Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for February 21, 2015

Aah, I love the smell of irony in the morning! ..or… evening…. – “…Words are very…unneccessary- They can only do harm….” (♫)

- "A Bunch Of People Who Are People "…

(Teacher:) “Use ‘subdued’ in a sentence.”(Surfer Student:) " ’Sup, Dude?"

Tell him all about Peru, especially why you came back.

“Assume The Juxtaposition”“Enjoy The Silence….” (♫)“Conservation Of Conversation”“Breaking The Ice….With A Toothpick”“Green Room For The Maury Show”“Make Room For… The Main Course?”“Ice Upon The Telegraph Line”“Past Partisan, Present Tense”“Radio Inactivity”“Couched…For Pathos?”“The Silent (But Deadly) Air Between Us”“All’s Quiet On The Pestered Front”or“A Mute Point”

What if mr gray is rosa’s uncle? UNINTENTIONAL PLOT TWIST!

I hope Mrs. Berger is serving a dinner of hot chili peppers and beer, so that Gunther will wind up on a bus headed to Sun City.

I think nemisis is too strong more like anti-hero

Frankly, I don’t see what Mrs. Berger finds appealing about either one of these guys.

That’s genuinely funny! I wish you’d share more of those ideas with us.

These guys just don’t know how to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Whoopie, guys, whoopie. Somebody please check their pulses.

Has Mr. Gray had one line of dialog in this strip yet?

Mr. Gray! Help us out!

when has tiff been his “freind” most of time she uses them as bait

Plus, a bunch of girls have given him the “look-see”, since he got back….. – And there may be some assertiveness going on, but that’s about it… she “kicks some tires”, but she’s just “comfortable”. And as the last panel showed, he’s not….

Just then, Gunther pulls out the Backpack of Bully Busting +5 and beats down Mr. Gray!

if he goes to someone else, I prefer it to be Bern or even Sun

I’m still wondering if this situation will be part of “Greg’s Master Plan” to “right the wrong” that his “previous historian” made on the dates of 4/2/09 and 10/23/13….

Maybe Mr Gray is Dez. You never see either one in the same place…

If Gunther wants Mr. Gray to just ‘go away’, maybe he should start calling him ‘dad’.

look in the Sofa, Peter Thornton and Andrei Arlovski http://www.mmatko.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/andreiarlovski.jpg

So what’s Mr. Gray supposed to say? “Is Peru a pretty country? Maybe your Mom and I should go there on our honeymoon! Right now, though, I’m trying to decide where to take her this weekend. There’s this cozy little motel up in Fallbrook…”

Hey, dude — are you awake? Or just baked???

IMHO Mr. Gray, as the more adult of the two men, should be taking the lead in breaking the awkward silence.

And him just sitting there silently with a self-satisfied smile on his face is just creepy.

Then again, it looks like Gunther is STILL wearing his Peru souvenir tee-shirt – of which, as far as we know, he has only one – so maybe Mr. Gray is keeping his mouth tightly closed to keep from gagging…

I’d go on but I wouldn’t want to monopolize the conversation. See y’all tomorrow!

I’m frankly getting a little burned out on this story arc. I’d like to see Brad and Toni finally get married.

“I got black out drunk on just a sip of watered down beer.”

“You know kid I wasn’t always bald.”

Sorry, Gunther, this is your problem. We aren’t helping you

Hey, Gunth!

PRESS That “Button” on Mr. Gray’s CHIN and SEE If His Head Flies OFF!

I still say that Mr. Grey looks like Billionaire Jimmy Patterson.

I hope Mr. Gray turns out to be more interesting than what we have seen so far…. he’s so boring that he’s really no threat

This is so horrifying! Mr. Gray died shortly after he sat down! Well, that’s going to spoil their evening! :>D

I remember Mr. Gray as being more portly. Does he have a first name?

Gunther – If you want to find out anything about this guy, you will need to ask. Then run it though the internet.

2. They were a gift, and Mom displays them just to be polite?

I still think “Mr Grey” is Rush Limbaugh. At that point the kid gets a new car & paid for college.

darn……… I was hoping to see someone else at the door! :( though I think Hitch, er, Mr. Gray will surprise everyone.if not now, then soon.

Good one.

C’mon Mr Gray, time to give us more than that same half smile.

The look on Gunther’s face in the 1st panel is priceless! :-)

OK, so I guess it’s back to “Zebo” or to the Moony campus next week. We’ll see.

I can’t tell if Gray is Gunther’s dad or Evans just can’t draw new people.

Ha! Great comment.

This strip is really starting to annoy me…Does Mr. Gray have a first name?…why is he in a suit and tie, and she is in a pink tee shirt….sorry, it’s not working for me

I wonder if Mr. Gray owns any sunglasses.. . oh, like fifty or so?

