Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for July 22, 2020

still pretty awkward

Make up your minds!!!

Icky lips? He said was sorry? Too bad!

Panel #3. ✨

Yeah, Les just expected too much. But don’t say you didn’t like it, Tiff.

“Well, we AREN’T mind readers, woman!”

Oh Gawd, TELL me this isn’t going to be one of those “we kissed and now I’m noticing things I’ve never seen” stories. That’ll take forever!

That is, assuming they go ahead with this pairing. And while I had initially thought when I saw this that they wouldn’t, I then remembered that there are 3 more comics left for this week and I highly doubt they’ll spend all that time gagging. Plus, 3 years of build-up is just too much of a waste, even for G&k. I’m gonna wait this out for a while before making definitive judgments.

Status: Cautiously Optimistic

Les certainly has lost most of his machismo since the dinner at Al and Irma’s!

Well, so much for Tiffany crossing First Base.

And we’re back in the wonderful world of teenage drama – thank goodness!

So, all those posters who were so sure this meant a big romance was starting — not so fast…

…. Please Gregg knows how to flizz things out. Tiff and Gunther was so disappointing not this one too

Icky lips? Wasn’t she about to sleep with him at some point?

I’m just glad they didn’t go for “accidental kiss turns passionate as they realize they’re deeply in love.”

Ah, their friendship is beautiful, though. Two high school bullies who’ve had adulthood give them that desperately needed reality check and they’re on their way to becoming much better people.

But, I kinda hope the arc ends with Tiffany going back home to check on her dad. Tom was so composed when he was confronting Ann, but, like he said when Tiff showed him the ultrasound, he was heartbroken first and foremost. Even if his rational side (finally) won him over, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s depressed for awhile; he really did love Ann and it’s gonna hit him hard to realize every happy memory he had with her was just another step in her twisted scheme, or if anything his conscious is probably raking him over the coals for all the times Tiffany tried to tell him and he shunned and even punished her. It’s the kinda comic where things always turn out alright in the end, so I’m confident he’ll be okay, but he and Tiff are gonna need to spend a lot of time helping each other past this.

“not now!” My late wife’s favorite expression. ::sigh::I miss her.

Tiff is not feeling it right now.

I thought Tiff wanted to give Les a kiss on his cheek.

Worth it!

I don’t know why we’re supposed to be interested on the rom-com of the two least interesting characters in the Luannverse. I pray that Tiffany is alleric to cats which will end this silly idea.

Now wait a minute, Tiff. You always wanted a guy that looked like a Hollywood action hero. Well, this hero just happens to look like Cyrano de Bergerac. Make the best of it.

Oh dear – They’re squabbling already…

At least Les is acting like an adult in trying to show he didn’t mean for that to happen. The one we knew back in high school would never have done that.

She thinks his lips are icky!?! Well les, that tells you sex is definitely out, if she can’t stand kissing your mouth, how is she going to get intimate with you? Les, you have been put in the friend zone.

“And just like that, Mordock’s NAUSEA left Him!”

I’m telling you friends and neighbors, there IS a God and She Loves Me!

“Icky,” Tiffany said! She called him ICKY! And this is Not the first time she’s done that. Check out the September 27, 2012 Strip when these two first met and Les was such creep that Ox had to chase him off. Panel One. See? “Icky!” But THIS time, Tiffany called Les icky right to his face! Good on ya Tiffany!

But the important thing is, Tiffany was aiming for Les’ cheek here, NOT his lips. As a historical record Tiffany has happily kissed guys right on the lips before. Guys such as Miguel, Quill, and Brad. Not so here. Les had to STEAL that one. But as of now, no sparks flying, no bells ringing! “Folks” can burn those wedding invitations and cancel the cake. Good! So, that means a lot of things may still be in play, starting with Kip the Q-B this Fall. And don’t feel bad. I wager Les will still get a couple of dates out of Tiffany in the near future.

But unless tomorrow G&K pulls some sort of SICK Joke and have Tiffany suddenly turn to Les and say: “Ha,Ha! Just Kidding, you big dope! Kiss Me you FOOL!” It’s looks as though Mr. Knox will really have to work at it hard and make Tiffany (Getting queasy again) “learn” to love to him. In the meantime, looks like no trips to Paris fir him yet. Kudos to all that called this yesterday. Now I can rest easy! And look forward to everybody swearing that Tiffany actually “enjoyed” that kiss. Yeah, “right.” Nite Night, All ! ;)

Misdirection for so many, including me. No romance meant, Les saw his opportunity and took it. Now the last panel can be interpreted as “no Les, you already got your icky lips on my mouth, I’m not kissing your check now” or well no kissing here and now in the kitchen, meaning we are being teased again. I love that third panel, and the fourth ain’t bad either. Could go either way. Wait….for it.

