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

A whole lot of explaining to do.

Awkward….. ack

Drop the shovel!

He IS trying to be honest but she keeps playing like she is a lawyer and he is a hostile witness.

“Hey Bets, I have to go and take some pictures of Tiffany’s wardrobe, come along and help.” Problem solved. Short, sweet and easy to remember.

Oh Bets. If you are expecting a coherent explanation from your boyfriend, Gunther is not your man. Gunther is the man who just digs himself into a deeper and deeper hole because he cannot explain things coherently.

Do it slowly we have a whole month to explain Ann Eiffel right Greg?

Yes. “Mind your own business, Bets!”

Bets does not make Gunther relaxed and confident. She makes him fumble and nervous. Not a good pair. Gunther was not able to organize himself to explain clearly and cleanly like “Tiffany has things she wants to sell and wants me to take pictures of them so she could post on for-sale sites. I guess she is selling her lingerie. Don’t ask me why would she sell lingerie. You need to meet Tiffany and see who she is. You will understand.” Bets’ prying questions trips him up and he fumbles. I think Gunther is afraid of Bets because of her past reactions to him talking to girls.

I really dislike Bets. I hope she’s just here to teach Gunther a lesson or something and isn’t going to become a permanent character…

He’s being honest and her jealousy is making her read into what he says. That’s why he’s no flustered and frustrated.

Bets seems like she is the more reasonable of these two, as was Rosa. I deduce this from the fact that Gunther does not have two knees whacked by a baseball bat.

Bets really needs to back off

Gunther’s got a lot of gal pals who are just that: pals. He’s gonna dig himself in deeper when he tries to explain! Any girl he dates is going to have to deal with the fact that he has no male friends!

Somebody hook this chick up with Les.

Most of us remember how Bets reacted to the conversation with Luann and how they played around in his bedroom. Just wait until Tiffany tells Bets about their salamander hunt and how she let her hair down for Gunther while she was wearing only a towel. Heavens!

Good Grief. Gunther is hiding nothing here and “folks” are CRUCIFYING him for it!

Would Bets had rather not known that Gunther was going over to meet his sexy friend Tiffany at her place and photograph her lingerie? Jeeze!

Bets is getting to a Real “PROBLEM” now. Gunther has got to explain his every move and “Who” his friends are? Sheesh. I guess We now have some idea Why Bets can’t get and KEEP a boyfriend.

I swear, Gunny would have been better off kissing Luann that night in his bedroom, and DELETING his Date Pic profile.

And FRANKLY, after this unwarranted “interrogation?” if I were Gunther I go to Tiffany’s place and INSIST she Model her lingerie and jewelry for the photograph, telling her, THAT would help it SELL.

Then, We’d “share another moment.” All night LONG.

And NO, Bets can’t “tag along.” Bets is Smart, and Fun and Cute. But her Paranoia is not worth it.

One of you, please just end this right now. This is getting to be too painful to watch.

Today’s musical selections:

“Who’s THAT Girl? And Who’s THAT Girl?? And WHO’S THAT Girl??? – Eurythmics

“Questions 67, 68, 69, 70…….,” – Chicago

“You’d better run for your life if you CAN, Gunthie Boy!”

“Hide your head in the SAND, Gunthie Boy!”

“Catch You with another Babe, that’s the END! Gunthie Boy!” – The Beatles

“Gunther’s Dead! That’s what Bets Said!”

“EVERYBODY’S mIsused Him! Ripped him off and ABUSED Him!”

“Another Bone-Head Plan. He’s kinda DUMB for a Man”

“A Terrible Blow, but that’s how it Go!”

“Gunny’s on the corner now! And he’s about to be Tiff’s FLUNKEY! WOW!!! – Curtis Mayfield

“

Sadly, Gunther’s life is not as interesting as he’s making it sound!

Luann can be explained as a ditzy, somewhat possessive ex-girlfriend.

Rosa is a thousand miles away.

Tiffany will be harder to explain.

If Bernice suddenly remembers she has snogging rights then Gunther is in very hot water.

For a wimpy nerd Gunth has kissed some remarkably pretty girls!

“Yes Bets. I’m related to jack tripper” (slaps his own face)

Take your time, Gunthie. But try and answer before she leaves in a huff!

I don’t like that Bets is cutting him off when he’s trying to explain. I’m not so sure about her now.

