Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for January 23, 2015

Aw, how nice… a hug from a snooty supervisor.

Hold on, now… make sure that check doesn’t say “Alfred E. Neuman” on the signature line…. – He’s going to where he thinks he’s needed (Mr. Gray), but he don’t know just how much he was already needed….. – Either that was a reverse Heimlich, a “Russian Bear Hug” hold, or she got a chance to practice for her Chiropractor gig on the side…. – Wait… she’s been watching ? (cue “1984” soundtrack)…. – Now he can probably employ that old “are you jealous?” tactic and tell Luann he got a hug from an… “older woman”…

Wedgeface!!!

Well, now we can be sure that Gunther was working for pay at the clinic.

…At least he got a check out of his time in Peru. He basically went on vacation and got paid for it. Not a bad deal at all.

does this always come out an hour later now?

shakes head…………………. reason that he goes back to the USA……….BECAUSE HE CAN’T handle living in Lima? NO, he gets paid well, and is well respected in the work place he got…………. because there are no good engineering schools in Peru? NO, because peru is too wild for his taste? NO because he thinks his mom can’t handle Mr. Gray if he ends up being bad? actually no, he knows she can handle herself……………. because he can’t conceive the idea of his Mommy being romantically involved with someone………..YES…………. Gunther, even if you stay with the beard and stop wearing plaid shirts, you right now still disappoint me

“Take The Money And Run”“Thank You Is More Than Two Words”“Never Know What You Had Till You Don’t Have It No More”“Forwards And Awkward”“Breaking The Ice”“Gunther Has Left The Building!”“Oh, The Humanity!”“Back On Track”“Gunther Has Left The Building!”“The M.A.N. From P.E.R.U.”or“Gift For The Gifted”

today’s episode “strong hugs and payments to the weak mental case”

Now, was Gunther docked for his week on vacation? What about his “village” time? I’m sure there are a few deductions for Peruvian taxes. And finally; what IS the exchange rate between the Nuevo Sol and the US dollar?

Don’t cash that check at the airport, Gunther – the fees and exchange rates will eat a big chunk of your pay!

Being a “wealthy clinic” and probably already dealing with Americans/Westerners and World Travelers, I’m sure all that (taxes, fees, exchanges, etc) has been taken care of, and I’m sure that it’s something he (and they) had been used to, by now…

I doubt Greg gives a damn about currency exchange. He wants to make the point Gunther’s flush with cash to burn for his trip.

It’s nice that the clinic has a paycheck for the volunteer.

Yeah, since pudding is pretty expensive….

(♫) “Number One Son” (A la Steve Miller) – “Well, this is the tale of Gunther and… uh, wait, it’s just him…Thinking that unless it’s home, it’s all pretty dimSo he made his mind up to go where he was, beforeBut he don’t know what he left behind when he closed that Peruvian door…

He go on, he da #1 son… (4X)

Now ol Sophie (Sophia) was a prety plastic ladyAnd that ol’ clinic used to seem rather shadyBut somethow Gunther managed to soften the face of the “Queen of Ice”But when he opens up that check, he’d better think twice

A lotta zeroes… but where are the 1s? (4X)

Now Luis is “The Most Interesting Man In The World”And Rosa is an adventerous girlBut who’da thunk Ol’ Sophie had a smiling face?Or that it moved, in more than one place?Just a bit, and Gunther will be home, againTo replant his roots, and find out “just who is that new friend”Though his momma told him just where his place isHe can only see Gray in all the homeland spaces…

He gone, to be da #1 son… (4x)

I have a hard time understanding all the dissing of Gunther..I believe it’s because most of the readers tend to be on the younger side and I, well lets just say, far from that yet I really enjoy the strip.I believe Gunther very together, talented and has major skills..Have all forgot the strip where it seemed his importance to the Uncles business seemed to be of the highest level..actually much more so then his girl friend. I believe he knows his life work is not in Peru and he wants the education that will make him a more productive and over all happier individual as he goes through lifes challenges.Possible his girl frind will realize that but if not..then best he leave her behind and move ahead , which he will..Now hopefully back to Luan and her trials…

Congrats to Flowerlady2, who was the first (though not only) person to guess the mystery voice belonged to Sofia!

