Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for February 20, 2016

Somehow, Prudence beet Bernice to the comforting. How awkward.

Here I come to save the day! Oops. Never mind.

Guess Pru is nicer than everyone thought.

Thankfully, the strip will start/continue a new story on Monday and we can leave this overworked and drawn out way too long one alone for the next few weeks … pretty sure it will be Mr. Gray and the DeGroots up first, followed by either Gunther and Tiffany or Gunther and Quill … outside chance it might be Brad and Toni and some dangerous fire adventure …

Bernice: Fool Mental Jackass.

Good. Now we can get to have another character develop.

Sallymargaret, i left two resource recommendations for you near the end of yesterday’s posts.

calming brownie, calming brownie, a full plate of calming brownies would be great right about now.

Oh Yeah, Bernice. Just BARGE right Heck in somebody else’s house, SCREAMING at the TOP of Your Lungs.

And I see the DeGroots STILL haven;t Learned to LOCK Their Friggin’ Doors…….,

Who’s the B now? And awkward!

It’s February and it’s time for Mr. Gray to make his appearance!

OOOPS!!! Almost the B word. My we are growing up, and I expected this scenario.

Interesting, so that is prudence scheme – to be all helpful then take quill.

Hope Lu gets over her weepy emotion-fest soon, and really does start to grow and build her life.-Come on Luann. Cry for the time you wasted on that jerk, cry because he played you, but don’t cry because he’s out of your life. 1. He was never really a part of your life, and 2. He just isn’t worth it.

Bernice should learn not to jump to conclusions. Pru is an adorable and a supporting girl, that’s why she’s consoling Luann.

One wonders why Luann is crying when SHE made the call.

Oh boy, now we got a new issue to deal with.

“Me And You And A Girl Named Pru” (♫)“A Smoked Red Herring”“Who’s A Back Stabber?” “Just Thinking About You”“Not- So- Great Expectations” “The Wrong Tree”“Gracious, Under Fire”“Got Another Think Comin’….And Another…”“Missed It By That Much”“Drop Jaw, Insert Foot”“The Pros And Consolations”“Get Smarter”“Clousseau Was Here”“A Wrong Number”or“Guess Who’s Already At Dinner?”

I just noticed that if you replace Bernice’s head with Gunther’s head, the character, as drawn, works for either one- physically stature and mannerisms. It’s almost as if Team Evans’ drew today’s panel with interchangeable “rescue” characters and decided at the last moment that the “Bernice Model 2.1” got the call. Yesterday’s strip would have worked just as easily if Gunther had received the text message …

Maybe Pru wants to kiss Luann…

There’s something missing here- the recollection that it was never explained why Quill was making a late-night call to Pru at the DeGroot’s.

…“bad person”.

Go away Bernice. Far away

RECALCULATING

“…evil, scheming bee?”

Hi Pru!! I like Prudence honestly

Bernice open mouth insert foot

“Beldam.” That was the word you were going to use, right? ;)

Top 3 People Luann Will Go to New York With List_3: Gunther, to get his mind off missing Quill, and he knows how to pass out and score free bus trips_2: Pru, because it might inspire her to go home_And the number 1 Person Luann Will Go to New York With Is! (drumroll)_1: Bernice, because New York needs another sarcastic person

Bernice, you were just four letters shy from a reader dropping this comic! Good save!

So NOW Luann is the aggrieved party?! Poor baby, shrill, manipulative, angry not to get her way. Causes a scene with Quill, breaks up with him and we find her in the persons arm that she KNEW was coming between her and Quill. How much estrogen does Greg have in him?

all part of Bernie’s education…

Well, Bernice-this isn’t awkward. This isn’t awkward at all.

Perhaps it will be Pru that Luann takes to New York.

Never jump to a conclusion, you might hurt yourself.

Lotta wake-up calls going on here!

I am getting to the point that I don’t really like anyone in the strip any more. I know it’s my call and I can stop reading, and I may. It just makes me sad. I’ve just never seen a comic try to make all their characters unlikeable—except maybe poor Ox.

Is Bernice that tall or is the door frame that small?