First it was Luann deliberately trying to sabotage Gunther’s date, now it’s Gunther doing it to himself.

Dump her now…she’s too controlling

You do NOT want to be with her. No way.

Boy, Bets is paranoid and suspicious.

Gunther…You know smartphones have an ‘off’ switch, right?

Yikes – way too possessive and untrusting! Hope they develop her character so that she’s not so 1-dimensional. And yeah, I hope the artist(s) return her skin color back to what it was when Gunther first met her.

Things for Gunther not to say:

Tiffany? Her professional name was Sheraton St Louis and she was in the Eye of Zeye sci-fi film. She didn’t model nude but most of her outfits left nothing to the imagination. The only female nude model I know is Luann’s friend Tara.

No I haven’t modelled nude. The only nude male model I know is Luann’s friend Jack. Only Luann has seen me naked. And Rosa of course.

Rosa? She won the Miss Pitts school beauty pageant. I eloped to South America with her.

No, Luann isn’t a nude model either. Tiffany did film her in the dressing room and I burned the clip on to a DVD. It sold well – she looks good in Pooh Bear panties.

Yes Luann has some interesting friends. There’s Pam, Des and of course Berni…. I plead the fifth amendment!

The hopes of this relationship working is nil because of The Fuse incident.

Bets dosen’t trust Gunther. Not even a little.Or did she notice something in Gunther when he talks with/about Tiffany? What Bets will think when she will see the chemistry they have together? Thanks to Bets behavior my hopes for the Gunthany are growing more and more.

Is it just me, or did Bets change color since her introduction??

There is something you need to tell her Gunthie. Tell her to mind her own business and quit being so possessive. Jeez, if she doesn’t trust you now, it will be wayyyy worse down the road.

The simple explanation of Tiffany wanting Gunther, his camera, and, his computer skills are simple enough. Tif is holding a garage sale on Ebay. Trouble is will Bets suspicious mind believe it?

Better to just introduce them Gunther.

Take her to the photo shoot.

Bets has a legitimate curiosity about this twitchy nerd she met on a dating website. Wait ’till he gives her the story about living in Peru with Rosa.

Poor Gunther. Maybe dating just isn’t for him. How he struggles to tell her he isn’t going to photograph Tiff, just her belongings. WITHOUT her in it. Chances are high this is the last he’ll see of his date and she’ll probably leave a bad review.

Is this where the Hilarity Ensures comes in?take a breath, Gunther, and then explain it all!

I thought Bets was black.

he should have said the information she wanted to know first. or better yet open with “A friend of mine is looking to sell clothing and jewelry to make money, would you be interested?”

Of course given Tiff’s last panel in this strip, other than intentionally putting the G man in hot water, I don’t know why she choose to focus on Lingerie… I’m sure that was some of her most expensive stuff, but at the same time, even Tiff has to know used underware has a creepy vibe to it.

He can never do anything simple can he. Just say. She is selling her clothes and needs someone to come take pictures of them. unless she is completely unreasonable. At which time it’s best for Gunther to move on.

back in mid April, Bets was a lovely shade of brown. Now she is a white girl. What happened?

Gunner time to dump this noisy girl, you’re just trying to help a friend

“She’s a good friend I’ve known since kindergarten. Most of my friends are like family to me. I’m not dating any of my friends but we’re there for each other. Like family.”

I was willing to give Bets the benefit of the doubt last week.

Today?

Nope. She’s being a pill.

It seems apparent (to me at least) that Greg intends Bets to be around for awhile. She seems to be taking this incident pretty well. We’ve seen how Greg could have Bets react to an adverse dating situation. We only have to look back to Tiffany’s blow-up at the double date at the Gulag. :o)

Friday – agonizing arc of Tiffany vs. Tom and Ann shows signs of life when Tiff decides to sell her clothes.

Saturday – agony returns as Tiffany turns to Gunther for help selling lingerie – calling him while on his date with Bets.

Monday – Demonstrates how Saturday ought to have been a cliffhanger!

