Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for February 18, 2015

What a statement.

Seems like Gunther Is trying, once again, to catch up Mrs. B on how he mustered up some boldness, through his “learnings” from his adventure…… – The one lesson he learned at the cantina? When near beers, steer clear of hot pepper spears- True to your fears, you’ll pay dear! Worse than they appear, they’ll bring you clear to tears….

…Ooooookay? If…you say so, Gunther.

“A Clashing Symbol”“Billy, The Gruff Kid”“The Barker Of Civil-le”" Stream Flooding Torrent Of Consciousness"“Tapestry Of Impact”“Getcha Motor Runnin’”(♫)“Tears For Fears” (♫)“No Need To Shout!” (♫)“Get Out Of My Facial!”“Hey! You! Get Off Of My Cloud!” (♫)“Crying In Your Beard”“Finders, Keepers”“Sorta-Red Badge Of Courage”or“Shave And A Haircut? Too Bad!” (♫)

Confused? You won’t beafter this week’s episodeof “Soap”!

Good for you, Gunther!

Differentiating yourself from your parents can be hard. Mrs. Berger is for the most part pretty reasonable, so Gunther “rebels” against the little stuff, like her referring to him as “Gunthie” or her request that he shave. One of these days he’ll learn how to deflect that stuff with humor, or just by asserting himself with more self-confidence.

I am looking forward to either Mrs. Berger or Mr. Gray putting him in his place over his Mr. Gray angst, though! ;)

Just like yesterday, it seems that he really does value his experience from South America. Perhaps though he’d rather stay up here, he sees that he did have something special going on, that he left. – Maybe in his mind, if only he could combine the two, somehow (the comforts of home and the adventures of abroad), he’d be one happy camper….

IN OTHER WORDS……………………….. I gave up the love of my life in order to have my life, the beard is the symbol of how losses and gains go hand on hand, you can not evade losses………there is never life without surprises

“For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is what everybody’s life looks like to God. “You did this because you want that???”

when you give up everything, you realize how much you have…………….. unhappiness is missing everything you don’t have, happiness is enjoying everything you have right now

OK Gunther we get it…we’ll let you keep the beard

Synopsis: “Peru left me heart-broken, so I keep this 3-day beard growth to remind me of it.”

right now I don’t have a job, I wish I could translate the Spanish version for the Evans, they translated the “face lift” to Ascensores(elevators or in England Lifts) instead of Estiramientos(which would be proper term for faces lifts)

That “nut shell” could have saved me months of reading this cartoon strip.

So keep the beard, but go wash it; here’s bits of P&B sammie in it! And…blonde hair?

Gunther, a.k.a: “Oedipus Dorkus”

and it looks like Gunther’s mom has her own

“50 shades of Mr. Gray”

Makes sense Gunther, but your mom probably thinks you’re cracking up.

He saw Machu Pichu. That’s nice.

Gunther brings the spirit of TL;DR to the comics page….

That beard is the symbol of a journey of growth and liberation for Gunther; a journey I hope he continues. If he can keep his sensitive side and learn to find happiness for himself, as well as letting his mother make her own choices with all the concomitant prices and benefits, he will become a strong and well-balanced man.

Previously on Luann….

Geez, Gunther. Take a breath.

Ma Berger?

SLAP Him and BRING Him to His Senses.

Hey, It worked in all the Old Movies…..,

Okay, Ma – YOUR turn…

Now for the reason she’s keeping Mr. Grey.Wait,50 shades of….NOOOOO!

Gunny spills his guts, summarizes all that happened, reveals his continuing love for Rosa, Then, pauses for a breadth.Clean up on panel 4! Hate all those spilled guts….

YEAH!

It’s a good thing he already told his mother the story otherwise she would have no clue what he is talking about. One thing she is clear on though. The beard stays.

And I would have thought he wanted it simply because he looked better.

Perhaps if Gunther could convince Rosa that she can do more good with a degree that provides a skill. Teaching, medicine (and kind including denistry), engineering, whatever. Both get degrees and go somewhere that needs them together.

Makes perfect sense to me

Will this never end?

Forget the beard… he needs a haircut.

And the same is equally true.

“Because I’ll never (sniff) have another adventure, Mom.”

All facial hair is relevant

To summarize today’s strip: There’s no good reason to keep the beard.

The quality of the story lines has grown and improved exponentially since the primary characters finally ended their protracted stay in high school. This is more like it! Keep up the great work.

“plot recaps of stories that happened only a month ago.”

Anybody who thinks this outburst was a “recap” needs to read it again, maybe again and again.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GrowingTheBeard

“There’s going to be a fight when Gunther won’t shave his beard for his next girlfriend.”

Not if the beard is what made her find him attractive.,and we know somebody like that.

I just hope that Gunther’s growing a beard makes him Grow The Beard.

Right On Gunther!

There, there, Gunthie, a real man isn’t afraid to cry.

