Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for July 23, 2020

She’s BAAAAACK! The last time we saw her in a weekday strip was when she and Jack had their shopping/cooking adventure, back at the beginning of May.

ooooooooo…. who’d wanna see a cat fight between Nancy DeGroot and Ann Eiffel?

Wow! A dark cloud of Revenge- so I can kick her harder!!!!!!

Who’s the blonde girl with Nancy?

Yeah, stick it to her Nance!

Well, Nancy has a violent side in her nature; who’da thunk?

Nancy’s looking tough.

But why did Lu leave out Les and Ox? Everyone leaves out Ox, and I like him.

If you keep talking about somebody they’ll never leave.

So, suddenly after three years of amnesia people suddenly remember all the awfyl things Ann did in the before time. Stuff they never bothers to tell Tom before,

Speaking as a fellow mother, I get what Nancy is feeling. Even the mildest mannered mother is liable to become a savage, ravenous, revenge monster if our children or extended children are hurt by someone who is supposed to be a responsible adult.

I notice that Luann has left out Borderline Books, Bernice and Zane in her list of Ann offences.

This certainly sounds like “The Last Farewell” for the Ann Eiffel character. (I hope I’m right about that.)

Never mess with a Mom

You don’t mess with the cubs, related or not, of a Mama Bear like Nancy.

I wonder if Nancy will hear from Frank that he rented the empty room, and it turns out to be Ann?

Be careful what you wish for, Nancy!

Luann – you forgot your sister in law’s niece. She has the honor of being the only one who actually hurt Ann – she bit her.

Actually Luann left off four of Ann’s “victims.” Tara, Les, Ox and Shannon. Now by My calculations, the only characters Ann hasn’t messed yet ARE: Irma, Al, Gunther, Bets, Frank, Jack, Nil, Jonah and Professor Zero. Likely targets? Irma and maybe Frank. I list those two because they might have spare bedrooms Ann could use, and Al and Nancy may not have warned Irma and Frank. I doubt if Ann knows about the Gulag yet.

And Nancy? Careful what you wish for. Everybody had better be watching their collective backs.

I’m sure someone has already said this, but her name should be Ann Awful

So we are still on the Ann Eiffel arc but in a different setting – at The Fuse. Rehashing and the memory walk, I suppose. And, really, no matter what a parent does, the child tends to feel defensive of the parent…I am not believing that Les is totally hooting about defeating his mother. I believe he feels he can’t so he suppresses it and pretends just a little to be happy to have done away with his mother. He KNOWS his mother is not a good person who rejoices in hurting others, exploits people, etc, but she is still his mother. Like a dog wagging for a master who kicks it everyday. I bet one day we will find Les sitting on his bed in a melancholy mood over his mother, wishing his mother was a different person.

Ann, you have mess with Tiff one too many times now you have to face Nancy the mama bear.

On the upside, Shannon hurt Ann.

Nancy’s expressing the opinion of many of the readers of this strip.

Why am I getting this dark sense for foreboding that Ann’s going to walk in with either a lawyer and slap a lawsuit on the Fuse or a code inspector from the city and get it shut down for violations? It’s like reading in a horror story, “Unaware, Susan descended the dark staircase.”

Okay, so Friday’s strip is Luann telling Bernice, and Saturday’s is her telling Brad and Toni?

I know very well that I’m probably very much in the minority here, but I’m glad to see Luann on a week day…

I found the perfect girlfriend for Les.

https://www.gocomics.com/luann/2018/08/07

I think Nancy may get her wish.

Do not do a victory dance. It may be premature.

I don’t think she is gone for good. She always comes back.

So she’s gone – gone where? Left town because a relationship broke up? Don’t think so. I mean, I hope we’ve seen the last of her, but nobody threw a bucket of water on her. She’s still around somewhere.

Wait… When did she encounter Dez?

Meanwhile, oblivious to the drama surrounding Ann, and concerned about lagging sales, Luann’s dad just hired Ann Eiffel as the Cafe’s new event coordinator.

If Evil Annie is somewhere near San Diego, I hope she gets in her little yellow sports car and drives about 600 miles due west.