A note about the comic strip in question: I didn’t see THAT coming. Call me slow or dense, but I had several scenarios on how it was going to go, and what ended up happening wasn’t one of them.

I appreciate Bernice’s unwavering support of her friend, and the fact that she sprang to action immediately upon notification of a major event in Luann’s life is very laudable.

During the whole breakup, Luann never accused Quill of actually cheating with Prudence, so I can see how she would find immediate solace with her based on a) geography, and b) the fact that they currently share the same roof.

Assuming that everything is as it appears to be, there will be some character growth all around, though I believe Pru is likely the most mature woman in the room.

If the proponents of the strip happen to read theses words of mine, please know that I really have enjoyed this story arc, and that you continue to make this strip to be one of the the DON’T MISS reads of the day.

An aside about Mr. Gray: His payment for his services (my best guess) will likely be that of the usage of The Fuze as a wedding hall for himself and his future bride (assuming she accepts). Mark my prediction on the calendar, fellow readers!

This is an important step for them both as they become adults and leave the restrictions of their teens behind. Quill will never be on a regular schedule and will move around a great deal. Luann will need to settle if she wants to teach. It has been interesting.

Very good councilor. Going off on the wrong people because you filled in all of the many blanks from your own head.

Prudence is gay and has eyes for Luann. Never had an eye for Quill

What I have suspected from the beginning is that Pru is not only not involved with Quill, she is gay. Just a thought. they haven’t really had a gay character in this strip. It’s the only way to prove definitively that she is not romantically interested in Quilll.

As Ralph Kramden was fond of saying “Homina, homina, homina!.”

Maybe now Bernice will learn a lesson about jumping to conclusions like she did with Pru…and Tiffany + Gunther…and Tiffany + Piro…and Dez’s brownies…and…let’s see…am I missing any?

spectacular cliffhanger!!

Boy, would I hate to bee Bernice now.

Bernice, open mouth and insert foot. You can now get the real story of what happen, not the one made up in your mind.

Doesn’t anyone notice PRU is much older than the rest of the group. It looks more like Luann setting with her mother.

Sallymargaret writes:Don’t knock estrogen. You wouldn’t be here without it.--

Leo also would not have a functioning brain without estrogens.

Everyone, absolutely everyone, has both estrogens and androgens (like testosterones). The PROPORTIONS differ in relation to gender and age, but each has them.

Multiple organs create such hormones, not just reproductive tissues. Two of the other players are fat and the adrenals which also help with epi (adrenalin), with cortical products for fluid maintenance, etc.

These hormones are also close enough to each other that the body can make one into another somewhat easily.

The estrogens are older hormones than the androgens. Older hormones, like the estrogens and like melatonin, perform MANY functions, many more than newer hormones though both can be essential as both of these groups are. Getting back to my first point, among the hundreds of functions that estrogen has are ones involved in maintaining a healthy functional brain.

Breaks my 2-D heart to see Luann cry.

Bernice was not about to say what I think she was before entering the room, was she?

@Mordock – so funny

This has nothing to do with Quill. Pru just told Luann how she lost her eye brows.

As to what may be coming up next: Remember when Mr. Gray got all that stuff done on The Fuse so quickly, and the De Groots asked him how they could possibly thank him? He said something to the effect of, “See you in February.” Next week is the last week in February.

As I’ve said before, I’m always wrong about this stuff, but I still have the nagging feeling that Pru is really a boy.

Maybe Prudence will talk sense into both their heads.

Yes the hair style looks like it’s from the 60s. As for the cloths a lot of older women dress young.

“I’m standing in misunderstanding. I must have just stepped in it.” ― Jarod Kintz

Oops.

I wonder who is comforting Quill?

As to Pru’s clothing and hair:I think she just has fun going to the Sartorialist website each weekday! In the last few years on there i have seen garb and dos close to some of her choices.

This is getting good. I’m expecting either Mr. Roper or Ralph Furley to walk in any minute.

I am hoping for a real hookup between Gunther and Tiffany! That would set the world on fire!

^ I think JayBluE has an understudy :-)

Bernice is spot on. Pru’s simply being a conniving B****, comforting Luann to curry favor and avoid being tossed out. She is secretly OVERJOYED that Quill is now available.

