Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for April 26, 2016

You had to make Tiffany ask, Luann. (Sounds like Tiffany has been to New York before… countless times.)

I just lost the sympathy I had for Tiff.As for nyc, I don’t ever want to go there.I’ll stay here in Chicagoland.BTW, where are they in panel 2 with the kindergarten style ABC etc on the wall?

Ya think Tiffany went to Tiffany’s?

Luann needs to find someone else to confide in. I was glad to see that Bernice was much friendlier to her during the New York trip, and wasn’t being so snarky. Maybe Luann and Bernice can become closer friends again.

Meanwhile, Tiffany may have changed somewhat since high school, but she’s still not interested in Luann and whatever Luann might be thinking.

Too bad Luann couldn’t have shared her experiences with Toni…

Tiffany did not mean anything really. She comes from a wealthy family so traveling there probably is not that unusual.

Hee, Hee! Look at Tiff, Lu! That LAST time She was THAT Giddy was when Gunther spent the night in Her roo….,

Opps….,

Ooh, I’m starting to hate Tiffany again.

You do now.

Ah, but Luann did things which are more exciting than spas and shopping.

Back to the old Tiffany. The new Tiffany was much more interesting.

At least Tiff didn’t just tell her to “shut up”… anyway, look at Lu’s expression in the first panel, she was hoping to give Tiff a jealousy attack, it backfired! (You reap what you sow, Luann!)

Notice Luann’s souvenier (Frank Sinatra) NYC t-shirt!

too bad Rosa decided to go with just bare necessities and without gunthie, her laptop went out, or Lue could have told her about NY ;)

But, gosh darn it, Luann spent six minutes in a club before being kicked out. That, um, makes her better or whatever. (I am being sarcastic)

Choose your audience wisely. Luann wanted to one-up Tiffany and it didn’t work. She can wait politely and then share her experiences with Tiff.

I know some people don’t like it, by the way, when I defend my opinions. But some people can be insulting towards me, I mean really over the top. It’s hard to ignore that and act like a doormat. I used to be more tame, but I got sick of pretending and not actually saying how I feel about “Luann”. I happen to think a lot of it makes no sense. And the New York story had no conflict at all (unless eating Thai sausage counts). That’s not a choice I’ve ever thought of as being a good idea. Because it’s not. I’m going to go back to ignoring most of the commenters. But I’m not ignoring this strip. It’s kind of unintentionally funny.

Aah, here we have a “Goofus and Gallant” contrast, going on! – Dez….who is from NYC, acts as though "she’s never been there, and allows Bernice to relate her experiences…perhaps thinking that a new element could be shared, between the two…. – On the other hand, Tiffany…who probably has only been to the parts where Mr. Phil Drummond shopped at, enthusiastically recounts her experiences….even though someone else may have their own (and possibly ones that could be new to Tiffany) to share, thereby she loses out on some new insights. But I guess it won’t matter to her… unless by “New Insights”, she’s buying shoes with that name….

Well, Tiffany sure found a way to wipe that smug look off Luann’s face, didn’t she?Luann kinda did it to herself here. If you want to talk about your trip, then just do it. Don’t try to goad someone into asking you and then get butthurt when they don’t take the bait exactly as intended. And notice that Tiffany’s behavior is exactly the same as Luann’s yesterday. These two are way more alike than either one is willing to admit.

Oh, and didn’t Dez used to be black?

Luann doesn’t like Tiffany. The boastful, gloating expression on her face when she initiates the conversation shows she is up to no good. Tiffany bypasses that entirely, reminiscing on how much she loves the place herself, and gets carried away. Note that she does not even turn to look at Luann. She does not rise to the bait. Expecting her to treat Luann as a confidante and friend right now is a bit naive, given the history between the two girls. This is not just a contrast between Dez and Tiff, it’s also a contrast between Bernice and Luann. Bernice went to a friend to share. Luann went to an enemy to provoke.

By the way, I missed reading some strips, didn’t Tiffany get ‘promoted’ to menial jobs in the office? When did she get her teaching position back?

“A Tale Of Two Kiddies”“Tried And Credulous”“Cents And Insensitivity”“Tour And Oh, Puh-lease!”“(You Won’t) Catch Her In The ‘Y’ "“Blathering Heights”“That’s Low, Lita!”

“The Recount Of ‘Money Crispo’ "“A Farewell To Charms”“Children Of A Lesser Bank Account”“Greenwich Acres”“Tiffany’s Island”“Chica And Demands”“Kick Your Enthusiasm To The Curb”or“Different Folks”

Luann must’ve went to the gift shop at the “Frank Sinatra Museum” (I made it! My waaaaaayyyy…." [♪] )! To get there, you have to make a right past Hoboken, NJ. Then, ask for Sal….

what you did good, Paris will do better, Luyank!