Somehow I get the feeling that if Ms. DeGroot kicked Effel harder it wouldn’t be payback enough for all the pain and misery she’s caused over the years.

Somebody has a dark side : ]

Jusr cuz Tom broke up with her, why does everyone assume that Ann dropped off the face of the earth? Or, to paraphrase Arnold, “she’ll be back”.

Hmm …. Nancy “The Godmother” DeGroot? ……

Careful what you wish for Nancy, Ann’s younger she’s taken care of herself, and well, to put it nicely, Ann’s in a lot better shape.

Um….when did she hurt Luann? I’m drawing a blank.

Thanks for the tip on 11-Aug-17 – the day Ann was identified (retconned?) to be Uncle Al’s brother – and Leslie’s mother.

I would say that, with this bloodline, Ann’s reappearance is conservatively estimated at 99.44%.

And the longer this “victory dance” goes on, I’d say that reappearance is going to be sooner rather than later.

Yeah to Mom

Nancy might just get her chance, given that Ann now needs accommodation, and Nancy is considering renting out a room…

(To everyone)…You all know of course, that our main interest now will be just when, why, how and where Ann will show up again! Glad to see even this glimpse of Luann , proving she CAN get off that bed!!

I cant wait for Ann to come back. Her next scheme will probably be a real estate scam where she tries to buy the land where The Fuse sits on. Next on American Greed…..

That is so unlike Nancy. I kind of like it, though…

I guess the cartoonist finally listened to our demand to end Ann Evil. She wore out her welcome a lonnnnnng time ago.

Uncle Dave Gardner said it best; “Ah believes that when a man’s down, KICK HIM ! If he comes back at you, KICK HIM AGAIN !!”

Luann said Ann hurt her and Dez—is she by any chance referring to the lingerie scam? You know, the felony that took place in her parents’ place of business? How much does Nancy know about that? Sheesh. I think it would a good idea to mention that little event in the storyline really soon, because it’s extremely weird not to do so.

First of all: HOE——-LEEE——KRAPPPP!!!! LUANN, in a Luann comic strip!!!! Whutta concept! I love it! Second: That panel near the bottom of the page still says “Who IS Ann Eiffel?” not “Who WAS Ann Eiffel”. Not good.

Maybe Anne should start a fling with Dirk.

I don’t know which is more shocking. That Luann is in the daily comics, or that someone is actually talking to someone else about all the terrible things Ann has done. Too bad Luann didn’t tell her mom this Years ago.

Tiffany and Les – - Still NO Romance!

I love Nancy’s comment! Bring it!

How did Ann hurt Dez? Does Luann mean selling her fake lingerie at the Fuse event? That is not really hurting her. And if that is what Luann means, then she should also mention all the other women who bought lingerie from Ann. Does Nancy even know Dez?

I don’t remember Dez and Ann meeting.

Ann will come back with a revenge and destroy the Fuse and their lives before she is finally beaten.

They’re drawing out the “Ann Eiffel is gone” thing. Which means she probably isn’t gone.

And as I’m typing this, I’m looking at a blurb right underneath the comment box that says: “Who is Ann Eiffel?”

Who is this young pleasant blond woman in this comic?

You know, I just had a horrible thought. What if Bwad and Toni decided they weren’t cut out to be parents just now, and somehow Ann Eiffel ended up adopting Shannon? (She did seem to think she wanted kids, besides Les, remember?)

Can you imagine how that little holy terror would turn out raised by the recently departed wicked stepmutha?

Hello Luann, nice seeing you

Actually, Nancy’s wish is good and legitimate. I hope that in the future she will have the opportunity to make it come true. Nice to see the whole crew of “The Fuse” happy. Now, I wonder where Luann will take the story to a new arc. Maybe Delta is coming for the summer? Or will Pru come with her wife to say Hi? Maybe something with Jack will happens?

Awwww. I thought we were gonna get more Lesany (Les x Tiffany) Drama. But yay! The actual strip’s namesake is back!

ahahaha Now that’s a “Mama look”. :)

Methinks this isn’t truly the last time we see Miss Eiffel. If so, then at least everyone will be ready for her next time.

