Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for January 03, 2015

Mrs. Berger can’t admit she’s suffering from ENS (empty nest syndrome), can he?

AaaaHa!!! Guess who Gunther is dancing with?! ;)

Yes, she doesn’t appear to be as clingy as she was before Gunther went to Peru… ;)

“Sweet Child O’Mine” (♫)“Somethin’ To Do”“A Nice Case Of Time And Space”“Golden Eggs And A Sturdy Nest”“The 20 Year Project”“The Sounds Of Love And Laughter’“A Firm Investment From An Investment Firm”“A Pain In The Neck, A Place In Your Heart”“Rough Patches And Seeds That Are Sown”or “A Real Good Kidder”

And Frank looks like he’s thinking of a song, too. Wonder if there’s a song about peace and quiet?

Well, that’s interesting. Greg moved Gunther back home to shack up with…Bernice? Ditching Rosa without so much as a tearful breakup scene?

…Fascinating.

I was kind of hoping we would get a little more on Gunther/Rosa, but it’s a party after all.

Gunther looks happy to be dancing with Bern. He isn’t looking at Luann and Quill at all. A new couple does seem to be part of this new year…

Poor Oz all alone

Is Krystal grabbing Quill?

I enlarged the comic to get a good look at everyone’s eyes…the only character who has her eyes wide open is Bernice…maybe she knows something we don’t! ;)

About pointed eyes…do you mean Bernice’s eyes? They are pointing right at Gunther. A good sign for me! Its about time these two very smart people fell for each other! ;)

“Speaking of songs, Ma Berger certainly has changed her tune.” ^I don’t know.l I think she’s still on the first verse of “the same old song”… –

From Dec. 31: Comparing all those Windows versions reminds me of an old adage: Filet Mignon and cheap hamburger may be at opposite ends of the price scale, but to a vegetarian they’re equally just meat. My point: Windows are just Windows to this “Mackie”.

It seems Rosa is holding her side, like somebody is a wild dancer, limbs all flailing about. Like somebody has two left hands for feet… – Either that, or she’s crouching “just so” to grab Quill’s billfold/wallet or the keys to the car….

Turns out there’s a rock song called ‘Peace and Quiet’ that was the first song released by a British indie group called The Rifles. It’s about a couple breaking up…

I won’t bother to mention some other darker band names, then… (Such as the Metal band “Bullet For My Valentine”)..Oh, wait, I just mentioned one… -I tell you, some people and their names….

"Gunther: “She rolled her eyes at me, so I picked ’em up and rolled ’em back.” ^LOL, like a pair of dice…. talk about “Snake Eyes”…

It actually starts out with lyrics about how a few more days won’t make them change their minds, and they should go their separate ways. The chorus is ‘all I want is some peace and quiet’…-Which I think I need now to recover from having a cracked tooth pulled. Time for some sleep, if I can numb my jaw up a bit…

and @IamJayBluE-I was lucky to find an oral surgeon who had office hours this week, but now they’re closed. I’m hoping I’m not ending up with ‘dry socket’, but I’m getting tired of the limited food I can eat (since I have to avoid a lot of their suggestions, like mashed potatoes and plain pasta, to keep my carb count low.)-Oh, well, time for another saltwater rinse. Night to all…

I can’t help but what poor Tiffany did for NY’s Eve since she wasn’t invited to Luann’s.

Well, its time to find IS Katie…she’s probably upstairs dreaming of dog treats LOL! ’Nite all! ;)-—————————————————————-“girls we was all of us ladies we was o what the hell and once a lady always game by crikey blood will tell.”(Don Marquis, 1878-1937)

And…G’nite… (cue "static"ky needle on the record and a bunch of crickets….)

to those not there(who should be, taking aside the parents of them and of ones in this party)

Delta must be missing them(a lil surprised she did not take a Holiday’s vacation but it is very far)

Rosa(but she is seemingly busy with her calling, and too far to take JUST a Holiday’s vacation)

TJ must be busy at a party or forgotten by Toni and Brad, and alone at Brad’s place, or maybe babysitting Shannon? if not, poor Shannon if she is stuck in a bedroom by herself while Dad enjoys a new year’s party

and for me is easy to see Tiff all alone at her dorm and not at a party or with her rich Dad(and mom? has not been established if Dad is still married or not. and if she is alive) as from what we know, Crystal is her only friend(or closest to that)

hmm if it is early January 1st, they sure changed the calendar very fast to January

Mrs. Berger and Frank have opposite opinions about the Empty Nest, it seems! Meanwhile the “kids” (I use the term loosely, as they near legal adulthood, if not already there) are enjoying themselves—Crystal and [yuck!] Knute, Luann and Quill, Bernice and Gunther [!], and poor Oxford and his horn (where’s Tiffany? Oh. Right. Luann didn’t invite her)….

