Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for August 29, 2017

Watch your purse, Luann…

So, what made you transfer here, Taker…uh, Tara? Sorry, did I bump into you? I’m such a klept—klutz. How about after class, we go grab a burglar—burger.

Nice impulse control, Luann.

Does Tara rhyme with Sarah or with Laura? Any votes?

I personally thinks she looks innocent, and is drawn that way, sort of a reverse Jessica Rabbit, who was drawn to look sexy. We still don’t know the details, but to those who thought Luann would forget the alleged thief’s name well you were wrong!! Alleged is very strong with me. Tara is too cute to be guilty. I am kind of gullible to a pretty face (lol). We need proof.

‘Friendship’ not off to a great start.

Is it just me or did her bangs grow a couple inches longer since yesterdays strip?? Looks like we all were right.. she’s Luann’s new partner. (Big surprise)

Luann. Is there any reason WHY You didn’t give Tara Starr here, your last name?

Ashamed of the DeGroot Linage?

Or are You afraid that much information will enable Ms Starr to find out where You live and one day “Clean Out” the DeGroot Homestead?

So many different story lines!

One of the joys of community colleges is that most have no dormitories and thus parking can be a problem. Unlike Mooney University, where Tara Starr could just roll out of bed, steal a few things and still make it to class on time; she will have to adjust her stealing time to allow for parking time too.

3Why do I get the feeling that we will eventually find out Tara was set-up? She isn’t drawn sinister enough like the other undesirable characters.

Smooth, Luann. Tres smooth.

A very uncomfortable moment – to be followed by an uncomfortable hour of Bio 101. After class, I hope Luann can find her wits and have a nice chat with Tara, who has evidently paid for any misdeeds and deserves kindness and respect.

Tara is how you tell fortune. Star is used to be a seer. This girl has an evil name.

A connection between Tara & Piro seems to be hiding in the bushes….

Case of mistaken identity. This girl is no crook.

If she was actually the one who stole the things she would have been expelled.

It would rhyme with ‘Sarah.’ Think of “Gone With The Wind.”

Wow. We made it all the way to 2 AM Arizona time and there’s not one sexist remark.

Well the boy’s table has three measuring glasses when Luann’s table only has two.

Does this inequality fulfill the missing missive machination?

Perhaps it was all a mistake. Maybe Tara is covering for someone who just happened to use her room while she was away.

Freudian Slip alert!

Luann should just come clean and let Tara know that she knows about the thefts. Luann is a terrible liar and she can’t keep this going for long.

For security purposes, Luann needs to keep her valuables at a minimum and close to her and listen to whatever Tara Starr says with cynicism and skepticism.

Another one of those names with ‘dual pronunciations’ is that of Lara- some are “Lair-ah”, and some are “Law-rah”…

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I had the situation in school of having someone who had the same first and last name as me. I’d sometimes get called to the office, by mistake. Someone else I knew, outside of school, also had first/last names in common with me. Good thing there’s such a thing as middle initials!…

…Wonder if this Tara Starr goes through that kind of situation?…

Well, now we know why she is no longer at Mooney. Will Luann be out of class for 3 seconds before texting Bern?

She looks too cute and innocent to have stolen stuff.

“Your Freudian Slip Is Showing”

“That Wild Cat Got Your Tongue?”

“Tag!…You’re It?”

“Transference Of Elements”

“Nomenclature, On The Range” (♬)

“For Whom The Label Tolls”

“In-Credit-able”

“Identity Crisis”

“News Travels Faster Than The Speed Of Sound Thinking”

“I Think, Therefore You Are”

“Firsthand Experience With Secondhand Facts”

“In The Steal Of The Night” (♬)

“I Get Around?” (♬)

“Terrible At Impressions”

or

“First Encounters Of The Secondhand Kind”

Well, looks like Borenice poisoned Luann’s brain.

Brenda’s granddaughter?

7

So…. is Tara really guilty…. or is she covering up for someone else? The presumption is that she is truly guilty in the tv/vending machine incident, because she would not have wanted to leave Moony. But…. that may not be the whole picture. Any thoughts?

If Tara remains as a long-term character…. and she is truly guilty of the tv/vending machine crime…. will she a) be reformed and work to do things in an honorable fashion, or b) will she become more of a villain like Eiffel and Les (at least how Les has been most of his time in the comic).

I predict Tara Starr works for Ann Eiffel…who we know has rented the DeGroot’s venue for a “lingerie party”. But, its actually to fence the stolen goods her young employees, like Tara, steal for her. Betcha.