If Gunther would stick around a while longer, Sofia might make a man of him yet! She seems to be the, uhh, instructive type….I wonder how much he’s been paid for his work in Lima and (very briefly) at the remote village? Enough to cover his airfare, at least, I guess (unless he arrived on an open-ended round-trip ticket).

Mr Evans, ya got me..I thought it was Rosa who was talking to him..Too bad, either Rosa will find the importance of Gunther in her life, or this period of her career..Who knows, perhaps Greg will throw a few more curve balls at our friend here before he leaves home plate.

Not yet twenty, and you got canned from your first job by walking out on it. Good start, Gunther!

Now Gunther? BEFORE You Shake With RAGE and Disappointment when You Realise that Peruvian and U.S. Taxes Have DECIMATED That “Final PayCheck” ASK Yourself This: WHY Are People ALWAYS Happily Hugging YOU “Goodbye”???

Uhhh…I never got a hug before, when quitting a job…Maybe I should go to Peru?

Gunther is meant for better things than this clinic and following around his first girlfriend. He IS maturing in some ways

Why does Sofia remind me so much of Ann Eiffel?

This is Fun! Ok. Gunther droppings: - The family is paying him off now that they shook the loser boyfriend off Rosa.- He uses the money for an apartment when his mom tells him he needs to move out soon. - And who’s that girl he’s dancing with at the New Year’s party? Is it possible that these two, shaking off their old ways, bump in the middle?

Maybe Gunther’s final paycheck will be “special” from Rosa’s very generous Uncle Doctor and take care of his college tuition.

No U.S. taxes would be taken out. It’s called foreign earned income, and the first $75000 you get to write off.

There’s the old Gunther. A woman hugs him and he gets flustered and sweaty.

Oh my stars, it’s…that one woman who…uh… Um, hooray!

Sofia got a bigger rise out of Gunther than Rosa ever did.

Rock his world!*Poor Gunther— he thought Rosa was a lifetime attachment. Now “a part of him” is saying there are other women in the world.

Seriously? This is how this boring arc ends With a boring ending?? But the one great thing is: It’s over!!

LOL, good ones!

Next week: Tim Tebow!

And congrats to everyone who called it yesterday!

It could…but when was the last time Evans completely wrapped up a story? Every arc answers an old question, creates new ones, and then ends on a cliffhanger.

Well, the Evanses might put it “on hold” for a week or two, but they face a time issue. If they’re still on “real time,” at this point, and it it’s the Evans’ intent for Gunther to matriculate to Moony Uni, the new semester will start soon – in the next 1-2 weeks. So whatever’s going to happen in that context needs to happen sooner, rather than later.

Ok, Sophia was (to me) unexpected… but leads me to my new prediction:+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++I think we may see tomorrow that Sophia is Rosa’s Uncle’s wife (and assistant) and that Luis… he is actually Rosa’s Uncle…. using “Luis” as a pseudonym so neither Rosa nor Gunther knew how carefully they were being “watched” and “cared for”.

only way I will take back some of my disappointment with Greg would be that G got over the Mr Gray thing while traveling with the senioritas(but not shown), and that Luis intelligently knew that the bus would take a few days to get to Lima and would give time for Gunther to cool off about Mr Gray, but I still maintain that Gunther could have gone to Lima University and be as close as possible to Rosa

Dare he ask her to put it on the nightstand. (Cue rim-shot)

“2. Leo has enough free time to drive a van back and forth masquerading as a van driver.” ^Well, it is possible , in theory, that Uncle Leo could be Luis, since Luis did say he makes “irregular trips” up to the mountains to deliver suppplies (and mentioned that there is no set schedule, in warning Rosa and Gunther about how long it could be in his return). – But you can add a fourth one, in that Rosa most likely would “pick up on” his voice, having spoken with him over the phone to arrange their travel there, and the jobs at the clinic, in the first place…

Rosa could have at least hired a woman for Gunther.

Has Rosa picked up all the sticks on the mountain and raked away all the rocks? I’ll bet the villagers will be glad to see her leave, too! Time to move on to the next village, where they so desperately need her valuable “help”.

Since when does giving a boy a hug turn her into a cougar? Get a life!

-“Big Sister is watching you!”-She didn’t say she’s been watching him. She said she knew his locations all during the tour, since Luis had told her that he put Gunther on that bus. It’s not that hard to find out what the tour itinerary is. If you are required to hand a final paycheck to someone, you need to know where to find them, right?

