Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for October 12, 2017

Here’s an observation for the “Big Day”: we have Les in a happier mood when distracted and when reality kicks in, he’s in a foul mood. There is also the symbolism of Ann being on the outside now, clamouring to get back into Les’ life. The “Lingerie Party” is one hell of a metaphor for dirty laundry, of which I bet there is far more.

And thus the nightmare begins.

The broom has landed.

Back door, of course, as Ox goes out the front.

Now we get to it. He can let her in, or tell her to go kiss off (or something like that).

So does no one except Pru and Mr. Gray know that Les’ mom is none other than Little Awful Annie? When Nancy and now Ox talk about her they don’t call her by name, and I know Ox at least has met her before.

Looking at those drapes and that door make me think the strip has suddenly moved to the location where they do The Wizard of ID comic strip.

And so it begins…

we are all puzzled here on what’s next. (besides Less getting the door, of course)

Am I missing something, and assuming Anne’s intentions are bad (not much of a stretch), (one) what’s in the Fuse worth stealing, and (two) how would Anne or Les get away with it under these circumstances? OR MAYBE A PLOT TWIST IS IN ORDER?

Wed. Knock. Ox goes to car.

Thursday. Do this do that. Set up front door.

Friday. Knock.

Sat.

Ox: My car won’t sta…..

2nd panel:

“You!”

“You!”

♪♪ “Knock, Knock, Knocking on Les’ head!” ♪♪ – Bob Dylan

♪♪ “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking, You Ungrateful Brat?!!?” ♪♪ – The Rolling Stones

♪♪ “(Your) Mama Said, KNOCK You OUT!!” ♪♪ – LL Cool J

♪♪ “Take another little Piece of Les’ Heart!” ♪♪ – Janis Joplin

♪♪ “My Momma Told Me, You’d Better Shoplift Around!” ♪♪ – Smokey Robinson

♪♪ “Hello, I HATE You!” ♪♪ – The Doors

♪♪ “(Les Knox Apologists) Are Strange!” ♪♪ – The Doors

♪♪ “Break on Through, to the Other side of the Door!” ♪♪ – The Doors

♪♪ “The Wind Cries, Annie!” ♪♪ – Jimi Hendrix

♪♪ “I Smell Sex and Larceny!” ♪♪ – Marcy Playground

With weather changes this week, it’s getting as cold as Ann’s Eyefuls.

“She much be a fun lady.” – - -r-i-g-h-t!

If Ox knew it was Annie Aweful, he wouldn’t be saying that. I’m sure he remembers her.

The suspense is interfering with sleep and writing. I am predicting that the resolution of this drama will be something no one has predicted. two more strips before the weekend. will this go on for another week?

time to finish ihe gerwurtztaminer and go catch some zzzz/x

I like the first panel, which shows some level of collegiality between Les and his old nemesis, Ox. The Fuse family – not knowing that Les has stolen from them – has been treating Les like a normal person rather than a delinquent. Will this be enough to get Les to “do the right thing” when he realizes that his mother is up to no good? Or to change his mind if he’s already aware and planning to help her?

She sounds urgent. Is something wrong?

I wouldn’t put it past Ann to frame Les and let him take the fall for whatever comes down. (Unless he blows the whistle on her first.)

Well, that’s not Ann since she isn’t the type to bang on a door and yell. Must be one of the lowlifes who are coming to the “party”.

As that great thespian of the small screen once said, Gee, Rock – he sure has some funny ideas about fun.

Yeah, Ox…you don’t want to be an accomplice- er, you don’t want to be an accesso- … an alibi…. after hours! Yeah, that’s it! You just don’t need to work late, tonight…

….And that’s a fun knock, if I ever heard one…(X^D)

“Someone’s knockin’ at the door. Somebody’s ringin’ the bell…./Sister Suzie, Brother John, Martin Luther, Phil and Don…”

What can his mother do? Well…, let’s start with illegal gambling, then go to running a sex club, to less serious crimes that could get The Fuse taken by local authorities or federal authorities and Luann’s parents would spend a lot of money getting it back. Even though they were innocent. When it comes to forfeiture in this country, you don’t have to do anything, being doing anything, or in the process of doing anything to lose everything. You are not innocent until proven guilty, but guilty and sentenced until proven innocent.

Little surprised that Uncle Al is not doing his own investigating on this event. After all, as a silent partner, he still stands to lose if Ann is up to no good.

“Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’?” (♬)

“Nobody Have Fun, Tonight” (♬)

“I Don’t Want A Drum, Just Going To Bang On De Door, All Night!” (♪)

“His Mother Is The Necessity Of Inventing A Way Out”

“Surf City!  Here Comes That Shark!…” (♪)

“Hot Razors At The Door” (♬)

“Don’t Pay Any Tensions”

“Tempest In A Tea Spot”

“In The Stilettos Of Her Night” (♬)

“Broods With Attitudes”

“Bread, And Family Circuses”

“Chick Magnate”

“Meet Your Money Maker”

“A Joy, Les? No…Joy-Less!”

or

“The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Shootout, For A Few Dollars More”

I’m worried whatever she has planned destroys the Fuse and Les gets alienated because of it.

I am surprised that some people in the thread are confused as to who is at the door banging in such a demanding way? I mean what is the whole point of the arc anyway? One thing that is interesting is how the Fuse is drawn. No one but Les, frowning when OX left,and his mom banging on the door, but most interesting, the shades to the Fuse windows are fully drawn completely covering the windows. No one can see in, and whatever happens is meant to be not seen. Foreboding ensues.