Point is, Bernice has a friend who is interested and will listen. Luann has a ‘friend’ who wants to one-up her. All.the.time.

I hope there is not too much “NYC debriefing” unless we really learn something new. Also the Evanses don’t want us to forget the insecurity of Tiffany, whenever she is not front and center. I do like the contrast between the response of Dez (confident and caring) and that of Tiffany. Luann should realize that she is trying to pump water from a dry well.

Tiffany HAS developed some serious listening skills – but do they only apply to Gunther? I would like Tiff to patiently hear Luann out, only because I like the idea of characters maturing/evolving as time passes..Of course, that might violate the rule of funny….

she IS supposed to be a slightly darker hue. A likely mistake.

the difference in Dez’s shading is more pronounced in the Spanish version.

I don’t think there was any attempt on Luann’s part to “throw shade” at Tiffany. I think she just wanted to gush about her trip, and unfortunately Tiffany didn’t give her the chance. And I also don’t believe that Tiffany’s response was intended to “one up” so much as do her own gushing at her experiences.

Just because Luann’s simplistic plan to garner interest and awe for herself backfired, I find no fault whatsoever with Tiffany. Her response to Luann’s probe is natural and not all offensive nor intended to be so. If Luann is steamed, she is steamed, to tell the truth, at herself.

Poor Tiff. She’ll never know the fun of an out-of-culture adventure!*But Lu, don’t expect your frenemies to be good listeners.

Bern tells Des (a NYC native) that “New York was awesome!” Luann, however, asks Tiff whether she wants to ask her about NYC. Just look at Luann’s expression in Panel 2. She has come to gloat about the trip. (Considering what an anticlimax it turned out to be after all those months of build-up, she might want to reconsider. Wanna bet that Tiff got to stay inside Club Foote for a lot longer than 6 minutes?)

Tiff will be green with envy if Lu ever gets out that she went to Club Foote .

Annnnnd we’re back.

Tiffany: The fascinating Virgin Queen, every guy’s dream girl, the illusion of wild nights with no strings attached. That erotic fantasy is why guy’s hope that the meek little Gunther will achieve some sort of mutual connection with her.

8Overall very nice. IMO, I think Tiffany was just as excited to talk about NYC as Luann…. and I do not think Tiffany meant anything “mean” or “one-upsmanshipish” about her talking about her own NYC experiences. Of course it would have been more polite for Tiffany to let Luann talk about her experiences first. But, that apparently is still a skill that Tiffany needs to work on some it appears. But, in my read of today…. Tiffany is attempting to join in on the “fun” of talking about NYC WITH Luann. Luann’s somewhat aggravated expression in the last panel is understandable too… but I hope that she keeps her aggravation inside and thinks it through before responding…. and hopefully realizes a) it is not worth getting upset about, b) that Tiffany isn’t purposefully being annoying, and c) that Luann could easily turn around her aggravation by waiting until Tiffany says what she wants to say… and then Luann can continue to tell Tiffany about HER experiences.

I also like how Dez is a good listener for Bernie. I am sure Dez has very likely traveled to NYC (It seems like something she would have done), but her knowledge of the power of listening is really nice to see. I am not sure if I like Luann’s somewhat odd green shirt. I would have thought she could have found a more interesting souvenir than that shirt. But, that is a very minor point.

Tiffany, don’t you know that it’s rude to interrupt when someone is saying something that they consider personally important and then just start talking about yourself? What sort of boorish person would do such a thing?-

As some have noted before, Luann and Tiffany are not their best selves around each other. Luann has goaded Tiffany many times in the past, and Tiffany has often tried to diminish Luann’s accomplishments, especially be highlighting and/or inflating her own. They have not been able to move past this dynamic even though both show growth in their relationships with others friends and acquaintances. The most growth these two characters have seen with respect to each other is that neither appears to be as malicious in their behavior as they once were. They do not like each other, and likely never will, but they do not seem to dislike each other as actively as they once did. That being said, they appear unable to escape the pettiness of their past even as they move beyond mutual dislike into something more like tolerance. I think today’s strip is a good example of this. I do not see either as intentionally trying to “one up” the other. Luann’s expression is a bit smug, perhaps, in the second panel, but I think it is because she is pleased with herself and her trip and wants to tell Tiffany about it. She likely is not seeking to lord it over Tiffany as much as show that she has had an interesting experience, with perhaps just a bit of hope that Tiffany will be a little jealous of it. As for Tiffany, she does not seem to be actively attempting to diminish Luann’s experience – she does not yet know any details of it to diminish it. Yes, she is making sure to mention the shopping and the Ritz Carlton, but these are the things that are important to Tiffany. Further, as mentioned above, Tiffany’s expressions in the two panels seem to be indicative of her wanting to relate happy memories. She typically has a certain look when she is being snide to Luann, and that look is completely absent in today’s strip. Sure, she is being self-centered, but it seems more thoughtless here than malicious.