Ma Berger has prompted Gunther to open conversation with the taciturn Mr. Gray, but Gunny seems nonplussed, and so far Mr. Gray has not even so much as opened his mouth. The mute Mr. Gray may have a tale to tell, but we have no hint what it may be….

Is Mr. Gray alive?

Certainly Mr. Gray is capable of starting a conversation with Gunther. Perhaps his social skills are no better than Gunther’s.

notice how the heart grew larger in panel three…

“You’ve seen one Peru, you’ve seen all Perus. Tell me what interests you, good sir.”

Is anyone disappointed that after all the speculation herein yesterday about who it could be that’s ringing the bell, the answer turned out to be the least interesting alternative? And then we didn’t even get to see it happen?

“How she addresses him when they are alone is unknown. She uses a formal reference when in the presence of others, which is not inappropriate.” ^True! And something I’ve also stated…in different words, though- but still similar thought…

“you’ll see that I was the first to mention that it was Mr. Gray”^Actually, that wasn’t. In the grand scheme, it really doesn’t matter, of course, but to be “actual and factual”, it was “Templo” who first mentioned that it was Mr. Gray. Well, he said “Mr. Grey”, but still…. – And if that misspelling disqualifies him in that regard, then the second comment (which was mine) spelled it correctly (“Gray”)….

Heh, heh!!! Or better yet, “So Close, But Sofa”….. – BTW, Was trying to find a new way to say “Couch Potatoes”, and thought “?Couched…For Pathos” would be a new way to “mangle” it….

IIRC, I believe the divergence happened between U.S. English and Commonwealth English…. – Gray being our “Yank” version, and Grey being the “Proper (kings/queen’s) English”…

Simon & Gunthfunkel – “Sounds of Silence” …. hmmm .. “Helllo darkness my old friend” … “darkness” …Mr Gray …. ok, a stretch, but a connection!

Yeah, but he hasn’t talked to his “old friend” even once let alone “come to talk with him [sic] again…” ;-)

Mr. Gray is a guest in Gunther’s home. His mother has explicitly directed him to tell Mr. Gary about Peru. Gunther should be trying to chat with Mr. Gray, not vice versa.

For those who expect the “elder” to initiate conversation with the “junior”, this is the “expected norm”. – However, much like it was when you were sitting and waiting for your date to come down the stairs (with either the father/mother and the intending date or Sibling/date to "break the ice’ on behalf of the family/oneself), it would be pretty awkward for either party sitting on the couch here to “make the first move”, as in this case, it is “Mr. Gray” who has to make “a good impression”, and hopes to get off on a “good foot” and it is Gunther who has the “home field advantage” here (and of course, we know mom can veto/override his “vote”, but the principle is still the same). – The curious thing is that, as some have mentioned before (including myself), Gunther was so “hard pressed” to find out exactly who this guy is, and now his opportunity is upon him. Funny how some things seem to work out “on paper/in our mind” a little differently than the actual process…– Although at this point, I wonder if Gunther is giving a “second thought about giving him the first degree”….

“…At any rate, the onus is on Gunther…”^I have the same thought, as well! ("second verse, same as the first, Lol!)

I swear to god there had better not be a 50 shades reference in this

Ha! Greg had to draw Gunther’s eyes looking askance at Mr. Gray, forcing him to put a little white in those dot-eyes. Works, but kinda creepy.

Doesn’t “Mr. Grey” have a first name? This continued calling him by his last name is kind of awkward.

I thought along similar lines, myself. A “peaceful, non-eventful dinner”, followed by the next arc. But for me, I thought that the “TJ might buy the empty theater space” story might be next. – I still have a “passing thought”, though, a “what-if”….if somehow Mr. Evans is going to use this depiction of “change” Gunther and his mom are going though, to “introduce Mr. Gray” as his…“relative”…to “reconcile” the different strips from 4/2/09 and 10/23/15, or to at least “move forward” with more significant stories for the Bergers and have “Mr. Gray” as a friend to Mrs. B, but still be a part of Gunther’s life (I know that after his return from Peru, it would seem a bit “heavy” to pile that on top of his stress over dealing with everything changing [like an anvil on top of a crushing boulder], but there have been life stories where someone you thought of as one person gets introduced as a relative- sometimes distant, but sometimes a closer relation)…

But first, get out of the love seat!

Just how long is he going to be MR. GRAY?

If Mrs. Berger and Mr. Gray are co-workers, they would normally refer to each other by their first names if they are supposed to be equals. If one is at a higher level in the company than the other, then the honorific titles Mr./Mrs. would be appropriate. Maybe Mr. Gray is a manager (in a different department), or Mrs. Berger is? That wouldn’t violate nepotism rules (in most cases), but it would still be awkward.

