Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for May 23, 2016

If only she knew more about him.

Bernice sure adores a man of mystery.

…and a wife and kids that he’s not telling anybody about.

That’s enough to stake a lifelong commitment on.

Wouldn’t they be more comfortable sitting on the couch?

oh god, that was WEEKS AGO! Also she is so oblivious to the fact that he’s more likely to be into guys than girls

Well, there you go.

Did I say her nose would be open? It is clear her nose is already open. Put a locomotive through nostrils going both ways. What that means, for those culturally unaware, is a Southern Delta based metaphor for someone hopelessly in love with, or in a major way, having a very visceral, physical crush on someone else. Prio is someone totally foreign to Bernice’s experience, plus he is quite attractive, or is thus attractive to her, contrary to some here who totally missed the attraction he presents. Too many got into his apparent circumstances, but that just adds to the mystery, but does not mean he is some kind of lower level bum. if he is a bum I bet it will be emotional in that he totally ignores, plays with, or stomps on Bernice’s feelings. Or she might draw him out. If it turns out he has the capacity or interest to feel the same way about her, the way she feels about him, she will fly to the moon for him. That is what I mean about nose being open. She is so new to love. I hope this does not break her heart.

Strong Hands, Soulful eyes, Sexy Voice, is there anything else Bernice?“Oh yes….I WANT TO HAVE HIS BABY!”Hey these ladies are in College now, Sooner or Later There will be a story arc involving an ….. ‘All the Way’ conversation.

He could be a poverty-stricken scholar who got enough of a scholarship to cover tuition but not enough to cover living expenses. Or a druggie whose savings went into his arm. Or a struggling film student willing to sacrifice everything for his art. Or a kid who got kicked out of his home for shaving a star on the side of his head. Or an undocumented worker trying to better his life under the radar. Or a rich psych student studying sharing behavior by pretending to be homeless. Or a student in hiding from his dorm-mate. OR someone with mental health problems that won’t let him get his act together. Or a 38 year old journalist trying to see if a student could get away with attending college without having enrolled. Or…any other guesses?

Dez got too much sun over the weekend and has her darker complexion today …

Interesting: “A sexy voice.” It just occurred to me that we know what everybody looks like and no idea what they sound like. As far as sexy voice: I bet Toni has a voice as sexy as her looks.

Okay lemme see if I got this straight about this “Piro” Guy:

NOBODY Knows what classes He takes.

NOBODY Knows who His instructors are.

NOBODY Knows what dorm room He stays in.

NOBODY Knows who His so-called room mate is.

And apparently, NOBODY, not even Dez, seems to Know what His REAL name is.

But all of THAT is “Okay” because Bernice thinks He’s “hot” or something.

GOT It.

Bern, You’d Better SNAP Him up before some other babe gets Him.

You MIGHT wanna do a “background check” on Him FIRST, though…..,,

This comic strip is not even funny anymore. been like this for a few weeks. CMON…lets go to other story…..

Ditto!

anybody else notice that Dez has lost weight lately? Isn’t Dez the one who first invited him into their room?

news flash for Bernice, get real, unless Piro is suffering from a serious case of “opposites attract itis”, ain’t nothing gonna happen between you and Piro and if it does it won’t end well

Did Dez suddenly become black?

I could see a story arc like with andrea zuckerman on the tv show 90210. She is depicted as the nerdy character in high school but winds up in multiple relationships her freshman yesr of college.

How does Bern know Piro has “stong hands?” When did he ever put his hands on her?

Okay, first, Dez has always been some racial mixture, and we have seen her darker in warm weather and lighter in cold weather before, since that topic has come up before. That just makes sense. People tan, albeit at different individual levels, and having more pigment does not mean that does not occur.I agree that what Bernice is having is more of a visceral reaction (lust in the three Ls of lust, love, and liking), but wonder if Piro might be a man who enjoys being seduced rather than jumped. Yes, such men do exist.

