Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for January 02, 2015

iSad…. – I guess Greg let Gunther “have the honors” of “shoving her into the volcano”…. Actually, this “calling” at the (still unseen) village as they rode off into the mountains seems a bit too easy of a “sendoff” for her… – Fogs, Delta and now Rosa… – I guess Bern is having “second thoughts” about what she said before, about how “not her type” ‘Gunthie’ is….

Hope you’re having an excellent time in your uncle’s remote Peruvian clinic, Rosa, instead of his upscale, big-city Peruvian clinic (without Gunther of course).

Yes, Crystal, I agree with you! The old Gunther is passed, the new one is better!!! And, see, here you see Rosa, here you don’t (and won’t)…! ;)

“The Last Rosa Of Summer”“Another One Bites The Dust” (♫)“Windows To The World And Tidy Corners” “In Through The Out Door” (♫)“Just Say Volcano”“Killer Butterfly Season”“Endings And Beginnings”“Plus ça Change, Plus C’est la Même Chose”“Crossing A Burning Bridge”or“I Beg Your Pardon, I Never Promised You A Rosa Garden” (♫)

I was just reading over strips from years ago, and I discovered that on April 25, 2005, in the middle of a story in which Gunther had agreed to dates with both Luann and Bernice to the same dance, Knute sarcastically suggested that Gunther flee to South America. Funny that he ended up going there for an entirely different reason.

Well, here’s ORM’s Picks-of-the-Day! (This was difficult as there were so many possibilities!): “‘The Last Rosa Of Summer, Endings And Beginnings, Crossing A Burning Bridge, or, I Beg Your Pardon, I Never Promised You A Rosa Garden’”!!! ;)

They just picked him up at the airport? I think he needs more than a clean shirt, a shave, and a haircut. I suggest he start with a shower. I think Mr. Gray was chased away by the smell.

Will we see Rosa again?Quoth the Raven: NevermoreQuoth the Server: 404

“Already Gone”, the Eagles

Just in case the strip from the 25th of April, 2005 was blocked by “side stuff”:-

I guess Gunther and Rosa are no longer an item :(

If we’re voting, I’m with Bernice. Someone has to stop that juggernaut Mrs. Berger from ruining her son.

Please, NO Haircut!!

At least Gunther is free of that lunatic.

And I used to ship those two. What was I thinking?

Wonder if shell come back and realize Gunther’s what she really wants :\

I shall hope that she could be able to return to the strip,with her feeling that she had accomplished something there, and perhaps then returning in a new phase…. – If it could happen with Quill…

Some people are meant to be in remote villages helping people. Thank god for those people, because they spare the rest of us from doing it.

There are entire religious orders that do what Rosa does in real life. Her dream, while rare, is still common enough to have support for it.

Hope you got the egg treatment before you left, Gunth. Mas, mas, ohhhh, mas!!!

I think Rosa will appear again and pose a threat to his next girl (Bernice?)

me to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

Rosa could have stayed in Lima and performed volunteer services for the destitute and homeless people in that city, while continuing to work during the day at her uncle’s clinic. I suspect she would have helped out a lot more people that way than even live in this particular remote village. However, thinking things through to their logical conclusion is definitely not Rosa’s strong suit.

I agree with Bernice and vote for the new G-man. A red beard would look good.

Bernice lets people walk all over her, like Gunther does. They both need someone that has a spine.

How has this “experience” made Gunther any more mature and less of a dweeb? He spent 6 months working as an uber-geek network administrator in a very upscale plastic surgery clinic while living in a luxury hotel. That’s not a “growth experience” – it’s an exotic “working vacation”.

Luann is the type who has no interest in Gunther unless someone else wants him.

Well, my computer is acting up…Again! (My hub and I have decided I need a new one…sometime in 2020 Hahahah!).Anyway, it’s time for me to find IS Katie and sign off for the night! ‘Nite all! ;)-———————————————————————-“We are always doing’, says he, ‘something for Posterity, but I would fain see Posterity do something for us.’" (Joseph Addison, 1672-1719)

Bernie and Gunther? Maybe??

I guess Gunther wasn’t really in love with Rosa. If he was, he wouldn’t have given up so easily. But I’m definitely with Bernice. The look he’s sporting is much better.

Gunther has tried to be macho before.http://www.gocomics.com/luann/2013/10/26

Hopefully, Gunther will go on to college.

if Rosa stays in the Aaron-Dinah-Miguel wastelands even when she was better than any of them 3, and better than a possible same-fate person (the lil Elvis dude) but not as good as another (possible oblivion Zane) I will be disappointed but even more so if Gunther does not accept Mr. Gray and Mr. Gray was the mayor reason for his return, I would have preferred if Greg had shown Rosa and G in the village, and Rosa saw how unhappy G was, and told him you should return home and part as friends, right now it seems like he simply abandoned her…………………… if Greg wanted to abandon the character Rosa, it would have been better if Gunther did not leave with her as he did than she did actually got to a remote village and not to the plastic surgery clinic and than G decides to visit her during the winter holidays, both saw they were in different paths and amicably break up and G adopts the Grungy look while he was there, no Mr. Gray reason to “maybe abandon Rosa”

Rosa never got a chance to mature to realize that what she wanted is just a band aid, and she would have been better working in something to improve education and job opportunities for remote village residents and help them be self-reliable instead of poor with unhealthy conditions

Ellis Island is no longer operated as a processing point for immigrants. I think it’s a museum now (?)

