Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for January 22, 2019

“Which part,” asks Bernice. Uh… methinks all of it?

Admittedly I never thought of Ann as much of a public cut-up as she was there in that restaurant.

The reality of the situation Tiff is that your father has money not you. Time to fly the nest.

Bernice is imagining “Lifestyles of the rich and famous”?

Better yet, Tiffany can tell her old man and his prostitute to take a hike.

Back in the day, I not only had an allowance based on chores I did, but my parents didn’t even have credit cards, let alone giving me one. Sorry, Tiffany, I can’t believe or relate to any of this…

its called joining the real world (I usually don’t like ann but tiff needs to get her life in order and this is a good start)

This will lead to a mature and an independent Tiffany. Thanks to her ‘step-mother’.

OK, Greg. One week you finally give Tiffany a pass and make the board here feel sorry for Tiffany, but you just couldn’t let it last. The strokes of your pen this week have again turned her into someone to despise because she is “so spoiled”. The situation you created for her is having her mother wished off to the cornfield or something other unexplained disappearance, and left with an old man who understands nothing but money and material things. Instead of “Tiffany, my daughter, dad loves you, let’s go out for dinner and we can spend some time together”, it’s more like the W.C.Fields approach to parenting: “Here’s a quarter, kid – get away from me”, in this case it’s not a quarter, but a platinum prime credit card. Any wonder why she is the way she is?

Meanwhile, the old man is at home tossing quarters on the coffee table to see if Ann can pick them up.

We now have a “gathering” of two of the originals, waiting for Luann to join them. She can bring along Puddles, too.

I remember when Tiffany’s “wardrobe” consists of only one outfit. Care for anyone to guess what that was?

As shallow as Tiffany sounds, I think I understand what she’s upset about. Yes, she overspends. But that’s not the point. The point is how Tom’s attitude towards his daughter and her habits has changed thanks to Ann’s influence. Now, on the one hand, Tom showing more of an interest in his daughter’s habits maybe a good thing. But when they’re being influenced by Ann Awful? I dunno

Most of us are not waving the go flag for the lowlife gold-digger wench. Need anyone need me to say this is Ann Awful. I think Tiff and her father love each other. Tom is smitten with Ann, but Ann loves herself and money – not much else. Let’s see Tom dump Ann on her lying…. We need less stress, more happy endings!

Oh Tiff understands now she just has to figure a way to convince Tom of that good luck kid.

It was how she felt loved by daddy. Poor thing won’t have money to obscure her daddy issues now.

Its time for Tiffany to grow up. And if it means a good kit in the rear by Ann then so be it.

Tom shows that he does not value his daughter when he lets a woman he is dating/living make the decisions and be the one who pronounces them to Tiffany. She’s not even a step-mother! Max it out and save some of it, Tiffany. A rainy day is coming.

Is it possible Tiffs Money was from her Mom by way of herfather. Making it really Tiffs money.

Tiff’s dad can be rich but her Mom’s money was being spenton the little girl who looked just like her when she was a girl. All money does not come from a man. woman are more than a breeder.

I always wondered about this. Why don’t kids that get that kind of allowance just put some of it up? I am serious. If you put up a little, say $300 a month, by the time you finish college you have a little cushion, just in case.

I hope Tiffany evolves from this into someone Ann can’t touch. Her “father” seems to have chosen. It’s time for her to do the same.

The card-cutting would be more acceptable coming from Tiff’s father, rather than the evil Ann. I wish Greg would bring Tiffany’s father into the comic.

Tough love and discipline needs to start early in life, like at 10, not at 19, 22, or however old Tiffany is. She’s been spoiled and it’s Tom’s fault. Tom has not been a “parent”, merely a provider, perhaps to keep from having to physically care for her. So, he has “bought” respect from Tiffany.

The Ann part, Bernie… the card part was fine, but the cutting way was wrong, and to be done by Ann is cruel.

It’s very possible that Daddy Tom is not that great of a communicator. Not that he doesn’t speak, probably… but his tokens of affection may have been louder than his words of love and firm guidance.

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From Tiffany’s standpoint, Tom Farrell is most likely a breakbeat 80s DJ at a party, suffering from Carpal Tunnel… He won’t ‘give out the scratch anymore, and when he did, previously, it was always a lot of ’mixed signals’ coming through..