I know Bets is seemingly jealous and possessive, but I don’t agree at all that makes her a bad choice for Gunther, and to come that conclusion so quickly, particularly in Luannverse, is jumping to a negative conclusion too soon, Maybe this is because I am so hoping that Gunther can have a successful relationship with a very promising young women, but I think nevertheless that there is a lot more promise here. First, Gunther is not particularly good at explaining, and he should know that Bets is a bit suspicious, and for good reason given his close proximity to the other digital date she has before, Leslie Knox (must be his deceased father’s name). Second, remember hilarity ensues, so any attempt to explain his friends would be kind of wacky anyway. Third, and I think this is very important, at least to my thoughts, she is possessive, and protective. Remind you of anyone in Gunther’s life? He might be a person who needs someone who is not only possessive, but also protective. In fact that leads me to speculate that there might be a reason she tends to ask questions the way she does—she might be in law enforcement or at least some kind of interest in that area. One thing I think is pretty safe to predict, she will go to the “photo shoot” with Gunther and see wacky Tiffany for herself. Why? She really, really likes Gunther.

“I’m trying!”

Yes, Gunther. You CAN be trying, especially NOW! Now you got some ‘splainin’ to do with your story, your background, your friends, ALL of that!

You have a treasure there in Bets! Don’t squander it!!

Sooner or later Greg is going to have to make Bets’ skin shade change explicit. The only logical (repeat logical ) explanation is she was cosplaying Uhura from Star Trek at the Fuse meet. Just like Gunther was cosplaying Spock. In fact, Bets requested that Gunther return the Spock ear he had removed in a moment of indecision.

Greg could do this by way of a casual mention by one of the strip characters or by providing another costume event where Gunther and Bets reprise their roles. Otherwise, it was some sort of blunder of monumental proportions. ;o)

Disappointing. She seemed like a good match for Gunther, but common interests don’t always mean a good relationship.

Give her up, Gunther. She’s giving you the third degree on everything you do and say. She jumps to conclusions before knowing the facts.

I am glad he has a girlfriend, but he really needs to learn how to walk away when he is on the phone with others.

We should all remember one thing here:

Crystal and Knute.

Brad and Toni.

Each of those pairings got off to rocky starts. Gunther and Bets is NO different. Give it time.

Bets is an insecure woman. Time for Gunther to move on.

Judging from her tone even when Gunther fully explains she won’t be happy.

For such a smart guy he’s got zero communication skills. Just say “she wants to sell some of her clothes and I’m going to photo them for her”. duh.

Let’s be honest, my beloved Tiffany IS hard to explain.

Conclusions – jumps she does

Interesting note: Apparently there are two large groups of readers:

One, who believe that Bets should run from Gunther, and

Two, who believe that Gunther should run from Bets!

I suppose the question that begs is this: Are we all so impatient with others that none of us is willing to give the other a chance?

Last note for now: Somebody the other day predicted the truly unbelievable, that Bets and Tiffany will end up as roommates.

Which is so unbelievable, if I were a betting man, I’d bet that’s exactly what G&K are planning!

Now, for my prediction: I’m thinking that this arc is the beginning of the other Gulag – Bets and Tiffany!

(You heard it first here!)

Grow up, Betts. If she is that possessive and controlling this early on, Gunther doesn’t need her.

Gunther got the last bit right…he IS trying.

We know Bets has the patience of three saints by the fact that she didn’t take off before TrekCon, so at this point she’s (a) curious and (b) giving Gunther a [well-deserved] hard time.

Three’s Company was on the air for a long time because it was funny. The misunderstanding trope is overdone, but from the perspective of the characters, it can still be funny. Up to them to decide it is. He would do well to be more articulate and to laugh at this misunderstanding with her instead of getting annoyed. Bets would do well to maintain the positive outlook she had following Taco The Town.

As regards inviting Bets to the photo sesh, he absolutely should. If Bets accepts…hmm. Tiff is indeed a bit of a wild card, so he should also let Tiff know Bets is going to be there and that he and Bets are dating, so ixnay on the aturenay ikehay conversation.

Dump her.

he is the one who is as clueless as he always has been without asking his mommy

I suggested the coming out of the bedroom scenario with Bets doing that to get or make breakfast, and Les being confronted with Gunther, who has a big triumphant smile. I have had the opinion expressed that this is not Nine Chickweed Lane, a basic horny strip if ever there was one. I agree, but it occurred to me that if the characters are married they can be shown in obviously an intimate fashion, hence Brad and Toni. So, Irma and Uncle Al hied off to Las Vegas to get married. If this relationship develops the way it might, maybe Gunther will suggest that for him and Bets, then nobody could complain about the coming out of the bedroom panels, and Les would even be more annoyed and chagrined, unless of course he was the Best Man. Whack! Think about that one MD.

