Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for May 20, 2015

I think “office facilitator” means, Luann, Tiffany is doing the filing like you’re doing at the moment.

Sounds like the title they give the guy who cleans toilets…a job for Knute!

(O.S.F.=……."Caddy"….or a Design Coordinator/Materials Resource Allocator) – She’s going to be promoted….in a sideways, lateral…sort of way…. – But she’ll probaby at least get to play with the glitter and art stuff a little more…

Greg doesn’t want us to like Tiffany, does he?

I suppose it was inevitable that Clan Evans were going to put Tiff in her place. As the strip’s Designated Evil Villainess, they couldn’t risk her becoming simpatico and alienating the fanboys. Besides, she’s a much more interesting character than any of the others, so making her simpatico would mean having her hog the strip. Can’t have that.

But Tiffany’s whole purpose in taking this job in the first place was to work with the kids, so that she could learn how to relate with them on the stage:--If she isn’t going to work with kids any more, then, just why does she want to keep the job? Does she think it will help her acting career to learn about being an office clerk? (Actually, it just might. Remember that when she worked on the “Zeye” movie, she was a gofer in the production crew as well as an extra in the cast. Tiffany is quite willing to work behind the scenes in Hollywood, if it will get her into the industry.)

that’s what you think, tiff.

Likewise…

I’m glad Tiffany is happy… but will we ever know what happened between her and gunther??

Return…

one of the 4 new college people or one of the guys in Lue’s class could be the new assistant, who should it be?

“Lattitude Adjustment”“Caddy-Hack”“Movin’ On Down”“Git Up, Git, Git Back Down” (♫)“A Whole New World (Right Where The Old One Was)”“Transfer Slip-up”“Take This Job…And Love It!”( ♫)“A Fine Mess”“Desk Jockey”“A Stationery Front”or“A Paper Cut Above The Rest”

Wow. I hope Greg Evans doesn’t actually believe such a job is something to be ashamed of, because that would be soooo messed up. FFS. That is not cool. It’s a job many kids would like to have, wouldn’t you think? Wouldn’t that be better than working a boring fast food restaurant job, for example? That would be McDull! Or a checkout clerk at a grocery store, standing on your feet all day, waiting on jerk customers? I think so.

Nope. It means “clerk.”

But Tiffany, don’t you know that working as an office administrator is the worst thing that possibly happen to anyone? You must sneak away from squandering your life at that insignificant office job, and you need to find your true purpose as a human being by gathering sticks and raking rocks!

I don’t get why everyone seems to think a job running the ordering or filing in an office is such a terrible thing. Considering that Tiffany decided she really didn’t enjoy working with ‘needy’ kids, as she described them, working with adults to order supplies can’t be a worse job.

And I seriously doubt that the Principal was reassigning Tiffany to work with software. But you do bring up an interesting idea. If a computer nerd is needed in that office, we may yet see Gunther and Tiffany working together.

Why on earth would the Principal bring in either Dez or Bernice as TIffany’s replacement?! I’m really hoping for a totally new character who might actually be somewhat less hostile toward Luann than Bernice is.

That’s right Tiffany, always look at the positive side and ignore the criticism.

My choices:4. Quite probably! Which would be so frustrating!5. I don’t know! But at least Gunther would have a job, too. At least that would give him better priorities than worrying about his mom. :/

if we go kind of seriously with the few times Tiff has shown some skills, she can be a good organizer

I’m thinking janitorial. And also the practice of giving a bad employee a job you know they don’t want – prompting them to quit.

Another insight: Neither Tiffany nor Gunther should ever have kids. Maybe something to do with why they might belong together.

For some reason, my "submit’ wasn’t working, but I found a “workaround”…return….

Why are they working where they worked in high school? Aren’t the actual h.s. kids needing jobs? Most college kids find a job on campus or nearby, don’t they?

Why are they working where they worked in high school? Aren’t the actual h.s. kids needing jobs? Most college kids find a job on campus or nearby, don’t they?

One more “for the road”…

I see the “Reuben” nominations are out!

complete list http://www.reuben.org/2015/04/2014-ncs-silver-reuben-divisional-nominees/

I think this is the one that really got me to dislike Tiffany. Pathetic is more like it.

Hmm, All in all, this seems like a reasonable lateral move for Tiffany, opening some exciting new horizons. Clerking for Purgus, she may get a chance to loosen up that stiff-necked young administrator (purely as a diversion, of course)….

No no NO! This is s smokescreen, what’s going on with the other topic? You can’t dangle that Gunther/Tiffany stuff in front of us and just change the subject!

