Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for February 17, 2016

I will miss this relationship

Ganbatte, Ruan-chan

Official breakup

luann, you changed plans the previous summer for your career. quill needs to remember that.

Quill, relationships take work and attention, you need to pay attention to Luann

Luann, a relationship shouldn’t end after one argument

Now if only Evans can let this go-nowhere storyline drop like a cold, dead mackerel.

ho hum

What a relief. This has been increasingly depressing.

Now, since this is midweek, I hope it means we can see Luann starting on the next part of her life.

Remember, she took a shot at his career. He took a shot at hers. There is just no respect between the two of them.

Quill, your argument would have a lot more merit if you weren’t camped out with LuAnn’s family and lifelong friends.

You set up camp in her life and brought Pru with you.

Tomorrow a new arc (please)…

Back to what happened with Piro in Tiffany’s room.

Uh, Excuse Me, but You FORGOT to Give Pretty Boy His SILLY “Boomerang Necklace Thingy” Back, Lu….,

This!!!! This, exactly.

Yeah, that’s the sad thing. She thought she was in a relationship, but it turned out not to be the case.

I honestly hope she’s given an opportunity to do much more than search for another boyfriend…

Finally Luann gets it! The best revenge is becoming so interesting that your ex regrets losing you. (For the record, performing IS a real job, which requires study, acquisition of skills, hard work and dedication. Don’t let the Jonah Daytonas of the world fool you—they just want the glory without the effort.)

Maybe she will now give him back the boomerang..She didn’t have it on for Valentine’s Day..But has had it on every day since.

Focus on you, Luann. Figure out your own goals and then find your boyfriend later

I still don’t understand how Quill got a gig for one week, the EXACT week of Spring Break, filling in for a lead in a show. Usually an understudy steps in at the last minute. Spring Break is a month away.

I’m with Lu on this one. Quilly-boy really hasn’t got what it takes to balance priorities. Even when discussing (explaining?) his decision to work that week, he showed no sensitivity or understanding for how that might impact Luann. In short, he JUST DOESN’T GET IT!BTW, IamJayBlue, thanks for filling me in on the records of comments on Luann. Over 1200? Gad! I can’t even afford the time to read 100!Cheers,Blune.

Finally!!! I hope. The seeds for this were planted when he came back from Australia not that I think that GE knew this then. But it’s been an express train getting faster and faster. What is the most important thing is that Luann is asserting herself, and not mooning over a irresolute guy. She is based on her as a full young developing young woman, not what a guy decides. That is the first step toward a full person.

His last comment is insulting..So maybe this will actually be a breakup.

His last comment was NOT insulting. She’s had it coming. Luann is a little pissant. This strip has totally jumped the shark.

Finally!

It’s not completely over, not yet. She’s still wearing the necklace. I expect it will be thrown in Quill’s face and be on Prudence in a couple weeks. Quill is sounding pretty selfish and disappointing. She’s better off without him!

Too bad she is the title character. I think the strip could use a breather from her.

Luann is coming off more and more shrill. An interesting plot twist would be if she was emotionally unhinged because she was…wait for it…pregnant! Otherwise she is crazier than and an outhouse rat. She is going off the very deep end without Quill having any idea what is going on. Way to go Greg, it would take you a half hour to cook a 3 minute egg.

Run away Quill. You’re in the clear, now. You dodged a bullet with that crazy chick, I say.

Since Quill is still staying at Gunther’s, don’t worry, he’s not going to be allowed to break up. He and Luann have been forcibly shipped and will remain forcibly shipped.

“Easy For You To Say” (♫)“What We Have, Here…”“Agree To Disagree”“It’s The Mirror Reflex”“Shutdown Procedure”“Reaction At Its Core”“The Great Wall Of China Syndrome”“Anything But A New, Clear Meltdown”“Churn Nobility”or“Three Mile Conversation”

I’m always disappointed when a character that was drawn as decent before is changed into a mean-spirited jerk.

So how many breakups has it been so far. I fear we aren’t over yet. Boring. Strange that Luann didn’t counter that she does have a life… she really doesn’t think she does without clinging to a beefcake.

