Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for April 13, 2018

C’mon Luann – admit that you miss toying with that little curl hanging down over his cute little Neanderthal forehead…

Oh, for Pete’s sake. Just ask her if she wants to go out with you again.

Is your brain, Jack, the size of a sunflower seed?

Awww, Nil looks so earnest about Tara’s elbow!

I suppose I am surprised by today’s (and yesterday’s) developments. After all, before the ball was dropped, Luann and Jack did seem to be having a good time. What else has happened that might have changed Luann ’s mind? Even if I don’t particularly care for Jack, something’s not adding up here.

Elbow Thirty-nine.

Sounds like a song title.

Weird how quickly “posing nude” was dropped.

Too many concussions, and at such an early age, sad

Tara seems genuinely interested in Nil’s drawing – her elbow or another nudie’s? Hope Luann now can see what an imbecile Jack is and makes up an excuse to get up and leave.

Weird how Nil just happened to be carrying around those elbow pictures despite never carrying anything around any other time we’ve seen him. And it looks like the “I posed nude” thing has been forgotten….

C’mon, he’s a lunkhead, but he at least seems like a goodhearted lunkhead. I prefer good-but-clueless over smart-but-evil in people.

As to folks who ask “why do Jack and Nil hang out?” Do they? Or do they just happen to always be walking to the same places at the same time? Have we ever seen them exchange two words???

@CHEAPSKATE: Would you seriously want to spend time with someone who broke your foot with a bowling ball? Seriously? Look, the guy may seem like a harmless goof, but what next? They go golfing and he clobbers her with a club? Or double date with Tara and Nil at an archery range, and guess who ends up with an arrow in a painful location?

@ENIGMA: All through her high school years when she was boy-crazy, all the posters complained that Luann only thought about boys. Now that she’s actually trying to figure out what to major in, the posters complain that she doesn’t have a serious love interest…

Wow – Luann’s expression in the second frame! She just pulled the rug out from Mr. Confidence. If Jack is really interested in Luann – he needed to say, “I was hoping you missed me, Luann.” A win or lose move was called for. Instead, Jack returned Luann’s serve with a tomato.

Jack are you really that damn dumb, Luann is sending enough signals to light up a Christmas tree.

Mixed signals notwithstanding, the big guy did get one thing right. Can’t blame him for not missing a class taught by a self-righteous and pompous so-called professor.

I once had a healthy (?) male ego like his too! Then I got married . . .

Set him up with Tara. After all she called them to the table. Perfect match those two!

At least Tara and Nil seem to be having a nice chat.

An attempt at subtlety stopped dead in its tracks by bluntness.

Jack is drawn as a jock, and a bit flirtatious, who appears maybe to be too fixated on how attractive he is; a stereotype that people don’t like. However past strips have shown him to be a fun guy, a goof, but one who can be caring and aware of when he does dumb things, like drop bowling balls on Luann’s foot. And he is a loyal friend to a total opposite type, Emo, the ultimate existential nerd. Emo would not have friends, but to have and to keep a friend who is 360 degrees different says a lot about both of them. So I think maybe Luann should look at him more seriously, realizing that he does have some flaws in the vanity department. He really likes Luann, and would drop all other girls if she decided to have a relationship. That is my take anyway. Whether that would or will happen is another thing though.

Good point…

Luann is wondering: he’s cute and house broken. He likes me and is probably trainable, maybe I should give him another shot.

The Elbow is on page 39, there is at least 38 pages for – other parts.

Nil – “Look Tara. See? That’s your elbow. E-L-B-O-W. And as an added bonus I’ve also included your hand. See? H-A-N-D.”

Tara – “How wonderful! You’ve captured the essence of my elbow perfectly! You wanna go steal something and later make out?”

Nil – “No, but I’ll let you have this autographed picture of your elbow. That’ll be Two Thousand Bucks.”

[ Meanwhile across town, while standing in the shadow of the new Guest House, Gunther looks up in the sky and screams:]

Gunther – “WHY ME, GREG EVANS?!!? WHY IN THE NAME OF MORT WALKER, IS IT ALWAYS ME???”

Les – “Aw shut up, Dingle and go wash my shirts! Then get lost! Tiffany’s coming over to give me a “house warming” gift!”

Jack reminds me of Brad in the pre-Toni days.

the Tara thread brings back memories…after college I needed money so I too posed for an art class in the evenings. it was fun.

Jack needs classes in body language, if the college offers them.

Maybe Tara is stunned that Nil could recognize and distinguish her elbow from the other 38 modeling subjects. Or, maybe she’s never met someone who is into elbows the way he is, thinks it’s quirky, and is intrigued by what else he might be into…

Say, what kind of goofiness is Zebo getting up to these days?

@HOWTHEDUCK from yesterday, SEE! Greg can draw elbows! ;o)

And just like THAT, he became a sympathetic character.And just like THAT, he became a sympathetic character.