Since Tom kicked Ann out with only the clothes on her back (figuratively) can we presume that she is (virtually?) penniless, and, obviously is in need of a job (while she plots her next move.) Would it surprise anyone if she crawls to the Fuse and begs TJ and Nancy for a job? (A nice touch would be if they did give her a job thee, but have her be supervised by Les, and/or., Tiffany.)

Do not mess with Nancy.

I don’t remember Ann Eiffel meeting Dez, let alone hurting her.

Now watch, Ann will file a false report with the Health Department to get the place shut down

I have this strange feeling that Ann Eiffel will return!

Up until this point, Luann was just a catchy title.

oh she’ll be back

I still can’t believe all of these loose ends have finally been addressed. One thing for sure, Ann will be back just like any good soap opera villain.

Hey! The namesake of the strip actually makes an appearance!

Greg has squeezed the last juice out of this lemon.

She’ll be back. No worries.

Be careful what you wish for, yada yada.

Gotta feeling we haven’t seen the end of Ann…

She’ll be baaaack! Not right away, of course….ooh, ooh, maybe she’ll come back with a babe in arms….

When Ann went back to get all her clothes and belongings she and Tom made up and decided to try to work through their issues.

People need to stop complaining about Luann being in, or if she in complaining about her being in the comic. This is about her world, and unlike most print based comics, she is not in every set of panels or arc stories, because this is about her world. One’s world gets more complicated as one gets older, and that is what Greg and Karen are exploring now. If you want one character comics there are plenty of them, this one has developing characters inhabiting a pretty extensive fantasy world. Okay enough ranting, I know most people will ignore me (lol). Right now we are being set-up with so many possibilities, but clearly Annie the evil one is not that far away. The dramatic tension between Tiffany and Les, Nancy being tiger mom to their investment, and it’s people the Fuse; the only thing I would like to see is how Gunther and Bets might fit in, Uncle Al and Irma, and Fall is coming, so since this is a fantasy Luannverse, how the return to classes will be handled. This is a world people, so many stories, so much what will happen next. Stop whining about Luann, she is just fine. I never have any problem with knowing that, and ultimately the strip is about her in her world, fully exposed.

Hi Luann! Long time no see! 8^ )

and now, the transition to a new arc ….

like to see Delta again, for a short visit.

Everyone taking victory laps? Très gauche!

The mom instinct!

Why does it feel like they all hold grudges. I mean, going back to weenie world?

Don’t relax your guard, folks. ‘Tommy’ is the weak link here. He wants love, and Ann just needs to do is worm her way back into his good graces and she’ll return stronger than before.

I hope Annie ended up sleeping in her car because Tommykins cancelled her credit cards. It would serve her right.

Here’s why: This is a pretty jumbled week with seemingly disjointed vignettes. These actually make sense to the creators. The reason is that story arcs are written months in advance and probably drawn months in advance also. At least they would be roughed in drawings certainly. So GnK see the story more like a comic book, where “what comes next” is immediately discoverable. So these may be transition strips; segues into “the next thing.”

While confusing to us readers they would fit perfectly into a collection of strips.

Do I hear The Munchkin Song playing on the Fuse’s Muzak?

It’s not like she’s dead. Or melted after a bucket of water was thrown on her. And she is a cruel and vindictive person. Her vengeance some day could be terrible.

Refresh my memory, please. What did she do to Luann?

Ann isn’t gone. Tom broke their engagement and kicked her out of his house but as far as we know Ann is still in town.

She’ll probably try to buy the Fuse or sue it out of existence over some pretense. It would be the quickest way to get revenge on the whole group.

Eiffel; pronounced like the tower? or ‘eye full’, she’s nice looking, or ‘I fell’, she is fallen is multiple ways.

Problem is that she was never kicked hard enough.

Look, a new character! Who is this blond stranger talking to Nancy? /s

I like how Greg has transitioned the arc by zooming out of one group and into another. The Fuse is a good venue for that since multiple activities go on there.

We all need our goals in life. Revenge is a poor one, but it definitely IS one.

When she’s down? Too far!