On the bright side, this break-up just might spur Luann into getting serious about getting a life, instead of just drifting and wallowing in self-pity and dependency….

People forget that this is what happens with young love. Sometimes the “romance” part starts off really fast, and then the “reality” part eventually “kicks in”. – Luann started off with an idealistic view of the whole thing. But let’s face it, So did Quill! They were “interested in each other”, upon their mutual introduction (much to Tiffany’s chagrin), and as they “hung out” a lot, tried to keep their feelings at bay…. but then when they decided to become a couple, it was all “love and affection, all the time”. They both were guilty of being a speeding train. They did have moments of “slowing down”, though. – The thing is, though, they are both right… and both wrong. (1) They are both right in the fact that they are now defining what it is they seek in “the other person”. The problem is, it came only after so much time of “whirlwind romance”, and they didn’t really see this as clearly as they do, now..which is what has led to this argument. (2) The area where they are both wrong in, is that they each resent the other’s accusations, and, again, they didn’t really get all this into the open, until now. Sure, they dd tell each other these things, but it seemed neither of them listened much… just “settled” it with a make-up kiss. They had a couple of opportunities (at the food truck and at Weenie World) to break up, then, or at least to “lay down the law”. But they chose to “table” the matter, hoping perhaps that it was settled (as shown in the strips, below). Apparently, it wasn’t. – But again, that’s how ‘young love" is. Luann has a point to expect more time and attention. But Quill also has a point, to expect that the person he’s with would respect his craft and passion. Why? Because they are both individuals, and as such, just like those of us here, on this side of the panels, they have individual needs, goals and desires. So they are right to state that these are their expectations. The problem is, that at this point, they are finding out the hard way (through their conversation), that they weren’t as compatible as they once thought they were…

As shown here, their pattern has been to “kiss and make up”, and they both seemed to hear the other’s words… but perhaps didn’t really “listen” … –

– Also underlying, seems to be the pattern for Luann’s personal reaisation going on, here.

Hey Quill, maybe Luann doesn’t have a life because you don’t include her in anything. Could you be anymore selfish, Theater-Boy?

YIPEE! great idea Luann,you sound like a bickering wife!

You know for a group of people who take time out of their day to read Luann, she sure has a lot of people who hate her character.

they have been arguing for over a week, split up already! i’ts time to see what the others are up to! this turkey is done!

Good for him, find someone that shares your goal.

The return of Aaron Hill would be an appropriate next step in the Mobius strip that is the plot of Luann.

“bout time. Move on.

So, return the boomerang neclace already!

given the passive aggressive stance in his side of the argument, especially after having the talk with Gunther… we know it’s sunk into his head and he sidelined her and now he seems to think it’s her fault for wanting more out of him. just end it.

He is living a life without Luann; just demonstrating that Luann is not part of his life, just some adoring sheila

Stop with the “new arc tomorrow” crap. Story arcs always start on Monday.

Please say it’s over so we can move on.

He is right.

like I said. It’s not like Quill wasn’t going to return to Oz one day. This fight was inevitable. He just sees himself as “passing through.” Luann deserves better. At least she doesn’t have to carry the regret of having slept with him. That would have crushed her….

Luann is doing better today. She is able to acknowledge Quill’s aspirations, but as the same time, explain how they “exclude” her. She says how this falls short of her needs in this relationship. Quill is disappointing for me today. He never acknowledges the legitimacy of Luann’s emotional needs, and, in the last panel, takes an unkind jab that actually is not true. This is what I dislike about the very rational, very reasonable style of negotiating a disagreement. When that style is insufficient to deal with feelings (and it always is), it may flip to a mean thrust that is difficult to take back. To say someone doesn’t have a “life” is an attempt to demean and crush them.

spectacular tantrum!! Bravo to Quill for not feeding into it…

Lu is finally growing up and feeling her wings. Go Lu, find your Life and a Love that will respect her and be for her as well as expecting her to be for him.

Quill being gone would be a good thing.