I’m still waiting for the epiphany that hits Gunther and makes him realize that he doesn’t have to control his mother’s life, AND that he can drink coffee. It didn’t happen on the tour bus, and the hug from Sofia didn’t change anything. Maybe it will be the size of the paycheck?

Everybody needs a hug now and then.Money’s nice too.

Something interesting: –

– Sort of like “bookends” to Gunther’s experience in Peru. – And in both strips, Rosa said she “couldn’t tell (him) what to do”, but also check out Gunther’s part of the conversation (as far as his feelings in the matter are concerned)…

I think what Gunther realized in his time in the village is that it isn’t that he doesn’t want to help in a place like that, but he needs more education to come back and make a real difference, more than just somebody who can rake leaves and dig ditches. Rosa hasn’t realized that yet. She would be more valuable as a doctor in that clinic sometime in the future than as an unskilled laborer. Give her a couple of years, she may come to that realization eventually. Gunther just got there sooner.

More of the “interesting”… –

if Rosa had asked him to stay(even thought she knew it was not his true desire to “help” the village), guess what? he would have stayed……………… if she had asked him to wait in Lima, guess what? he would have stayed in Lima and work at the clinic

really? i don’t know about Tebow and the Pope, but it has been hinted that Brad got to “know Toni” if you know what I mean

Ha, ha! I was right yesterday! Probably for the first time.

“His mom practically pushed him out the door.” ^Well, everyone encouraged him to try new things, not “put him down”. – But his mom did have to talk him into trying new things out, because if not, he’d still be “feeding her 10,000 cats in old age (according to the spinster stereotype)” and neither of them would then grow and develop comfortable lives as adults, if she didn’t ….

I think a lot of the commentators are older men.

Gunther has his arms at his side, stiff and uncomfortable when a beautiful woman hugs him. He will be a virgin forever. He is way too uncomfortable with his body to ever get physical.

Luis is definitely NOT the uncle. Why would the uncle drive R and G 6 hours away and then demand they return on his next trip. I

1 Peruvian Nueva Sol = $0.33151 USA, right now.Google is your friend.

Tim Tebow ……….That means G will still have the beard ?

Many things go on in the Luanniverse that are not depicted in the strips..Gunther and Rosa surely met her Uncle in Lima many, many times over the months they were all three there..Various sets of proclaimed lovers obviously had more private moments together than we have seen in the strips..Luann must have been attending her college classes — she had her last final of the semester. ETC..Not all the above had to be shown.But . . . did we have a whole semester without Bernice’s roommate showing up? Seems that should have been shown.

LOL, ( but we have to remember that Levi will invent new excuses to prove just in his mind that I am wrong)…………….. but all it shows is that Toni and Brad do not go to Arcades(or at least not as much as Q and Luann), they stay at home ;) wonder what they do if they stay at home?

Toni and Brad had some scenes where they talked about going to a place more private at his house. and there was no one there(no TJ and no Shannon), and usually Greg makes one or 2 references to something, and does not continuously do the same reference again and again but should be inferred that it happens on the “not drawn periods”, he will not make his strip a PG version of 9 chickweed lane(where it is PG17 and real close to R)

San Marcos’ prestige in Latin America mainly arises from its renowned faculty and alumni. It is the only university in Peru with a Nobel Prize laureate among its alumni: Mario Vargas Llosa (Literature). San Marcos is also recognized for the quality of its curricular contents, its very competitive admission process, as well as for being a leading center of scientific research. Several Peruvian and Latin American influential thinkers, researchers, scientists, politicians and writers have studied there, which underscores San Marcos’ leading role as an educational institution in the history of Peru and the world.

The National University of Engineering was founded in 1876 by the Polish engineer Edward Jan Habich as the School of Civil Constructions and Mining Engineers (Spanish: Escuela de Ingenieros de Construcciones Civiles y de Minas), but has traditionally been known as School of Engineers (Escuela de Ingenieros). At the time of its foundation, there was a growing demand for engineers in Peru due to the rapid development of mining and communications.

Today, the National University of Engineering is widely regarded as the foremost science and technology oriented university in Perú, many of its alumni occupying today positions of leadership in the fields of Industry, Academia and Government.

Perhaps Sofia needs a friend to “sponsor” a visit the USA?

