Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for May 03, 2021

Unless it’s a clownfish who loses his son, and has to swim to Australia to rescue him, with the help of a blue tang who suffers short-term memory loss.

Goldfish are related to Vulcans. Monstro’s time for Pon Farr is upon him.

Awwww, Monstro has a sad face. :(

There are already over 70 spam comments on big nate :/ no wonder people comment here instead

I think he’s dead. ✨

I also have a lot of exams coming up.

With Jamie Pon Farr, you get Klingon cross dressers.

Oh No! Does Death stalk the poor $2 goldfish? And, if Bernice had been keeping up with her studies like a proper nerd would, she wouldn’t have to cram like this. No, I think Bernice is using studying as an excuse the presence of her former BFF.

No parece que Bernice sea muy buena cuidando una mascota. Espero no le pase algo a Monstro.

All living things experience stress except for Bernice?

Interesting. Bets was condemned when she insisted that Gunther sewed instead of studied. Fair enough. Now, where is this going?

And a new scene opens where J’Monstro seems to be at sea over the lack of attention and affection from Bernice. I would suggest that Les lend Punk to Bernice for some feline decompression. On the other hand I’m not sure if it will do much for J’Monstro’s peace of mind! 8^ )

P.S. See the following for J’Monstro’s naming: https://www.gocomics.com/luann/2020/09/08 . Monstro is merely a nickname.

Bernice ought to try medical school. She won’t know what stress is until she’s done that.

Okay.

“Reason to call Jack #1,327,” coming right up.

But barring that, and provided Monstro is not dying or dead, I’d suggest:

1) Cleaning the fish bowl periodically.

Or better still,

2) Getting a bigger tank with the appropriate equipment.

3) Purchasing some fish tank decorations. (Which is more for the owner’s benefit than the fishes)

4) Getting Monstro some fish companions. Just make sure those “companions” don’t like to dine on their “roommates.”

Hm.

Between, Punk, Puddles and Monstro, the pets have got it better than some of the people in this Strip.

Monstro looks like me on Monday when I gotta go to work.

I think Monstro is depressed because Gunther wouldn’t listen to his advice about Bets either and walked out on him. LOL

Unobservant, self-absorbed, dismissive of the opinions of others while still prying into their affairs. Why exactly is Bernice on the “friend” team in this strip?

I suspect the fish has died. And no, they don’t all float when they die. If there was no air in their swim bladders when they die, they just drift and sink. And then they decompose…

Something about this strip smells pretty fishy to me!

Bwaaaa, haaaa, haaaa…

Please study Luaan as she becomes a sinister giant.

Stress in a fish is similar to stress in a person.

Uh oh…Monstro’s not well, Has Bern been ignoring him? Does the water need changing? has he not been fed?

So is Tara still living with Luann and Bernice? We see Bernice but we never see Tara there.

Monstro does look unhappy.

Is this week’s arc gonna be Bernice’s detached superiority (Too busy being “smarter than you”) causes her to disregard Luann’s warnings to take care of Monstro. Which will lead to Money to dying. Which will lead to Bernie panicking, because it was a gift from her crush Jack. And he would assume (rightfully) that she was irresponsible with it. So she tries to get a replacement fish (which doesn’t look anything like Monstro (I know, it’s one big cliche. But what in this strip isnt?))

I do take notice that with all the talk about how Bernice is smarter and more mature than LuAnn, it is the latter that notices Monstro’s poor spirits. Which Bernie is dismissing (rather callously I might add)

Get to the point, Luann. Is monstro in trouble or not?

And I thought Garfield hated Mondays . . .

Fish need objects for change of scenery, to move in different ways. and they like to be hand fed. I had a goldfish who loved to eat shrimp from my hand.

She is wrong, all living creatures have stress, a brain of some sort and personalities.

Did you remember to feed him?

Oh, yes they do!

they also like decorations or little house-like structures with no sharp edges to hide in.

Oh, no, Monstro. He looks to be a fantail goldfish and their health is precarious. I used to have them and they die easily due to swim bladder diseases. Unlike their torpedo-shaped cousins, the regular goldish, they are round due to large swim bladders. I bought the fantail goldies because they were cute chubby fish with pretty fantails. If the owner wants long-lasting fish, get regular goldies. They can live up to 30 years with good care. They are not fussy and are hardy. When I rented a home many years ago, there was a “well” in the backyard that looked handmade filled with water lilies. I thought it was just an aesthetic thing until my little dog sat there, moving its ears and barked. I wondered what he was barking at so I looked into the “well” and I was startled to see something moving but couldn’t see what it was under the forest of water lilies. I used my hand to move the lilies and OMG! There was a swarm of goldies in there. Turned out my landlord, who lived next door, fed them everyday as there was a shared gate. He said the original goldies were 27 years old and pointed to a few of them They were the biggest ones. They had been in that well since they were tiny fish fresh from the pet store. Before seeing them, I did not know goldfish live that long.

