Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for December 19, 2016

Or is he?

maybe Leslie Knox is finally reformed

Wow!!! What a turn on a previously aggravating, nasty character! =-O

Leslie will probably convince everyone to give him something nice, then he will go to the 25¢ gumball/toy machine in the front lobby to get everyone else’s gifts.

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“Ooh, look at this nice goldtone necklace…”

Oppps!!! “Lost” my comment! =-O Let’s just say Leslie and “nice” are mutually exclusive…

You can’t see me, but I’m giving side eye to Les.

Hopefully Les exchanged his lousy attitude for a better one.

Hmm…Les saying “I’m a very nice guy” is like Rain Man saying “I’m an excellent driver.”

“I’m a better man with you as a friend than I ever was with a woman as a lover.”

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“Oh Leslie, I don’t even think of you as a man. Join me. We’ll figure something out.”

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“This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.”

COMMENT FORUM CRISIS AVERTED: TJ refrained from saying “Kafe Kablooie Kristmas” (KKK)

:- p

Re: Les’s expression – I can’t tell if his motive is profit – or Pru.

What does Les get from exchanging presents? Are there really kids Les talked about or himself? Is Kafe Kablooie fated to be kablooie? Stay tuned, same Luanne time, same Luanne channel.

Yea! Go Leslie! Maybe turning over a new leaf! Even if so, I think, under stress, the old nasty (wounded) part of him may re-emerge to compete with the new… Still, how splendid to see. For me, this is a wonderful holiday season gift — the rebirth or resurgence of a character’s Good inner nature. How apropos for today, so close to the winter solstice (Dec 21), when the longest night gives way to a gradually developing longer day. Well played, Greg and company!

We’ll see. I’ve been waiting to see the next installment of the Les plotline. Even if it doesn’t resolve yet, I still want to know more about who knows what, who suspects what — and above all, where is Mr. Grey in all this? Did he know Les was crooked when he arranged for him to get the job?

Count me among those who are a long way from convinced that Our Boy has turned over a new leaf. He may be looking to impress Pru, but then her orientation is no secret, so he isn’t likely to want to impress her That Way.

No way is Leslie becoming a nice person…..he has some kind of con on his mind.

I wouldn’t trust Les for a second. Personally, imo, he’s making a sham effort to appear ‘a changed man’ to get close to Luanne.

It probably happens more often than I realize, but I notice this entire strip is completely without any member of the actual DeGroot family.

Les just has one of those faces that even if his intentions are pure, he still looks like he’s up to something. (Kudos to Greg for making him look that way.) I’ve known people like that in real life. Hopefully he actually has turned over a new leaf and it will be a case of “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Although, I suspect that there will still be some more life lessons ahead that he’ll need to work through first. People usually just don’t do complete 180s that quickly.

We shall see. I would rather be too optimistic, hopeful, and (to some) too pollyanna, than cynical, suspicious, hardened, tough-worldly and calloused by life’s “tough knocks.” I have massaged those kinds of people over 36 years (I’m a massage therapist) and generally, their bodies are not on the best of shape. (Also we optimists get sick less often.) But yea— maybe Les is pulling a con towards a selfish goal, maybe not. Maybe even he has multiple motivations (ie mixed bag, like the characters in Game of Thrones). Tally Ho!

If they’re going to host a party for Christmas, they’d better Hurry!!! Christmas is just a week from today…maybe they’re “on a roll?!” Perhaps they should just call it a “holiday” party…that way they won’t have to rush!. (This year the “holidays” are all over the place this month!). Of course, there is the Ultimate party: New Year’s Eve! ;) I think I would rather see Luann and friends celebrate the beginning of 2017…the excitement would be there, with lots of time to share what and where they would like to see themselves during the New Year! :)

everyone will “pull” his name if they do a secret santa thing :/

It really seems that Les is trying to be a regular person. It also seems that he is fond of Pru. She has always treated him as an equal.

This job is the first place Les has just been treated as one of the group. He is respected for who he is by people that trust him. Albeit they could get burned. But people like Ox and Pru just seem to be good through and through and that might be rubbing off on Les.

Due to the elasticity of “Comic Strip Time,” X-Mas falls in close proximity to the wedding date.

I wouldn’t trust Les any further than I could throw him, if he were real… he’s planning some con……. Fortunately, the King of cons, is also his boss!

Neither has Les reformed, nor turned a new leaf. Regardless of Prudence’s orientation, Les is conniving in some way to impress his supervisors. “Hoodwink” you could say. Plus, Les is likely to have some extra cash to spend on nice gifts from the Fuse patrons’ charity “donations.”

Yup opportunity knocks , wait What !

TJ seems surprised and suspicious, which makes sense. Being a con man himself, he knows a snake when he sees one.

