Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for January 26, 2021

uh… hello, Bernice

Homeless friend? Why is Luann being supportive?

It’s a hoax. Luann’s bed is not messed up enough for two people to have been sleeping in it. And Bernice has fallen right into the gag, water glass and all.

It looks like the person sleep on the floor?

Bernice you are officially Totally busted!

Luann and Puddles, as suspected.

More hype that will amount to nothing in the end. Knock it off, Greg, nobody is fooled.

Are we being pranked by Greg?

It is somewhat surprising that Greg took the time to show the screen removed from the window. Although he did the same with Luann leaving Gunther’s bedroom window back in 2019.

Dollars to donuts it’s not a new guy but a girl friend from school she was helping out and didn’t want to bother anyone.

“Call me,” hunh!!?? Well, I should think that’s the least he could do! Maybe some flowers and a nice note? ; ^ )

Last week was the power blackout, this could the continuation of last week plot.

Bernice busted!

Maybe Gunther. Not a romantic visit – more like a problem with Les at the Gulag – or Gunther breaking up with Bets and be needed to spill it all out.

The return of a repentant Quill?

Busted! Oh, Luann, you must have a heck of a story to tell. Or will you come up with an innocuous and believable story? Let’s hear it.

If Luann did sleep with a guy, what guy would have no problem with a dog being in the room with them?

You mean, it wasn’t Puddles? People from yesterday will be crestfallen.

Well, clues left—only one person slept in the bed, window frame detached (can’t think of the actual noun description), dog unperturbed: I’m thinking it’s Tara. She had some issue and she had to lay low, and Luann, forgiving her for the nasty little incident in the art class, allowed her to crash on the floor overnight. Hey it’s as good as any. Whatever happens I don’t consider it pranked. Pranked assumes and assumption one way or another, and the prevailing one is she had a guy in her virginal room. We don’t know enough yet to predict, we can only guess, so if you’re pranked, then when this figured out, you pranked yourself.

Why hello, Miss R.A.!

.

Bern, you ain’t in the dorm any more.

Okay were is Bernice sleeping partner.

I love Bern’s pjs. They are uncharacteristically colorful and form fitting.

The sun is up, the room is bright, and all the mystery that comes with the night and the darkness has dissipated. The return of the power and the lights also destroyed the moment for Tiffany and Ox. Greg is just like those cops who used to come around with their flashlights when a couple was making out in the car.

Feeling pretty sure it’s Tara.

Summer time and the Sun just coming up. Ah youth !!! An all-nighter and she doesn’t even look tired!

Once again, better not have been Jack!

Luann is not an early riser.

Talk about a cliff-hanger!

bet it’s Tara

Okay, OKAY.

We can eliminate a few “theories” now.

Such as:

1) It wasn’t the TV in Luann’s room.

2) Lu wasn’t dressing Pud to go outside.

3) Luann wasn’t having a “dream.” Although if she WAS having a dream, it must have been one Helluva one, if she yanked the window out and is still talking to herself.

4) It’s wasn’t some stupid, pointless “prank.”

Honestly, I kinda hope it IS some guy. Because If it was Tara, I’d be a bit disappointed that Lu would go to so much trouble considering that Tara made a fool of her the last time she was featured (Back in 2019). Plus, why would Lu sneak Tara in to sleep in her bedroom when she could have had Tara sleep on the living room couch? After all, Brad did that for years.

And since Delta left, Luann has no other tight female friends besides Bernice, that she would go out of her way for. And “NO” Tara, doesn’t, count as a “tight female friend.”

But let Me throw out A couple of “wildcards.”

A) What if Luann’s “guest” is Pru who has since broken up with her significant other and has returned to Pitts? She’s now working elsewhere in town, but hasn’t found a place to stay yet. And Lu’s helping her out until….,

B) Or It’s Fay staying over because she had MAJOR problems with her “Helicopter Mom.”

Nah. It’s some guy. And more than likely, Jack.

Jack would not climb through a window. He would tell her that is wrong. It’s Bernice dreaming about jack and in her dream Luan betrayed her.

The dog was bored so nothing much was going on.

Maybe its all just a dream -

Does the glass thing really work?

Isn’t this a two story house?

I’m guessing Tara…

And the plot thickens, or sickens!

My $0.02: I am guessing it is Tara, she is eccentric enough to think of going through the fenetre instead of just ringing the doorbell, especially if it was rather late. I gave thought to a pre-dawn Dez visit for some New Age/holistic ritual but I discounted that as:) 1. she’d have Luann visit her (unless she is doing some late night Feng Shui in Luann’s room) and 2. She’d go in and out the door like any rational person who is not on the lam or wants to remain incognito.

Curious Bernice, so cute♡. This erase the possibility that it’s all a joke. Luann will probably tell Bernice everything in tomorrow strip. The only sure thing is that, whoever the person was, Puddles seems to know them so much to stay quiet. Luann is beautiful in the morning♡. She looks rather happy too.

I know it is part of the last panel gag, but if the walls are as thin as they have appeared to be, why does Bernice have to be at the door with a glass?

Alright, Luann, what’s going on? And who is this friend that you told to call you?

