Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for April 27, 2015

Gunther needs a new “umf” in his life since that Peruvian adventure.

You were in S.America with a beautiful girl- no, it wasn’t engineerring. No, it wasn’t “pre-made schedules and carefully laid actions”. It was adventure and “unpredicatbility”, and again, with a beautiful girl beside you. But you weren’t so sure that was your life. – Now you’re in the States, with schedules and structures- well, lots of structures…..and you’re not sure that this is your life, either….. – So, what could be the reason it’s not going well- is it because of the changes you found in your mum? Is it because of whom you left behind in Peru? Is it because “the tried and well beaten path” isn’t what you thought it’d be? Or is it something else that is now occurring to you?

Here we go again with The Trials of Gunther. Sigh…

“Safe Harbor And A Rocky Sure”“Tried And True Blues”“Castles In The Quicksand”“This Is Your… Life?”“The Four Walls Of Moony”“Run Of The Mill Walkthrough”“The Incredible Sulk Meets Captain Obvious”“Everything You’ve Always Wanted- And Nothing Else”“The Glass Ceiling At The Candy Factory”or“Signed, Down In The Pitts”

Hoo. If You Think You’re “Down” Now G-Man, WAIT til You Remember that This Joker Is WITH the Gal You Loved MOST of Your Life.

Boy do I remember those years. Feeling like you’re spinning your wheels, putting a lot of effort into not going much of anywhere and desperately wanting something more, but knowing the ‘mature’ thing is to tough it out. I’m glad I did, I did my adventuring after college and it was great, but ‘yet more school’ wasn’t much fun at the time.

If you don’t like it, Gunther, you can go outside and pick up some sticks and rake a few rocks, to remind yourself of the alternative.

LOL!

Your Gunther comic strips are the most interesting. I suggest nothing but Gunther all the time.

Go be a summer intern at SpaceX.

Congratulations to Gunther. In the eight months since the characters in this strip started attending college, he appears to be the first one to attend a class with significant academic content.

If physics isn’t exciting, the professor isn’t doing it right.

The Trails of Gunther, Part 55

Calculus and Physics? Are those requirements for Gunther’s major in “Mope”? He needs instead to get started on his term paper that’s due soon in “Advanced Self-Pity 205”. I suspect the topic will be “How Mr. Gray Has Ruined My Life Forever”.

Think, young man with the slow growing beard…….No Wi-Fi in the Peruvian mountain villages. Is Rosa worth it? Is what you have with Rosa worth it? Is Rosa of the same mind as you? Does Rosa"s uncle own a shotgun?

Thanks, I had NO idea what Quill meant by that! Even geezers like Luann’s parents know what an app is.

And I am not going to enjoy Gunther’s own personal Bell Jar/Catcher in the Rye/Diary of a Wimpy Kid breakdown, actually. Where are some cereal box tops? Those are fun to read!

you people have spent way more time whining about Mr. Gray than Gunth ever did.

I’m surprised that “pithing the frog” hasn’t come up in bio lab yet. How about a classmate in Anatomy 201 who smuggles body parts out of the cadaver lab? Biology is a fun and amusing college subject.

I thought Gunt was heading to a high-tech engineering, so calculus and even physics may be needed, even if it is computer oriented, but why would he have bio lab?

Haven’t we been down this boring road before?

Emo nerd.

Maybe a good shave would help.

Does anyone else think that Greg might be leading us down the dark road of the of teenage angst, depression and the consequences? I hope not.

those were the days, my friend

Don’t tell me something is finally going to boil over with Guenther…

it’s the bio lab that did it

He’s in a really Gray mood. Better unwind by sewing yourself something nice, G-man.

Well in Gunther’s defense he had just finished reading 50 shades of gray and here comes mr gray into his mother’s life. That’s enough to bum anyone out.

So it’s not what you planned. So it’s no good anymore? You need to learn that an unplanned adventure is where the excitement lies.

Yep, Gunth is definitely taller!

It seems the life he thought he wanted is not the life he wants.

It is your Fate, Gunther. Get used to it, loser-boy!

After college, Gunther will get a good paying job. Quill will have a difficult time, because there aren’t many acting jobs.

He needs Dez even more than Luann does.

“…Well, you didn’t say it had to be a good gag…;o)”^Heh, heh….Michael Scott would call that a “buh-dum -pum”…

You know, now that you mention it, he’s been on “Down Time” almost since the plane touched down…..

If classes aren’t fun, then make the rest of your college experience fun. Join a club, make new friends, study aborad. Sure you’re there first and foremost for an education but you also get to enjoy the social aspects. Those are the experience I remember most vividly almost 11 years later.

The Mr. Gray thing was played from Gunther’s point of view. The way I see it, Old Lady Berger has someone to play with, unlike her son…

Which might be part of his frustration, although he might not admit it publicly. ;-)

So, I wonder what trouble Q might be getting Gunther into this time…. ;-)

The term “app” refers to the abbreviation of the word “application” whether it be a paper or computer one.