Jackreader This one just covered a short time span.. The strips don’t cover a day a piece all the time.Other strips jump a few days or so (Gunther trip with Rosa). So it makes sense to me/

I’d bet he gives something to someone that will land them in jail.

Hee – Pru called him Leslie, and he didn’t correct her. I don’t think this leopard has changed his spots…..

everyone pulls Leslie’s name from the hat.

“Gift Exchange,” eh? From Needlenose, No Les!You know, NOW Might be a REALLY Good time for the Gang to look up the Meaning of: “Possession of Stolen Property”….,

Leslie vs. TJ could be amusing.

QUOTE. jackreacher said, about 7 hours agoI was getting flamed the other day for my inappropriate political post. Now the heat is on Les. I apologize for that if I offended anyone. END QUOTE

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Sorry, but Les will not forgive if you insulted any scam artist or even perhaps insulted any scam artist, or even perhaps hinted at an insulting attitude toward any scam artist. (I actually forgot what you said, but it is a good time to remind people that scams and vengeance are a good bit of what Les is about. If those who know them look at the Seven Deadly Sins and the Ten Commandments, Les is among the scammers who already had violated several. How many do you count of each?

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There is always room for growth, but that SHOULD also include the growth of one’s own ways to constructively include skepticism while being fair. (When some people get enough rope they ultimately hang themselves. That does not mean you should get tangled in it if you can avoid that). ;-)

Maybe once Les finds out Pru’s orientation, she’ll become a friend to Les in much the same way she “mentored” Bern and Luann. You know…ship him off to NY. :-p

OK, I could be wrong about how many people are aware of Pru’s sexual preference. It still seems to me that she’d be wise enough to see the potential problems if Frank and Nancy found out from some other source, not Pru herself, that she was gay, and had been sleeping just down the hall from their precious daughter, likely sharing a bathroom.

Parents can react emotionally to things like that, even when there’s no logical reason for them to panic. Especially if Pru didn’t mention it to them herself — and she’s been living there for at least a few months by now, even in Luanniverse time.

We can wait and see on that. Another question that occurs to me, though, is Prudence’s age. I originally figured her for about ten or fifteen years older than Luann and Quill, maybe in her late twenties or early thirties. I don’t recall any mention of her age in the script.

Is she now being presented to us as a contemporary of Luann, Les and all, or is she still supposed to be somewhat older? She’s clearly (?) not in Frank’s and Nancy’s generation, I just hadn’t figured her for quite Luann’s age either. That doesn’t mean that Les couldn’t be interested in her, maybe even more so. I’m just curious.

…aw, that’s nothing…I’ve been reading the “Freefall” web comic that started in 1998 – it’s only 3 times a week but nonetheless, in the 18 years since it’s started, the plot line has only moved a couple of months :) :)…

I honestly thought today would be Brad calling his dad with a bunch of questions. That’s how old it all got

Since Leslie Knox is based on a bully Greg knew as a young man, is it even possible for him to develop/evolve the character into a non-bully? He may have a mindset regarding Leslie that’d be difficult to overcome.

We have Moore’s Law in computer chips, and Les’s Law of Sharing, soon to become clear, which also involves exponential growth.

I will await developments regarding Les and the Kafe Kablooie Christmas party, but I will comment that there are several possible checks on Les’s presumed cons: TJ himself, whom some still insist is a con man, Ox who Les does not want to cross, Mr. Gray, who while not in the picture, is a possible check, and maybe even Pru, who while she likes to see the good in people has big city experience, and has been around. Interesting transition-possibly-from the wedding.

Also the wedding banner is no longer on top of the page, a sure sign, for those dying for a new arc, that we are embarking on a new arc.

7

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Very interesting possibilities here. Is Les “REFORMED” or is this the start of a new “HUSTLE” by him? As ae2 stated, his face always has a nefarious look, so we really cannot discern his true intent at this point.

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But, which scenario would be more interesting?

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Les driving a hustle? I am sure this could follow many paths. But, the idea of a “gift exchange” hustle makes me immediately feel he is aiming to get the other three in trouble, perhaps with some “ill gotten” gain of one sort or another. If Greg pursues this approach, I am not sure how he may do it…. but that is the sort of hustle/scam that seems possible here.

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Les showing redeeming qualities? If Les is actually growing as a character, that would be surprising and interesting initially. Yet, perhaps Les is needed more as a “villain”? I guess he could be becoming a bit better… but still retain some of his “villainous” behaviors in other contexts. That would make him a more full-range character.

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FINALLY, though… what pray-tell could be in store for the Kafe Kablooee Christmas Extravaganza this year? TJ bringing it up, makes me think he already has some ideas in mind.