I think G is smart enough to take Berlitz and learn in less than 6 months

There’s just one day left of this story before next week. I hope there will be some more acknowledgement (maybe by Sophia) of Gunther’s IT contributions to the Lima clinic. I have noted in the panels where he and Rosa were in their cubicle, that Rosa had this attached mouth piece suggesting that she only did routine answering of phone calls while Gunther, who has never been shown wearing such garb, made real technical contributions. This could set the tone for Gunther picking a major and becoming the bearded geeky college student.

A few days with Sofia would give Gunther invaluable confidence with the ladies. How about some “Private Lessons”?

Gunther, I think you should’a stayed in Peru, at least long enough to bust your cherry…apparently Peruvian women find you attractive

Two or three years in pursuit of Rosa, with very little return on the investment. Now what? Does Gunther start over, maybe with Bernice? Very disappointing.

“We find out that it is someone we all knew was in Peru, and she wasn’t a major character that we cared about in the least AND a hackneyed explanation why she’s at the airport.”.Unbeknownst to anyone before I made it up out of thin air is the “fact” that “she” is really Luis in drag AND the elusive uncle (the Jimmy Hoffa rumor is unsubstantiated).

I have noticed, too, that Tiffany can be vain and arrogant, but that her demeanor changes when it’s with Bernice or when she’s in a situation like at the Daycare center, where she does show she can get along with others, at least to get something done (another reference would be the volleyball tourney, or the recent time that she, Luann Bernice and Delta helped comfort each other while they settled in to their new dorm/lives in college, via Skye)….

There are some of us ’mudges over here, too.

That’s about the size of it…

SPOILER ALERT-A mean way to end the arc. Not a great way to show what a ‘man’ you are, ‘Gunthie’…

SPOILER ALERT!It’s tomorrow somewhere!

And we still don’t have a transformative moment, turning ‘Gunther who controls mother’ into ‘Gunther who lets mother have a life’. Unless this is it.-If so, blech….

the spoiler means that it is very likely that the senioritas made him see the error of his obsession of Mr Gray, and that he had to grow up, and allow momma to grow also, but we didn’t really had a view of the whole tour bus adventure, but it gives a flavor that G went very dark

And just in case you doubted, she’ll show you the left one, too!

Nah, we’re probably just going to end up in Bern’s dorm room on Monday, with yet another animal left for her to babysit…

I don’t really want to see Mrs. B slug her son, any more than I want to see him mouth off at her. I wanted him to mature a bit, and feel more confident in himself. And I wanted him to let her have her own life while he started on a new life for himself.-Looks like I don’t get to see any of that stuff, so I’m ready to go back to Bern’s dorm room to see what other headaches she has to deal with…

And along those lines, this will probably be at the center of the discussion, the “techniques of parenting”/spanking, etc…. well, maybe it may.. you never know with this, as well…

Yeah, you would’ve thought that it’s timeliness elsewhere would mean the same for here. Maybe “Bananas” is counting on that….

Cry…

You reminded me of Rosanne Rosannadana. (Or however it was spelled) Anybody remember Gilda?

Nah, she asked today if it’s a new time, so she’s probably all set. Too bad GC isn’t up on time….

Well, now I’ve seen the Saturday strip on the Arcamax site, and that really wasn’t worth staying up late for.

That "Restore 20/20 Vision ad under “From Elsewhere On The Web” is starting to freak me out…

Well, maybe GoComics will refresh their comics by Sunday. I think I’ll go see what’s happening on some other sites…

1 TerraByte? How Terra-Ble, LOL!

Meanwhile, I’m imagining new names for “Gunthie” in his new incarnation.-So far,all I’ve come up with “Grouchy”, “Growler”, and “Golem”….

This whole South American story line has been… pretty much nothing. Will there be more of it, where Gunther tells us the details of his week on the tour bus? Or what happened after he was given his paycheck? (In both cases, of course, the most likely answer is “nothing”.)

Well, I think it is time to schlep upstairs and find IS Katie so both of us can go to sleep (the hub’s been ZZZ). Would you believe that I still have my outdoor Christmas wreath up?!!! I don’t directly have a view of it, so out of sight outof mind! "Nite all!-——————————————————————-“The worth of a State, in the long one, is the worth of the individuals composing it.”(John Stuart Mill, 1806-1873)