A Monstro story!!! At last!!! I have been requesting one for weeks and now we finally have one!! Thank you, Evans. You are the best writers ever!!!

It looks like Monstro is dead, which ordinarily would not raise much of an emotional response in the owner but for Bernice the set-up seems to be guilt and even a little remorse. Remember Jack gave Monstro to her and repressed Bern has a real case of confused but shall I say aroused feelings for him, feelings she can’t deal with. More romance with pets!

Bern needs to wear a mask so Monstro doesn’t catch the stress.

Monstro doesn’t even have any plants or a bubbler. Boredom is getting to him.

That fish is going to die if he’s not dead already

The fishy looks sad! Is there a Doctor… I mean, a Vet in the house? =(

That poor little goldfish. The owner doesn’t care about him. Animals are sensitive to bad vibes and that poor goldfish shares a room with a really powerful source of it. I hope Luann will be able to save Monstro. Maybe she will meet Jack and ask what they need to do. Or maybe Bernice will realize that her pet is feeling bad and she will be desperately trying to do something? Or, like a robot without feelings, Bernice will study indifferentlyand let him die. That will be the end of her humanity.

Exercise not only will help to reduce the stress, it also releases BDNF which is a brain fertilizer which improves your ability to take take in information and grow and maintenance of neuro connections. Seriously do they teach Bernice anything at that school of hers?

Also all animals suffer from stress, it’s how nature forces change.

you might want to rethink on that logic of yours.

Not only do fish suffer stress, they call them “stressors” and stressors can kill a fish.

Goldfish are actually social and don’t do well by themselves. Think of a human in solitary confinement or a dog chained up in the back yard.

Aww… Monstro is sick. :(

Poor Monstro… Well, let’s get the toilet ready for a funeral.

The expression on the fish says it all. Kinda like Gunther’s dangling modifier from last week. – “A dangling modifier is a type of ambiguous grammatical construct whereby a grammatical modifier could be misinterpreted as being associated with a word other than the one intended. A dangling modifier is one that has no subject at all and is usually a participle. It is also called illogical participle”-Wikipedia

He’s definitely sad.

The return of Jack is imminent…

WHAT HAPPENED TO GUNTHER’S ARC?! WHY IS GREG JUST CUTTING IT OFF?!

Re-think what you’ve said Bern; you’re pretty wrong on both accounts, 1) caring for and observing your pet can be a de-stessor and 2) yes, animals besides yourself can be stressed.

Realistic dialog: “Finals week, term papers due, your fish died, Jack. I flushed him down the toilet.”

Fish don’t even have a two second memory.

And as usual Bernice is self righteous and rude. Bad enough that she shows snide indifference to her friend but the poor little fish doesn’t deserve it. I guess he lost his shine when she realized she wasn’t going to date Jack and she just started ignoring him. She never even got him any tank decorations.

We are breeding a new species of furry slugs. They were formerly dogs, but their feet never touched the ground, as they were carried everywhere so their feet atrophied.

I remember hearing about a research study about the psychology of fish. They were given two types of food, one of better quality/taste than the other. If they ate the lower quality food, they got more food. If they ate the better food, they got less food. Eventually the fish learned to eat only the lesser food, and they even had “fish police” that kept other fish from eating the lower quality food.

This is what I remember. I spent a whole minute looking for it online and only found articles about whether eating fish is healthy for humans.

I beg to differ.

Yes, they do.

Maybe they do…..

Oh, but fish do have stress. Things like dirty water, or too small a tank, stress them, often fatally.

oh yes they do.

Damn. Never seen a fish so depressed before.

Sick pets are nothing to overlook or disregard! Many times, treatment should be immediate (for some, within 24 hours)! … Hope Jack (or someone) comes to Monstro’s aid.

As usual, Bern is self-absorbed and hasn’t paid any attention to Monstro. And this poor fish looks like he’s either dead or dying or maybe just sad because nobody has paid any attention to him! I’m kind of not liking Bern very much right now. Self-righteous, self-absorbed, ego-driven, and mostly not very nice. Lu, however, still has compassion going for her. As for the previous arc…I don’t think we’re done with that. I think that whole thing will come back around, but maybe not for a while.

Monstro has to spend all day around Bernice; of course he’s gonna end up depressed.

Oh, NO! I can’t take the sad little fish face on Monstro… He better make it out alive at the end of this arc!!!

She seems done with Jack, therefore Monstro.

