Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for November 19, 2019

nothin’ like a li’l ingenuity with cardboard boxes

He’s a regular Senku. ✨

Well—at least Punk is loyal to Les.

okay he’s full of it you all know it he loves the cats as well he’s just trying save face and protect his image. also check out 9 chickweed it’s a funny one

By the way—where is the orange kitten?

Kitten-Sittin". Cute.

Les just got a whole new fan base.

Okay.

Les has got some skills. I’ll give him THAT one. He should go back to school for some technical training. Like a machinist.

And note that “Mr. Bad” A$$ texted Gunther for “help” in kitten sitting because he couldn’t handle it by himself. Now THAT, IMHO, is Funny!!

Still you have to wonder if Les did indeed have “plans” for the evening and Irma and Al’ imposition Ruined them.

Is that Punk sitting on your lap, Les? It seems you’re both adoring each other. And whoa, a playhouse for the cats out of the thin air? In minutes? AND creative – a Mickey Mouse cutout? Cute! I don’t think GUNTHER could pull that off and he is supposed to be a genius.

Way to GO, Les!

His wouldn’t be the first hard heart softened by animals. They don’t judge. St. Francis once said that the excommunicated Emperor Frederick could be saved if only he would feed the birds. Because doing something for a creature that can’t pay you back cracks open a closed-off soul.

Les’ “tough guy” act is just that—an act. He wants the world to know he’s not a guy to be messed with. EVERY hard shell has a weak point and if you want to open it, you just gotta find it. Les weak point is apparently kittens, who would have guessed.

They haven’t grown much. Kittens grow FAST!

Very creative, Les! (And drawn better that other cartoonists we know).

Damn Les you built a castle for cats.

AWWWWWWWW

I think that kitty house is adorable and rather creative. A side of Les we haven’t seen?

Les refuses to admit he has a soft side and insists on looking tough… he can no longer fool us! ツ

Les will become a slumlord for cats. He just built them a ramshackle tenement building.

.

When Tiff drops by, she will think that Les built a castle especially for her. It will be a storybook wedding like this strip has never seen before.

A sweater vest? Oh, Gunther. Such cringe.

Every time I see these two, I’m reminded of Felix and Oscar from “The Odd Couple”.

“kitten sittin’ ” lol….Doesn’t look like the kittens are the stupid ones

Aaaahhh! Who’s a good boy? Huh? Who’s a good boy? You’re a good boy! Yes you are! Yes you are!

Well, that’s one way of channeling your energies…

Baby kittens are so cute.

Aww, I’m glad they’re texting each other!

Luannverse is doing its thing with a character that will be around, smoothing out the rough edges, making him more human, and humane. I have been defending Les and now Greg draws some ammunition. Of course since these are young adults, and we have been living with them for so long speculation is rife about someone else who likes kittens who might like Les, and likewise. Tiffany? Who knows? Bets might be a connecting agent, a nexus character. Which brings me to my concluding observation: sometimes having a serious woman in a man’s life can help him improve in so many ways, witness how nicely Gun(ther) is dressed. Looks good, and not the same outfit, nicely shaved, hair looks good, in a good mood. Having a Bets can do wonders for a guy.

Yet one kitten still sees Les as a means for climbing on.

Love the Mickey Mouse®

The kittens are able to bring out the best in Les. I didn’t think he was capable of building something, instead he did and is even a nice work. The fact that little Punk prefers to stay on his lap is very sweet♡.

Les, you old SOFTIE!

Doesn’t like cats right

Les is hiding his soft heart; a kitty play pen is practical, but a Mickey Mouse-style opening is a softy’s touch.

Good “daddy”!

Why is Gunther dressed like a Bible salesman?

Babies, whether human or animals, tend to soften a lot of otherwise hardened hearts. I melt with all of them!

Everybody is conveniently missing a very important point here.

Les has been frowning for two days because he had been “inconvenienced” being compelled to care for kittens.

And yet, Les has NO qualms about “Inconveniencing” Gunther, a guy he has nothing but CONTEMPT for, to come home and help him take care of the little kitties.

Gunther put aside whatever he was doing, which probably involved Bets, and His personal feeling about Les, and selflessly came home to help. And yet, what are some “folks” focusing on today. Gunny’s sweater vest. GEE-BUS. But I digress.

Trilogy, Locake, and I believe Kauri wondered yesterday why Irma and Al just couldn’t leave the kitties alone at THEIR house for an hour. Good question. Today We might have our answer. This week shows the softer side of Les. And that he can improvise quickly. Those are skills useful to people with power and money. People with money and money that need, say a bodyguard? Or Security? A little training and some dark shades and a dark suit, Les would be a natural! Les Knox in the Secret Service! Or the Men in Black!

Has a nice ring……., :)

awwwwww!!wasn’t that nice of les !!!

Les is channeling his inner TJ, the builder.

I see that Pipe Tobacco is not around yet. Knowing how he feels about Les and Gunther as the Odd Couple, I don’t blame him.

Indeed, this whole situation, including Al Gray, gives me the creeps.

Notice also how Les is getting all the raves while all Gunther gets are comments on his looks. But then, a lot of commentators have complained about how feminine Gunther is, anyway. Whether it’s sewing and cooking or everybody’s favorite, the “mommy issues,” yeah, you guys know who you are.

I’m not liking this entire setup. It’s as if Al has turned Irma rotten, too.

Unannounced, unplanned, and unaware of any plans “the boys” may have had, drop everything and take care of these cats!

Who knew Les was so creative?! I’m impressed.

I love cardboard.

