Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for May 17, 2019

Tara makes an interesting point.

So I guess the romance chatter re Jack is passé for now? Tara is doing her Bernice imitation.

next up Tara will bring in a pizza for no reason?

A steaming pot of hypocrisy sounds kind of tasty. Now if it was a cold and rancid bowl of hypocrisy, that would not be so good.

No, WAIT!

Do you HEAR THAT???

It’s GROANS of disappointment from the “Jack and Luann Belong Together,” Crowd!

GROOOOOOOOOOOOAN!!!

Is Howie a hobbit or something? She’s an inch taller than him, sitting down!

That’s not hypocrisy I hear that’s steaming…It’s a big pile of bull………nevermind. Hypocrisy will do.

Congratulations to Mordy who predicted the return of Tara!

I’m eating crow because, apparently, Luann has already put Jack away. Meaning,

Congratulations to BJShipley who predicted that this entire arc, beginning in January, was a waste of time!

Wow. Abrupt pull of the carpet from under the feet of any of us who thought maybe we were going to see Jack and Luann develop as “a couple.” The sum total of the last 3 months has proved to me that Luann still has a whole lot of growing up to do. ( Settle in. We’re here for a very long journey. Who’s got money for popcorn?)

That’s a lot of bull.

Well, Ms. Tara – have YOU gone out with Howie the Stapler Guy?

Told ya. Luann is not a goody, nice next door girl. She never was. Tara is calling her on it. Thank you. Looks like to me that Doug doesn’t waste time on dates with girls who he doesn’t click with and Luann was one of them. I don’t blame him – she is boring. Gunther is a lot more interesting with his nerdy, Trekkie mojo. What does Luann have? Nothing. Just an ordinary community college girl. I know a lot of you like ordinary perhaps because you are ordinary just like she is and ya’ll can relate to her – but where is the entertainment value in this? The point of comic strips is entertainment. It is fun reading about anyone in Luann except Luann. Her own brother is more entertaining than her. SO what is Luann’s purpose? I guess she balances the quirky Luanniverse with ordinariness.

Tara looks super wonderful in that tank top. I wish Luann would try wearing one.

Not the example I would have used, but she makes a good point. Too bad Luann won’t take the lesson to heart.

I have to disagree with Tara and the Luann comments so far. Luann met Doug in a date situation. I think courtesy would mandate Doug spending a little more time with Luann and making a more graceful exit – maybe with a decent (fictitious) excuse for leaving. Luann’s current encounter with the super nerdy TA is not the same thing at all. Having an open mind does not require you to take an interest in anybody that walks up to you out of the blue. The thing this TA has about the staples is borderline nuts. He needs to learn more about people before he can expect anybody to want to know more about him.

I don’t care how bad it was, and it couldn’t have been that bad, he should have said, “This isn’t working for me, and I don’t want to waste your time.”

I think he got a text from Mommy, “Come home now!”

Just like she used to blow Gunther off back in Jr. High and early High school. Don’t know what year of school she was in when she finally “warmed up” to Gunther as a friend (and even a kiss or two). She might find out Howie is even a better kisser than Gunther. :)

Okay, so she stapled her papers perfectly. But did she use the new cover page for the TPS reports? Or do we have to look forward to Howie threatening to burn the building down when they take his stapler?

Go Tara! Make Luann think about herself and her behavior with others. It’s always a good thing to do!

I noticed that smell too, Tara…and I thought it was the newspaper ink.

@kenhense – back in the day Luann was the queen of sexy tank tops. Even Tiffany remarked on it. Here are a couple of early examples:

http://www.gocomics.com/luann/1996/04/15

http://www.gocomics.com/luann/1996/05/17

As she grew older she didn’t become any more modest:

https://www.gocomics.com/luann/2011/07/28

It’s only since she went to college she’s become frumpy – or to be accurate since she broke from Quill.

His name’s Doug, she calls him Howie? Have I missed something?

I don’t think Luann is being rude. What would be the proper response to what Howie said? “Thank You Howie, I put a lot of time and consideration into my stapling”. She acknowledged what Howie said and moved on.

I agree with Tara.

This is not even slightly the same thing as abruptly walking out on a date. If nothing else, Howie interrupted them.

The guy is probably rich owning a company somewhere and just teaching as a passing interest.

Could we pick up the pace with some romance for Luann?

This isn’t hypocritical. Luann agreed to a date with Doug. He should have given her the courtesy of a proper goodbye. She doesn’t owe this creepy little gremlin anything. She’s not being rude here.

BOOM!

She brushes them off, but missed herself doing it rudely.

Well that is what she did to Gunther all those years as she fantasized about Aaron Hill

You’re in a chem lab… that’s not hypocrisy, that’s sulfur.

Status check: He refers to her as Miss DeGroot and she calls him Howie.

I bet Howie is interested in Luann.

No kidding! Luann, you aught to be ashamed of yourself!

