Luann! :D
Wilkins068 5 months ago
Frank comes over by th open door to look out an trips on Luann’s foot causin him to fall out. Frank’s tandem partner jumps out to try to catch him
Tomorrow’s episode:
Willy Makeit or Betty Wont
Fulon Hill 5 months ago
I like the “Straight Line” punctuation on Luann’s face. It is a faint smile? It is confident. Can she see through her “Blank Zero” punctuation glasses. Obviously she is Blue Skying it, but focused, not airheaded. She could have on Google Glasses. Greg is really very subtle when he is not being un-subtle. Minimalist monologue. Really gettting into her thoughts. They’re not deep thoughts, just Stream of Consciousness. A “serious” installment but light, bereft of drama, she is still sailing smoothly. There are other details I have not pored over. Like, Clouds. Are the clouds saying anything? Did I see any? I don’t remember. She is Looking at Clouds from Both Sides Now. Am I just interpreting Dylan? The Joker? Am I a Choking Smoker? Is it Dylan interpreting the Beatles interpreting Dylan. Am I a butterfly dreaming I am Confusion dreaming I am a Butterfly. Is this just Confusion? Am I manic. It is Four Fifty “F” Three in the I Yam what I Yam. Tell me why I cry? One thing I am fairly sure of. This will continue this rich vein of Not Everything Is A Joke. There are many here among us who feel that Life is But A Joke. Then, I predict some light moments. You don’t have to do a lot of slapstick when you are falling through the air at terminal velocity like a safe falling to the sidewalk or a concert grand piano falling a mile to the floor of the Grand Canyon. She isn’t Wiley Coyote on top of the piano, oblivious as he plummets silently to the infinity of cartoon non-death due to indestructibility. Like all teens into young adulthood, Luann is immortal Can’t lose her parachute and not be saved by a Deus Ex Machina. This is real physics, more or less. Clouds float. People don’t I wouldn’t be surprised to see a strip about someone dying, but Spoiler Alert: Greg is not going to kill some main character at random Knute will not recieve Narcan and turn blue and fade away. It would be a side character. An old teacher. It is okay to kill teach.
David Huie Green LosersBlameOthers&It'sYOURfault 5 months ago
Terminal velocity. The velocity which the drag of the air around you creates a force equal to the force created by gravity on your mess. Doesn’t really mean velocity what you terminate or die — not normally, anyway.
It is a shame what Luann has to do to satisfy the readers who thinks she’s gotten boring.
Fulon Hill 5 months ago
Live2Read: I think she’s done things. If this is a dream, it is a dream of a dream, but one you wake up from before you hit the ground. I’ve come pretty durn close and my heart was in my mouth when I woke up. I’m afraid of the old skydreamer diver’s tale that if you hit the ground You Die.
Fulon Hill 5 months ago
Argy3: Ooh, Tish. I love it when you use French words like Colorist. I think that was intentional. Wowzers. This isn’t just pink Bubblegum music. Not that there’s anything wrong with “Yummy Yummy.” That was a deep meaning song. In an Airhead way.
Fulon Hill 5 months ago
dmclark: So you are saying it is Postmodernist. Very cool. Me 3.
Fulon Hill 5 months ago
Dorothy Glenn: Why isn’t my Reply feature working write? Do I need a new MacAir after only 6 or 7 years? Or should I just keep closing Safari and/or rebooting. Hmm, New Mac or New Transmission. So many choices, so few inheritances.
Anyway where were we? “Maybe the doors will open.” Yes, and I hope they aren’t slapstick opening doors like for Slim Pickens in the last scene from Dr. Strangelove, riding an A-bomb to glorious, ecstatic oblivion. Kind of like what is going on in the Non-Comic world. “Yeeeee-hah! Yip yip yip ki-yay!” Thanks, Kubrick, the Stanley Downer of the World.
jtw1 5 months ago
And then, because she got so excited: and had zero training, she leaped out the door without hooking up with her instructor…
Fulon Hill 5 months ago
Argy3 Yes. Literally. It is called a “Close Reading.” Like pointing out continuity errors in a classic movie, “Oh, there is someone in a Roman Soldier costume sipping a cup of coffee in frame million-and-three.” Or, in “Truman”, he is ambivalent. Not only that, there is a character arc in “Catcher.” Or, perhaps, Argy3 they are just enjoying the strip and the many details hidden and obvious, and the details not there and not obvious, or the backstory seems prismatic. That/those/them kind of person(s). At least they live for reading.
dlkrueger33 5 months ago
WHERE IS HER HELMET? OMG.