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Especially now, which is probably what bugs Tiffany more. I’m sure she doesn’t like the limits, but maybe even more so, she can’t understand Tom’s sudden change in stance (starting with his reaction from the lingerie scam), with seemingly no prior warning. And that leads to one aggravating source, in her estimation… Ann Eiffel.

“You Never Miss Your Avian, Until The Wealth Runs Dry”

“Witholdings Are Taxing!”

“Daddy Sends His Words Of Love!…They’re In This Blender… "

“Tokens Of Depreciation”

“Benjamin’s Not Here…Just A Bunch Of Change”

“Cut Up The Dole”

“There’s An Itch, But I’ve Got No Scratch!”

“The Cash Strap Is Too Tight”

or

“Ann Eiffel Lot Of Troubles”

No, Anne has “selfish reasons” to do all that. Tiff walks away Tom will run after her to get her back. Tiff has to grow up and that’s how she will defeat Anne. Tom is not expecting Tiff to grow up, so he (and us) may get a surprise. This is the moment that Tiff turns the corner. Let’s hope she does, “for the better.”

Awww common Bren. You know how much Tiff has spent in the past. why do you need clarification on which part?

Tiffany need Dez’s advice NOW! Dez is from a rich family, but her style of life is simple and without big expense (except travel and tea) certainly is most able to give her advices than Bernice.

I’m just sooo sick of Ann Eiffel in any way shape or form period!!

What a tangled weave Gnk have woven. No wonder Bernice replies the way she did. Will she unwittingly help Tiffany begin to unweave it? The father who replaced parenting with an unlimited credit card, and the one who is putting on the brakes is a known grifter, and possibly a comic sociopath. But Tiffany needs discipline. Will Luannverse come to the rescue? (Hilarity ensues)?

A child of 10 with an unlimited credit card? I doubt it Tiff. Tom “Daddy Warbucks” Farrell isn’t that rich! Tiff either had some sense of excessive spending. I mean she never hired a Boy Band for entertainment as I can remember.

Even the world’s great concubines, like Jackie O, had spending limits (budgets?) written into the prenup. Maybe Ann is transferring her pique at her spending limits upon Tiff?

Fear not, Tiff. Even Cinderella had a fairy for a godmother. Something will turn up. Greg can’t make you into a “responsible” person. What would he do with another Nancy, or Toni, or Luann, or Bernice, or…?

The key point in Tif’s rant is her dad GAVE her a unlimited credit card and never griped about how much money Tif spent. (Granted, Tif is spoiled by that.) No doubt, Tom does not care now. It is Ann that “cares.” Ann is making a power play to control Tif by controlling Tif’s money. Tif cannot easily get out of Ann’s control without, getting control of HER money. Tif’s first move should be to max out the card she has as a Cash Advance; then pay cash for everything, so Ann cannot see where Tif spends money. Second move, Tif should get a job so she has a second cash stream Ann does not control. Then, she can work on how to get Tom out of Ann’s clutches. Ann, les’ mother, must be in her middle 40s, a bit long in the tooth for a Trophy Wife. (A nice twist would be the onset of menopause and sex goes away, so Tom dumps her for a nubile, fecond replacement.)

REALLY !!!. I know this is a comic strip but disinherit your child for a that piece of work. I would like to see Tiffany grow up but Ann has to go.

I can’t believe Bernice hasn’t shared what she knows about and has experienced with Ann…

Tiffany has always been self absorbed, but she does care about her friends and has been there for them. Ann has been a mother who abandoned her son, horrid boss, con artist and now gold digger. It’s time for her to get what’s coming to her.

Let’s see – this week most pick evil over emotionally neglected? A lot of you are jealous of Tiffany’s monetary wealth, but – who has taught her any life skills or given her emotional support all these years. Money is an empty replacement for all of that.

2

Sadly, it seems we are in store for at least several days of “old” Tiffany resurfacing and and having us remember unfondly some of her least desirable attributes. I still feel the following:

1. Tom “Cat” Ferrell is obnoxious. An unlimited credit card for a kid at 10…. and apparently no guidance on financial carefulness at all? He is not a parent. He just throws money at things (including Tiffany which apparently is just another “thing” to deal with from his perspective) until he doesn’t throw money at it anymore.

