Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for April 10, 2019

Back off, Luann!

Luann, quit butting into Gunther’s personal life… even via text message.

On some level Luann has to know what she’s doing here – hanging on to Gunther as a back-up boyfriend, and potentially sabotaging his possible relationship with Bets.

Luann stop

The first 2 texts from Luann are fine. The last 2 should not have been sent. I deem them to be prying!

Turn. The. Phone. Off.

The only question remaining is what costume Luann will wear in order to stalk Gunther and Bets at TrekConnek.

Butt out, Luann. You’re worse than Guther’s mother!

Yep, they’re kindred Trekkie souls. Luann would have better luck getting Quill to move back here.

I’m going to go well out of My way and give Luann the Benefit of the doubt here.

Since Luann masterminded and encourage this whole thing, she’s only checking up to see how her old friend is doing with Bets. Nothing MORE, Nothing Less.

And It’s just sheer coincidence that that she’s calling to check up on him 30 minutes into the date.

Because If I didn’t know better I’d SWEAR that Lu is deliberately doing her gosh-darnest to completely Sabotage Gunny’s date with Bets. That would mean that certain long dormant feeling were awakened in Lu that February night in Gunny’s bedroom. Feelings for Him. And THAT is why she had that “Glow” when Pru saw her later. Second Thoughts are the WORSE Thoughts.

At any rate the Ball is in Gunther’s Court now. Please don’t let him be STUPID enough to be on the phone with Lu when Bets gets back from the “loo,”

Gunther’s finally with someone who shares his love of Star Trek, wants to spend time with him, and with whom he can have a real blast—and Luann is now calling him on his date? Luann, Gunther is on a date! If he wants to tell you all about Bets, he will. Meantime, go do something else!

Time to inflict more damage. But we will see…

Gunther should quickly text back: Having a good time with Bets. Talk to you later.

In all fairness, Luann’s excitement may in part stem from seeing this result after her encouragement to get Gunther going on the dating site. Luann doesn’t have much going on right now and it’s vicarious.

I had a girlfriend like Luann ages ago…she kept me at arm’s length until there was somebody else in my orbit… took me too long to realize that and walk away….

If Gunther thinks he actually has to call Luann right now (NO!) and tells Luann he’s still with Bets – and Luann tries to extend the conversation – this would be equivalent to me watching my home team lose 50 to nothing.

DELETE ….

Luann needs to find her own Vulcan to mind-meld with. (meaning DATE).

Though I’m not a big fan, Trials & Tribblations was pretty good.

Luann stop trying to be the third wheel on this date.

Betcha Bets comes back to see Gunther texting Luann and then gets suspicious and accuses him of being another “Les”

Timely, I say. I ranted about Luann’s atrocious behavior and that Gunther needs to confront her. Now is a good time, Gunther. Facetime her and give her h3ll.

Honestly, Luann should mind her own business

O-M-G… Luann is doing her level BEST to screw this up for Gunther. Luann, PLEASE – go “CB” somewhere else, ’k?

Kim Possible wouldn’t do what Luann is doing there.

Luann, you are part of the reason they left the Fuse. Back off girl.

It seems likely Bets heard Gunther’s phone ring while she was still there. The excuse to go to the restroom might give her a chance to spy on Gunther – coming up from behind – while Gunther indulges Luann as long as she wants to talk. Gunther has been oblivious to nearly everything else…

Bets looks super hot in Frame 1.

I saw that scrawnchy musical note coming from Gunther’s backside in panel 1, and it reminded me of

“Beans, beans, the musical fruit…”

Luann – its timefor you to find a date of your own!

TURN OFF YOUR PHONE!!!!!

I hope Bets isn’t a flash in the pan. I like her, and hope she’s a long-term addition to the cast.

Real talk, the TNG where Picard and some of the side female characters are all turned into children was top notch funny.

You guys know that the more we all complain and go “no don’t do that!” the more the author will write cringey situations like these to spark conversation and emotional reactions, right? If everything all worked out beautifully all the time we wouldn’t have anything to talk about.

He needs to turn off the phone. I realize many people seem overly attached to their phones but it seems rude to me not to do that.

@JasonBall is absolutely right. That being said, BACK OFF, LUANN! You had your chance.

Text back ‘Going great, call you after date’ and turn the phone off.

Phone off

Luann, please buzz off.

I got a bad feeling about this. Wait. Wrong franchise.

Back off Lulu, or whatever the hell your name is.

Luann is very enthusiastic for her friend. But in cases like this her enthusiasm can be dangerous for everyone. Could this be the start for the end of a lifelong friendship?

Talk about nosy.