It should be like this: BOTH have their lives and WANT to be together. Reality: Quill has his theater life and sees Luann when he has nothing better to do. Luann sits around waiting for Quill and has no life – college is not all that important to her. Her job is just a mean of supporting herself. Her life is Quill. Now she is finding out it is not healthy. Her first mature step – breaking off a unhealthy relationship. Good for you. Granted, right now she is not thinking it has been a unhealthy relationship and is walking away angry, she will come to realize it. If she wants to get back with Quill, she has to live her own life and not on the sideline waiting for Quill. Anyway, she left an opening for Pru.

Luann would be wise to take Quills’ advice.

Gumption!

GOOD FOR YOU, LUANN!!!

-Dont’ forget to shove the boomerang necklace up his nose before you leave.

-

Or you could shove it in any other body cavity you might think appropriate.

Oh, boo hoo, Luann. What an idiot!

And the boredom continues for the third straight week.

With respect to Mr. Evans, Quill deserves better.

As I see it with Luann, it’s time to drop that necklace off, go home and have a good cry, then a good long vent at her audio diary (if she still keeps that, though seriously, it’s a better listener than Bernice). After that, a good deep breath and diving into a project, either personal or at college (maybe the art teacher can come up with a well timed idea). And then? Well, we’ll have to wait and see.

If Q-ball id really serious about making it as an actor, he needs to get out of Pitts, or whatever the name of that town is. I doubt he’ll find many opportunities to get his big break there.

-

He needs to get back to New York, or maybe California, and even then there’s no guarantee. As the song says:

-

“All the stars——that never were—-Are parking cars and pumping gas…….”

-Although I’m not sure that last line is appropriate anymore since gas stations have become self-service. :D

buh-bye Quell.

HEY LUANN POLL PERSON!

Here’s one for you: assuming L&Q do break up, who will get Luann on the “rebound”?- Gunther?- Jock?- Emo?- another tbd guy?- someone else from her past?

Top three reasons to be in a relationship with Luann:_1: She lives with her parents, so you always know where she is at night._2: If you don’t talk on the phone for a month, she will still be your girlfriend._And the number 1 reason to be in a relationship with Luann is! (drumroll)_3. Darn it, she’s just so much like Tiffany!

LDover….. this relates to your comment to me yesterday…..I too would prefer more humor. The arguing is weighty and not as pleasant an experience.

what needs to happen….is Pru needs to be chucked and Luann needs to start doing the stage manager job at The Fuse

Right now — Quill should not be deluding himself that he has time for ANY girlfriend and that she has to accommodate herself to his schedule and goals — at which he is really bad at communicating.

Yes.

Far from over…..

This story arc makes me glad I’ve been married for 41 years. It means all this ‘figuring it out’ is 43 years behind me.

We have to remember they are teenagers and can’t see the big picture like adults do.

-Luann, like many people, started at a community college because she wasn’t certain of what major to pursue and understood that it was wasteful to pay the going rate for tuition at a full time university until she had a better idea.

Given the high rate of debt that many of our recent graduates are enduring (especially in a job market that keeps changing what it wants, and in which fewer and fewer of our grads are finding a job), Luann has made a very good choice.

The fact that kids in grade school are being pushed to decide on ‘majors’ now is unwise. Some people are lucky enough to know at a young age what they want to do, but others are lucky enough to be given the time to find something later, in high school, tech school, community college or even a full time university.

Luann has shown aptitude in art and the education of children. Now that she is not going to be trying all by herself to carry on a relationship that had no future, she may have the energy to ‘have that life’. It is profoundly to be hoped that she will be given that chance, and not simply thrown a new boyfriend…

One day Luann will thank Quill for pushing her to explore her own life, instead of expecting someone else to provide her with meaning.

Luann admits that she doesn’t think she “has a life”. She is just sitting on the sidelines waiting for Quill to give her life meaning. That is what she believes. No one will ever be able to provide her life with meaning, she has to do that herself.

Well… I wonder what’s on TV… wanders off

This has the potential to become a pivotal point in Luann’s life if she sticks to it. She might. She has constructive stubborness on her side. (Sometimes unconstructive stubborness working against her, but in this case the result coukd be highly constructive.). Perhaps THIS is why the split went on so long, so that a great change woukd not seem to come from nowhere.