2. Ann is obnoxious and should not be involved in this at all.

3. I am truly annoyed at Tiffany’s “poor little rich girl”, lack of empathy display. I know that she has and should have more empathy and global understanding than she is displaying here. That she is not able to verbalize her plight in a more palatable fashion is a bit off-putting to me and is not working as humor. I have every hope that Greg will be turning this around and having Tiffany become the more caring and more mature young lady he had been guiding the character into…. but right now it is not happening.

4. My one hope for this arc is that we will see a great, strong, Bernice from these panels. Thus far Bernice is taking a good approach. She is letting Tiffany talk and have her say, but she is also not letting blatantly over-the-top statements pass without a bit of a jaundiced eye.

Perhaps that is Greg’s actual mission from this arc…. to show growth and development in Bernice? If so, I can overlook all this backpedaling in Tiffany’s character as being temporary. It would be wonderful to have Bernice fleshed out more and we glimpse her maturation as we have been seeing in some of the others as well!

Okay. I NEVER been a “Bernice Fan” by any stretch of the imagination, but the BEST thing Bern can do is to listen to what Tiffany has to say here, not matter how ridiculous, no matter how grating. Then when Tiff’s done, Bern can related her OWN experience with Ann. It might make Tiff feel better, that someone listened to her, and that’s SHE not Ann’s only “victim.”

There’s a new dynamic at work here that started over a year ago when Tiff told Bern how much she enjoyed watching star Trek with her: Bern and Tiffany becoming close pals, not unlike the way Bernice and Luann are close.

Tiffany may really want to cultivate this new found friendship with Bernice. The Guest Bedroom at Bern’s house would make a nice place for Tiff to crash when Ann starts to REALLY bare down over Spring Break.

The story here isn’t that Tiffany is on a budget. It’s that ANN is the one in control of The finances.

Long time reader, first time commentor(?).

Is it possible that Tiffany’s dad has financial issues? and this is Ann’s way of trying to stop the hemorrhaging ? We all know that Ann is all about the money, so less for Tiffany is more for her…

Bernice is on a roll! And being funny without being mean! I’m actually starting to LIKE her!

Ann wants to spend Daddy’s money and Daddy will do whatever she wants. Do well in school, get a good job and get independent, Tiff. They can’t take that away from you.

Daddy bought her off at age 10 to avoid an emotional attachment to, now he has a girlfriend to spend all his money on.

Ann is a nasty piece of work. Tiffany needed her VIP platinum prime card cut up. Tom needs to dump Ann and put Tiffany on an allowance.

She whines like Ivanka.

The credit card needed to be cut up….but Daddy should have done it himself…not sent Ann in his place.

With Ann controlling Tiffany’s card, Tiffany won’t be able to buy a cheap dress from Target. Ann wants every cent, and Tom won’t catch on until he is broke.

The Platinum card part.

for those hoping for a grand Tiffany Epiphany, wherein she becomes aware, not self centered, and independent: you are trying to write her death certificate in the strip. She will ever remain vain and clueless, or she will be written out.

Tiffany may be spoiled, but who’s fault is that? HER FATHER! (Just like the song about Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka.) And now Tom chooses to let his little tart be in charge of teaching his daughter financial responsibility instead of doing it himself? Just proves what a moron he is.

Can Tiffany’s counselor do anything? Maybe have her call Tom in ALONE to discuss his daughters issues and flat out ask him why he is forcing his girlfriend on his daughter and why he’s letting his girlfriend manage his daughter’s finances instead of doing it himself.

This will prove Bernice’s aptitude for being a counselor, helping Tiffany with something that she herself cannot relate to.It doesn’t matter how expensive the rug is, having it pulled out from under your feet is going to unbalance you.

I hate Anne. I am up with Tiff after being down on her for years. I wonder if this is “what goes around comes around?” Tsk Tsk.

Again, Tiff needs to put on her best acting chops and become Ann’s “friend”. Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer. She also needs to stand on her own two feet and not need Daddy, but that’s another story arc.

For as rich as what Tiffany’s dad is supposed to be, you’d think he’d be living in a mansion. When Bernice went to Tiffany’s house for her high school graduation makeover, the house seems to be on the same level as Luann’s house, nothing fancy at all:

www.gocomics.com/luann/2014/06/07.