Date Rule#1 – Never answer phone during a date. Shut it down and ignore!!! Besides, she had her chance and shoved you aside. Now she’s Jealous and trying to sabotage his chances? Even so, why chance speaking to such a non-thinking, non-considerate person like that and raise her suspicions even done in all honesty? Guaranteed Date failure if he answers, exit Bets stage left.

“Next Generation” – eh… you can have it.

Best Girlfriend Forever? Or Pale Green Eyed Imp (working on full blown Green Eyed Monster)?

And what do the Fates have in store for the newest cute couple? They have survived Luann and Les for the time being, but we know nothing about Bets. A sweet, young thing? Or a dominatrix, ready to keep Gunther as her love prisoner?

“‘The ’Tribbles’ episode…”? No self-respecting Trekker refers to “Trouble with Tribbles” as ‘the tribbles episode’. Lol! Just kidding! That was a funny episode but I liked “A Piece of the Action” and “The Naked Time” were on par.

Of course, Bets could have been referring to “Trials and Tribble-ations” from DS9.

Anyface asks a very good question early on! (Paraphrasing) “Is ‘Bets’ a long term character or will she be merely a plot device to point out that Luann hasn’t given up on Gunther as a boyfriend?” It’s hard to read Greg motives here.

In today’s strip, panels 1 and 2 are “throw-aways.” They are merely a set up for panel 3 which is all Luann! Is she just nosy or a little jealous. Could go either way. We recall that less than a week ago (Pittsville time) Luann and Gunther were tee-heeing and flirting with kissy-face, “messing around” in G’s bedroom, L hiding in G’s bedroom from (parent figure) Les. All very flirty and conspiratorial.

One word of advice for Gunther – TURN OFF YOUR PHONE!

Gunther needs to turn off his phone ASAP. Bets is going to return, find him texting “the girl he was fooling around with in his bedroom” and end the date.

Gunther,,, either turn off the phone or set to vibrate.

As a fellow commentor here likes to say, “here we go.” I faced a situation like this in my before married life, my current 44 year wife told me that no I had to chose her and not keep up with a prior relationship, or I could forget it. I made the right choice. All I can say, within the whole purview of “hilarity ensues” that Gunther is drawn to make the choice that is implied, and makes the right one. Luann really likes him, but if he picks her, as much as I love Luann, I doubt it she would be in for the long haul, but I bet Bets would. But Bets will insist on a choice.

Turn off the phone Gunther! Turn off the phone!

Holy Dilithium Crystals! I’m new to this comic and can’t believe The amount of comments; some serious. You people are more vested in this strip than the Nancy and Ballard Street readers!

Do not call her now!!!!!! You can always touch base tomorrow and catch up. And turn off your phone. If you call Luann NOW you can kiss Bets goodbye for good. No woman wants another one helicoptering over her date. Hope Gunther isn’t too clueless to know that!

WHAT is wrong with her????

I really hope the “call me” is something other than Luann but to g on his date to find out how it is going, cause I think she knows better than to keep bother him. And I REALLY hope they don’t try to pair Luann and Gunther up.

Panel one: The table-for-two is floating in mid air. Perhaps some Star Trek anti-gravitational device?

Ok, Gunthy, step one: Text Luann back. Two words only. BACK OFF!! Just like that, all caps and lots of exclamation points. Oh, and throw in a few frowny face / angry emojies.

THEN turn off your phone.

I like what we’ve seen of Bets so far, she’s funny, she’d nerdy, she’s understanding, she’s cute. She is disgusted by Les. She could be just right for Gunther. Hopefully, Gunther will tell Luann to piss off and leave him alone for the rest of their date.

I hope we get to see some of TreKConnect. Maybe a guest appearance by George Takei. Oh myyyy.

They must be eating at one of those anti-gravity tables.

His reply should be – “Going well, turning off phone!”

The best original ST episode was City on the Edge of Forever, written by SciFi pro Harlan Ellison and starring a young Joan Collins. I think the best STNG episode(s) was Tiime’s Arrow with Jerry Hardin as Mark Twain. Every episode about Q was a waste of time (IMHO).

Is Luann jealous that Gunther has a date and she does not?

6

So, is Luann “butting in” because she is jealous at the moment and wants to be disruptive right now…. or is she simply suggesting to Gunther as a long-term friend…. “Hey, when you are done with the date…. call me so we can talk about what you are feeling.” sort of response?

To me, the way Greg has posed this is nebulous enough that EITHER option is a viable one for the actual intent of Luann here.

My hope is that this is not Luann acting jealous or purposefully intrusive.

My hope is that she is just wanting to be a real friend to Gunther and give him a platform to air his feelings and think through them.