So, they are finished arguing about Gunther, eh? End of that arc for awhile. That leaves us hanging, and most of us don’t care about a stupid fish.

6

It looks like this week will be about Bernice and Jack…. and possibly also Luann, unless she is just being utilized to get the arc rolling. That should be very fun!

I am presuming the sad fish is going to become a metaphor as well as the stimulus for all the activity this week:

1. Will potentially getting Monstro a companion be a metaphor for Bernice and Jack becoming a couple? That would be enjoyable.

2. Will potentially getting Monstro some other features (rocks, caves, gravel, etc) to interact with be a metaphor for Bernice to look beyond her (very important) exams that are coming up and not forget to see the bigger picture?

3. Will Jack have some background knowledge of fish and fish treatment to cure whatever ails Monstro…. and potentially in a similar vein will he become a fellow to cure Bernice’s single existence with fun, joy, and a bit of romance?

4. Hopefully, though, Bernice will not forgo the study she needs to do so she can do well on her exams. Balance and focus is the key to success.

it’s going to be nice knowin’ you, Monstro

Monty Python, “How to Feed a Goldfish”

(The background changes to blow-up of a fish tank. The adman is sitting at a desk. He pulls a goldfish bowl over.)

Adman: (Eric Idle) Well last week on Fish Club we learnt how to sex a pike… and this week we’re going to learn how to feed a goldfish. Now contrary to what most people think the goldfish has a ravenous appetite. If it doesn’t get enough protein it gets very thin and its bones begin to stick out and its fins start to fall off. So once a week give your goldfish a really good meal. Here’s one specially recommended by the Board of Irresponsible People. First, some cold consomme or a gazpacho (pours it in), then some sausages with spring greens, sautee potatoes and bread and gravy.

(He tips all this into the bowl. An RSPCA man rushes in, grabs the man and hauls him off.)

RSPCA Man: (Ian Davidson) All right, come on, that’s enough, that’s enough.

Adman: … treacle tan… chocolate cake and…

Voice Over (John Cleese): (and caption on screen) ’THE RSPCA WISH IT TO BE KNOWN THAT THAT MAN WAS NOT A BONA FIDE ANIMAL LOVER, AND ALSO THAT GOLDFISH DO NOT EAT SAUSAGES. (the man is still shouting) SHUT UP! THEY ARE QUITE HAPPY WITH BREADCRUMBS, ANTS EGGS AND ,THE OCCASIONAL PHEASANT… ’ (The last four words are crossed out on the caption.) Voice Over: Who wrote that?

Looks like a Beta. They need company. Well, it’s complicated, so you’ll need to look it up.

Monstro looks so sad. I like that Bernice has her hair tied back and still in pj’s. She needs to take a break and pay attention to Monstro. They both might feel less stressed. ;-) But, if not she may have a sick or dead fish on hand and I wouldn’t want to explain that to Jack! :-o

Check out the Garfield/Heathcliff comics: those fish are always stressed!

The fish looks like it needs company and some of those fish tank creature comforts. I don’t believe that Bernice has the empathy gene and shouldn’t be allowed to care for any living creature.

Aquarium fish do get “stressed”. Usually from something like the wrong water Ph, contaminants, chlorine etc.

Wow, this tells me everything I need to know about Bernice. She ought to change her major from psychology to something that fits her fatal attitude, like business administration.

Anyone who thinks Fish don’t have Stress have never shared an Aquarium with a hungry Lionfish.

He is alive, and stressed.

Luann is living the life of Riley. Never has to study or take exams anymore. Just sit around and be bored in her parents’ house.

He looks so depressed… Perhaps he’s lonely, and needs another goldfish to talk to.

he looks so depressed.

Unfortunately, Bernice is not well versed in biology…. while I cannot say Monstro is experiencing stress…. fish do have the endocrine glands for producing and releasing stress hormones into circulation. One visible aspect of this stress response is seen in many species where they will lose coloration due to stress. If you have ever caught a bluegill while fishing for instance, when you pull it out of the water, it will in a matter of a minute or so lose much of its striking and vivid coloration because the stress hormones impact the activity of the fish’s melanocytes….. the cells that are regulating coloration.

Why does Luann continue to hang out with such a snob?

Monstro is not your average fish. Living with Bernie, I bet he does indeed experience stress. Who or what wouldn’t?

Maybe he has the Ick…

Man, it’s time for Bernice to get a new ‘do. She’s been wearing that style since she & Luann graduated high school. Speaking of which, Luann needs a new hairdo STAT!!!

They do when they’re fishing for compliments…and even then when the compliment is, "That’s a fine fish! We’re eatin’

GOOD tonight!!"