Can’t read it. Stupid ad is blocking it. Too bad.

“He said he WANTS me.”

Someone check Tiffany’s RPMs…

“Oh. Uh, what does that mean exactly? Is it something sexual? I bet with you it’s something sexual. You are the sexually active type.”

“Nerdy and NEEDY??”For a Moment There, I thought Tiffany Was Referring to Gunther…,

I really hope this doesn’t turn into a Tiffany doesn’t know what she’s doing but Luann somehow knows exactly what to do and saves the day. As we’ve seen done with the stage etc etc.

“Office Systems Facilitator” means “secretary”, Tiff. Short skirts, pantyhose in summer, six inch heels.

An odd and unexpected turn of events. To what purpose? I cannot fathom. Seems very odd. Maybe it will appear more logical after a my morning pipe and coffee? I somehow doubt it.

So who’s filling in Tiff’s place? Dez, Crystal, or a new hunk to be a role model for the boys and father-figure to girls.

“2. Does this mean Principal Purgus has a replacement for Tiffany? Will it be Dez or Bernice?”*HtD – just read your suggestions. Bern would be terrific— kind of a counseling job, and she could see whether or not she can handle kids. Plus, hasn’t the prinicpal already met her whenLu applied?

Well, even after a pipe of robust, blueberry tinctured burley leaf and a 24 ounce, bold, Italian-roast from St*rb*cks….. I still have no discernible clarity concerning today’s comic. I was truly anticipating some sort of more logical reason for Tiffany to be called into the Principal’s office. To have a job reassignment seems rather out-of-the-blue. To go from monitoring kids (even if only for learning acting skills) to some sort of office-filing job seems quite a stretch. To me, it seems somewhat unlikely that an office job of that nature would be filled by a part-time, relatively unskilled (at least in office work) person, and it seems even more unlikely that a job shift of that sort would be made. Plus, even though Tiffany was not “Luannish” in her efforts with the kids, she did not seem to be so bad as to need reassignment.I am hoping that the scenario that some are postulating of Gunthie somehow getting an office job in the same place where Tiffany is going to work DOES NOT occur. Seeing the two of the interact in a work environment does not sound particularly interesting of fun to me. I still happen to like my (now known to be false) prediction of the visit to the principal being about a recommendation reference so Tiffany could get the NYC internship. But, oh well, that is not to be.

“Nerdy Kids” - what’s that saying about a leopard and his spots?

@BrdShtt — Straighten up or I’m telling Mom and you just wait ’til Dad gets home!

@RB2 —“There’s a reason Evans isn’t up for a Reuben…” I doubt that opinion would resonate among those who nominate and vote. But it’s an open forum and a free country and you are entitled to express your thoughts on the matter.

@Pipe — haven’t we met online in another discussion group?

3. How long will it take before Principal Purgus realizes that Tiffany was the one who was working with the kids and not Luann?4. Does Evans really think this is going to put us off wondering what happened between Tiffany and Gunther?…On 3, you have to be kidding or you were not paying attention in the past.

On 4, you are never going to get an open answer from the characters here, but I have l already told you what certainly happened.

The kids genuinely liked Tiffany. Surely that’s one of the most important “classroom skills” for keeping an after-school (not teaching!) program of elementary-school kids engaged in activities.

I may be a little slow on the principal’s name, but is he good at firing employees? Purge — Us?

Lots of fun comments here today!

I forsee Tiff and Guther, by the light of the PC screen, as he indoctrinates her into the world of Spreadsheets.

Tiffany is lost as she did not comprehen what Principal Purgus really said except that she wouldn’t have to be in the classroom with kids anymore!

That principal is a moron. Tiff isn’t a Luann style teacher, but she has had her moments with some of the kids. But then, you never see Principal Loser around at all, so it’s not surprising he’s clueless. Now Tiff’s armor is up in full force. She’s not stupid, if Luann had said her skills ‘were wanting’, Tiff would’ve gone after her tooth and nail. Oh yes, she knows what Principal Idiot meant, and now that vulnerable side is locked away and hidden again. Well, perhaps Gunther can coax her out of her shell again. He’s caught a glimpse of the real Tiff, and likes it, like some of us here. Course, some of us like Tiff all the time, even when she’s bad:)

Tiffany is good at organizing things, so “office systems facilitator” should be a snap for her as long as (as others also fear) Little Miss No-Experience -Necessary To Excel at Other's Specialty, Luann, isn’t allowed to take over.(Hasn’t she changed her major yet to Theater Design to have some cred for her (cross your legs, it’s so) exciting trip to New Yawk?