“It’s a trap”

Les is about as nice as a snake.

Oh good— another is he or isn’t he (a villain) arc!

Sure glad he didn’t put a “K” inflection in Christmas.

I can’t believe TJ at least has not figured out Les’ true character. All 3 of them cannot be that naive.

Les can give gifts to other people all he wants, but he cannot tell people to get him gifts. That is rude and pushy.

Am I the only one that laughed out loud at this? Les is using one of the “wedding gifts for his Christmas exchange gift”. Now that’s funny!!

Les can’t get all the gifts himself. The others would know something is wrong when they do not get a gift.

did he steal the wedding gifts?

People who are assuming that Les will use a wedding gift are likely forgetting that Toni and Brad had asked people to donate to a firefighter’s charity, instead of giving gifts. It’s true that some guests might ignore that request, but given the fact that a lot of the guests were firefighters, I figured that most of the guests went along with the request…

“Getting Stepford Hives”

“A Face In My Back Pocket”

“I’m A Fan Of Putting On Airs”

“Oh, The Deuteragony!”

“A Skilled Ulterior Decorator”

“Another Golden Opportunity For Knox”

“Continental Shift-y”

“Made In The Shady”

“A Worm Finds The Soft Spot”

“Walk Softly, And Carry A ‘Big Cue’ Stick”

“When Did They Go Keeping Hearts In Jaws?”

“The Fin-nish Language”

“Dr. Teeth And The Snake Medicine Show”

or

“What A Big Smile, You Have!”

The possibilities for a hookup between Pru and Les are intriguing. VERY intriguing!

The problem with someone with a history like Les is…-When you really mean to smile, and you are putting your heart into something, or you just wanted to do one nice thing, you nearly have to bring an attorney, file an affidavit in court, and submit to two credit checks… just to hold a puppy…

Less of Les is more here today.

I’m like Doubting Thomas, I have to have visual proof that Les has reformed before I give him the benefit — as the saying goes, “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me”.

Will Leslie scam T.J.?

Without reading all 104 comments, back on the 16th, Les looked like he was saying something nice, or being nice to Pru. Does he know bats for the other team? Could that be where this arc is heading?

And so where is this honeymoon taking place? At home with TJ nearby? Niagara Falls, which is probably frozen? Disneyland with Micky & Minnie?

$500 gift. I, Les, would like a gift card— easier for you. In turn, I’ll give you this bautiful blue & white soup tureen.

What could go wrong?

I am so fed up. How many times does he have to tell you to stop calling him Leslie?

Are we going to go from the lofty heights of a beautiful wedding arc down into the depths of Leslie’s cesspool? And, what is Pru doing? She came all the way in from Broadway to stage theater productions, not hang out with the wait staff and live in a rented room with the DeGroots. We’ve got New Year’s Eve coming, she should be planning something big and loud and colorful. Come on, Leslie is just a rat-faced storm cloud and crook.

LOL he doesn’t realize that he’s just not her type!!!

Les is barking up the wrong tree….

People like Les don’t suddenly change without some kind of motivation, usually by getting arrested or some other negative action. A wise person would be wary of Les at all times.

Man who trusts Les Knox has a Fool residing in his head….

What’s the scheme, Crime Boy? Should we call in Mr. Gray right away?

If he looks like a rat and thinks like a rat and acts like a rat then he is certainly not Frosty the Snowman.

Has everyone seen the celebritycafe.com interview with Greg and Karen? There’s a nice shout-out to us gocomics Luann fans (and detractors). I know the article ran a few weeks ago and many of you have probably already seen it – but I thought I’d repost for those who (like me) weren’t around or online during Thanksgiving week, when it originally appeared.

As for Les – I’ve no doubt that he’s up to no good… or should I say that I doubt his intentions are good? In any event, watch your wallets, folks!

OOPS – sorry. The correct name of the website with the Greg and Karen interview is THECELEBRITYCAFE.COM. The interview was posted on Nov. 29, 2016.

What a wonderful story – probably worth a whole lot more than whatever your dad got for the “soup tureen”!

Spoiler: Les slipping pot…

My son graduated high school in the same year Luann did – 2014. He will be turning 21 next year and so should she.

SPOILER 2

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Someone will be in for a surprise

Hmmmm…..why do I smell a “Leslie-shaped” rat?

This isn’t about sexual orientation, it’s about a con job. But Greg’s continuity is off: Broadway Pru should be planning a production of some kind and Ox should be playing football somewhere. Featuring Rat-face is wrapping up the year on a sour note.

Ok, Les isn’t upset that Pru call him Leslie. I’m sure this means he has a crush on her and once he discovers she’s a lesbian he won’t take it well. Apart from that, I’m sure he’s up to something mischievous.