6For today, the last panel is the frustrating one. Now, it appears, Luann will go off “half-cocked” and do something (else) rash. This is NOT a good turn of events for her.While this is a fairly typical sort of response in the heat of the moment, I HOPE she comes to her senses and does not do something rash and foolish.I still (sadly) predict that this will all end with some sort of “make-up” panels where Luann and Quill once again are giddy for each other. I still would prefer for Luann to date others (I think like what was suggested above, Jock “Jacque” would be a funny, fun and interesting character for Luann to date.).

I hope she takes Gunther to NYC and they have the adventure they both need.

Imp, i was into the second half of my 20s before i found the sorts of fields and approaches which truly interest me. Getting it right can be more important than getting it early.

A different type of example: one aunt and uncle had as close to perfect as a marriage can be for happiness in being together. They were 40 for her and 50 for for him when they met, and had 46 years together. Neither had been married before. Getting it right means a heck of a lot.

It just shows how they’re both too young for this kind of serious commitment. They need to figure their own lives out before getting involved with someone else.

Quill Messed up big time. He is showing now respect and expect Luann to make all the sacrifices. I could care less about Piro he is just a loser poser.

Is it too much to ask for Evans to have Luann grow up at all? I realize that she doesn’t have to be completely mature, but ANY maturity would be nice. Quill may be a little blunt, but his point is valid. Anyone that says otherwise believes in fairy tales, if not fairy dust.

“We are nearing the end of Year 2 in college. How long does she get?”

My college roommate barely graduated from a 4 year college with a C- average because she spent all of her time sitting around talking to people instead of attending class. She got married and worked part-time for the next 20 years while raising her family. Finally she decided to go back to college to get her Masters degree and is currently finishing her Doctorate in Social Work. She is now teaching at the local comunity college, supervises and places all new social workers in her county and has her own private practice.

Some people take longer to decide on their life’s path than others.

There may be a time five or ten years from now when people laughing about the fun in the life of future, successful Luann remark about remembering the day she decided to change her life for the better.

-My late step Dad studied chemistry in college before serving in World War II. When he came back after service, (like a lot of the vets, he saw things he never spoke of to us), he was no longer certain what he wanted to do.

His father was running a small printing company and said ‘why not join me until you figure it out?’ About 40 years later, when our Step Dad sold the company and retired at age 70+, he was still telling friends and relatives that he hadn’t yet figured out what he ‘really wanted to do’.

Some of us never do ‘figure it out’. We end up working jobs that may not inspire us, but do support us and our families, and live our lives mostly through our families. That may be what Luann’s life may be. It seems like the life that a lot of women from the World War II and before era lived in the US.

Well said and done, LuAnn and any other person who puts someone else ahead of themselves continuously. Relationships have cycles, but it needs to balance out.

After 20+ years of following this comic strip…..This breakup is too depressing, I’m done reading this strip and moving on. Their romance was real until you broke them up. Like Luann, I’m moving on.

Is that line which remains when i enlarge the image the envelop w tickets in Quill’s right hand?

Will dealing w the emotions he is being forced to face make Quill a better actor? It should. Limited emotional awareness translates to limited types of roles available. Maybe this will help both of them.

-I’m not sure that ‘figuring it out’ comes like a sudden light bulb illuminated over someone’s head. It can be a gradual recognition that you are doing something you both feel good about and are good at.

When I was in high school I volunteered at our local history museum and was certain I was going to be an archaeologist. Started that course of study in college, went with the museum on a couple of digs. Then some inherited bad health issues kicked in, and I had to recognize that I was never going to be able to do field work (a major part of archaeology).

At the grad student level, I started a Masters in Sociology and Social Work and volunteered at a crisis switchboard. Found out quickly that what looks good on paper doesn’t always work in real life.

Ended up pursuing a career writing policy and legislation by accident, almost, because I had also volunteered to answer letters to congressmen during the Vietnam war, and learned quickly enough about policy and how much of an impact it has.