Between Les’ comment in the strip yesterday, and the notes of some commenters, i am thinking that here on Luann, come winter, those who have been through a blizzard could mention that they had a real Ann Awful blowing locally and most here would immediately understand: cold, blustery, angry weather which is intent on getting its own way.

The shades to the rear Windows are drawn. And at 2 AM there is only one meaning to that.

The whole point to the arc is to bait and switch the reader, and to advance the good traits of a character without turning them into another Delta, because then they would have to go away.

So it seems that Les is now a character that is viewed with compassion. Whereas before the arrival of his “mother” he was disliked outright.

this routine , whatever it is, appears familiar to Les and by the look on his face I detect annoyance and resentment.

If this was not a family-type ’toon, I would suspect that a much more dangerous activity might be taking place, like cooking meth or distributing illegally imported goods (including human ones)….

Please surprise readers with an unexpected visitor. Even if I’m the only one tired of the sleazy Ann Eiffel.

So Leslie Knox is Eiffel’s son. I wonder if that means her name was once Ann Knox.

“…Is the coast clear?”

“Clear as if a hurricane were coming.”

She’s got a load of black market Camembert I recon !

Betting on Uncle Al, but not risking real money, as some have already suggested.

Let’s add that 4th can to the Welches Grape Juice.

What about the plot twist that is so obvious nobody has yet mentioned it?

A high stakes poker night, perhaps thirty players, ten thousand dollars minimum holdings to play.

That’s $300,000 cash in unmarked bills.

Where is the armed security?

Les is only manning the door.

Where is Ann’s security?

Will Ann be caught in the crossover or did she hire the robbers?

So we could have Ann running a two level scam with TJ running an anti scam against the first scam but not the second scam.

Is that perfectly clear to everyone?

I would hate to be the first to be wrong here so, I’m sitting back and watching.

Keep in mind that Les helped arranged this all because Pru was having difficulty booking events (and was crying about it, right?), plus the summer theatre camp went bust (still, we got introduced to Fay).

Les seemed skeptical in the first place, and he obviously has issues with his mom, but he wanted to help Pru (and to an extent, The Fuse), so it’s no wonder as to why the look on his face in Panel 3.

Whatever Ann’s event is (gambling for lingerie??), this is gettin’ good!

I can’t believe I’m on the edge of my seat for this storyline. “Luann” has some kind of weird hypnotic power over me.

I might have missed someone raising this matter, but….

One of the problems inherent in the comics medium is that we can’t hear voices but must rely on contextual clues to know whether a remark is angry, humorous, sarcastic, innocent, or whatever. Or, in this case, who is speaking. Who is demanding that Les open the door? It seems logical to me that it is Ann. But others above have suggested it might be someone else, say, Mr. Gray. Is it the enemy attacking or the cavalry come to the rescue?

In some ways, if there’s a switcheroo and it’s not who we would logically expect, it will seem unfair to the reader. If this were a movie or TV we’d hear the voice as one we knew or not and could work from there.

Federico Fellini, a colossus among film directors, was a big fan of comics in general and Marvel comic books in particular. He sent fan letters to Stan Lee and may have even met him. I’ve heard that he wrote a few comics too. And of course he, and most directors, have worked with movie storyboards that are more or less comic strips themselves. He once said that comics were “slow movies” in that they used many movie techniques… close ups, “camera” angles, sound effects, jump cuts. But without a way to hear a voice, only a visual of the speaker or a bit of exposition in a caption or balloon can verify the speaker to us.

Likeliest, Ann. But who knows?

It would be interesting if the ‘bang, bang, bang’ wasn’t someone pounding on the door, but the sound of gunshots. It’s possible; usually, when someone is pounding on a door, the ’toon shows some kind of movement near the door, to signify that there is force being exerted against it…

Oxford was willing to stay and help, but Leslie has chosen to deal with Mommy Dearest on his own and as per plan, no doubt wanting to get out from under whatever debt it is that he has to pay her. But that doesn’t mean he has to like it, and no doubt the triple expression of Trust he has experienced from Nancy, Pru, and Oxford is causing him some internal conflict, maybe even the agenbite of inwit.

What the “Lingerie Party” really is, I expect we shall soon see. And although it is easy to conjure some very sleazy possibilities, I expect it will be Bad Enough but still Family-rated, so cool your jets if you are looking for something R- or even X-rated….

will there be lots of vehicles parked outside the Fuse late at night such that someone might notice?

Seeing The Fuse makes me think of the place I went for lunch earlier between client calls. I had soup, salad, and a half sandwich. That got me to thinking about where did the other half of the sandwich go? Who got it? Or did I get the other half of someone else’s sandwich? Who did I just share lunch with?

Having a son his age around would tell everyone how old she really is. If I were Les, I would open up all right, but I’m not saying with what. I wonder if she’s the “floozy” Tiffany’s dad is messing with? They certainly deserve each other.

And I note that someone’s banging at the door, not knocking. Because, ya know, Les Knox.

Maybe not Ann at the door. Maybe customers starting to knock. Ann might have already collected for something – and then took off – leaving everybody holding the bag – and a real bad rep for the Fuse.

tomorrow: Anne and Les roll a giant wheel of cheddar into The Fuse.

One, Ann is running an illegal gambling operation, either poker, Keno or a full fledged underground casino. Two, they are stealing but not the goods in the Fuse so much as the credit card receipts. They intend to copy the credit card numbers. Three, Ann is selling stolen goods. Four, she is selling the lingerie and renting the models wearing them.

When the police arrive they say, “cheese it, the cops!”.

Back door lock.

It looks like the original latch with no modern deadbolt.

And it probably will have nothing to do with this or any other arc.