Luann (and Greg), please try to remember 8th grade English class and ADVERBS. It’s badly…not bad which is a noun.

Some suggest the Coupon Girl or Tara as a girlfriend for Les. I don’t think GnK see that kind of relationship for Les. He has been on a civilizing trajectory for quite a while now. Tara and Les both have a dark side which might be amplified in a hookup. Coupon Girl is a fast talking professional (according to Gunther) salesperson and a hookup with her may invite Les’ baser instincts.

Remember, Les has pretty much behaved himself since the Soufflé Lingerie scam.

Does anyone find it odd that every character reels off Eiffel’s full name all the time? Like “Ann Eiffel” is some kind of formal title.

Badly

Somehow I sense that Ann willl be back down the line for a bit of revenge. After the next bunch she tries to scam gets wise to her, that is.

Despite SOME peoples complaints, I am in my happy place seeing Luann and Nancy in the foreground and the rare sight of the 4 survivors of the Ann plague happily chatting in the background. (OH, and Tiffany and Les NOT KISSING!) shew ‘,:D

I would like Luann to become the new event coordinator for the fuse. This would give her a new career. First event…speed dating…one of the guys could stay after the event and complain about not finding anybody. Maybe the 2 of them start dating. Book a rock band and one of the members is attracted to Luann. Give her some new story arcs. (notice I didn’t say: book a play and have Quill be in it).

When Greg had Nancy say…… “Yup, Everyone’s Thrilled” …….I think Greg was including us readers in on that comment!!

i wouldnt mind finding out why Ann Eiffel is the way she is

5

So, Annie is still the subject of the raucous discussion with the Fuse Crew. And, now Mrs. DeGroot is also in the midst of the “Bye-bye Annie” discussion (as is Luann). What could this be leading to?

1. A full stop transition where in the next day or few…. back to something WHOLLY different perhaps like Shannon, Brad, Toni, and her brother?

2. Or, could this be a partial transition where Mrs. DeGroot and Annie do have some sort of negative interaction?

As for Luann… nice to see her! But, I have to say…. it is surprising to me how “odd” it feels having Luann at “The Fuse”. It makes perfect sense because it is a family business, and yet, Luann has not been much of a part of “The Fuse” arcs in the past. It always seemed like Greg had been preferring to keep Luann more in other arcs that didn’t involve “The Fuse”.

Even though it does not appear so in today’s efforts… perhaps a transition to a Luann arc is what is up next? It doesn’t read that way, as Luann is mostly being used as a “narrator” of sorts today, but who knows?

I still keep wondering, however, with Annie having the big placard under the comics page itself, and the big write-up associated with her…. how soon, and in what capacity will she show up in next now that Tom has banished her? I am wondering if her return will be rather quick in some new fashion… perhaps in August…. if it doesn’t happen immediately with Mrs. DeGroot.

Allright!!!!! Nancy!

Ann is a con artist that has been made. in reality she would move on. Going to a lawyer is outside of her normal bag of tricks, but I would advise Les to be on his guard.

If I were Nancy I would immediately ask Luann HOW Ann hurt her and Brad and Toni. Odd that Nancy doesn’t want to find that out.

Go momma bear!

Nancy DeGroot: You go girl. :)

Here’s some Evanses foreshadowing…. sometime in the future, Ann Eiffel and Nancy will get into it again…

I wonder if there is any other ’toon that attracts so many posters who hate the viewpoint character so much?

No Ann!! Luann! …….repeat as necessary

Mess with a mama bear, and you get the teeth and claws…

I’m sure she has a few more pieces of mind she’d like to unload, too.

Forget Ann! It’s about time for Luv

Don’t think I’ve seen Luann with this many likes.

So, just throwing this out there…“Hell hath no fury…” And not only has Anne been well and truly scorned, she’s thwarted and vindictive. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of her, but hooray for the break!!!

Look how Nancy’s hand goes from relaxed to clenched.

Well, this should satisfy some of the folks who wanted more of a “to-do” about Ann’s departure, if not her demise! A bit surprised about Nancy’s comment, but then again, don’t poke the Mama Bear. 8-D

Oh, I’m sure we’ll see her again. Greg seems to enjoy inflicting Ann on us from time to time.