I’m having flashbacks to my marriage. If I so much as mentioned a woman’s name I was immediately accused of sleeping with her, trying to sleep with her or planning to sleep with her. Problem was I was always better at developing friendships with women than with men. So by the time the marriage ended so had all my friendships.

Bets appears to one of those folks whose main source of exercise is jumping to conclusions!

It would be interesting to see Bet’s reaction if Rosa were to show up with a little curly – haired toddler by the name of Guntero in tow.

.

Gunther’s explanation would also be an interesting read, “Err, um, we…, and then…, er, … I got nuttin’…”

.

Then, Bet’s response, “Looks like someone else got the nuttin’… I’m outta here!”

I’m guessing that Tiffany has a phone with a camera. Why is Gunther needed at all?

For such a boring life, he sure needs to explain a lot.

Gunther is so brainless in these situations; he absolutely did not need to inform Bets that Tiffany has modeled in the past. He could just say “…look, I sold my mother’s furniture on e-bay so I’m going to help a friend to do the same with clothes that she doesn’t wear anymore…..I invite you to come with me as a chaperone and so we can make this task move faster…”

Bets, if Gunther was trying to keep it a secret why would he have taken the phone call in front of you?

If you think that Gunther did it purposely to try to get rid of you, then ask him if he wants to see other people or continue dating?

If Gunther has characteristics that you don’t like, then know that they aren’t going to change quickly—if at all. You decide if you can change or find him worth the quirks.

Ugh. Bring her along. Introduce her to Tiffany and let her laugh at the wild ideas that destroys Gunth’s personal life.

Maybe you could stop peppering him with questions and let him explain it

She needs to stop asking questions and listen to what he is trying to say.

The previous strip set up the situation by Gunther repeating “Just lingerie and jewelry? I’ll bring my camera”. Actually a lingerie shoot is not an unreasonable conclusion to jump to, but Bets’ expression gets immediately confrontational. So she feels she already deserves to be possessive and judgemental. Strike one.

Today’s gag hinges on G saying she won’t be WEARING the lingerie after the previous strip clearly indicated the topic is “just lingerie and jewelry”. A reasonable person would add 2 and 2 and realize he’s taking pictures of CLOTHING. But no, she veers 90 degrees, fixating on him taking pictures of her now without even the lingerie being discussed and states she’s a nude model. More possessiveness and judgement. Strike two.

I’d say she has one chance to straighten the conversation out tomorrow, or I’d say strike 3 she should be out of here. Lonely as Gunther might be, he doesn’t need to be in a sitcom relationship.

Dude take that as a preview of the Future Mrs. Gunther and head for the hills. Unless there’s a real upside here!!!???

It would be an interesting experiment if these two (Gunther especially) would agree to go on phoneless dates, i.e. they leave their phones in the glove compartment of the car after they leave it. I think most millennials would have a hard time doing this.

Some days, Gunther can be Very Trying.

Yes, I want to tell you that you are jealous, take things out of context and jump to conclusions.

But apart from that…

Number one: I loathe the saying “hilarity ensues”. Like fingernails on chalkboard and so out of time. Number 2: why the hell did Tiffany ask Gunther to photograph her stuff? She could do that with her OWN phone???

Nerdy girls are worth the effort to make a good relationship. They are few and far between.

He should have explained its Tara not Tiffany that’s the nude model! Duh!!

Geez what a doofus. Does Gunther not have adequate command of the English language? Keep it simple, stupid! Like “Oh, Tiff is a friend. She needs to raise some money, so she’s selling her designer clothes n’ stuff. So she wants me to take photos of her stuff and help post them for sale”.

No reason to imply nude photos, or even bring up that Tiff is a model, etc.

Not blaming Bets for jumping to conclusions. After all, these female friends of Gunther seem to come up with the most salacious and easily-misinterpreted conversations with him in Bets’ presence. She’s new, she’s still getting to know him, she has no idea (yet) about his past history or his real status as Mr. Friendzone. Yet his female friends: a) imply that he’s been having fun with them in the sack or b) ask him to take nude photos of them.

Gunther’s problem, as always, is putting together a coherent explanation that is more than two words long….

Gunther, Choice A.) You’re in trouble. Choice B.) You-re in even bigger trouble!

Any other good arcs out there?

Poor Gunther!!!!

Don’t twist your ankle while jumping to so many conclusions at the rate you’re going Bets!