As I recall Ann cut off a small piece from the end of the card. If there’s a portion that can be scanned that is uncut then the card might still be usable, is what I think Bern is thinking.

Hmmm… cold turkey.

I worked at 10 years old babysitting, doing extra chores etc and got paid which at that time bought stuff

While Anne’s motives are no doubt shady, she is actually doing Tiffany a favor. Perhaps now Tiff will learn the value of money and learn how to support herself. She can then tell both Anne and her father to stuff it. Once Anne is done with Tom, he won’t have any money left and if he stays with Anne, he may not have a daughter either.

Can we please be DONE with Ann? I’m so sick of her! Moving on to another comic I guess….Someone let me know when she gets hers and she’s gone!

She got a credit card when she was 10? Isn’t there some minimum age for having a credit card?

For Tom, the credit card was to keep Tiff occupied so she wouldn’t bother him for normal parent attention. The more she buys, the busier and more occupied she is; he was buying freedom from parenting. That you can believe.

I’ll bet none of this is Toms idea. Tiffany did say that Ann Eiffel says she is spending too much. Ann is not there on behalf of Tom. She is there on behalf of herself. And Tom is so enamored of Ann that he would believe anything Ann told him. He gets bad father of the year for being such a hands off parent and letting his mistress lead him around like a puppy dog.

Not too long ago, Al Gray gave Leslie Knox some good advice. Les wanted Ann out of his life, so Al told him to cut ties with her. Using the customer list from the Souffle Lingerie scam, he was able to cancel his debt to her, and he never looked back, much to Ann’s dismay.

Sadly, that dismay did not last. Now, Ann has appointed herself Tiffany’s new legal guardian, and Tom Farrell is literally turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to how Ann is upsetting Tiffany.

Tiffany needs to cut ties with her father. If he can completely disregard Ann selling counterfeit merchandise, and go through life without listening to a word his own daughter has to say, then Tiffany is better off without him.

As for the money… At the very least, she can set up an account that neither her father nor Ann can touch. If she still has that job at the primary school, she should make sure her paychecks go to the new account; or, if she’s given the paycheck, she can cash them on her own, and make sure most of it is saved in that new account. The more she is able to save, the better. And she really should consider finding a second job. That way, if Ann tries to bully her into spending “quality time”, she’ll be far too busy for her.

And the card? Tiffany must never, under any circumstance, use that card again! EVER!!! This will be hard for her, no doubt… But she’ll have to learn to live without for a while. In time, Tiffany may discover treasures that can be found in thrift shops. As long as she uses that card, Ann will have her on a leash. That card is a ball-and-chain, and Ann has the only key. Her so-called father, clearly can’t be bothered to “deal with his daughter”.

If Tiffany can find it within herself to live below her means, Ann won’t be able to control her. Who knows? Maybe Tiffany’s cowardly father will finally think about how he’s been ignoring his little girl. But by then, Tiffany will be far too busy to pay much attention to him… which will really serve him right.

I can believe it. And I sympathize, Tiffany. It’s hard, being cut off from a Way of Life that you’ve enjoyed for ten years just because your Dad’s mid-life crisis has left him vulnerable to the wiles of an evil witch-b*tch!

Bernice is no help. Don’t even look for any help or sympathy from her!

Sooner or later, Miss Tiff, you’re going to have to stand on your own two feet. It sounds as if her father is using Ann to lay down the law because he’s been too much of a wimp to do it himself all these years.

Tom should have done this himself, without involving anyone else, particularly someone who has, at best, a dicey relationship with his daughter. Yes, I know this is a comic strip. I still want to kick Tom; not for cutting Tiff off financially, but for continuing to be a poor father to her.

All this railing against Tom Farrell, what he should have done or could have done. He isn’t going to change, and Ann basically provides him with ( besides the things she mentioned), with a way out of dealing with reigning in his daughter.

And when Tom is ultimately removed from the scene, Tiffany and Ann are going to find themselves in the same situation: without their “sugar-daddy”.

I can’t believe this arc. Ridiculous.

I would not like to see Tiffany dis-inherited.

I know we never get to see Tom Farrell’s missing face. But I never knew he was missing a backbone, too! Why is Ann doing all the talking?