Nailed it, though in a whole new world the characters only seem to hang around one another just like in high school.

Even the parties are light compared to some of what happens during college parties.

I see Gunthie is still going for the “Miami Vice” look with his scruffiness (I would suggest you let the damn beard and moustache grow out into a beard and moustache or shave). His “Miami Vice” look is also continuing with his orangish/pinkish lightweight sweater. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Ok, we get that Gunthie is “conflicted”. Wow, most folks are at that age. Hell, most folks are conflicted much of the time, because EVERYONE faces choices. What would be more entertaining (at least IMHO) would be for Gunthie to be shown working and making choices to become what he wants to become.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Conflicted Gunthie and Quill together, most likely this week…. to me, it does not sound like an overly enjoyable week this week. “Quill the Bland” and “Gunthie the Conflicted” are their Viking names from this point on for me.

RB2…. you state, " Gunther is sad and pathetic only because he chooses to be that way. "++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Damn well stated, sir! I concur. I get that Gunther is “conflicted” but geez…. the only way to get “unconflicted” is to try to figure things out. The typical way to figure things out (as you suggest), is to get involved in things you may enjoy or may want to enjoy…. to SEE if it helps.

This is the life he wanted and planned for. He was fine with it until other people told him it wasn’t good enough, that he should change who he is and what he wanted for his life.

Quill looks tiny and small next to Gunther today in all three panels. ????

While Gunth might be on a downer right now, I have to say I prefer him visually over all the plaid.

Gunther doesn’t look so much like someone who quit shaving in December as he looks like someone who was sloppy in drinking his chocolate milk. What’s next? Will he drop out of Moony and spend his time hanging out at home in his pajamas and bathrobe, constantly moaning “Woe is me.”?

“it didn’t matter when Gunther stopped, because his “what-if” has everything to do with Rosa, and not what he actually enjoys…”^It may not _seem _ to matter when, but when you’re in the situation, you don’t see it all until you take a step back and look…and then, sometimes you need an extra set of eyes…. –

(part II of II) –

I was hoping with everyone going to college we’d get to see new people and new friendships. Which has proven not to be the case.

Yaay! Gunther’s back! I can relate to nerds who suddenly discover adventure and it turns everything they thought they knew upside down. I just hope Dev can bring it to Bernice, too.

Gunthie should take his “Miami Vice” style pseudo beard & moustache, quit Moony, go work at Walmart for a year or two, so after work he can volunteer at picking up sticks and rocks after work to get into “synch” with Rosa who he is pining for. At the same time, he should go and rent some flea-bag apartment (and get into severe debt because of the sub-subsistence wages from Walmart). Let him see how that works for him. He will become mind-numb after a few weeks, so he can have plenty of time to whine and mope. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++OR…. he could figure out what he would like to do, what he would like to become in life. And then, do it. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Gunthie unfortunately continues to be very annoying since his return from his bus trip with the retirees.

Maybe Tiffany will have a little sympathy for Gunther. He could really use a date…

The last time I saw G he was on a couch not talking to Grey. Wonder how that worked out?

Oh boo hoo. Another whiny teenager who expects everything to come his way easily.

Brdshitt… nicely stated and in-line with my own thoughts about Luis. My read on the story is that Luis a) did not have to cart either of those two goofy kids (Rosa or Gunther) anywhere, b) he definitely DID NOT have to haul Gunther back when he decided he did not like it anymore, c) Luis did not force Gunther to eat a hot pepper or to drink Luis’s beer. Only a father-like figure would find such behavior anything but off-putting. That Luis was tolerant and even a bit bemused at Gunther’s foolish antics…. and that Luis guided Gunther on a safe path all make me feel he was acting in a father-figure sort of role…. something I think Gunther REALLY NEEDS. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++If we were to choose a “father-figure” for Gunther… Mr. Gray or Luis…. I tend to see Mr. Gray as a bit of a “stuffed shirt” sort of fellow, and he looks like Rush Limbaugh to boot. Luis, on the other hand, seems more likely to be a kind hearted, yet strong father figure for Gunther. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Gunther needs a father-figure of one sort or another…. he seems like a bipolar, lost puppy otherwise.

Let’s be honest that would have been one hell of a plot twist!

Why say bipolar? It isn’t the exact same thing as depression. Anyway, I think Luis had poor communication skills, but at least he could communicate. I’m thinking Mr. Gray is mute or something.

Night-Gaunt49… I guess it may well be what “most women” want a man to look like (versus full beard or clean shaven as you suggest). But to look that “perfectly” “messy” and disheveled takes a lot more work than shaving, and sure as hell is a LOT more work than growing a beard and moustache to a normal length. The “Miami Vice” look seems a bit silly to me.

For a fellow who had no knowledge or inkling of Gunther (Gunthie), his past, or his personality…… Luis was pretty intuitive about Gunthie and tried to steer him in the right direction through all of their brief interaction. That caring nature is how he was (briefly) a father figure to Gunthie. And, I think Gunthie could learn a lot more valuable lessons about life from Luis.