We all know at least one of these…

Ooo- and let’s not forget Dez! What an incredible friend she is being to Bern (although I think she knows far more about NYC than Bern does)

I’m surprised Tiffany would still be working while she is in college. Maybe during the summer, but not during the school year. Maybe her Dad is not as rich as we thought?

Oh, my stupid, stupid eye! I am hitting to the side again and deleted a post i wanted to include. That happens but is terribly aggravating. I wish Go Comic then woukd ask if deletion was actially desired.

In the post i pointed out that today’s strip illustrates that an experience can be varied or boring with or without money. Tiffany’s experience was only a vanilla one, no contrast, simply spa and shopping. My hope is that was when she was much younger but even in that situation there is so very, very much more to NYC.

Think of Tiff with a slice of fluffy cake of only true vanilla.Luann instead has a cake piece with yellow cake, true vanilla in the frosting, an excellent lemon curd between the layers, curls of a fine semisweet chocolate as garnish, and perfectly ripened blackberries sitting beside it.

Four essential factors for separating their experiences, despite both having fun, are:1. Parental trust (very scary for the parents and sometimes the kids, but essential for growth). Oh, and i think Nancy’s comment yesterday further brought this home.2. Advice taken from someone experienced (who also arranged a safe little adventure like an older cousin or older sib would do).3. Good guidebooks for the touristy portions4. Differences in personal levels of security

Pipe’s description of the interaction of these two is excellent. I woukd just add that they sometimes fall into old, familiar patterns and gripes with each other and both of them need to grow more past those. They are no longer kids, and each is changing.

Luann is not any better than Tiffany. Both can be self-centered. I like Tiffany better than Luann, most of the time.

I think this gag would have been more appropriate for a Sunday strip.

Re: Dez and the shading: if she is interracial then she coukd be someone whose depth of color differs markedly with level of sun exposure. That is certainly not unusual, though not everyone does it – but the same can be said of pale skinned people w some differing by multiple shades between summer and winter while others barely shift.

Remember, for Tiffany, everything is about Tiffany. And always shall be. lol Annoying as hell though, in real life, lol.

I was just busy doing another brainless thing and it hit me that it is wonderful that Luann and Bernice found an openness for new experiences.

I have every right to interpret the story how I perceive it. Obviously I am not the only one who felt Luann was bragging and trying to one up Tiffany. Your inability to accept that others do not share your perspective makes you feel you have the right to ridicule me as a person and mock me. I am reporting you because attacking other posters is against the rules of the forum, and frankly you make this forum unpleasant and ugly.

Know your audience Luann.

It’s perfectly natural for someone returning from a long-anticipated trip to want to talk about it. Normally a friend would initiate that conversation. Obviously Tiffany did not do so. I don’t interpret Luann’s expressin in the second panel as proof that she intends one-upmanship, I interpret it more as an invitation for Tiffany to ask – as in “don’t you want to ask me about my trip (hint, hint)?”. I also don’t think Tiffany’s response is intended to be malicious – she just hasn’t learned yet that it’s not always about her.

It’s too bad WE didn’t get to see more of the arc.

I don’t think Tiffany took the job at the school for money. She took it for “life experience”, to draw on when acting in roles that call for it. In particular, she is (I believe) an only child, and she wanted experience in dealing with little kids, not only so she that could better portray a Mom or other member of an extended family but also because she works around kids at her sci-fi shows in her role as “Zeye”, and she wanted to learn how better to relate to “her audience”.

I know the low road word play shoukd not feel strange to me here since it is supposed to be shed of previous meaning, but for me it does, probably since the low road is for the dead in the song.

You should’ve told like, Pru or Gunth, or even Brad. Tiff…she will just make it about herself.

Given Luanniverse time that might be another 250 years. I wish you health, wealth, cognizance, and long life, Brd!

I remember a strip where Tiffany said she wanted to pursue an acting career right after high school, but her father insisted she go to college first.

I believe, JPW, you are recalling this:

SPOILER TWO

Moving on…

Does it? Please enlighten me, I am uncertain what you mean.

I’m perfectly willing to live and let live. But I will not be brow beaten and bullied by you.

my goodness, So the second Tiffany interrupts excitedly about her memories, probably without realizing it suddenly she has reverted to being a b***c? PULLEEZE!