WOW! 114 comments. Now, if they coukd all appear without having to use the Refresh Comments button multiple times… (Please?)

@capricorn9th

You are SPOT-ON with your evaluation of Pru’s intentions!

Didn’t see that coming.

Well, that’s slightly awkward.

It turns out Prudence was nice after all! You can’t judge a book by its cover!

“CALMING BROWNIE,” ANYONE?

Bernice can’t, she’s tasting a shoe.

Pru got there first because she’s renting a room from the DeGroots. She heard Luann wailing and stopped by to see what’s up. Seems pretty straight ahead to me.

Nice twist

Time for Aaron to come back.

Bernice is on a precipice, or if not on it then very close to it. At least, that is what i come away thinking. If i am correct then that coukd lead to danger, but alternatively or sequentially could lead not only to character development but also character introduction or reintroduction, or both. I still wonder if Bernice’s collapse Sunday will be part of this.

“I betcha Bernice would like a “Rewind” button right about now.”^Or a bowl of “Mulligan Stew”. Heavy on the “Mulligan”…

I guess I’d go with "“Terms Of En-tear-ment”!

“I think the “Wanna get away?” tag from those Southwest Airlines commercials would work here!"^LOL, yeah, this situation would make for a good Southwest commercial!

“LOL, I originally read that as HORSE head!”^Horace (from “Dark Side Of The Horse”) might take offense to that, Lol!

“@Tnluannfan: Doesn’t anyone notice PRU is much older than the rest of the group. It looks more like Luann setting with her mother.

Now look at Pru’s outfit and ask yourself if Nancy would wear such clothing. Also, the hairstyle is different.”

^I think they weren’t confusing Pru with Nancy, just saying that Pru has ways “closer” to someone Nancy’s “age”, than ways of a teenager.

" Prudence had to have heard Bernice shouting that she is an “evil, scheming b-”. So hopefully there’s some consequences for that…".Many people don’t officially heat what they actually DO hear.Prudence, being one of the “good guys” will understand and let it slide, understanding it was meant out of misguided love..“I also think including the “b-” is in poor taste.”.Of course you do.You gotta be you.Nonetheless, artistically speaking, not everyone speaks in measured toned when upset and doing so would have also been condemned.Cursed if you doCursed if you don’tCursed if you willCursed if you won’t.Same old songWhy can’t we allJust get along?

By this forceful if misguided show, Bern obviously cares very much for her friend, Luann. An insightful, empathetic, compassionate mind will recognize that, and forgive any outbursts made in the heat of the moment. I think that’s what is going to take place here. All is forgiven, misunderstandings are cleared up, blanks are filled in with the correct data, and all is good.

@Mark Best“Prudence is gay and has eyes for Luann”.She wasn’t, but Luann’s so attractive that she reverses orientations all around her.(I have the same effect on people, but in the opposite direction.)

@TEMPLO S.U.D.“A beet is a vegetable”.And vegetables can’t be beat.Paradox?

I believe Luann was always a gay she never let the boys touch here

173 comments. Triple digits all week. People are looking. Complainers too.

As an observation in general, that is true – but Gunther has a special place in Luann’s life, so it would not be totally out of place – though in a toss up, Luann would more likely head first to Bernice

Why would she go to Pru?

On the bright side, now’s a good time as any for the three of them to air out their feelings.…Now, who wants to go first?

Open mouth, insert foot, Bernice.

Here she comes to save the day!

We know that Mighty Mouth, is on her way!

sallymargaret said, @RAGINGLEODon’t knock estrogen. You wouldn’t be here without it.=======WELL SAID.

….so was Bernice always 6’6", or are the doors at the Degroot house just really small? And how does that match up with the phone yesterday that was twice the size of her hand?

Ah, i had my bladder re-suspended w local anesthesia (No, those shots were not fun.). Like you i had a better surgical outcome which continues to work out well. During surgery i could shift position to help the surgeon, and i had the amazing entertainment of feeling what stapling is like when pain is missing. It was like having bubbles bursting in my abdomen and was highly entertaining.