Has anyone noticed that the s/z on tiff’s t-shirt reverses from panel 2 to panel 3? And while we are on the subject, Fergus’s eyes are a little south of eye level…. maybe he noticed.

“Sadly, you are not the authority on this subject, unless you are secretly Evans. Are you?”.Ha. There’s an idea, but no. And my considered opinion, which I now think is beyond a reasonable doubt, did not occur to me until someone else, whose name I forget, came out with it. But let me outline my reasoning and inferences. Here is what we have to go on. Gunther reads a detailed description of the mating behavior of salamanders, after Tiffany comes out in a bathrobe, w/o makeup and sits down. Both immediately show great embarrassment. Clearly they are not thinking like scientists about a small slippery species of amphibians. Tiffany tactfully gets more coffee after Gunther slips and says he is hot. The next thing we see is Gunther returning home at midnight—after a long evening. He and Tiffany certainly were not in the woods till dark, and it did not take all evening to write up their expedition for find a salamander.) Gunther calmly responds to Quill until Quill seems to be getting nosy. Then Gunther gets horribly flustered, says confusedly that nothing happened—something happened—and YELLS that he doesn’t want to talk about it. This to his closest male friend. The big crucial question is what is a plausible and adequate explanation of why he yells. Gunther has his hangups but they do not account for this. Around his peers he has been super cool around his friends since coming back from Peru. He has had only minor reservations about being a study buddy with Tiffany and even going to her private room. With Quill he is now manifestly trying to hide something, and it is not just that he had a new friend; he has been her study buddy all semester, presumably. Male college students have a hard time keeping their mouthes shut if they have a certain kind of success with a date. But if successful they do not demonstrate extreme embarrassment. What is more, Gunther emphatically says that “nothing happened.” Gunther is a truth-teller. So what happened but also didn’t happen in these circumstances? The overwhelmingly likely thing is that Gunther and Tiffany began something that was not carried to a successful conclusion, for one clinical reason or another. And neither of them are ever going to want to talk about it (unless maybe Tiffany gets vindictive but I don’t think that will happen because they were both involved in this. A matter of deduction and inference, which explains everything, I am convinced.

“Sadly, you are not the authority on this subject, unless you are secretly Evans. Are you?”.Ha. There’s an idea, but no. And my considered opinion, which I now think is beyond a reasonable doubt, did not occur to me until someone else, whose name I forget, came out with it. But let me outline my reasoning and inferences. Here is what we have to go on. Gunther reads a detailed description of the mating behavior of salamanders, after Tiffany comes out in a bathrobe, w/o makeup and sits down. Both immediately show great embarrassment. Clearly they are not thinking like scientists about a small slippery species of amphibians. Tiffany tactfully gets more coffee after Gunther slips and says he is hot. The next thing we see is Gunther returning home at midnight—after a long evening. He and Tiffany certainly were not in the woods till dark, and it did not take all evening to write up their expedition for find a salamander.) Gunther calmly responds to Quill until Quill seems to be getting nosy. Then Gunther gets horribly flustered, says confusedly that nothing happened—something happened—and YELLS that he doesn’t want to talk about it. This to his closest male friend. The big crucial question is what is a plausible and adequate explanation of why he yells. Gunther has his hangups but they do not account for this. Around his peers he has been super cool around his friends since coming back from Peru. He has had only minor reservations about being a study buddy with Tiffany and even going to her private room. With Quill he is now manifestly trying to hide something, and it is not just that he had a new friend; he has been her study buddy all semester, presumably. Male college students have a hard time keeping their mouthes shut if they have a certain kind of success with a date. But if successful they do not demonstrate extreme embarrassment. What is more, Gunther emphatically says that “nothing happened.” Gunther is a truth-teller. So what happened but also didn’t happen in these circumstances? The overwhelmingly likely thing is that Gunther and Tiffany began something that was not carried to a successful conclusion, for one clinical reason or another. And neither of them are ever going to want to talk about it (unless maybe Tiffany gets vindictive but I don’t think that will happen because they were both involved in this. A matter of deduction and inference, which explains everything, I am convinced.

" I once told someone that I was flagging them, and GoComics considered that a “personal attack” against that poster and temporarily banned me.".Well, it WAS a personal attack.

If you need to flag me, flag me. Don’t hurt my sensitive feelings.

There’s a reason Evans isn’t up for a Reuben, amidst the cliffhangers and dropped stories he can’t keep things plausible nor can he remember character motivation. . . . "-——————————I’m starting to wonder if Karen is not to blame for the weakened plot development here since she came aboard. .Sad to say, but that could be the problem. Greg may be too polite to overrule her amateurism or to bring in someone else to help.