Back to Plan Kip.

Shades of Brad snd Luann… and siblings everywhere!

I feel Tiff. If a guy were to do the same to me, I would not be pleased. Les and Tiff have not been in a romantic relationship prior to the kiss. I believe Les has been fantasizing and imaging himself in a relationship – which could be the motive behind him helping Tiff confront his mother – and is now finding out he is mistaken about him and Tiff. Tiff likes him as a friend and is thankful and is content to merely peck him on his cheek. However, they’ve become friend with shared goal to end Ann’s scheming, and possibly Tiff realizes she actually likes Les. Who knows. Les also fantasized about Pru and found out the hard way he mistook Pru’s kindness and interest as romantic interest. He needs to work on reading women.

Les doesn’t have so much ego anymore, (Tiff has it all) but he does have a sense of humor.

This is going to be some story to tell their grandkids.

Still cute. Kiss him Tiff!

By all means, don’t have any kind of romantic relationship. It’s “Luann”, ya know? Luann was too intimidated to make out with her longtime boyfriend. Frank asked his twenty-something son if he needed some advice about the birds and the bees. It’s not that I ship Tiffany and Les, though. I’m only saying that it’s bananas to believe these young people could possibly get romantic in the first place. Save it till after you’re married, even if that’s a decade from now, you degenerates! You’re in “Luann”!

Hahahahahahahaha! I told you it might end with Tiff basically saying “spoot, pffft”. It is nice to be right once in a while…

.

However, the unfortunate part is, Tiff ended that with “Not now”, meaning that it might flare up again later.

Mordy doing backflips!

Whew! All this anointed to a big nothing.

After you shave that ridiculous looking goatee, then she might do it!

“icky” – welcome to Siblingville

Does the Fuse not have an H.R. person? Someone needs to explain non consentual touching in the workplace to Tiffany.

Tiffany looks noticeably thinner than she did last week.

I knew it. NOT a couple!

Good move Les, she knows you are interested in her, it’s now up to Tiffany. Maybe she is thinking that icky isn’t so bad after all. In panel 3 and 4, looks like she is rethinking her relationship with Les

After all of the Ann drama, this is going to drag for a while, isn’t it?

I can’t understand if this is the beginning or the end of something. But sure it’s fun. Tiffany has suddenly returned to reality.

Well, it’s a start, of sorts. 3 or 5 months from this date…“Hey remember that kitchen kiss…”.

No chemistry here!

Wow Les, you just killed her mood.

That was funny, Greg.

Aw Tiff, loosen up; I’ll bet Les knows how to have fun. And I am sure he will be glad to have you lead him around. Consider it as ‘Spring Training’.

The moment has passed . . .

Tif is claiming that Les turned his head as she was going to give him a peck on the cheek? IDK about that. From the expression on Les’s face yesterday, it sure looked like to me that receiving ANY KIND of kiss from Tif was a big surprise to him, that he didn’t have time to react before hand. (Now maybe during, and, now afterwards…)

I just had a thought – now that Ann has been kicked out, where is she going to go? Is she going to get taken in by her brother “temporarily”?

if someone said “C’mere you…” and was puckering up, I’d assume she was going to do a real kiss as well.

Is the uncomfortable start of a relationship?

I don’t think these two are going to be BF and GF anytime soon. But give it time. I think there’s a spark there. Tiffany just doesn’t know it yet.

Oh. Good! I was wrong yesterday.

It’s the slowdown before the new arc coming Monday, I guess.

What ever happened to the money Les was skimming?

Icky Lips- the worst Rapper name ever.

Hey! He didn’t use tongue. Give him a break.

“The lady protests too much, methinks”, if it hasn’t already been used….

Does anyone else remember when the strip had Luann in it?

I hope they don’t get romantic. The brother/sister relationship seems to be working out well for these two characters who never had any siblings and in Les’ case no parents either.

Cut the guy a break Tiffany. It’s not like he went in for a kiss without warning. You came to him and he misread your intention.OMG, could you imagine how Tiffany’s character would react if he flinched or pulled away? She would go nuts about the rejection.

She thinks guys that wash dishes are sexy!

Way to handle a moment, Les.

Any chance that ‘Icky Lips’ may become a ‘pet name’ of sorts, sometime in the future??!! … Hmmmm …

the plot thickens

I’m really ticked off here today. That “icky” remark was totally uncalled for. Especially considering all Les has done for Tiffany. Talk about I mean. What was so horrible about kissing Les on the lips? I looked through archives and Tiffany has kissed guys right on the lips who have done nothing for her. Les put his arm in fire up to his elbow for her and all he was going to get was a kiss on the cheek for his efforts?