“That girl is an evil, scheming Bernice!”hehehehe

Oh good god … they couldn’t get the spinal to work on me, so they just knocked me out (they wanted the spinal for the quick recovery reason mention) … but after reading what you heard and smelled – oh, no way in God’s green little earth would I ever agree to that. When I was going to have my gall bladder removed, they produced a cartoon booklet that illustrated what was going to done. Passed out promptly and directly …

Isn’t that 6’8" character who’s ripping the front door off the hinges supposed to be colored green, and shouldn’t the word balloon be “Bernice smash!”?

@argythree. There is something more to know about Pru. We may find out. We may not…

LOL! Dog, remember that i am long married and we have friends. I have heard about those exams, the meds, imaging, biopsies, ablation, foleys, etc. That is a topic category which makes me glad i am not male, though i think people often wind up preferring to be stuck w whatever problems they have when hearing about those of others.

Also, as I recall, SheHulk never experienced a mental impairment like her cousin Bruce Banner

Dermitis (red roughensore), i prefer Nim Chimpski.

Well, Pru does live in the DeGroot home, next door to Luann, and probably heard her crying (or WHONKing) through those notoriously thin walls that Brad used to exploit. So of course she beat Blustery Bernie to the comforting! Now, Bernice can rethink her stupid rage and eat crow….

Apropos my question about bladder resectioning and prostrate exams, I could talk about double knee replacements where you have a spinal anesthetic, which means you hear all the cutting, buzz sawing, hammering, and other delightful noises, but feel nothing. I really wanted them to lift the veil between me and my knees operation but I probably would have passed out watching all that.

There, now can we get back to Luann, Bernice, Pru, Quill, and various other Luannverse things?

Maybe “bat” or “busybody.or bumpkin?

cannot determine if nice, or all part of the plan

Sallymargaret wrote: (I nearly spelled it humerous, which goes along with the surgery.) I had an absolute ball getting my knees replaced.--Or the much harder to pronounce femurous or absolute tongue twister tibiaous?

I think it’s not just Quill she’s crying about.Way back on New Year’s Eve and afterwards with Bern and then with Quill, Lu said she was upset about … everything. I.e., That everyone had something big going on in their lives except her. (Quill, being a stereotypical guy, couldn’t read her mind and guess what was bugging her.) So she plans something big and fun to add excitement to her life – the long-delayed trip to New York with Quill. And her big plan falls flat with a thud. (And Quill, again being a stereotypical guy, doesn’t sense her disappointment and try to make her feel better.)So she’s crying not just about breaking up with Quill, but also about failing in her first attempt to get her life going.I feel sorry for her.

Yeesh, Pru looks like she takes fashion advice from Kimmy Gibbler.

You write:nutes agoProfessor Crandall—Could Superman beat up Luann? FATHOM THE CONCEPT. Also, a serious question—I am absolutely new to this comic strip—how did build this fervent—and clearly intellectual—devotion—to the Luann? She seems to have readers mesmerized—is this toon secretly written by L.Ron Hubbard? Sincerely, RED-

I answer in complete sincerity: Danged if i know!

It is great fun, though.

Oh, and ;

) for the title i have not earned.

Apologies where applicable. You (at least anyone who has been here for a while) know how i am in having a talent for getting side tracked. I think a lot of us do it in various topics to various degrees, but know i can and do get out there on the plotted curve…

Oh, and, Red, that was supposed to be a winking smiley, but the site interpretted the nose as a return key strike.

Things are never what they seem and Bernice continues on the learning curve when it comes to people and human nature, Psychology classes can only teach her so much. Real life and real people including her own behavior fill in all those big gaps.

Are you going to report them?

At this point I don’t have much sympathy for Luann. She lets the brass ring go by with out even trying and wonders why she can’t continue to ride for free? what’s up with that?

Red Roughensore said, about 1 hour ago“—Could Superman beat up Luann? FATHOM THE CONCEPT.”..Obviously not, his strong moral code stops him from abusing his powers against the weak and innocent..He couldn’t even be intentionally rude to her.

Thanks for the image, you’re the goodest.

This the 273rd comment, so it may go unnoticed or remarked, but I believe this may not yet be over.

hahahahaha! yep!!