Tiffany’s acting stories have all but disappeared. . . . . -———————-NO. .She had the part of Martha Washington, and did well.

Until then it’s an aggravating cliffhanger that serves to annoy. . . . -————————Yes, cliffhangers can be good, but they should not be aggravating and only serving to annoy. That’s what we seem to be getting here – with regularity.

Given Gunther’s normal degree of assertiveness, things will probably move so slowly that Tiffany should not expect to get any action from him until she’s old enough to join the Sun City Senior(ita)s.

@howtheduckI think your argument is a little shaky. Greg Evans received the 2003 National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award for Luann. -The story was more grounded back then and had arcs that resolved themselves.Just because someone won a award over 10 years ago doesn’t mean their current work is award winning. I like to hope they will figure out this college transition and have better stories going forward. . . . . "-—————————————-The storylines were FAR better then. Characters were for more consistent and while they may have developed some, it was believable. Take Bernice and the dog she trained, Dirk and Toni, or Gunther and Mrs. Horner, or Ann Eifel at WW. Now Gunther has no clear personality, except that he is shyer than before, far more confused, jealous, and given to anger. His actions are inconsistent. So are some of Bernice’s, etc. Quill has become some sort of “idealized” pasteboard statue of a guy.

Can you imagine Karen writing the “Death of Farley” arc from For Better or For Worse ?It’d be like the old joke about telling a vacationing pet owner that his cat had died by beginning with; “Well, the cat’s on the roof”.

> Quill’s not an interesting guy? Well travelled, handsome, bright?>Even in his visual depiction, Quill is pretty much a blank slate – no defining characteristics at all, which is strange in a comic strip (a medium for caricature, after all). Compared to the rest of the cast, Quill seems to have been created in about 2 minutes, almost like a child’s drawing of a face with basically a couple of dots and a few slashes:--There really isn’t much to say about what sort of person he is (i.e., dull), so he is depicted simply as a stereotypical Australian. G’day! Quill is so featureless that it hasn’t been worthwhile to give him a last name. He’s the very embodiment of that statement famously attributed to actress Ava Gardner: “Deep down, I’m pretty superficial.”

You see, that’s the thing with me. I’m a serious person and sometimes have a hard time understanding Greg Evans’s brand of humor—dry humor. Political humor, I understand. Satire, I understand. Black comedy, I understand. Slapstick humor, definitely understand. And toilet humor? Yes, juvenile, but I get it. But with dry humor, I sometimes can’t tell when someone’s just joking around or being serious. I do like Bob Newhart’s type of comedy and Monty Python, but the dry humor I encounter here and with some other people is a little hard for me to understand. Sometimes, I’ve wished I wasn’t so serious because society seems to like boisterous, knock-down, drag-out funny people, but I can’t help it. This is who I am. : )

“Tiffany started this job in high school as a way to work on her acting, for lack of better opportunities. Now, she is in college with a supposedly good drama school. Yet, we never see her in drama school, unlike Quill who is always doing something acting-related. . . . Tiffany is supposed to care about acting, not this useless part-time job.”

I agree completely, this move doesn’t make sense for Tiffany.

PEOPLE PEOPLE ITS ONLY CARTOON

Gunther has been doing a lot of yelling since he got back from Peru [to Quill! ?] for all sorts of minor things (shaving, being called “Gunthie”), so I don’t know if his yelling can be taken as a basis for any kind of conclusion except for him being more erratic than he used to be..As someone who can be a bit of a yeller, myself, being called by a childish nickname in front of someone else would set me off too—and as for the beard that is part of Gunther’s new self-chosen image. I did expect this to come up, and I agree his temper is troubling, but even if his response to Quill had been soft-spoken, my line of argument would not be much affected. The yelling did show embarrassment in both the Gunthie case and in the new situation that he is not willing to talk about. Hope I’m never on a jury with you, howtheduck! Not that there is any implication of guilt here, just shame.

“I wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings,”.I didn’t think you were.I’m not always one hundred percent serious here (maybe not even 97.338% serious).Don’t remember what I posted to ReallyGood98 which might have offended or risked my deportation.If it happens, it happens..Tiffany and I are tough even if we cry at the drop of a hat.

Basically, she’s just been up for modelling gigs, all on picture frames and wall poster materials…

She’s going to be a janitor

“I do not think those words mean what you think they mean…”

Sounds like a good fit for Tiff. Principle made a good assessment.

@ReallyBad2“Most of the time we don’t get along, but we both seem to like the character of Tiffany so you’re alright”.Only because you’re usually wrong, just not about my beloved Tiffany.