Ooo a shift to Luann hopefully she’s ready to start her long term adventure.

Could it be prior to opening hour?

Hi, Mom! So… Ann Eiffel’s gone? Oh, and “Hi!” to everyone out there – remember me?

I am just glad he got rid of that character. It’s hard enough to watch the bullies and con artists win in real life.

SAM’S SCHOOL FOR SUPERVILLAINS – Bayonne, Marsailles, Whitechapel Candidate Update: Ms. Eiffel had a good plan working that would have gotten her into the Wicked Stepmother Corps, but if even two individuals with narcissistic tendencies can upset the arrangement, then she is not ready for that status yet. Mistake #1: Not removing the now-unneeded “ultrasound” from the house once Tom Farrell gave her the engagement ring. Mistake #2: Moving in too early. As old-fashioned as it sounds, never take the “victory lap” until you’ve been to the chapel/courthouse/Vegas/whatever and the only way he can get rid of you involves lawyers and LOTS of paperwork. Mistake #3: Moving the kid out. A big McMansion like that, and you couldn’t find an unused room for your yoga studio? Aw c’mon now… Once the kid saw she had been pushed out, she started snooping and the first “card in the house” (as it were) came loose. Mistake #4: Not neutralizing your own kid. While the Corps has never placed a very high value on actual parenting skills, it should be obvious that if your own failure at motherhood is in a position to ruin your plans, you need to get him out of the way. Not necessarily by murder, of course (it leads to too many questions), but get him at least out of town or somehow othewise diverted until the plan has succeeded. Your answer lies elsewhere, Ann – you might try the Comic Relief Institute…

I wonder if this is a setup for a showdown between Nancy Degroot and Ann Eiffel? Meanwhile, a doorbell rings in suburbia. A middle-aged balding male opens the door to a curvy, sensuous brunette. “Hi, I’m here in response to the advertisement of a room for rent.”

Nancy, you did just fine. You couldn’t have done it better. Let’s just move on from this.

They big takeaway. Don’t cross Nancy

I like how Nancy’s hand turns into a fist. Nice detail.

For those thinking this is not Ann’s last roundup, as it were: Cpl. Klinger: I’ll be back! Col. Potter: I’ll be here.

With all of this gloating about Ann’s latest defeat, I get the feeling that she’ll be back soon, and/or we’re gonna get a setup on her past before her first appearance. Ann has ticked off almost every character in the strip, I wonder how her relationship with her brother is?

Oh! Now, I have to admit, I did enjoy seeing Nancy’s reaction. So, as we wrap up this godawful arc that has tortured us for so dang long, where shall we go from here? I’m still voting for a nice Brad and Toni arc. Come on, with a bun in the oven, there could be a lot of drama about their jobs, ya think? Yeah. That would be cool. And Shannon. Shannon has kind of grown on me. She’s growing up and will make a pretty good sibling for little BraToni. I’d actually like to see an arc where they adopt her. Oh, I don’t want anything icky to happen to her dad, but maybe he could just go somewhere and decide he can’t be a good father to her, so Brad and Toni can have her forever. That would be the most responsible thing he would have done so far.

Ann’s back on the market! Yeeeeee-HAAA! Come to daddy, girl!

Where do I sign up?

Further above, someone threw out the idea that Evil Annie would adopt Shannon, and others asked why the H#LL she would do that.

.

As Evil Annie gets old and wrinkled in the future, she would have her brain transplanted into Shannon’s 20 – something year old body, then starts over again wreaking havoc on the people of Pittsville.

.

In Luanniverse, anything can happen.

Also she’s abused Shannon and Ox, and I vaguely remember some drama with Gunther. And, or course, the most abused of all is Tom Farrell.

Gosh, Luann, you knew all this and did nothing to help?

Hey, Nan! Give her another for me!

In ‘Toy Story 3’, when the other toys wanted to go after Lotso the bear when he ran off at the dump, Woody said he wasn’t worth it. I feel the same about Ann Eiffel here.

She’s been kicked pretty hard