Ellis97 5 months ago
You can do it, Luann!
sueb1863 5 months ago
“And I forget everything the instructor told me and break both of my legs.”
Aladar30 Premium Member 5 months ago
I like how epic Luann’s text sound, it fits the panel si well and she looks so cool! Everything is put as something that will change Luann forever and it’s amazing. Maybe I’m exaggerating because for years I’ve wanted to see her with greater self-esteem, try new things that make her happy and be more determined in taking risks. But I really love this. Writing seems like something Luann is really good at. I wonder if she’ll read this report in Mrs Horner’s class and if Tara and Piro will be there to listen. They didn’t go with her. But without them, she never would have tried it.
bh05150 5 months ago
Anyone getting Snoopy’s “Red Barron” type vibes from this?
Stephanie Have one 5 months ago
In a bit of irony, my late FIL loved Luann. I was thrilled when I found out we both followed the strip. Now, with the exception of my Husband, all the Men in his family are pilots. I was going to share yesterday’s strip in his memory. Then I remembered, that I’m also FB friends with Dad’s nephew. (also a pilot) However, nephew’s Father, (Dad’s brother) was killed when skydiving. He jumped and his shoot didn’t open. True story! Today’s strip is beautiful. The countryside below and the look on Luann’s face. She seems a little “too” calm for the Luann we know and love.
ewaldoh 5 months ago
So it may be that the color of the jump suits designate instructors vs customers. Helmet may be optional if a personal item.
amadeus_rockme 5 months ago
Is this the “jump the shark” moment for Luann?
chris_o42 5 months ago
I believe it’s Luann. She seems to be speaking and describing from FIRST-HAND experience, not recounting something someone told her.
Free or Not? Premium Member 5 months ago
How to become a writer: EXPERIENCE LIFE!!!!
DawnQuinn1 5 months ago
Is she ever going to jump? lol
candomarty Premium Member 5 months ago
I am surprised at the comments here, because I don’t find this Luann series to be entertaining AT ALL. I simply don’t care that Luann is skydiving, and can’t figure out why I’m supposed to. Wake me when it’s over.
kaycstamper 5 months ago
When I was a Bluebird one of the girl’s dad had a plane and he took us up in it and we flew over Eugene, could see my house and backyard! We all thought it was so cool!
tiu 5 months ago
I enlisted for the Paratroops and made my first jump June ’67. You never forget your first jump. Exhilarating.
ctolson 5 months ago
Easy now LuAnn, don’t get too excited and jump before your harness is hooked to the master jumper’s.
luann1212 5 months ago
The creative tension is clearly “in the air.” Is it Frank or Lu? I think them both but at different times. I think that because the drawing includes her prose, which is good, descriptive, exciting, expectation clearly expressed. Plus the two-panel set-up itself, showing Lu with a determined looking demeanor, her view, out the plane, and that blonde hair very prominent. No, to me all indications are she is jumping.
DaBump Premium Member 5 months ago
I wonder if Greg and(or) Karen went skydiving like this? And you won’t fall at 120 mph, on average, because you’ll start (not counting the horizontal speed vector from traveling in the plane) at 0 and have to accelerate at a rate of roughly 32 feet per second squared (minus some due to atmospheric drag). Given that the two of you are wearing loose flight suits and will be falling with your arms and legs spread out, and several other considerations, you might not even hit that high of a speed.
A.Ficionada 5 months ago
I see farmland down there. Beautiful : )
Lord Hearteater 5 months ago
It would appear that the whole week is likely to be in this platitudinous style. It takes one who has really lived through something to write about it poetically. The real jumper was Greg.
OK, a nitpick: Luann should be helmeted, at this stage of the adventure. It’s only Tuesday. The wind in the hair thing is admirably attempted today, but limited by goggles and hairstyle. Tomorrow sees the brain bucket emerge.
Just-me 5 months ago
When I made my first jump at Airborne school, I was heard to exclaim OOOoooEEeee. Which was quite tame compared to some of the exclamations I heard. One poor guy simply screamed the whole way down. He got washed after he landed.
GregBehrens 5 months ago
Having jumped once 50 years ago the story line is correct. Next one is “my last thought is let me back on this plane!!!”.
mr , b 5 months ago
this is a tandem jump , instructor hooks on the back of the student .
BRBurns1960 5 months ago
I love freefall, it feels like you are flying and have an almost magical ability to do anything a hummingbird can do plus much more. I wish the jumps were longer.
timzsixty9 5 months ago
I, for one, hopes it really IS her, and that this will be a major turning point in her life!
mikenassour Premium Member 5 months ago
Nice.
comic reader 22 5 months ago
LOVE THESE! The narratives and colors are wonderful! The landscape in today’s strip is beautifully drawn! I like that Luann’s expression is confident because they could have easily gone a different direction and drawn her as comically distressed. This is fantastic!