This doesn’t make sense. It’s already established that the walls are paper thin and you can hear anything through them. If Bernice wanted to hear she should put the cup up to the wall in her room. Also Bernice seems to have a nice figure.

The last panel was definitely good for a chuckle.

Come on it was Sharron, she stayed the night. Look at Luann’s bed. There was no hanky lanky going on.Now Bernice, don’t you have any sense. Your behavior is kind of creepy.

Over/under on days till we find out? Maybe Saturday.

Tara, Shmara. A figment of your imagination.

Normal college student this would likely be the morning after hooking up. Character in Luann comic strip, definitely something chaste and completely unconnected to human sexuality.

Gunther has been gone for a long time…

Bernice could have probably seen who it was if she looked out of the window in her room….

Time for a change of venue, Bernice.

Careful, Bernice. Guests should know their boundaries.

Ok, so we know that Luann wasn’t doing the nasty, but why would she have her visitor sneak out the window to avoid waking Bernice?

Bernice is listening through a glass, but didn’t hear that Luann was finished with whoever-it-was and was coming to the door?

The right side of the bed appears unrumpled – that’s probably key to seeing what happened here

This one has me puzzled. It sort of must be Jack—— because who else would be sneaking out her window and yet…..

okay… who’s more embarrassed?

Bernice wanted to be caught. She was making a point.

Luann is way out of line (as usual) having people coming and going through windows. Not unless she somehow started paying the mortgage. The least she owes her parents is transparency regarding who she brings into the house.

End of friendship

Well this is an unexpected turn, can’t wait to find out who it is.

The screens on my windows can only be removed from the outside. Luann’s can be removed from the inside.

Not a looking glass…but a hearing glass!

If I were in Bernice’s situation, I would have been looking out the window. That assumes the window in Bernice’s room is on the same side of the house as the window in Luann’s room.

Touche. Lu did same thing to Bern, but she just didn’t get caught. Turn about is a rude awakening.

By his own admission, Panel 1 is as close as we are going to get to sex from any of his characters.

Here is an excerpt from a 2018 interview:

As for sex, it’s truly the elephant in the room when writing about healthy young adults. It’s been a problem all along with the Brad and Toni relationship. I’ve danced around it, hinted at it, made innuendos and double entendres, but I always make sure there’s no concrete evidence that indicates sex occurred. Readers can assume all my characters are either pure as snow OR are romping off-panel.

So here we have a CLASSIC scene in Panel 1. The Sunrise. Some ONE escaping from an open window. Luann signaling “call me.” The Rumpled bed. Girl in PJs. A noisy, clandestine escape that rouses the housemate. — The only thing missing is a pair of strange shoes under the bed. Almost.

So, all the signs and signals are there. The rest of the week _should be Luann trying to convince Bernice nothing happened, as I doubt she’d admit it.

But that won’t happen. There will be some other silly explanation. And life will go on. Dully.

“Did you know if you hold a glass to your ear in a bar, you can hear the sound of ice tinkling somewhere?” :)

The “walk of shame” gets shorter all the time.

Dude…It’s Jack.

Tiffany hasn’t got her power back yet?

Still going with this being a prank.

Oops! I’d be curious, too, but a glass to the door? Will Bernice grill Luann like Lu did to her? This may be more serious than a dream though. And I don’t think she’d be out of line to ask. ( I’m sure many will say Bern should mind her own business, but if Luann is hiding something like this, even from her parents, it deserves questioning, even for her own safety.) This arc is really strange for Luann.

Luann got some last night! Good for her!

I like Mr. Evans’ clever artwork by the window.

(Music: Dragnet Theme.)

scandelous

Bernice, if you’re going to be sneaky, ya gotta move MUCH FASTER!

Oh for shame, Bernice! Snooping around Luann’s private business with the ol’ water-glass trick? That’s for 12 year olds! I swear, this lot marches very, very slowly towards adulthood with plenty of regression along the way. They might be ADULTS, but they’re still maturity-challenged 12 year olds deep down.

Bernice should be thankful that she’s still living with the DeGroots, even after her own family crisis has been supposedly solved. She OWES Luann enough respect to just ask, “what’s all that about?” and not go around SNOOPING.

Busted.

Quick. Check the garbage can for evidence. No, reading thru the comments it could be Tara or Bets, both of which could have called Luann in the middle of the night needing a place to stay because of chaos in their lives. If Bernice is a light sleeper, and with thin walls, I doubt Luann and any male could get anything done.

I read all the comments. No one mentioned it could be Ox.

I think it’s the neighbors cat

Call on the telephone! Jack?

Everybody would find out quickly who was sneaking out of Luann’s window if there was a Pyracantha (Firethorn) bush growing underneath the window.

Hello!!!…..

Since several people mentioned “Tara”… it occurs to me that this could have some promise. Nobody in-strip is truly beyond redemption it, seems. Les was awful and a bully and harasser, Tiff was the mean rich girl, and both have reformed somewhat since high school. So… what if it’s Tara’s turn?

