Luann by Greg Evans for January 18, 2021

the silent treatment is someone not a good thing

I’ve been there myself, on the phone and can’t think of a thing to say. Nice to see Ox. He’s so good with Tiffany, solid, calm endlessly patient. She should go over and see him. At the Fuse. Right now!

Hooray! It’s Tiffany and Oxford in the dark. But right now Ox seems to be in a dark of his own. Go Ox!

The Fuse has a battery operated camp lantern. Well, someone was forward-thinking. But why hasn’t TJ closed the Fuse? No kitchen, does the drink well use an electric pump? Who would come there during an emergency. Aside from the usual alcoholics.

Happens to me all the time. After I tell someone that I can’t hear them, they adjust their phone and ask if that’s better. But then they don’t say anything!!

If this is going to go on all week, Tiffany will be seen after the power is restored curled up in a ball in the corner, shivering at the thought of whatever horror she has conjured up in her mind.

Seriously … Tiff is at least 18 years old in the Luannverse. She’s never experienced a power outage before?

Who’s getting on the Tox Train? Ya heard it here first…

Ox’s brain works better in the light. Quick, Ox – shine the lantern in your ear!

Excellent, she called Ox! Love it already!

This is uncanny. They say that the United States will be experiencing some blackouts soon. Long ones.

This town ain’t like New York City.

So the birthrate won’t go up.

Or……

Welcome back OX!!!

Well, some of us thought Tiffany and Ox would be a nice couple. Ox is so non-judgmental and a gentle bear. However, I wonder what would Tom Farrell say about Ox? Like most millionaire dads, he will try to push her into the arms of a son of one of his guy friends. I think this would make a good arc – Tiffany resisting her dad’s attempts, stubbornly intent on Ox while making her dad see Ox for who he is rather than his financial profile.

Get a grip, Tiffany

“Have you looked out at the night sky? It’s beautiful!”

What is a bit of dark space between two friends?

A golden opportunity for Oxford (Ox) – offer to spend the night at the Farrell Mansion!

I’ll just say, Tiffany and Ox is likely the best combination for both.

Probably makes Mordy happy, too. No Les.

The foulest stench is in the air, the funk of forty thousand years.

And grisly ghouls from every tomb are closing in to seal your doom.

And though you fight to stay alive, your body starts to shiver.

For no mere mortal can resist the evil of the thriller.

Perhaps a “Beauty and The Beast” romance?

Just a thought: An extravagant house like Tiff’s Dad’s place should have a generator. Normally this would automatically flip on when the power goes out but if not it is usually the case of going outside or to a panel in the garage or utility room and hitting a button. Good chance there is one but Tiff never had to find it before in the mansion!

Ok, here’s a possible outcome: Ox tells Tiffany about a possible backup generator at her house, and where it might be. Turns out, Ann Awful bought one but didn’t set it up in the right place (outside the house). Tiffany finds it in the garage and turns it on; the house fills with carbon monoxide. Before she passes out, she calls Ox again and tells him she doesn’t feel so good. Ox calls the fire department (naturally) but also rushes to Tiffany’s house and breaks in, rescuing her before the fire department is on the scene…

Boy shouldn’t read other comments before I write mine. I think she is panicked, probably overreacting, but she is alone in a huge, dark McMansion, seemingly pretty far from neighbors. Ox, whom it’s nice to see is comforting, as is the Fuse (also nice to see) but being a wordsmith is not his strong suite. I say lets wait to see how this arc goes next before we/me predicts next. By Wednesday we might have a clearer idea, Inauguration Day!!! Have a very hopeful MLK Day today meanwhile.

I like this. Good ol’ “Have Lantern Will Travel” Ox will go to comfort Tiffany. And, in the dark, pulses will increase, and as Tiffany relaxes she will snuggle closer to him, and spontaneously they will experience their “moment”. Happy New Year, kids, this town could use a new romance.

Ox, deserted by his usual wit, eloquence, and savoir faire.

New on me….No idea Tiffany was afraid of the dark.

Now this is funny!

It’s better than calling Gunther and Les for help, I guess.

You could make a killing in this town by going around selling flashlights.

If Ox was making light of the situation, would it be a good or bad thing? :D

With this power outage I can see Tiffany’s world crashing. But why did she call the Fuse? I could see possibly Luann, Bernice, the boys, maybe Betts. But, work? And, Tiff, if you keep using your phone like this, it will lose it’s charge, sometime.

Tiffany looks slimmer in the face and neck.

Places that have a high volume of perishable goods have generators: Grocery markets, restaurants, hospitals for that matter.

Outstanding artwork today showing how the lantern, candle, and smartphone screen illuminate only the small area closest to them. Great job!

Tiffany manages to be both needy AND haughty. It’s a really unattractive combination.

It’s strange, my niece’s son called the other day. We talked for about an hour. Now the strange part, that is longer than we ever talked in person over the years.