Wubbie 5 months ago
She jumps, but the instructor’s chute doesn’t open. Fortunately, they fall into the recycle pile behind a mattress factory.
Muneflauer 5 months ago
Let her jump! Let her jump!
Camiyami Premium Member 5 months ago
Hmmm this is pretty exciting! I like how poetic it has been. You go Luann!
mindjob 5 months ago
Will she need a push?
tcayer 5 months ago
When I did this, it was before the days of tandem jumps. I did static line, where it opens the chute for you. Our plane had no seats, and no door. We sat in the order we would jump against the from bulkhead, between each others legs. I was first, so I was the closest to the door. I remember thinking as we took off, “If I fall out here, the cute isn’t going to help!”
tremaine53 5 months ago
There’s nothing like that first step…
pripley 5 months ago
Is this possibly a tribute to another comic strip, like Steve Canyon or something? It’s definitely in a different style.
Mordock999 Premium Member 5 months ago
To those “folks” that complained bitterly about having to BUY a “novella” from Greg and Karen this past Summer?
Well, the Evans Crew are giving You guys a mini novella for FREE this week.
So, Merry Christmas to ya’ll.
As for Me, I have My SIGNED copy of the road trip Novella in a prominent place on My bookshelf next to My cherished collections of Liberty Meadows books and Budd Root’s __Cavewoman._ ;-)
ncorgbl 5 months ago
“Two things fall from the sky, bird stuff and idiots.”
Angry Indeed 5 months ago
If she can remember her thoughts, she’ll ace her writing class for sure.
Dennis Egan Premium Member 5 months ago
I did this once, it’s about right, nicely done…
BradFilippone 5 months ago
So she got warnings, rules, and tips. This implies that she really did get the necessary course before a jump would even be allowed. So when did it happen?
phileaux 5 months ago
Dig the landscape art
locake 5 months ago
I think there is a reason we saw a big sign on Friday that said Transfer Credits Allowed.
Tetonbil Premium Member 5 months ago
“Might as well, JUMP” Great artwork today guys! I see this as a great chance for Lu to break out of this high school drama novella.
Eliezer 5 months ago
Very lyrical today. Thanks!
Rich Douglas 5 months ago
The landscape is reminiscent of Stupendous Man’s adventures or when Spaceman Spiff is making a landing. Nice.
Kiwiwriter47 5 months ago
You put your hands OUTSIDE the open door. If you put them INSIDE the door, you won’t go out. I think I read that in S.L.A. Marshall’s “Dropzone Normandy.” Great book.
The Pro from Dover 5 months ago
And then the door opens to the strains of I Am Woman hear me roar
Quentin1992 5 months ago
I hope it’s not a dream and she actually goes through with it.
dbradway1 5 months ago
Go, go, go Luann. Fly free!!!!!!!!!!!! But remember to put on your helmet.
donwestonmysteries 5 months ago
Go for it Luann. IT WILL MAKE YOU A RICHER CHARACTER.
dbradway1 5 months ago
Please, Greg, don’t do anything cute with this arc. Let Luann enjoy her moment of triumph and joy.
up2trixx 5 months ago
If I ever jump out of a plane it’ll only be because the pilot jumped first
Back to Big Mike 5 months ago
Go Luann, GO!
[Unnamed Reader - 14b4ce] 5 months ago
THEY CAN FLY UPSIDE DOWN WITH THEIR FEET IN THE AIR
THEY DON’T THINK OF DANGER, THEY REALLY DON’T CARE
NEWTON WOULD THINK HE HAD MADE A MISTAKE
IF HE COULD SEE THOSE YOUNG M EN AND THE CHANCES THEY TAKE
The Quiet One 5 months ago
Luann may have a career as an author.
jr1234 5 months ago
BOMBS AWAY
B UTTONS 5 months ago
… then I wondered, why am I jumping out of a fully functioning plane?
Susan123 5 months ago
I think she will make the jump and her parents and her friends will be waiting for her.
jojo318 5 months ago
How are Frank and Nancy not there to watch?
Rockabore 5 months ago
If the fall don’t kill me the purple prose will!
raybarb44 5 months ago
No way is she doing a solo jump without training. Took a week worth of training just to know how to land right. Even then. Good luck……
9thCapricorn 5 months ago
Looking at an art that is drawn different from Greg’s normal illustrations led me to be suspicious. Is this Luann’s creative writing exercise imaging what it’d be like to skydive? Guess we’ll find out.