I like the change; Gunther ‘s been away from his mom’s influence enough to start forming his own identity. And for Pete’s sake, stop the “Gunthie” bit— it’s time for his mom to grow up, too.

First, I’m bummed that Rosa seems to be out of the picture (for now). Although I do like the influence she has had on Gunther, and I hope he continues on that path. At least, I hope he doesn’t fall back into his mother’s trap. She wants to grow (with Mr. Gray), and so, (to paraphrase Fleetwood Mac), “♫♪ He can grow his own waaaaaaaayyy…♪♫” Keep the beard, lose the plaid…. and the “pad.” Go live on campus at Moony or wherever. Just don’t go back to living at home again… PLEASE!

I do believe though, if he has returned permanently, that he and Lu will eventually “ship.” Quill will find his own path. Lu and Gunth have too much of a history together. They will finally realize that it was meant to be for them.

“A CLEAN Shirt, a SHAVE And a Haircut,” Eh Ma Berger?Soooo, YOU’RE the One that’s Responsible for Making the G-Man an Insufferable WIMP, Huh?

Gunth? Get the HECK Out from Under “Mom’s” EVIL Influence, RAPIDO!!Hey, I Hear Brad’s Old Room at Luann’s House is Available…..,

I think Bernice REALLY likes Grungy Gunthie,heh.

So, Gunther decided that the path to the remote clinic was not his. The keyword is “decided.” Indecisiveness has been Gunther’s biggest failing for a long time. Now, maybe, he is ready to mature and perhaps even cut the apron strings.

I am sorry to see his relationship with Rosa turn sour; but I wouldn’t assume that we have seen the last of her necessarily because of this story twist. They could still get together again, sometime, somewhere….

Looks like Bernice is taking quite a shine to the NEW Gunther.

Finding your calling is something special, realizing it’s not and walking away is too.

I agree with Bernice, he needs to keep the beard and do NOT go back to the plaid shirts…..grow up.

Good bye, Rosa. It always felt forced.

“Clean shirt, shave, and a haircut…”*Mom’s attempt to meddle in his life is going to backfire. He doesn’t realize he has already grown out of being a mama’s boy. Bet he goes back to Peru. (Think Private Benjamin— when Goldie Hawn’s ccharacter could no longer stomach her old life.)

Maybe the airport was a rough dirt one five miles north of the Rio Grande…

“make sure you dig her back…” Why does this sound so dirty when you say it?

Rosa has achieved her goal— why anyone would want to be in a remote village, interacting with those who wallow in the misery of filth, disease, poverty and ignorance is beyond Gunther’s comprehension. Mine too…

it was time for a Gunther makeover.

No, don’t shave, Gunnie. All you need to do is wash your face. That’s not a beard. It’s dirt. -We never get to see Uncle Leo? That’s hilarious!

I think Quill will take over where Rosa left off in being a positive mature influence.

Crystal likes Knute and is too different for Gunther. Bernice makes sense. Tiffany is more likely than Crystal TBH.

I bet Quill will push Gunther to move out and get their own dorm or off campus apartment.

Will mom do the shaving? Cleaning? What about her ‘friend’? Will she cut those strings?

I think Rosa found a man at the remote clinic, and dumped Gunther.

Don’t try to read the writer’s mind, ReallyBad2. Gunther’s future is just as likely to be with Bernice—much more likely, I’d say.

Hopefully we’ll be getting a flashback of what happened in Peru.

Rosa? Dealing with real poverty, not just romanticized “National Geographic” poverty, might lead Rosa to ponder “I could be doing so much more for these people if I had gone to Yale”

Gunther? New look, same sick clueless arrested adolescent. He went to Peru for all the wrong reasons; trust me if Rosa and Gunther we’re actually “doing it”, (i.e. having sex), he never would have left her; and now he’s back. Why? Because he can’t bear the thought of his mother in an adult relationship (i.e. having sex) with another man.

Gunther and Quill? I predict at least one of them will have something to confess to the other…stay tuned for that story line.

Bernice may actually like boys? Didn’t see that one coming.

Perhaps Mr Gray paid for Guther’s return trip as a favor to his mom and Gunthie! Guther will grow to like the gent, who will also fund his college tuition to MIT, Stanford, etc.

I’m glad he left Rosa, I hope she is out of the strip for good. I doubt she tried very hard to get Gunther to stay. Maybe he just slipped away without her even noticing.

I’m betting he’ll be back in Peru, and/or with Rosa, before the end of the month.

Rosa probably hooked up with the van driver. He was only too happy to take Gunther to the airport and have Rosa to himself.