Point being, I WAS certain, until my health said otherwise. Then I was certain, until hands-on experience said otherwise. Then, I fell into something that worked for me, and I wasn’t really ‘trying’. Was just volunteering.

I don’t know if my Step Dad ever ‘tried to figure it out’. I think he rarely had the time to step back from job and family responsibilities to ponder what he really wanted to do…

Those last words of Quill’s showed his utter lack of respect for Luann. End of the line. Time for Luann to find someone who wants her in his life.

Come on Luann, get out of the way. Imagine the Wright Brothers’ mom saying, “Boys, get away from that silly flying machine and go fix my bike.” Or Thomas Edison’s girlfriend saying, “Tom, if you want to tell me something, come into the room.”

How long does she get?As long as it takes.

If this should lead to Luann doing something brash “to get a life” ~ like going out for theatricals herself ~ or anything rather new and / or exciting, that could justify this arc..Not joining a motorcycle gang, please.

If she applied as an actress, it would be fun to have her outdo Quill at it, at least for a while. .Her Community College has a good drama department, we’ve been told.

Greg, you have this relationship down exactly right. I can’t wait to see how this ends.

I feel like I’m the only one who liked Quill & Luann together.

Definition from the online Urban Dictionary:

“Shrill: the act of reaching high pitched sounds when in distress, getting excited, or just when being annoying”.

Saying that someone is making a sound that is defined as ‘annoying’ is not exactly praising the speaker.

Since both of the speakers are shown with words bold-faced and in caps, if one is being ‘shrill’, then both are being ‘shrill’.

I find it pretty interesting posters here are saying that Luann ‘sounds’ angry. I do have a speaker on this old computer, but I’m not getting any kind of audio from this ’toon. Are any of you?

It can be frustrating for young couples when each has school and work and little time to spend together. Even some marriages are like that, at the beginning at least. It takes patience for both of them, but usually they manage to find some quality time together even if it is just sitting together on the back porch sharing their day, week or month. I don’t see Quill trying. Okay, so he can’t go to New York on spring break, but he can stop by Luann’s on his way home or agree on a time to meet for coffee. I don’t see him making any effort to do so.

PipeTobacco said@Schrodinger’s DogI agree with you, Schrodinger’s Dog (as I usually do)… this is not a time for jocularity. My comment to L Dover was just agreeing with him that while I think this is an important moment and it is being done well….. that I tend to far more enjoy the comedic times.=IMO comic strips should have some comedic elements:.We have had good humor in most of the strips featuring Luann, at least up until the recent past..There was humor in almost all of the strips that featured Aaron..We have had humor in most of the strips featuring Bernice, especially in the past (excluding her two infatuations)..There was humor in the strips featuring Brad and Diane..There was humor in most of the strips that featured Delta early on, but then she became dull..There was humor in most of the strips featuring Gunther early on, but rather spotty more recently..There was humor (often ridicule, however) in those strips featuring Frank..We have had good humor in most of the strips featuring Nancy..We have had humor (often outlandish) in almost all of the strips featuring Knute..We have had humor in most of the strips featuring Crystal..We have had humor (often cutting) in most of the strips that featured Tiffany.,We have generally seen humor in the few strips featuring Ox..We have had various shades of humor in most of the strips featuring TJ..There was never much humor in the strips featuring Rosa, and it got worse.,We have generally had humor in the strips featuring Mrs. B..We have had humor or mystery in about half of the strips featuring Dez..We have had only weird slapstick in the strips featuring Zebo..There has been occasional humor in the strips featuring Brad and Toni..We have actually had humor in the strips featuring Piro..We have had almost no humor from Quill, which may be why some here have called him a ‘cardboard cutout.’.There has been no humor in any strip featuring Pru.

The strips with Miss Phelps were almost all funny.

JPuzzleWhiz said,@gardenwitch347Please say it’s over so we can move on.

Since you said “please”:“It’s over so we can move on.” ☺=======Will the fat lady have to sing first?

JPuzzleWhiz said, @JimT8When is the last time Gunther and Luann have had anything to do with one another?

The senior prom.====They were only in the same car. With Rosa and Quill.