Could it be?:

Tara had a roommate in Room 213, who looked similar enough to her? Roommate gets hold of Tara’s ID card – during break, steals the TV – breaks into the vending machine, dressed similar to Tara? Tara gets framed and takes the hit – while the roommate beats it out of town?

A bit out there, I know … but possible!

Maybe Tara is seeing the same Dr. Heald as Piro? To treat her compulsion to take things?

She obviously was expelled from Mooney. I would expect the law is, or has been involved, and that she has some kind of record as to her offenses. I imagine that does not prevent you from attending community college because of their charter to serve all in the community. More intrigue to follow.

“Steal – Starr … To-MAY-to – To-MAH-to! Don’t call the whole thing off!”

I need to see more of this story (and we shall)!! :)

Here’s an odd thought. Maybe Tara is one of the “lingerie models” for Ann’s upcoming show.

The Bio teacher looks like he has never laughed – even once…

I think at this moment – Luann is more embarrassed than Tara – even if Tara figured out what Luann knows. Tara looks like she can ride the bumps with grace.

Introducing a new character with a questionable moral compass. Possible love interest for Les?

I must have missed a large part of Tara being in the strip, or just dont remember… can someone point me to when she showed up for the first time so I can go back and read them all?

Hmm… problem is that if Luann does reveal that she knows about Tara’s record, at the same time she is revealing that Bernice has been playing a bit fast and loose with confidential information. So implying is about as much as she can do. But this particular “slip” doesn’t look calculated, she’s clearly honestly freaked out.

What next? The idea that she will turn out to be affiliated with Ann (by bdmiles1) isn’t half bad, especially given this recent plotline fashion of tying in all loose ends with each other, even if doing so requires an outrageous stretch. ;s

Oh, and no matter how much some here want Tara to be innocent, she’s totally guilty without any shadow of a doubt. The stolen TV plus other stolen goods were found in her room after security was tipped off to look there by watching a clear video of this charming young lady break into a vending machine, leaving glass shards all over the corridor. She urgently needed sugar? Right… She is supposedly an outgoing, vivacious girl, living in a dorm surrounded by classmates and other people she is familiar with. Shattering a vending machine’s window is a course of action to be taken over knocking on a neighbor’s door and asking for some sugar? Seriously, snap out of it.

Note that the Spanish version totally bypasses the “steal /Starr” slip.

Good thing no two people have the same name..

Is she the kleptomaniac who stole Clyde’s cooper clappers, kept in a closet in Cleveland?

For now I am going to figure that Tara is not inherently dishonest but that she really needed the $. Hopefully her story will emerge.

I have never seen so much smoke. Need to look at the fire. Luann could admit that through friendships she has at Mooney, she knows the “official” story. And that she is a person that is not one to judge others via hearsay. Ask for the truth and keep your purse in sight.

PIPE: Heads up:

https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40168-017-0321-3

Tara Steal…err, Starr, looks to me rather much like a red-headed version of a de-gothed, makeup-free Crystal. I guess there are only so many college-girl “face-types” in the cartoonist toolkit….

Good for Luann, remembering who Tara really is (i.e., what she did; we still don’t know fully who she is, and I continue to wonder if she might be related to Ann Eiffel: Leslie Knox’s half-sister?). At least Luann can be alert to what could transpire.

My guess is that Luann will get to know Tara and hear her side of the story, which will lead to a big blow up with Bernice. People have been begging Greg for ages about the girl in 213 and now that we’re getting answers, people are griping. Ugh! Make up your minds!

OK – My vision going forward: I certainly hope Luann chats with Tara a little after class. Tara lights up a cigarette. Luann ventures, “Tara, nobody smokes anymore.” Tara replies, “I know, but rehab told me not to try to quit smoking until I get past the other stuff.” Luann suddenly finds herself in a very honest conversation. Luann can handle it. She’s a good kid.

Some commentators say she couldn’t be a thief because she is drawn as a cutie?? Come on. That is such a superficial comment and thinking. Thievery does not discriminate. Anyone is capable. Klepto does not have a “look.” Be smart.

Is Tara Starr evil? With a name that spelled backwards reads rrats a rat I think we can say yes. As for looking too cute to be evil remember than Ann Effiel looks cute is totally evil. And judging from the length of time between learning that the girl in 213 was the crook and learning her name I would suggest that the “Lingerie” party won’t till some time in the new year. Also, there won’t be any lingerie models just some fire bombs….