It’s funny because Frank wishes his daughter managed to get into a school that’s far away! Which would leave him more time to be bored and boring!

For shame, Mrs B! How can you say your life is empty, when you’ve got Quill? What is he, chopped liver?

HEY! How ’bout Some COFFEE for the REST of Us, Nancy?

I don’t think Frank hates his Luann as much as he knows kids have to live their own life and parents need to let go. Otherwise they follow you to the grave.

So that’s it? I thought better of Gunther. He’s just a Mama’s boy.

Bernice is giving Gunter an eye. Could there be a future?

Never seen so many teen boys all wearing black shoes with heels

How does Gunther see now without his glasses? Are we assuming he got contacts? surgery?

It’s amazing how people can read a comic strip with such diverse takes on it.

Gunther got contacts long before he went to Peru. My question is, how did he keep them clean when he was someplace he couldn’t even shave?

Hmmmm…. I’m not sure why life is so “empty” for Ms. B. I thought “Mr. Gray” might be “filling it up” a bit, eh? ;-PPP

Anyway, I think the look on Frank’s face says it all. He’s dreaming of a point where Lu is not in the house anymore and out supporting herself. So, perhaps this is a prelude to both Lu and Gunther matriculating to Moony Uni. Assuming they allow individual co-ed dorm rooms, then maybe Gunther can replace the enigmatic “Dez,” and Lu and Quill can get a place (or some off campus housing). The possibilities are boundless.

But first, we need confirmation of Gunther’s transformation. We need to have him insist that he doesn’t return to the “nest….” and that he follows his own calling. I hope that’s the next sub arc, and that it includes a flashback or two on how Gunther and Rosa resolved things. Then we can deal with how it shakes out for the others. Once all of this settles down, then maybe we can get on with Brad and Toni’s wedding. :-)))

I suspect Tiffany is attending a better NYE party than this one. Maybe they don’t celebrate by drinking coffee!

Maybe Gunthie and Bernice can hookup now.

I’m surprised Delta didn’t go home for the holidays. And where is Tiffany? I know they’re not best friends, but she would have included herself somehow.

I can see how Gunther would leave Peru. He was miserable and that does not make for a good relationship.

Gunther looks a bit like a zombie, Bernice’s sensors are on high alert status, Frank is thinking of more alone time with Nancy, and Ox is waiting for Tiffany. The calm before the storm?

Oh, he knows all right. Look at him leaning toward Bernice. And his mouth is smiling. His eyes are no more closed than those of anyone else on the dance floor. Only the older folks are wide-eyed and their eyes are mostly drawn as dots.

“Frank hates his daughter and wants her out of the house.”Where on earth do you get that from?

“Poor Oz all alone.” Don’t be too sure. Take a closer look at where he is looking and at the oblivious guy next to hem.

If Evans & Evans read this, I’d tell them: “Hey, Lynn Johnston had Patterson tinkering around with his model railroad, why can’t Frank have a similar pursuit?”

Maybe Frank can take up songwriting. Of course, it would take him a long time to come up with something worthy of being the flip-side of “I’m a Snot”.

In a way, modern computer technology is handy for enlarging comic strips to see small details. In the case of Bernice’s eyes, I noticed it right away, whereas if I had viewed the same strip in a newspaper, it would have required a closer look.

Let us suppose, as many readers today have speculated, that Bernice really does “have eyes” for Gunther. Now, that brings up the question of whether she is just interested in him for his beard.

By “empty” she means peaceful and quiet. You get to have your life back and actually do what you want to for a change. You can think of your own needs instead of life revolving around the kids.

“Mrs. Berger”? Doesn’t she have a first name? This is the grown-ups talking to each other after all.

I just took another close look, and it does appear like Ox sees that Crystal is picking Quill’s pocket!