Why don’t they all go to the living room, put on jammies and toe socks, get a BIG plate of choklit chipcookies and watch Opra and Ellen?

You are, of course, entitled to your opinion. And I am entitled to mine, which is this:

It’s evident from your comment that you have no or very low regard for females. SInce this ‘toon has many female characters, it is amazing that you would spend time reading it when you could be reading something that had all male characters in it. I’m sure you’d be much happier.

By the way, what are ‘toe socks’? Since you brought them up, you must have some idea of what they are.

Well, for one thing, Oprah’s been off the air for several years…

Given the way time warps in the Luanniverse, she might still be on the air on KPTT, channel 37 in Pitts.

-L.Ron is a little too dead these days to be doing any new writing. I think he created enough of a problem during his existence as it is…

“Would you call it “planned obsolescence”?”.They might.I would call it wasted resources — materials, energy, labor.But that’s just me.

Yes, one who is a bit over 6’6" gets asked if she played basketball. She used to be a professional volleyball player in Europe and then became a beach volleyball player in the U.S. Now she is a chef and busy enough that we only rarely get a chance to talk.

“Do they also get asked if they play/played basketball?”.Coaches are very persistent when they see a prospect.It used to really bother them that I had no interest in football..I remember a very large boy telling the coach in a high pitched voice, “But coach, I don’t know how to play basketball.”.The coach explained, “I can teach you to play basketball; I can’t teach the other guys how to be 6’ 8”."

“But the way most people use it, they aren’t, unfortunately, talking about fur covered, four footed creatures”.My brother once asked me why I didn’t like his first wife..I explained, “Because she’s a bitch.”.She verbally tore into me..“See what I mean? Always bitching about something.”

Ah, you folks had fun while hubby and i were on a date. I am caught up now and laughing. It’s good. Pivot had a rough day today so we had to restart her Pepcid, Carafate (2+ hours apart), and subcutaneous fluids, so we treated ourselves to a break when we knew she was stable, and then a number of you gave me some great laughs when i got back online! Thank you for being such sweet people! Hopefully, this is just a blip. She has had some blips before. She might be right as rain tomorrow or in a few days since we coukd jump fast.

All I can say, is wow!!

When you call someone a “son of a b*tch”, you are really just calling him a cur. I’m not sure how the term came to be regarded as such a harsh profanity rather than simply a rude insult.

Remember it’s still Valentine’s Day in Pitts. All this stuff took place in one day. So February in Pitts may have a bit longer to run.

Actually, “prostrate exams” are more nearly the bailiwick of a chiropractor, since I assume that means examining how someone’s spine bends when they kneel on the floor.

Over 300 comments. “It’s a pretty good crowd for a Saturday…” – Billy Joel

Pru is staying with the groots. Hence her getting to Luann quixkly

Red Roughensore said,is this toon secretly written by L.Ron Hubbard? Sincerely, RED====Not since 1986 at least.

clean up the logic and give the strip a much needed villain. All the drama for the past few years has revolved around the characters tripping over themselves because there’s no character to battle against.===You want Dirk back?

I whall keep reading trying to figure out

why this toon gets 5,399 comments while my beloved Andy Capp gets 6 and 7/8=======Andy does the same thing every day.

NG writesocrine disruptors, chemical compounds that can mimic certain hormones causing imbalances. And must never forget that food acts as a kind of hormone and is important to a well functioning body and mind-

Thanks for the reminder! I need to make a mug of peppermint tea for the phytoestrogens before the night gets any later!

JPuzzleWhiz said, about 2 hours ago@LDover…though nutty Zebo is not.

Maybe I missed something, but what has Zebo done that “wasn’t nice”? (And don’t say “being in this strip”!)=====Dumping water on one of his students.

SPOILER ALERT

A new setting, one discouraged couple and one familiar happy couple. A breath of fresh air!

I wonder if I am the only one who thinks next week’s strip was probably in the can two or three weeks ago.

Where this kind comments are really hilarious is when somebody has reissued strips done years ago.

can’t help noticing that Pru(ne) is a very organized person.Lu is as disorganized as she is confused.

Hilarious!

should have brought the ‘’calming brownies’’!

-itch.