I’m really beginning to re-think these two as “romantic couple.” Between the bickering and today’s insult, Les might be better off keeping this “relationship” at a “brother/sister” level and looking elsewhere for love. “Mean girl” Tiffany has returned.

Well, that budding romance thudded to the ground quickly!

Icky? What is this? Calvin and Hobbes?

But I will say that I’m pleased. Tiffany and Leslie are not the most interesting pairing available. Tiffany and Leslie as sort-of step-siblings actually kind of is.

Which might be the best thing to come out of the last Ann cycle.

Les and Tiffany together…… nah. I’m not ready to accept that just yet.

Third panel: Neither one of them minded! :)

Kiss, but please don’t tell!

Have her lips always been that huge?

Told you!!

Oh man. Normal Middle School behavior.

Creators Greg and more recently GnK have been notorious for not letting the past affect the current. Some examples:

-Toni’s character was a lot edgier when she was dating Dirk while Brad was “muscling in” on the relationship. Later, when joining the fire department, she out performed Brad. Now she positively domesticated.

-https://www.gocomics.com/luann/2009/06/16 Toni refers to Shannon as her cousin. Now she’s a niece.

-Back in the black and white days (1996) Luann babysat for Shannon. At that time, she was “seven years old.” She had a (probably) one-year-old cousin, Lindy, no longer seen.Leslie Knox nowhere resembles his character today. Arguably, he has changed more that even Tiffany.

-The current Les was once the “Les don’t call me Leslie” juvenile delinquent in Pitts high school. He was portrayed as one or two classes older than Tiffany. In fact, he was a whole head taller than Tiffany and she was afraid of him and his creepy advances. More recently she opined to Gunther that she can “handle” the “bad boys.” But Les is no longer “bad.”

So to speculate on who the main characters are and are not, OR which way dating and relationships are going in this wild forum is futile. It’s “Anything Can Happen Day Wednesday” around here every day.

Creators Greg and more recently GnK have been notorious for not letting the past affect the current. Some examples:

-Toni’s character was a lot edgier when she was dating Dirk while Brad was “muscling in” on the relationship. Later, when joining the fire department, she out performed Brad. Now she positively domesticated.

-https://www.gocomics.com/luann/2009/06/16 Toni refers to Shannon as her cousin. Now she’s a niece.

-Back in the black and white days (1996) Luann babysat for Shannon. At that time, she was “seven years old.” She had a (probably) one-year-old cousin, Lindy, no longer seen.

Leslie Knox nowhere resembles his character today. Arguably, he has changed more that even Tiffany.

-The current Les was once the “Les don’t call me Leslie” juvenile delinquent in Pitts high school. He was portrayed as one or two classes older than Tiffany. In fact, he was a whole head taller than Tiffany and she was afraid of him and his creepy advances. More recently she opined to Gunther that she can “handle” the “bad boys.” But Les is no longer “bad.”

So to speculate on who the main characters are and are not, OR which way dating and relationships are going in this wild forum is futile. It’s “Anything Can Happen Day Wednesday” around here every day.

They are perfect for each other

WHEW! Disaster averted. I did say yesterday that these two would not last a real world calendar year, and today sure looks and feels like vindication. Panel 3 suggests that I could be wrong, down the line, however.

well, that ruined the moment, huh?

I like to think that these two have more of a brother-sister style of relationship (as opposed to BF-GF). But Les is testing the boundaries and definitions of their friendship, which i believe is strong enough to survive this little disagreement. The fact that Tiff says “not now” with eye rolling suggests that she just intended to give Les a quick peck on the cheek but he spoiled lighthearted mood of it by hugely over-interpreting.

I am experiencing ‘deja vu’

Looks like Tiff spent too much time with Ann.

I love the third panel. Yowza!

That said, “Your place or mine?” is going to be difficult to answer.

When Tiffany says “not NOW”, she means “not now, after what just happened”. She does not mean “Not now, but later.”

But Les is funny in his straight forward opportunistic way. he’ll take what he can get.

(Chuckle) cute. He’s incorrigible! Nice repartee! :-D

Friend Zone

if it hadn’t of been for Les keeping all his things from his past she wouldn’t be able to rekindle her relationship again with her dad. i think Tiffany and her dad need to have a heart to heart talk about how he allowed his their relationship become so strained due to Ann.

“I never saw that coming!” — No one, ever

A favorite of Charlie Chaplin. Point to the cheek for the girl to kiss and turn at the last minute to get it on the lips.

As Les’s friend she should give him what he really needs — a complete makeover. As she once did for Gunther.