I do like the tear, nice touch..I felt the strip gave us more of G’s interior dialogue and explained more than just looking at the pictures had..G-Man, if you want Rosa, don’t just passively let her take the lead; you have to provide an alternative to digging holes and picking up sticks.Then maybe she’ll follow you.

So let’s rehash the whole thing again. When will this strip move on to some other, far more interesting character?

Mad Magazine parody artists have the talent to re-draw the artform they skewer. I guess that half of Greg Evan’s skill set is not so easy to mimic.

All that and no sex? What a waste, Gunther. He’d be better off having a fling with Tiffany or even Viper.

Except apparently that’s not why G is keeping the beard. As he explained tearfully to his mother (ouch, the pain of looking at this hurts), it’s because he left Rosa behind. Kind of…

This reminds me of Hurley on LOST; he ran through a summary of everything that had happened to him on the Island for his Mom. When he was done, she said something like: “I didn’t understand a word of what you just said. . .but I believe you!”

What so many 18 year olds face upon high school graduation is a road with many forks. In Gunther’s case, he took a broad road, but it lead him nowhere. So then he took a narrow, winding road back to his mother. For the rest of his life he will wonder what could have been if he hadn’t turned back. At least he has a new shirt.

I think you have good reason, Gunth.

“! I’m sorry my rushed MS Paint parodies don’t live up to your high parody standards…”*RB – never fear. We low-brow folks appreciate your humor & “artwork”!

I’m enjoying the “Oedipus Gunther” , and the other parodies submitted by you, ReallyBad2. Keep on with it. I think including the word “parody” in the title is fine, and obviously shows that it’s not an original. I got a kick out of the obviously painted on costume , too.

What is Rosa’s side of the story? Is she willing to compromise any part of her dream to make room for Gunther? Seems to me that Lima was at least a fair middle ground.

If Gunther returns and pledges his love but laments her choice to live in the bush, perhaps she can always go once in awhile for a month-long stretch in the outback.

Love will find a way

Note this part of Gunther’s tale: “I kinda got drunk at a cantina”. He didn’t say “I accidentally got drunk at a cantina.” The way he says it herein makes much more sense than that earlier version – it would indicate that he was in fact really emotionally distraught at leaving Rosa. Surely this is what we are supposed to believe actually took place – Gunther drank heavily at the cantina, to drown his sorrows – rather than the ridiculous version of “I bit into a hot pepper, and I took several swallows of beer, and it made me drunk” that appeared in the story as he narrated it. One therefore wonders what else happened after he left Rosa that he wasn’t completely honest about when he told us his story.

> and you see no difference between doing this for something from half a century ago with doing it the same day an artist’s work is published?>I’m not a lawyer, so I won’t comment on aspects of copyright law and the well established exemptions for satire. But from the point of view of a comics fan (who enjoys a good laugh) – no, I don’t.

Of course he’s going to leave out the Mr. Gray aspect of his return, when he’s talking to his mother! She’s already annoyed that he’s trying to prevent her from having a personal life (at the same time that he’s objecting to her interfering in his everyday life.)-He’s not a complete fool, so he’s not going to try to annoy her when he’s trying to justify why the beard (such as it is) will stay…

The cervaza didn’t stay in his stomach long enough to make Gunther drunk, he’s being over dramatic in his need to be “a man” because it doesn’t sound macho to say you got pukey in a Peruvian roadside cocina, NOT a cantina.

I’m thinking Mom will understand about the beard, but if Gunther doesn’ stop being a fool about Mr. Grey, he’s still a little boy and deserves what he gets from Mom.

Personally, I think Gunther’s mom needs to slap him upside the head just as hard as she can!

I miss Rosa. How is she doing? That’s much more what my young life was like.

What matters in today’s summary is his emotional intensity, which is new and which I think most of us noticed. Doesn’t that make a difference to you?

Give it a rest, would you?

Thanks, Dave. You come through again!

“@reallyBad2 – thank you so much! It’s brilliant, please keep it up.”

I agree, it’s quite brilliant, funny stuff!

@reallybad2 I couldn’t respond directly to you for some reason, so I’m responding here.

“Not if we continue to have plot recaps of stories that happened only a month ago. At this rate we will need exposition to explain who these Brad/Toni characters are, how they came to be engaged, and if/when they’ll ever get married.”

Lol, funny! This really got me giggling!

“He saw Machu Pichu. That’s nice.”More than nice. I knew someone, a black maintenance worker, whose life ambition was to get to Machu Pichu."

See! That’s exactly what I was saying yesterday! Gunther experienced a lot and had a grand adventure!