Gunther has not always been a dork. He has done good things, volunteered, even courted Luann to a degree. He seems to accept Quill almost as a brother.

fortune cookie wisdom ???.What other kind of wisdom does a kid going into university need?

Wah wah. Gunther. we’ve heard it all before.

RB2 said “What kind of things did Luis say that were better than what Quill and Momther say?” ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++I would HOPE his mother and a good friend who has known him for quite a while would be able to give good, even potentially better advice than a relative newcomer like Luis…. but that is the POINT, Luis may have been new to knowing Gunthie…. but he was perceptive and intuitive about the advice Gunther needed. I never saw Mr. DeGroot offer any sort of fatherly advice to Gunthie…. and a father figure is important for a young male. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++RB2 also said, “They all have the same generalized fortune cookie wisdom about life.”++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++The comic is at most 4 panels in length, and cannot fit more than a few sentences in a word bubble. It cannot be expected to be as detailed as a dissertation. It has to condense its wisdom into a smaller bite (your “fortune cookie” wisdom). This smaller bite, at least IMHO can still have a tremendous impact if done well. And, at least in my estimation, the dialogue between Gunther and Luis was strong in being a sort of impromptu “father-son” sort of relationship.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ RB2 also said, “At least when Gunther told Quill about Mr. Gray, he tried to avoid the subject because it was weird and creepy.”++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++A father does not shy away from discussing difficult (your words, creepy) topics with his son. And, in my opinion, Luis did not shy away when Gunther discussed Mr. Gray. His reply about driving faster…. I think was meant on two levels…. a) truthfully… in terms of the role a son has in protecting his mother if there is a problem, and b) facetiously … as a bit of a wry joke, trying to suggest to Gunthie…. "is this REALLY all that important… or are there other issues you need to think about?++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++RB2 also said, “Gunther doesn’t need an enabler like Luis in his life.”++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Luis did not “enable” Gunthie about anything. He offered advice, useful, fatherly advice to a rather young, immature kid, about how to be (or at least potentially become) an adult male. It was advice that did not focus on copulation, but instead upon love…. love for a potential wife, love for family, love of being a responsible, kind person. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Gunthie apparently did not hear the message…. he is just being annoying at the moment.

I don’t get it. Is the G-man kidding or is he for real?

When Gunther and Luis were in the cafe, they were a few hours’ drive from the airport. Luis was waiting for an auto part to be delivered, so that his truck could be repaired. If this happened as planned, Luis would therefore headed back to Lima the very next day. Gunther would have been too, but Luis put him on the tour bus that took 10 days to get back to Lima. Luis was just trying to get rid of Gunther, to avoid having to spend any more time listening to his moping that had already made the drive back from the village so miserable.

I’m going to assume RB’s referring to Montezuma’s Revenge.

With Great Apologies to Billy Joel!!!!

Everyone keeps suggesting that Gunther could fix his life by joining some clubs and meeting a new girl. But everyone is forgetting the type of guy Gunther really is. -He didn’t join clubs in high school, so why would he do that in college suddenly? When he worked on plays, he wasn’t part of the acting group or even part of the group that built scenery. He went off on his own to sew costumes.-When Delta recruited groups of people to do ‘good works’, I’m not sure he joined in packing the boxes of food or whatever. But if he did, it wasn’t because he genuinely wanted to be part of a group. It was more because Delta is so difficult to say ‘no’ to.-I know I haven’t been reading this ‘toon as long as some of you, but I just don’t see Gunther as a ‘joiner’. -He ended up with Rosa more because she went after him than because he went after her…

You really think there was a “complete lack of physical intimacy”? Seriously?

Yep. Gunther is clearly working to maintain a patchy stubble. He would have some sort of a beard by now.

They actually did make a beard trimmer that left a bit of that stubble a la Sonny Crocket. They called it the “Miami Device.”

Perhaps it is not just that Rosa is continents away but that she is probably unreachable electronically due to her rural mountain location. He doesn’t know what she is doing or where she is for that matter. It is the uncertainty that is bothersome… all these unknowns. There’s no closure. I think that’s the problem. I can understand.

Maybe Bernice could cheer up Gunther a little?

I am not making up what I “hope” Luis meant… if you look at his facial expression it suggests the dual meaning when he,suggested driving faster…reality if the situation called for it, wry humor if it did not. It was IMHO meant to read that way, suggesting Gunther needed to think things through before acting… which he clearly had not been doing.

I let my sarcasm get the best of me on that one. Yes, Tiff enrolled in the bio lab, and before that she had gone to a psychology class, although she dropped that course. So she has attended an academic class.

So many comments to respond to, but not as much time to do it! But I must say that the “collective train of thought” had a lot of stops, today….

You’ll have a high paying tech job when Quill is waiting tables, trying to pay off his student loans.