Waiting For Dez to tell us Piro’s life storyHe is probably a Vet with a tortured past.

This strip is spiraling out of control. Hit the deck!

Any ideas what volatile chemical compounds Bernice is exhaling right now? Her’s is a highly emotional state.Short plain language piece on interesting study:http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2016/05/cinema-audience-atmosphere-isoprene-volatiles

Another week of angst over Piro by Bernice. Can we please move on?

what is it with women who have “the need to breed”? why are they often attracted to the bad boy type? Are they seen as “alpha” males who will protect the woman and her offspring? So often those very bad boy types beat their women and disappear when the 2 AM feedings start. Piro may be fun but guys like Brad and Gunther are for the long haul.

Hey! He may be a diamond in the rough.

It’s the soulful eyes!

That is my point, this is not a gag a day strip and never has been. It is funny, but in the context of stories in the strip.

No luck so far finding Dez as a name rather than a nickname, but there is this:http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Dez

Here are some things Bernice knows about Piro, besides his soulful eyes and strong hands. He is not a predator. She can trust him and is safe with him. That means a lot to a woman. He is quiet—to a fault no doubt—polite, grateful, and he dresses tastefully and well (in spite of mistaken comments to the contrary.) He likes her, as evidenced by his appropriate recommendations to her as she was about to travel to New York for the first time. (And if I recall correctly, he touched her gently on that occasion, but I am too lazy to go back to check to see if this was not just a figment of my imagination.) Sukie Crandall made some of these same points above.

It’s always the way. The “nice” girls go for the bad boys and the “nice” guys go for the icebergs and the witches. Then when they get burned they go crying to the people they should have been with in the first place, like poor Gunther. You never truly know someone until you see how they act when something doesn’t go their way or you won’t do what they want. It takes more than a few days in Manhattan to become a mature adult. I grew up in NYC, and believe me, it has immature people too.

I’m a Vietnam veteran. When I went to college after my service I saw that vets who seemed the most sullen always got pretty girls. I found out it was an act because it attracted the “need to be needed” types. I tried it, and it worked. I’m not proud of it but it was the only way many of us could get girls. Most of the others were afraid of us. Of course, it never lasted. Thankfully, I grew up and finally met the right woman, to whom I have been happily married for 40 years.

And he’s a bum who sleeps in other people’s apartments.

You’re talking about a relatively inexperienced college kid who thinks she’s been transformed by a week in Manhattan. All that character and integrity stuff comes later. Right now, she’s just got a case of the bad boy hots. Heaven help her if she tries to change him. That never works.

New to (commenting on) this list, so my apologies in advance if this horse has been kicked to death already, but wasn’t Bernice ‘involved’, in a not quite wholesome way (on the male part) with some older dude like YEARS ago?

“How does Bern know Piro has “stong hands?” When did he ever put his hands on her?”Listing all the items that Ms. Bern believes without evidence, or, for that matter, any 19 year old, would be a fool’s errand. But I will patiently read your additions.

She should just ask him on a date!

Idiot is in love with a superficial image. I’m sure Piro is great, but she really knows nothing about him, and he doesn’t know she exists.

Now that she’s spilled her guts to her roomie, Dez, I guess it’s official. Bernie has fallen for Piro (or at least for her romantic notion of Piro)!This leaves Tiffany an opening with Gunther….

Desdemona and Piro among my favorite characters. If we learn too much about them, they will lose a bit of their charm for me!

My earlier post was partial. Here it is in full." .This is a great lesson in counseling for Bernice!Now she’ll be able to understand why women fall for or stay with men they know are bad for them. The hormones as well as the intellect drive behavior. (Sometimes into a brick wall.)