In some ways, Les’ personality is very feline; and, no that’s not a compliment

A cat can be chillin’! … And Punk knows he can chill with Les!! :)

Notice the ‘mouse ears’ in one castle opening?! Hee-Hee! :)

Les is becoming the loveable curmudgeon…

Awesome! My cats would love that!

all from one cardboard box?!!!

Wait, Leslie did that?? WTH

Les really likes the kitties, just doesn’t want to show “weakness”. Isn’t that Punk with him?

I thought there were 5 kittens too, not counting Moe. and when Gunther’s mom gave Les the box, there were only 4 snores.

That would be the ultimate to any of our cats, they all love cardboard boxes.

Wait: Is Les starting to be likable? I… don’t like that.

There was clearly an orange kitten to begin with (NOT Moe!)

https://www.gocomics.com/luann/2019/09/12

Yay Leslie.

Les is just a pushover when it comes to the kittens. I’m liking the character more and more. Thanks for giving him at least one saving grace.

Did anyone notice that Punk is on Les’ lap, and all the other kittens are in the playhouse?

Les has some problems. He’s immature and sexist, but he’s not all bad. Les is more.

On 9-12-19, Go Comics published a cartoon of Al and Irma looking at a litter of kittens at CAToptions. The kittens were colored black, white, gray, tortoise and orange. The same cartoon, on ArcaMax, showed the same litter of kittens, but there were two orange kittens, one orange and one red-orange. I compared the pictures with the ones on GoComics. The orange kittens were the same on both sites. The gray kitten on GoComics had been colored red-orange on ArcaMax.On 9-13-19, Go Comics published a cartoon of Al and Irma bringing four kittens of the original 5 kitten litter. These were the black, white, gray and tortoise kittens. The orange kitten was not there. On ArcaMax, Al and Irma were bringing four kittens of the original 5 kitten litter. These were black, white, red-orange and tortoise. The gray Go Comics kitten was the same as the red-orange on ArcaMax. The missing kitten was orange on both strips on 9-12-19, and was not present on the 9-13-19 cartoon.On 9-19-19, ArcaMax was still coloring the gray GoComics kitten red-orange, but was referring to it as a gray kitten. That’s where people really started getting confused.The kitten continued to be colored red-orange on ArcaMax on 9-20-19.On 9-21-19, ArcaMax finally colored the gray kitten the correct color. The kitten was now gray instead of red-orange. There was never a coloring error on Go Comics. The coloring error was on ArcaMax only.

5

Mixed bag for me today:

1. I say….. “Arrrrgh!!!!!!!” about the dynamic duo being featured together again…. it is sure to be a new Unger/Madison moment.

2. I say…. “Nice!” to Les being shown to have made an enormous cat castle. It highlights that Les is not really a “dumb” thug… but that instead he is smart is some ways…. and may be less “thuggish” than he wants folks to believe.

3. I say…. “Sigh.” in terms of Gunther…. I am glad he is still apparently with Bets, which is, I believe, a great turn of events for him…. but I sigh in terms of the seemingly full return to his prior “look”. Not that his “look” is bad…. but it does replicate pretty much the middle school and high school version of Gunther all over again. I think when Greg was showing him in different attire, and even when he was shown with the silly peach fuzz…. it helped to be a symbol, a signal of his growth and progression. I get nervous a bit that with Greg having Gunther currently always now be the “middle school/high school” version…. that it symbolizes Greg’s ideas for Gunther to forever remain in his “larval” state where he never progresses to “pupate” or eventually metamorphosize into his adult form.

4. I say “Pleasant.” to Gunther’s response to the cat castle. It suggest to me that at least one if not several of the kittens will eventually become a permanent resident in the Gulag. And, I also like that at least for today Gunther and Les seen on pleasant terms with each other.

Awesome playhouse there, Les, you little softie!

Al, Irma, Gunther, and now a ugly guy trying to be the Frank LLoyd Wright for kittens. Must be time for Greg to flush out all the drawing pens.

Awww, you can’t fool me, Les. You’re really a softie at heart!

Methinks Les may have a new calling. Thar’s big money in Kitteh Kastles.

My best guess is that Les will end up designing pet toys and furniture, and Gunther & Bets will market them, with Tiffany doing the ads.

The transmogrification of Leslie Knox continues. Little by little we are being shown minor aspects of Les’ personality. While maintaining a hard exterior persona, small chinks in the armor are appearing. There are times he actually converses with Gunther that doesn’t devolve into an argument. He exhibits a concern for Tiffany’s predicament over and above any crude aspects. He takes advice from his uncle. And he’s a push over for kittens. At least one named Punk.

I would hazard this streak will be continued by GnK, eventually introducing a more female character into the mix. A double date with Gumther, Bets and (gasp) Tiffany my be in the offing. I hope not Tiffany for reasons of my own but the are ample opportunities to introduce one via The Fuze

One hopes that they also have an appropriate litter box….

Maybe Les has some building and design skills. It would be nice if this arc would be about Les finding a career related direction in life besides washing dishes at the Fuse.

Who knew Les was so inventive?!

Necessity truly is the mother of inventions. Les needed to do something about those other kittens. He and Punk clearly need their alone time.

Les – I didn’t know you had it in you to do anything constructive.

Like the Mickey Mouse hole in the bottom box.

Oh yeah, Les hates cats. :-)

Mister Softee is apparently more than just a brand of ice cream……

Deep down inside, you’re a cool guy, Les!

A lot of comments on Gunther’s wardrobe but did anyone notice he is growing his hair out a bit longer? It looks good.

Desperate times call for desperate measures! But, I must say, Leslie Knox turns out to be quite the architect for kitty playhouses!

My friends did that.

Notice that the grey kitten is in his lap?