Yup, Jock Jack (or Jack Jock or whatever his name is) might as well wear a “Please Make Fun of Me” T-shirt.

Am I the only person to think Jock Jack is just Knute with muscles?

Nice comeback, Jack…

Really wish they’d bring Quill back into the picture. He’s perfect for Luann…they compliment each other well.

Oh look at that, the whole “I posed nude” thing got left by the wayside. Gee, nobody saw that one coming (eye roll).

OK! Start of rant.I realize cartoon strips have to rely on stereotypes for back-fill material but I’m tired of the way big guys are portrayed here and then perceived by so many commenters. Jack and Oxford are two examples. They’re either portrayed as dumb and harmless, like “Ox,” or self centered and clumsy, like “Jack the Jock.”

Jocks get used to female attention and start to assume it. But so many females just want a “Big Brother.” Well Luann has a big brother and she has Oxford, two who are willing to accept the role. Jack apparently wants a date relationship. He is outgoing, energetic and fun loving. What’s not to like?

Not all jocks are so self-absorbed they can’t be caring or so unaware that their feelings can’t be hurt. (I think Luann’s behavior in this strip was a set-up and just a little mean of her.) Let’s compare Jack to Quill. Unlike Jack, Quill’s self-centeredness is toxic. Quill was/is basically full of himself; no room for Luann if she didn’t fit into his career path. Jack can appreciate when he has stepped on someone else’s toes (like with a bowling ball?) and try to make amends. Witness Jack’s carrying Luann around after her foot injury. He can keep it casual too, like the dog park meet-ups.

Big guys get into a lot of dicey situations because they don’t realize their own strength. After all, they live with it every day. It’s just normal to them. An exuberant hug and twirl can leave totally unintended bruises on the recipient and feelings of distress and humiliation on the guy’s part.

So, let’s give Jack and Luann a chance to be friendly and watch how it goes for a while. Jack isn’t drawn to look like much now; but remember how Brad has morphed into a hunky firefighter from a royal slob!

Besides, a Tara and Nil relationship looks like it might be a source for humorous material, too. As a double-up this team seems like a good comic relief to all the other stuff going on.

End of rant! :o)

He specifically asked her if she misses Zebo’s art class. After he asks that questions he makes another statement about not seeing each other lately. Luann should reply Yes or No about missing the art class.

Jack is much better than most of the males in this comic. He is friendly and doesn’t have the emotional problems that Gunther does, nor the ethical problems that Les has. He doesn’t get angry like Brad and Gunther do. I’d much rather spend time with a man like Jack than most of the other male characters.

Although Jack may not be the brightest, I don’t think he’s quite as dumb as first impression. I think his question is a way of flirting and seeing if Luann may want to see him again. I do think he’s a nice guy, and I hope Greg keeps him around at least as Luann’s friend. However, I don’t get Luann’s expression in the last panel, as Jack is stating the obvious about that class. Since Luann was obviously flirting back in the first panel, she should be recognizing that Jack’s continuing the flirtation

@DAWN HALL: Quill seemed to start out being one type of person, but ended up as another type totally. He seemed relaxed and friendly originally, but morphed into a total work-a-holic. That type of person is too frequently praised, IMO, by US residents who think that total dedication to work is actually dedication to a family. My younger bro and I would beg to differ; our bio father worked himself into an earlier-than-necessary grave by never taking time off even to go to a doctor when needed (let alone bringing in help occasionally so he could go w our late mother to take little bro to the doctor when needed, as back then a lot of families only had one car). So, not all of us concluded that Quill was the right person to share a life w Luann, since he could only find time for work.

@TYGE: I’m a little puzzled by your rant about Jack. I didn’t see him as being drawn to be a slob (if he was, he would not have been attractive to Tiffany), or as a guy who gets into difficulty because he doesn’t know his own strength (after all, he didn’t throw the bowling ball at Luann. He just dropped it and it hit her foot.) I think the whole Jack and Luann thing is just to show Luann trying to find someone to spend some social time with (but maybe not yet the rest of her life), just like she’s trying to figure out what career to pursue by trying out different classes and jobs…

Jack looks like Superman with a perm.

There are too many story lines going on. I would love to see how the Tiffany, Ann Eiffel and her dad story ended. Never get to see how Brad and Toni are doing.

Is this a bit of romantic misdirection with the never-satisfied Luann and Jack (again)? Isn’t the real story sensitive artist Nil and free spirit Tara? That’s what I expect to continue beyond tomorrow (in the background of some other arc, of course), not “Luann and Jack the Jock”!

Nil is in an art class this semester.

How the heel and toe did people conclude that Zebo is the teacher.

Indeed…

Body by God, brains by Matel……

So Tara asks Nil if he would like to spend more time with her, and Nil says he needs more time at drawing.

“Hey you idiot, I’m asking you out.”

“Oh, ah yea. But can I still bring my sketch pad?”