Many of my favorite strips for humor have involved Shannon.

@LDoverIf this should lead to Luann doing something brash “to get a life” ~ like going out for theatricals herself ~ or anything rather new and / or exciting, that could justify this arc..Not joining a motorcycle gang, please.

OMG, I just got a mental picture in my head of Luann as a “biker chick”!

Thanks for the belly laugh! ☺====With a tattoo that says :NY or Bust!

So for the rest of the week, she’s going to be crying to either her mom or Bernice about the break up.

Quill is a drama student at Mooney Uni stdying drama. He is seting up the stage at Fuse for the university dept to use. As someone on a student visa he can not legally earn income outside small amounts which fit within certain narrow restrictions.

True, as far as it goes. But, if he gets his “big break,” he could apply for the proper visa so that he may accept the offer.-————-

Yes, a work visa rather than a student visa.

I think the objection might have harkened to the Shakespearian use of “shrill” as a gender dependent insult. To that use I bite my thumb at thee.

Perhaps because Implausible isn’t female.

are you saying you believe she /he is transgender?

I think you’re right.

Does it matter what gender or gender identity Implausible has? Why should it?

Both are gender and gender identity are actually continua rather than discrete (Yes, there are biologically intergender individuals who are born that way, with hormonal causes, genetic causes, etc.) as are some other things to do w gender. That is just a BTW since i used to have an intergender friend who would get very annoyed when people tried to apply a gender.

If Implausible chooses to not share that info some, then some may assume one or the other gender, and there is no harm in that if you remember that with a guess each has about equal chance of being right or wrong, and do not jump on someone else for perceiving things differently.

There. That is much more clear than my first try at this post.

Luann needs to get on with her own life! She’s too young to be worried about a relationship. She needs to be thinking about career ideas, not guys!

Well, s/he uses a female atavar, so I assumed that s/he was not male. It would be odd to assume s/he is. See the problem?

Please don’t use this offensive word to describe any female you may not like.

I dunno, Luann sounds rather angry in today’s strip. She could very well be raising her voice to “shrill” level. (And why is it offensive? . I would hope that some of the women here would speak to that. It is always meant pejoratively, for one thing. It is rude, demeaning, and dismissive.

You very accurately write:When men do it it is “assertive,” when women do it it is labeled “shrill” is the reason. A typical put down of women who are assertive. Or even raising their voice.-

I can tell you what can scare the bejebbers out of some men: an angry woman who holds their gaze and uses a strong but soft voice to get her point across. That might go back to when they had really, really crossed the line with their mothers as very little kids. I have only rarely needed to use that with anyone, but it sure worked for me.

Is this what they mean when folks say, “Breaking up is hard to do”?.It seems to be taking forever.They have already said things they can never unsay.Time for each to go somewhere and cry over what was lost.That’s what I always did and I never said any of these hurtful things.

@gcaldwell2000. “Is Tiffany still a virgin?” Far as we know, maybe all of Luann’s peers are. We haven’t got a strong hint about any of them. Even in a family comic you could have one character getting dressed in the morning, and a caption from the other (identified) character. Tiffany sure is a major tease however.

@pointspread. “Only Gunther knows for sure.”. No he doesn’t. Gunther will mature at his rate and Shannon will mature at a normal rate and maybe they could be an item in about 15 years…

I think Luann’s just turning into a bitch. Let her be an old maid and move on to other characters already….this is getting boring!

SPOILER ALERT

True nature of an Aussie is revealed and it ain’t purty.

But those overly concerned with jewelry may be pleased.

Wow. I really wonder about all the people who try to offer “advice” to characters in a cartoon strip.

The character Quill has been on borrowed time for a year or more at least. Greg indicated ages ago that he didn’t feel that “nice guy” Quill had enough depth to sustain story-lines. Apparently Greg originally intended that he’d been written out of the strip when he “went back to Australia”. Greg also admitted that resurrecting the character after that was, in hindsight, a mistake. From that point on," Quill" was clearly on his way out; it was a mere matter of how, why and when.

This is your way out, Quill.

Run, now.

Save yourself !