I’m sure Ox will find the words♡. It’s nice to see Tiffany calling The Fuse in a moment of panic, this means she sees her colleagues as her family♡♡♡. Maybe Les and TJ will join the conversation and help her to calm down.

The Fuse’s main phone is a cell?

Tiffany would have sound to keep her company if she had a hand crank radio!

Watch that candle Tiff please.

The Fuse doesn’t have a generator?

If the power stays out and this is the end of modern civilization, Tiff might want to be with Ox. He would probably be a powerful companion in the new Apocalyptic world. Maybe Greg has decided on a new direction for the strip!

What’s the rest of the phone greeting?

Poor Tiffany. All alone in the dark and not a friend in the world.

Gee, Tiff, just go to bed. It’ll be all right in the morning.

I’m surprised no-one’s noticed that the candle-light is rendering Tiffany’s hair more strawberry blonde like Luann’s than the typical bleached blonde look.

Hard to believe this is her first blackout; I thought rolling blackouts were common in Southern California.

It is a good thing that her battery did not die out. That would be suuuch a tragedy.

Ox and Tiffani? I don’t think so. He’s too nice. And she’s,… well…

They’re lucky that whatever cell phone tower is carrying their signals still has power. Also, they’re lucky not everyone in their area is on their cell phone overwhelming the tower.

She’s panicking and holding a candle……

The first call Tiff makes is to work? That’s kind of sad.

4

Hmm. For me the lack of a pipe or coffee this morning may be shaping my mindset to be rather cantankerous, but I am finding it just a little bit frustrating that Tiffany is having this significant a reaction to a power outage. At her age, I cannot believe this is the first/only time she has had this experience.

That said, I do enjoy the interplay between Tiffany and Ox. And, I think that with Tiffany now knowing that it is a large, systemic outage for apparently all of Pitts, she should also feel quite reassured.

The idea of incorporating a power outage is an interesting choice for Greg to portray. It has given him quite a number of rather interesting/different drawing perspectives to show and display that are not typical at all. They have been interesting.

What will be the outcome of this power outage arc? I do not have any real sense at the moment. Will it be a story that leads somewhere and contributes to advancing some sort of relationship in the characters? Or will it simply be a short series of somewhat “gag-a-day” style panels with no advancement of the “big picture” stories while we await the next major story arc?

Is there any reason to believe that Ann Eiffel may appear, because of the semi-pseudo-sinister “mood” and “feel” of the outage? Nah, I do not think so. I think that is just a red herring.

From Young Frankenstein…”Turn the candle back.”

I wonder if Les is also at the Fuse.

Gotta love Ox! Talk about shy! ;-). Wonder if she’ll end up helping him?

Looks like the artists decided to draw Tiffany thinner, good for them.

I am always happy to see Ox. Anyone but Shannon.

Blow the Fuse, Ox, and rush to Tiffs place to save her. She rushes into your arms, and pure… awkwardness… follows.

I admit I was really hoping to see Tiffany again, but not as the strip’s punching bag.

Call Les. He’ll be right there.

Lights out = day’s over. Just go to bed.

Might I point out that Tiff DIDN’T call Ox. She called The Fuse and Ox answered the phone. Admitted, Ox is probably the best person Tiff could talk to right now. He’s naturally calm and reassuring. He won’t feed into her panic. So, why would Tiff be panicking in her own home? Well, it’s got ten thousand rooms, apparently, and God alone knows what lurks there. But where is Tiff’s dad? Have ALL the servants gone? In a house that big, there are no servants? And just where IS Tiff’s dad? Please tell me he hasn’t slipped over to Ann Awful’s house for a quick cuddle.

Hmmm. At times like this, maybe those around may have considered referring to Tiff as Karen. Truthfully, she just flat out doesn’t get it, though. Free pass on this end.

Eventually the phone will need to be recharged. What then Tiff? make all phone calls now. go over to the Fuse where people and friends are; they might have a battery operated charging device. Ox is more prepared than Tiff. is there any overlying theme or direction to this arc? hard to know.

Check for available powerbanks.

Why is she freaking out? Tiff has never been in a outage?

I’m telling ya… they are going to end up together…

does Les make an appearance, since there’s no hot water to wash dishes …

Start out by reciting the Fuse menu.

Of course, that will leave Tiff both Scared & Hangry.

An island of safety in a most troubled sea.

Oxford, you don’t know or boast ’bout what you mean to me

Alone in the dark, unseen dangers surround

I’m finding comfort in your untroubled sound

Not the words you pick or the phrasing you choose

Just your calm, so fearless, the cool you don’t lose

I’ve had few friends, been one even less

That you’re one to most — even me — is not just a guess.

He is just shocked

Whoa! The Tiffster really does need some help in calming down. And Oxford is the perfect person to serve as a calmer-downer, even when a bit slow in his responses.

I like that Oxford was the first person she turned to for help. That’s Good Instinct….