Like a New Year’s Eve emergency call where some drunk’s car is on fire…

Obviously Bernice likes the scruffy look. Will she replace Rosa? What if Rosa comes back? Hmm, could be an interesting storyline!

It’s too bad that the Sunday installment of Luann isn’t like other comics (for example, Garfield or For Better Or For Worse) that have 6-9 panels instead of 2 or 3. It would have more potential for story/character development.

Two men of the cloth were arguing over when life begins. The first said at the moment of conception, and the second was less certain. Finally they asked a third to act as tiebreaker. You’re both wrong, he said. Life begins when the kids leave home and the dog dies.

> Or the B-side to “You’re So Party, Let’s Go Dancey”?

A 2-sided platter that’s currently playing permanently on all jukeboxes in Hell!

Looks like Bernie has some renewed interest in Gunther.

They should have invited Tiffany—Ox is an odd man out!

Mrs. DeGroot and Mrs. Berger are peers. Why aren’t they calling each other by their first names?

As far as predictions go, I knew Gunther’s return was inevitable, but I did not foresee the beard and Bernice’s reaction to it. I do remember saying (when he left) that Gunther would return from Peru with a pencil-thin mustache and a slight accent.

I guess Greg didn’t include strips depicting Gunther’s break up with Rosa – what is there to say? Their relationship had run its course. Nothing to draw about. The last strip had them riding towards the remote clinic where Rosa wanted to go and Gunther did not. Clearly Gunther rode back with the driver to Peru and flew home. Rosa stayed at the rural clinic. Now, Gunther – Bernice is more up your alley than Rosa ever was. And Rosa needs a confident, assertive and ambitious man with goals which Gunther is not. He is a geek at heart and Bernice is too.

The last panel is one of my favorites ever.

“I would love to, but I am too distracted by Mrs. Berger looking at Nancy’s butt.”WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!

“Rosa, if Bernice makes a move on Gunther, no matter what you plans are, they will no longer involve him.”

She’s already in motion, and I predict she will get what she wants.

Has no one noticed that Nancy is calling Gunther’s mom Mrs Berger? What is with that, I never called the mom of my daughter’s friends by their married sir names and his mom is a guest in the DeGroot home so they must know her Fairly well after all these years.

It’s interesting how Crystal, through Knute, has become an accepted member of Luann’s “group”.

What an awful thing to say!!!!! He does not not HATE Luann at all.. You frighten me with your perceptions..

Yet if he just now got off a plane from Peru without going home first, then he does need a shower before heading out to the party, no matter how long it’s been since he showered in Peru. That would have been the ideal time to shave, too, and certainly to put on a fresh shirt.

I sniffed my monitor.Gunther’s okay so far.

" “You’re So Party, Let’s Go Dancey”?” so Dez is really Hillary Forth?".Christmas version?

only OX now has no partner. Perhaps one other person needs to show up…hmmmmm…. or he could dance w/ Mrs.Berger …

As far as I can recall, wasn’t Mrs. Berger introduced around the time Quill moved in with Gunther? Or was she depicted before that? Can any Luannexperts help me on this?

There really is a happy medium. I love when my adult kids come to visit, I like it when they leave. The point of parenting is to raise infants into adults. They will like you a whole lot better if you can find your own happiness.

Were they drinking?…I see one wine glass on the floor, and another about to meet the floor….lol it’s sitting on the rounded sofa arm

Or has simply postponed school. It’s possible that she may go to college later.

Yup… “deferred admission…” works for a lot of folks.

Somehow, if Rosa does return to the US, I think that might be magically invoked for her.

Interesting fashion note: the “girls” are either wearing a dress or skirt, the older generation ladies are going with the slacks.

2009, the happy times for the LG shippers, right before the intro of Q

Yes. They are the brightest among them. (Rosa was bright too.) Nice to see a celebration of intelligence.

@JPuzzleWhiz@DavidHuieGreen“Since you nearly never see any of them on the toilet…”" …we can assume they don’t read newspapers/magazines?".It’s like you can read my mind!

@JPuzzleWhiz@DavidHuieGreen“I sniffed my monitor.”

“And it smelled like glass, correct?”.Mostly — a little mustard but Gunther probably is blameless.Gunther’s good for another two weeks easy.

She’s looking straight ahead, not down.

Let’s forget Rosa! Bernice and Gunther would make a cute couple.