But, we shall see what transpires next, I guess.

Ah! Something new has been added! Lu is realizing that she has FEELINGS for Gunther. The whole “sweet dweeb” comment last week was a foreshadowing. My smugness about how Lu and Gunth will end the strip together is returning. It is still likely years of real time away from happening.

Luann, CHILL!

Why the three exclamation points Luann? Does she have some dirt on Bets? Warning Will Robinson!

C’mon, Luann! You’re Spock-blocking already?!

Jealous much? I do wish that he’d go back to Tiff, she needs someone like him.

for all us nerds out here: first photo of a Black Hole Event Horizon:

https://t.co/6dglvqrvOs

Geez, could she just butt out and leave the guy alone on his date?

If Gunther ever talks to Luann again (except to tell her to stay away) I will wonder why. Luann can’t handle a relationship so she feels the need to stop someone else’s.

And whatever you do Gunther DO NOT CALL/TEXT LUANN BACK.

Ah, love among nerds is so rare.

I am SO GLAD to see Gunther is enough of a gentleman to ignore his text messages until after his date leaves the room. So many Millennials think they have to read and reply to messages immediately.

Me me me. Come on, Luann. Wait until tomorrow to call. Leave this day for Bets and Gunther alone.

Luanne is curious. My friend, female, and I are doing the online dating thing and its natural to be curious and want all the details.

“The Inner Light” was my favorite TNG episode. That is the one where Gunther gets his wife and 2.5 kids.

TURN OFF THE PHONE and call her later.

Luann is heading for a high stakes game. If she has any thought at all of having Gunther as the prize, she’d better get him back to that bedroom and take “fooling around” a lot more seriously.

I’m sure that when the date is over he will give you all the details, Luann.

I will agree with you there. She better be ready to treat him with the respect of an EQUAL.

One way or another, I’m hoping for a serious change in Gunther’s situation. Up to now, he’s been living Woody Allen’s old standup gag, describing himself as a “latent heterosexual.”

Turn off the phone RIGHT NOW and remove the battery. Pocket the battery and lock the phone in the glovebox of the car.

One way to interpret Luann’s actions during the last week’s panels or so that is different from the a) jealous Luann idea, b) cluessless Luann idea, c) the impatient Luann idea, or d) the “looking out for Gunther” Luann idea is:

Perhaps Luann (like I think Les) is of the mindset that Gunther only fits the mold, so-to-speak for failure in relationships… and that is simply Luann’s expectation of what will transpire…. and as such, she sees no reason any of her actions during this arc would be a problem…… “Gee, Gunther is going to have another stab at a relationship, ha ha. It’s inevitably going to fail, so lets just have fun by making jokes, etc.”

In my heart, I really suspect Greg is simply drawing Luann in a fashion to be currently unaware of her current impolite behaviors…. but the above new way to conceptualize what is going on came to me a little bit ago. I do not think it is really how the character is being drawn to behave… but it is an alternative way to interpret the actions.

Stranger Danger potential. Neither one knows the other. Stay in public places for a while.

Luann is like an everpresent mosquito… zzzzzzzzzeeeeeii eeeeeiieezzzzzwhine….please Gunther don’t let yourself get bit.

Luann, nose out!

Calls for a few choice words…in Klingon!

Just back off, Lu. Gunther ain’t yours.

“I don’t want him. But I don’t want anyone else to have him, either”. That’s not how it works, Luann……

But how about the IMPORTANT question…which was worse, “Spock’s Brain” or “Rascals”?

Just say, “NO!”

She wants periodic Progress Reports.

Gunther’s face in the last panel shows a look of puzzled concern. In other words, he doesn’t appear overjoyed by Luann’s text. We can only hope that he will do the right thing; he alone has the power to make sure this outing with Bets is not sabotaged.

Gunther should make his move on Bets by instead of calling it a date calling their Trek a pon farr

If tomorrow’s strip doesn’t have the word “BLOCKED” I am protesting outside my nearest newsstand.

Bets decided to go to the restroom AFTER she heard Gunther’s phone. She may not be coming back. That may be the final straw of interruptions on her date with G.

Gunther, if you are smart you will ignore all of that twit’s texts.

Unhappily, asking Gunther to behave smartly is not good odds….

when you’re on a date, turn off the phone

Ironically, Luann has ALWAYS been my least favorite character…

I like to see Luann and Gunther on a date then Bets! Bets with her own kind.

He can’t call you…he’s on a date..

Somewhere thinking gotta take hold at some point in his head. Let see…an attractive girl + date going well…if that were me I’d just power the darn phone off and save myself a headache trying to explain later.

“The Trouble With Tribbles”, my favorite episode.