He is a poor boy the son of a bad woman. He is also the resident bad boy. Tiffany is the rich heiress, even though her dad sent her to public school. She is beautiful, in a world he can only imagine, way out of his league. But he is a bad boy, one who she confides to, and who she may have an attraction too. He is attracted to her for all those reasons and more, see that smirk in panel 3? No these two are being drawn to each other. Is that good or bad? Depends on really how far he is from his mom’s sociopathy. Deep huh?

5

This feels so rom-com-esque…. that I am not surprised at today’s reactions by the characters. If Tiffany and Les had more deeply embraced, it would have been more akin to a soap opera. I like the rom-com version more.

Mordy mentioned above in one of his comments that the situation here is somewhat akin to the 80s television show “Moonlighting”. I tend to very much agree! And, I also agree with the notion that Mordy stated that the television program’s demise was tracable to their consummation of their relationship. I agree with Mordy that the best way for this arc to keep drawing interest from us, the fans, is to keep it at the “will they-won’t they” stage of their interaction. Greg could literally have Tiffany and Les approach this point a few times a year, but then retreat from it while Greg explores a whole plethora of other avenues. For me, personally, that would be great, because I do not really like the idea of a Tiffany-Les long term couple.

In the same vein I do not like the idea of a Tiffany-Gunther long term couple either. I MUCH prefer Gunther with Bets (even with their challenges). I would really like to have a “Tiffany-new guy” relationship and even a “Les-new gal” relationship be portrayed.

For me, I have tended to REALLY appreciate best the arcs where a new character has been integral…. for I think it has been a great way for the story to expand upon our understanding of the originals who have interacted with the new people (Luann with Jack, Tara, Nil), (Bernice with Dez, Piro), (Tiffany with Stephanie, Kip, Hair) and (Gunther with Bets).

I thought Tiff meant to do it. I’m confused.

“Me thinks the lady doth protest too much” Shakespeare (roughly)

“Lips okay but no tongue”; yeah, I’ve heard that one.

Oh, this is too much! For once, she kisses a guy that has nothing to do with Luann. Well, they’re still talking to each other, so anything can still happen.

Come on Tiff – what’s it going to hurt? You don’t have a main squeeze right now anyway….

It started out with a kiss

How did it end up like this?

It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss-The Killers

I dunno…check out panel #3. Tiff looks a little smug, don’t you think? I, for one, actually DO like their squabbling. Although, they act more like siblings than a possible romantic pair. Still, it’s so much FUN to just see something silly instead of all that infernal drama.

However, that being said…how about this? A nice-looking older woman comes into the Fuse. Truly sweet. Kind. Helpful. Real. Honest. Maybe a little down on her luck. Tiff waits on her. Tiff likes her. Heck, EVERYBODY likes her. They find a place for her as an employee. They find out she’s living in her car, so they offer her a place in Luann’s empty spare room. Everybody grows to love this woman. She’s a sweetheart. And somewhere along the line, Tiff decides to bring her home to meet her dad. So, who is the woman? Any guesses?

Of course, such an arc would take a year or two to come to fruition.

Hmmm…I’m an author. Maybe I’ll just put that story line to good use myself…

That’s better…

I’m just waiting till we see Ann Eifel again. And rest assured, we WILL see her again. And THIS time, SHE IS PI$$ED!

She turned bitch on him.

It’s well known that kissing causes cavities!Screen writers have known it for years…That’s why they put out the line, “Kiss me, you fool!”

How soon should we expect to see the Bridal Register?

I don’t know… that third panel shows them ‘considering’ what happened.

They both seem to be thinking, “hmmm…?”

When Tiffany and Gunther started to warm up to each other, I had hopes that this “odd couple” might work, especially as it looked like Tiffany was undergoing an epiphany of sports about her life. Unless major changes are planned for Les, I’m glad this doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere.

Not now ……… Maybe later?

Good on you, Tiffany! “Icky” is the least pejorative thing I’d be able to call Leslie Knox, even if (and that’s a big “if”) he is sanding down some of his rough edges and striving towards becoming civilized….

Tiffany in panel 3 …hands on hips and upset. Her saying NOT is because she doesn’t trust him that he would pull the same trick on her again. won’t happen.

I’ll say this for the writing, at least: Even though Tiffany has gained a little weight (not that I can tell, most days, especially not today for heaven’s sake), boys find her attractive. I’m pleased that at least in this world there aren’t any body-shaming male fu—wads.

Honest mistake, I think. Both a little embarrassed. Tiff didn’t have to get so mean right off the bat. He literally just saved your family.

Les is casual…he got kiss on lips from Tiff who is about to throw tantrums…but pacifies with…go ahead plant your lips on the cheeks! Point2Note for Tiff…she does gets pacified….and if Les’ lips are icky the cheeks are ickier! :v