I agree with those who are predicting it’s time to drop this Gunther story (which is still going nowhere, even after all this time) and move on to a new story arc next week. Ever since Luann graduated, she has been used mainly as filler between story lines about Bernice and Gunther. The “Luann adjusts to junior college” stories have lasted about a week each (she shows up for her first class, she uses the school kids to help her study for an art final, and she starts a class with a prof who pours water on her). Other than that, we’ve seen Luann only arranging parties. Can’t we see something of substance happening at Pitt CC? Maybe she should start making important decisions about her life, now that she’s legally an adult?

Mr Gray is the adult here, and should be the one to break the ice. Just ask him what he’s studying in school, or about his trip to Peru, or whatever.

Anybody else think that Mr. Gray looks like Hubert Humphrey? (You have to be a certain age to understand).

Given this character appeared after 50 Shades, I don’t think Gunther wants to talk to him too deeply.

Today’s strip highlights an obvious problem in this storyline: ever since mid-November Gunther has been obsessing over his Mom’s relationship with Mr Gray, and he left his sort-of-girlfriend in Peru just to come break up that relationship, but he has no idea what to do to bring that about. Did he think he could just tell Mom “I’m back, so from now on I’m the only other person in your life!” and she would just say, “OK, Gunthie!”, and that would be that? That Gunther has never once questioned just what his return to the USA was actually suppose to bring about is a real problem here, and for that reason it would be a good idea just to drop this story and move on to something else that has more promise of actually going somewhere.

“Simon & Gunthfunkel – “Sounds of Silence”

Good one!

“2. Do you know what happened to those 2 pictures that were on the back wall in the first 2 panels?”

That’s hilarious, I didn’t even notice that!

the only mistake was the “doorway” either make one side the living-room wall or make the whole thing the other room(yellow wall) as shown here http://oi62.tinypic.com/263v56t.jpg

What a bore Mr Gray is, so far.

I think it was bare-chested Quill who made her heart expand! lolol

the comment “you two have a lot to talk about” is strange……… like what? Is there something that hasn’t yet been revealed? sitting next to this “Gray” dude has got to be worse than sitting in a waiting room with nothing to read or work on. Can’t figure out what Ma Berger sees in this guy. He hasn’t said a word since he was introduced over a month ago. The expression on his face never changes either. He’s like a piece of stone.

Mr Gray is practicing when he poses for a painting done by Luann, he thinks he is the male Mona Lisa

“Say Gunther, you know why I call your Momma ‘Lisa’? It’s because she’s a real ‘Mona’! HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW”

That there is one “Mama’s Boy”

What if, after next week’s arc, we return to Gunther & Gray sitting on the couch in silence for the whole week?.BTW, “Gunther and Gray” sounds like a great name for a Vaudeville duo…

“Neh, that’s actually a good job by Evans.”

Oh, I guess you’re right.

by G’s face, what??? Momma! I can’t tell him I came back from Peru with the purpose of blocking him away from you

maybe Quill will walk in (he does live there) and open up some conversation, like it was nothing.

See what I just said to Seismic-2.

Aw, you beat me to it…

A 90% wallpaper strip. Easier to draw. OK sometimes.

Mr. Gray seems to not even know that there is someone seated next to him. He acts like he’s just sitting by himself, expressionless. But Gunther’s expressions crack me up: Panel 1: apprehensive, Panel 2: puzzled, Panel 3: ‘ good grief ’.

Is Mr. Gray ever going to have a first name?

A good idea, but I think you might be ‘over thinking’ this. Doubtful that this was uppermost in the artist’s mind…

SPOILER ALERT!!!-I know the Sunday strips are usually ‘stand alones’, but I hope this one isn’t. Looks like it might start something exciting in the life of a character who everyone laments we are not seeing very often…

You mean a “moot point” AS IN nothing left to say. Though some think you lose your voice and become “mute” over it. ^No, I meant "Mute Point, as in a play on “moot” vs. “mute”….wasn’t misusing the phrase, was coining a new turn of the phrase for a new aspect…..

If that’s what’s being said…

;)

1. Do you always wear gray since your name is Mr. Gray?Actually, yes. Greg spec’d that Mr. Gray wear a drab color – perhaps gray. But there were no jokes about 50 shades at the time as this request was made to me late in September 2014. But it would be hilarious if the placid Mr. Gray was into bondage.

Actually, that’s no Mr Gray – that’s a mannequin. There’s no other way to explain the total lack of facial expression from that ‘guy’ That’s been the only facial expression he has EVER shown.

And this “Mr. Gray” name thing has GOT to stop. It’s already absurd. WTF!