He looks like Leonard Hofstadter!

this is the closest I can get to a look at Gunther with a haircut and keeping a shadow or letting it get a lil heavier

http://oi61.tinypic.com/w7iyd0.jpg

Gunther, 2nd edition: same book, new cover?

Given how bright Rosa was supposed to be, you’d think she’d realize she could make a whole lot more difference with an education than as just an enthusiastic warm body.

Seems like a lot of guys I knew that went to South America came back looking like that. They also seemed to develop a taste for organic hallucinogens, too, but maybe that’s just them.

It’s all in the lighting!

Well, we now know what happened in Peru. Will Rosa ever return? Will Gunther listen to his mother or remain his own man?

ReallyBad2 from a couple days ago: “and we didn’t get to see him change. There’s no payoff when you jump to the end of the story, we were supposed to see him at the remote village becoming a new person, and we were robbed of that.”

— patience … patience.

Remember that Gunther has been “re-made” prior to this:-----Will this newest take on the character be the same superficial attempt to change the outward appearance but leave the underlying person unchanged? Remember, if you take a dweeb and cover him in grunge, what is get is a grungy dweeb.

Greg never gave up on getting Gunther and Luann together. Remember, in the Evansverse, the dreamboat heroine may swoon for the decisive or handsome or talented guy for a while, but eventually the unexciting and bland “nice guy” gets the girl in spite of his being a wimp, because that’s the way it should be, and that’s that.

uh oh… please somebody intervene and keep Mrs Berger from re-making Gunther back into his old dependent and fearful self…. dressing him, feeding him…. Bring back Mr. Gray and let Gunther make his own decisions.

What did Rosa say? Have Knute and Crystal ever made out? It would be like Goofy meets the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

http://www.gocomics.com/luann/2001/03/14?ref=comics Miguel

http://www.gocomics.com/luann/2002/06/29 Zane

Sounds like a friendzoning to me.

I only hope his mom doesn’t go back to her old ways and baby him.

“Ain’t No Sunshine (When She’s Gone)” by Bill Withers (or was that another artist — memory’s a bit fuzzy)

Yes, it was Bill who wrote it and sang the canonical cover.

Ain’t no Sunshine

Is it 100% necessary for the Rosa and Gunther relationship to have turned sour for them to part? It might be that Gunther finally decided that he was not hearing the call that Rosa was following, and it was obvious they were moving in different directions. That doesn’t have to be a bad ending, just a ‘we aren’t in the same place right now’ type of ending…

She had absolutely no training, and absolutely no idea what Peru was like. Lunatic.

There are plenty of places in the states where Rosa could have obtained the skills to be a volunteer in a clinic before traipsing off to Peru.She could have also looked up Peru on the Internet. She did neither.

he was not that bad, better than the druggie that made Bern put his bag(with drugs inside) in her locker, the problem with Miguel was that he was very flirty with most girls, even Delta. he never made anyone outright his GF, but made a lot of girls feel there was a chance of romance

> When Max Baer (“Jethro”) eventually leaves this mortal coil, perhaps they’ll reunite with Irene Ryan and Buddy Ebsen as “The Heavenly Hillbillies”?>Would this be the theme song?

I don’t think Rosa every asked Gunther what he wanted to do. All he wanted to do was be with her but it seems this was just a bit much. I wonder if she even notices he is gone yet.

someone needs to handcuff Mrs. Berger. she doesn’t remember that it was she who wanted Gunther to go off and become his own person. Now that he’s returned she can’t wait to start making decisions for him again.

A Rosa by any other name is still a Rosa.

I remember that Knute & Crystal went to a comic con thing and dressed as each other. When they got home Crystal said she just couldn’t kiss Knute because it seemed too weird. But, I still think that they are really into each other for the long run.

Congratulations, guys, you’ve managed to write out the only two non-lily-white characters.

What constitutes a non-lily-white character?

Aren’t there any non white lilies?

Yep. Plenty of them

Why do I feel so pleased, having seen this coming after the first few hints were dropped a month or so ago? I’m betting that we’ll see neither an “old” Gunter or a totally “new” one. but a more mature and realistic one who split with Rosa when he was hit by a reality check that caused him to make a choice that best suited him, in spite of saying goodbye to her. True love? I didn’t see it ever really bloom. And the early days at the clinic didn’t exactly set up for a satisfying life for either/both of them. Gota love dem looong story arcs, eh?

Nice hint (took them long enough!) But no answers to all our questions. Frank may also be singing a song soon. Wonder what it might be?

Rosa could have volunteered for Americorps VISTA or the Peace Corps. But that would require, you know, skills.

What happened to Mom’s new beau?

Now there is speculation about Gunther and Bernice being a couple— It’s very strange, since they did not have that much interest in each other when they were in high school. It must be that the beard makes him more desirable!

Rosa is not (strictly speaking) a lunatic, but it seems her idealism overtook her realism.

It is good to have the person of your dreams….as long as they do not turn into nightmares. If done correctly, reality can surpass our dreams.