Chuck374 5 months ago
I’m looking at her mouth. She will jump. She never takes chances on things that don’t matter. Time has come to do it. Besides – it’s a tandem jump. You have an expert attached to your back.
comic reader 22 5 months ago
I just had a horrible thought. What if this is one of those dream sequences and on Saturday we see Luann waking up and Frank jumping out of the plane? I would be really disappointed.
liberalnlovinit 5 months ago
Okay, now I’m reminded of Where Eagles Dare (1968):
Pilot: “We’re approaching the drop zone…”Jump officer: “Green on GO!!!”"
live2read 5 months ago
For everyone who still thinks this is Frank doing the jump, here are a few points to keep in mind:
1. Just because Frank showed enthusiasm for skydiving doesn’t mean he will do it. How many times have we shown enthusiasm for something, only to not actually do it? Exactly.
2. Constantly asserting that Frank is doing the skydiving completely takes away from Luann’s own experience.
3. Luann has never really done anything daring before (save for the camping trip she took with Bernice and Dez that turned out to be a total disaster), and this skydiving is an important moment for her. Because it is, Greg and Karen chose to present her dialogue in the way they did. She is not writing an essay—at least not yet. If she was writing the essay right now, she’d be writing it in the past tense. If you look closely, you’ll see that her internal dialogue is written in the present tense.
While I’m at it, I might as well present a final point: if any of you making this ridiculous claim think you can do a better job on this strip than either Greg or Karen, then apply.
Otherwise, just. stop. it.
Sweetlorrain 5 months ago
One thing I will not do. Never broken a bone and I want to keep it that way…lol!
paldec 5 months ago
I think we are getting to watch the jump and read the esaay at the same time. The essay was written later, but in present tense. It’s more powerful that way. Why do we get to watch two things that happened at different times (jumping and writing) at the same time? Comic strip magic, and very well done. A+ on this one so far.
Raymond Powell 5 months ago
You go Luann,! You got this!
Lady Bri 5 months ago
I think this is the most beautiful Luann strip I’ve ever seen. ❤ 50% chance she’ll jump. :)
RSH 5 months ago
It’s so great that Luann is doing this on her own (inciteful move on G&K’s part to have Tara & Piro pull out) where it allows her to ponder and think about the magnitude of what she is doing which she would later put into writing, instead of having to listen to Frank’s chatter, Tara’s comments.
eced52 5 months ago
Next week Luann will start attending jump school. Not.
Tenax 5 months ago
Nice narrative & beautifully drawn G&K and superbly colored @Sheriff Mordecai
wolfiiig 5 months ago
Proud of you! Just remember ‘Geronimo’!
ACTIVIST1234 5 months ago
Now that we know it’s Luann and not Frank, they’re going to, like, put helmets on, right?
ACTIVIST1234 5 months ago
Question! Can people who need glasses skydive?
walt1968pat Premium Member 5 months ago
Try jumping into a firefight.
Wilkins068 5 months ago
At th end of the week will Bobby be dead or alive?
No intention of hurting any cartoon characters here. Mainly a metaphor. Before anything gets started bout some one bein dead
Wubbie 5 months ago
Falling at 180 mph? That plane only does about 120. But it can’t dive like that.
Dragoncat 5 months ago
It’s like seeing so many infinite possibilities, and all it takes is one leap of faith to see where you’ll end up.
WilliamVollmer 5 months ago
In any event, she should submit these entries to her creative writing class.
nightflight 5 months ago
Heads up, crew. Bogey at 12 o’clock high. Looks like a little white beagle flying a red dog house. Be ready to take evasive action.
mistercatworks 5 months ago
The one thing I learned in my brief Air Force career is that one should never leave a perfectly good aircraft, under any circumstances. They are designed to fly; you are not.
ScretWitch 5 months ago
Nice! A tandem jump!
leighabc123 5 months ago
Where did Luann get the money to pay for this on a part time childcare worker salary?
eladee AKA Wally 5 months ago
Karen’s doing some of her best writing here.
eddi-TBH 5 months ago
Yoiks and away!
elliel203 5 months ago
I guess her life just needed to be in jeopardy to unlock her writing chops?
Sisyphos 5 months ago
This is probably the best piece of utter fiction Luann has ever written for her class….
Is anyone really skydiving?
hawgowar 5 months ago
If you are doing a HALO jump you fall at about 225 mph until you stabilize at 120 on lower, denser air, usually starting at about 12k feet. Scary the first time when done over the ocean at night.