I think all the people who probably hadn’t read this strip for many years, then come in, discover it’s not the same strip about the hilarious adventures of a girl in high school and her classmates that it was 15 years ago, then post their “ths trip is terrible and needs to be fixed” … need their attitude fixed..Greg and Karen Evans made a decision long ago to take the strip in this direction. In my opinion, it wouldn’t still have a big following (remember, it is one of only a handful of strips on GoComics with subscribed readership of over 10,000) because that “gag-a-day” format — as NightGaunt45 rightly calls it — would have been tired and worn out by now..You don’t like it? No one is forcing you to read it. But I will point out that we get a few of these comments every day, which means 50 or more per month. If that was a significant number to the Evans, don’t you think they would have reversed course by now?.They don’t need your advice. They’re not taking your advice. So please go away.

There has been worry that Bern might eventually wind up with her heart broken. Honestly, even if that happens it is not the end of the world. Like most people i went through that several times before meeting the right man. In fact, i remained friends with most of them. There is learning which happens from such losses, too. The saying that it is better to have loved and lost than never loved at all is a wise one.

never mind about the name, I just saw that the name is different.

I’ve been very interested in this Bernice – Piro pairing since it became evident that she was interested in him. I’m hoping we get to see something other than what so many here seem to expect. I honestly feel that Piro is a troubled soul, and I doubt that he is conscious of any impact he is having on Bernice or anyone else.

I wasn’t following this comic back when Bernice was involved with Zane, but someone provided a retrospective. Based on that, I concluded that Bernice is drawn to guys not just because of their looks (although that is part of it), but because some part of her wants to make things okay for people who have troubles….

Why is Des dark with brown hair when in previous strips she has a light complexion with rusty red hair?

korakazembe903 said, less than a minute agoWhy is Des dark with brown hair when in previous strips she has a light complexion with rusty red hair?Have to redo. My bad eye caused me to touch the delete button.Anyway, the degree to which individuals tan varies, with so e individuals not tanning much, but others tanning quite a bit. That is true for medium skin tones just as it is for light ones.Dez got lighter in winter.Playing w colorful hair dyes — permanent ones and tempoarary ones is bery popular w young women. Dez may be trying a purplish dye or rinse. A young friend recently had the lowerer portion of her blond hair changed to scarlet to match a gown for a public event, and a brunette niece recently did her ends pink.Then again, Sheriff may be playing with us.

BTW, if you wonder why Sheriff might play w us w the color choices it pays to just blame lake effect snow. ;-)

What do we know about him?

The expression on Dez’s face in the last panel suggests that she may not know much more (about Piro) herself. I would have thought that she might, given that she is a friend of a friend (of his) and that Piro has been hanging out in her ‘space’ from time to time. But we have a whole week for some of this to unfold.

Dez is darker than normal today…

And why is it that we keep getting “Dez’ hair is different” posts after it has been potentially explained?.I know why, as do most of the regulars, but here I go for the rest ….PLEASE READ THE EXISTING COMMENTS BEFORE ASKING QUESTIONS THAT ARE SO OBVIOUS SOMEONE IS BOUND TO HAVE ALREADY ASKED THEM!.There. I feel better now.

I guess that he is a homeless vagabond doesn’t seem noticeable to her.

“…PLEASE READ THE EXISTING COMMENTS BEFORE ASKING QUESTIONS THAT ARE SO OBVIOUS SOMEONE IS BOUND TO HAVE ALREADY ASKED THEM!….”-———————————————————————————

You are right to say this. No doubt I can be accused of “re-inventing the wheel” now and then.. But, often by the time I get to read and comment on the day’s strip, there are already about 100 comments (at least) and reading through them all is an arduous task, especially where people start conversing about anything and everything… but the strip. But in the future I shall endeavor to do as THIS comment bids.

The strip really isn’t funny, it’s actually sad that the characters are afraid to assert themselves and go after what they want. Only Tiffany, despite her many failures, continues to try, but Greg always shoots her down. But it is addictive and the artwork is good. 9 Chickwood Lane also has very fine art work, but the characters there have no soul, they are sterile and depressing and have all the personality of a Starbucks’ wall menu.

And sometimes the tint changes from day-to-day. So what of it?

exactly.

SPOILER TWO

The sooth said by a sayer may not fit all