Her dope-smoking roomie becomes her boyfriend, but starts turning to the harder stuff, in search of more kicks. He becomes abusive, and Tara, at long-last, sees the light and needs to get away. But, all of her cool-kid friends are tight with the bf, and she can’t turn to any of them. There’s only ONE PERSON outside that circle that had EVER been a friend to her, and guess who that is?

She contacts Luann in a panic, and apologizes profusely for being such an ass in class towards her and begs for help. Luann, having a soft touch, agrees to let Tara in thru the window for the night. Eventually, she approaches the folks, but there’s no other spare rooms… then someone gets the idea… BUNK BEDS in Bernice’s room! Bernice despises Tara and her (former?) rulebreaking, devil-may-care ways. But, since Bernice is getting that room for FREE, and Tara offers to pay, she can’t argue. It’s set up, and after some initial friction, they warm up. Tara helps Bernice get over her authoritarian attitude, and Tara learns how to tamp down on the wild-child thing.

They actually can help each other, if the story is played that way.

It was still the night of the blackout.

Tara, and her date, were skinny-dipping in a backyard pool. But not being a gentleman, Tara’s date locked her clothes in his car trunk, trying to pressure Tara into more than a grope fest

So a NAKED Tara would not stand on a lighted porch to ring the doorbell. Standing in the dark, she banged on Luann’s bedroom window.

A perfectly logical explanation to the clues presented.

So of course, Greg will have something less logical and more convoluted.

Possibilities- female friend (Tara, maybe?) homeless, Luann letting her crash there? Not likely, we’ve had the “homeless” storyline with Bernice and Tiffany both.- Brad is the doghouse and comes over to have a place to sleep- Gunther came over to fit some outfits he’s tailoring for Luann? Would dovetail nicely with the bit with his window a few months back.

I still think it was probably Brad…. and he had forgotten his key, and instead of disturbing his parents, he just bothered Luann for help to get in to get whatever it was he needed and then left the same way. Brothers often do not worry about inconveniencing their sisters…. even for rather “over-the-top” things. :)

If, by an unlikely chance… this does develop into an actual “boyfriend” of sorts for Luann coming in and exiting through the bedroom window… this would be a rather monumental and significant change for the Luann comic. I am not convinced that this is anything beyond a red herring that Greg is using to tease the readers.

In my mind, if Greg ever does plan to depict this sort of sexual behavior story… I believe he would be more likely to do so first with a more ancillary character rather than the character who has the marquee name on the comic.

I like ILK s comment, above, where (I believe) he speculates that this is a dream for Bernice. There seems to be no reasonable reason for Luann to be sneaking someone in or out of her room through the window.

All right…all of you are totally off. It was the butler. The butler did it. The butler always does it.

Just one more word as We anxiously await tomorrow’s Strip.

Most of “Us,” including yours truly, have thrown the gauntlet down so much over what We’d like G&K to show of a more mature and risque nature in their Strip. One day, they just MIGHT surprise the daylights out of ALL of Us.

Not saying that this arc may be the one.

But one day I think our “bluffs” are gonna get called. :)

I’d be betting it’s Gunther (she already snuck out of HIS window in the past). Maaaybe Jack but I doubt it.

My fall back position if it is not a prank is the one person who would not want Bernice to know they were talking to Luann, and that would Bernice’s brother, Ben. He talked to Luann once before about Bernice, maybe there is something else he needs advice on. Advice without Bernice knowing.

Too funny!!

Yeah, like Luann had someone over.

Sheets aren’t a mess; Pud’s still there. Probably something innocent enough.

It kind of cracks me up that people say it couldn’t possibly have been a guy in Lu’s bed. Back in the day, single beds were known to be “one wide, two deep.” Not that that is happening here, of course. Lu is still pure. BUT, how’s this for a scenario: Maybe Brad had a fight with Toni, didn’t want to wake the parents, so he tapped on Lu’s window, climbed in, and slept on her floor for the night. He still had to go to work early, so it would make sense that they wouldn’t want to wake the person in the next room.

Hey! I just noticed. There ARE two pillows on Luann’s bed. Soooo…maybe….

Well, I’m stumped. I don’t think Luann was playing a hoax, and I can’t imagine whom Luann would bring into her room while keeping it a secret from her parents, let alone Bernice.

I don’t think it’s Brad: why would he leave his home even if Toni were mad at him? He’d just sleep on the couch. And if he did leave, wouldn’t he take the keys to his parents’ home? Tara is an odd choice: she was abruptly dropped from the strip. Has it been over a year since she tried to take advantage of TA Luann? Wow, that long. Who would Luann care enough of to say, “call me?” Not Tiff. Maybe Gunther? It’s been a long time since comments were near 400.

Rereading yesterday. “Barely slept, ugh, time for you to go.” Two old friends spending the night talking and catching up. Quill?

Eavesdrop much on your alleged friend, Bernice? Wanna get tossed out of DeGroot Manor?

Who Luann’s mystery drop-in might be is the most interesting issue in this arc so far. What kind of “fooling around” is going on here?

Bernice: busted!

Re: No evidence of a second body in bed.

It wasn’t Ben but Ben’s baggage as Ben wanted to secretly have a night out on the town.

Kids don’t leave big dents.

Well, that’s embarrassing.