Tara is the anti-Bernice, hot (that outfit and her hair is so sexy) and while she makes snarky comments that are so prescient. Luann is not being at least polite to Howie, at least say “thank you.” Luann might have an issue with being sensitive to men, whether friendly, goofy types like Jack, who I argue secretly really likes her, or nerdy guys like Howie, who need to be treated polilitly, but in a way that does not encourage their impossible secret desires, don’t hurt them. I confess when I was a young man I could be a bit upset by a woman I found attractive, but who would treat me like I did not exist, and I did not have any intention to try to talk or interest her in a romantic way. It was so dismissive, and it kind of made me pisssed a bit, it was just plain being rude. As I got older, and more experienced in life, I realized that this was often a defense mechanism, or a form of fear, but not anything to take personally. I wonder today in the millennial and post-millennial era how this kind of social relationship is going, probably the same, accelerated by the internet. Tara knows though, she is a very contemporary Gen Z young woman.

I don’t think she is brushing him off, but showing her annoyance with him. He called her out in front of the call (along with a few others, I know) just to talk her about stapling her paper. He may have meant it as helpful, but can be seen as a talking down. Then then says good job for doing it right might look as pat on the head for being good.

Siri … Find nearby burn units.

Howie seems to be presented as a developmentally challenged individual so far. Obviously high functioning as a chem lab teaching assistant. Many TAs are graduate degree students themselves. Greg is walking a fine line in not using him as the butt of humor boarding on ridicule.

Greg—Please stop this story. Howie should not be hitting on Luann! As a figure of “authority” at the college he is abusing his “power.” Luann should not be subjected the drip, drip, drip of his demands.

One gets the feeling that Tara is Luann’s new Jiminy Cricket. Supplanting Bernice as her acerbic conscience… except on Sunday!

Is it me or does Tara’s hair color look a little less fuschia (or whatever peculiar color it usually is) today? It almost looks like a natural hair color.

Tara gets a thumbs up on her hair. Luann could trim off a couple of pounds of hers.

Howie is just sad, who would be into that? Using staples as an ice breaker…?

I really don’t like Luann. I mean really, really. However, these two situations are not remotely similar. But then, Evans is not what you’d call particularly nuanced in social behaviour.

Maybe she and Tara should find a girl who does like Howie and do a little bit of matchmaking.

“Bye now” when you’re rushing to the bathroom. “Thanks” with a pause is simple and denotes end of conversation.

I don’t think she is being hypocritical here. She was in the middle of a conversation with Tara, is told something that is complete nonsense to her current focus. She acknowledged him and he walked a way. There was no brush off. It would be the same as a teacher handing a paper back and saying, I’m glad your grades are improving. I’m not sure what Tara was expecting here.

Ugh.. Tara is back.

Gotta love the odd drawing perspective in panel #2, or is Howie a 10 year-old advanced student?

I just checked. Doug did say it was nice to have met her before he left. So, it’s not like he just got up and walked away. Disappointing but should not have traumatized Luann. She’s behaving like it’s the end of the world. That’s how these type dates go. You meet and you either click or you don’t. When you don’t you are free to move on as Doug did.

Nah. Doesn’t count.

On a date, duh. It’s not like he asked her out.

Howie’s probably happy she knows his name and that they talked at all. Pane 3 hes plotting out their next encounter….

Oh come on! Even “I know all about dating” Tiffany thought Luann’s date was going well until he up and left. Luann deserves more credit than being told she’s so boring she should date the staple police.

Howie needs a little patience – to wait for a chance to talk about something else. Despite Howie’s disability, other people need to be careful to reward only appropriate responses.

With his persistent steering Luann to the staples issue, Howie obviously wants to be at least friends, if not a date. People are not obligated to be friends with everybody that expresses interest. Say someone who is morbidly obese – or transgender – wants to be friends. They are entitled to normal courtesy in the course of daily activities – but another person is not obligated to spend their free time with them. Autistic people should try to develop interests they can share with at least some others. Howie’s game with staples does not reflect enough thought and effort on his part.

The bigger issue (in my view) with Howie is that he is the instructor. Even though he is a student and the same age as everyone in the class, he is the designated TA and should act professionally while in that role. Any efforts to signal ‘interest’ in a student (in the class) while he acting as TA is inappropriate. Luann has no obligation to befriend the instructor, and the instructor should not be trying to make a play for a student while teaching. In the real world, stuff like that could cause an employee to lose their job.

If Tara = Crystal, then does Howie = Elwood? Greg likes to diminish his second string guys both socially, and physically. For the hot mamas, he tightens the clothes and raises the hemlines. That’s okay with me……where there is a bimbo, there is life.

Maybe Luann was a bit nicer in her brushoff? Not nice enough it seems.

Stick it to Luann, Tara! She needs it….

I’m surprised that some are objecting to Tara’s characterization. Obviously Greg thought there was something to it, or he wouldn’t have had the character say anything.

Why would Tara be holding a piece of paper with “Greg 5-17” written on the back in letters big enough to take up the entire paper?