-board evolve into a very polarized place-I haven’t been following this ‘toon for the length of time that many who post here have, so I have no memory of a time when people didn’t disagree. I can recall a poster who made very strange personal remarks about some here, and I assume that he’s been banned because I haven’t seen his comments in a while.-I personally try not to respond to some of the comments that appear to be made just to stir things up, but I’m not as good with impulse control as I used to be. So I’m sure I contribute to a less than civil atmosphere. -But, as far as polarization goes, nothing beats what is happening in the Middle East right now. So, take heart…

Meanwhile, getting back to today’s ‘toon: I’m hoping that tomorrow doesn’t turn out to have Mr. Gray show up and Mrs. Berger turn him away because ‘my son needs me…’

I wonder about this Mr. Gray and Gunther’s mother. Who calls their friends Mister or Ms., Miss or Mrs.

“6. Parodies must be as funny as Mad Magazine’s parodies.”

L.O.L., your whole list is hilarious, number six being the funniest one!

“Over the last few years, I have watched this board evolve into a very polarized place. Sad…”

I don’t take sides. I just call it like I see it.

OMG! Poor Gunther is completely losing it. He’s acting like a toddler whose mama is trying to take away his Binkie.

Seriously, though, Gunther had his big chance to spread his wings and grow up. And he failed miserably, crawling home with his tail between his legs. All he has to show for it is a bad attitude and a scraggly stubble beard, which doesn’t take any emotional maturity to grow.

But this whole episode may serve Gunther’s larger purpose. The best way to chase Mr. Gray away is for him to arrive at the Berger house and find a scruffy college kid throwing a childish tantrum. And who knows? Gunter might even lash out at Mr. Berger for being the reason he had to end his incredible adventure. That’ll chase Gunther’s rival away forever.

Assuming that Mr. Gray actually shows up before this arc ends.

Please don’t quit for the sake of a few fellows completely lacking a sense of humor and proportion! -I can’t even tell everyone what a giant relief it has been for me to scroll down the things that I prefer not to read. I highly recommend it. Someday, I hope to be stubborn enough to skip reading certain comic strip arcs!

Don’t knock parody till you’ve tried it. Fun is where you find it, ya know!

> of course you don’t.wasn’t talking legalities.>This discussion of RB2’s parodies is wandering off-topic of the Luann strip itself, so I hesitate to post any further on this subject. However, I will point out that(1) nothing in this “of course you don’t” reply has anything at all to do with what it is supposed to be a reply to (the difference, or lack thereof, of adding humorous word balloons to an old comic as opposed to a new one).(2) Isn’t posting something on your own Facebook site, under your own name with full contact information, far more nearly “self aggrandizement” than posting it herein under a GoComics ID?(3) Why is it “insulting” to Greg Evans and his fans to suggest that Gunther is being an unreasonable jerk? If the strip had been re-drawn by RB2, as well as “re-dialoged”, would it still be an “insult”?-Anyway, this meta-commentary about comments is tedious and distracting from what we should be discussing (namely, that Gunther is being an unreasonable jerk), so enough’s enough.

RB2, I have enjoyed your parodies. I think you should reconsider. I actually like both Dave and Sheriff quite a bit, and think they have added a lot here to the comments section. However, I also think you have added a lot here, and your parodies have been funny and insightful of your perspective.

Get a grip, kid.

I kept wondering what was wrong with my sentence! I meant to say, “no harm done”

@WiseladYeah, I asked my Mexican husband and he said, “estiramiento de la cara.”

And why I haven’t cut my hair since 1970.

Thanks! – I’m glad I didn’t fall for that mispelling switch of “Too” and “Two”, because of the “Two Bits” element, Lol!

And BTW, copyright law has purposely “muddled” the line between “fair use” (including parody) and “right of holder” (including defending against the use of their copyrighted images). As a writer and also as a music enthusiast, I have had to deal with such issues. I have also researched it, almost “painstakingly”. – The issues at play here are the right to parody another’s work, and the right of the original autthor to protect the visual images that they have a right to (provided they are the actual owners of the work they distribute [it’s why some DVDs don’t come out, as there are more than one owner of the work involved, and all parties have to work it out…some cases are complicated , to say the least]). The courts do not have an “arbitrary/uniform” way to rule, unless it is stated specifically in copyright law (Title 17 of U.S. code). That means that it is taken on a “case by case” basis (the framework of what makes “fair use” a concept in that law. A four part balance test is done by each judge/judges handling the case, and each judge will rule as they interpret the law. – So, basically, to keep the peace, “fair use” is the defense that someone who parodies would use, though it’s not an affirmative right (that is, it’s not automatic or guaranteed, more of a “legal excuse/defense”), to defend their right to parody, and the actual copyright holder may decide to seek remedies if they decide they don’t want it parodied in such a way. But some don’t mind, and some don’t care to “lose their audience”, but there are some who don’t mind suing….

Dark Helmet: “Everybody got that?”

SPOILER ALERT!!!

I didn’t expect this level of civility. Total surprise. I think I like it…

On second thought, maybe we need another week to let Gunther meet Mr. Gray…

Gunther needs to move out of mommy’s house.