Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for August 04, 2020

Oddly creepy, her creeping. ✨

Always

Missed a bit with the fill tool there Greg…

Not exactly like The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore, isn’t? (Bernice is stirring.)

Listen, every other GoComics commentators, my next grocery store work shift will have me until 1030pm (PST) which is. So don’t feel worried for my tardiness or absence.

If Bern thinks zipping up her pants is too noisy wait till she sits down to do her business. Surprisingly noisy in the middle of the night, and then there’s the flushing. Old toilets ate not quiet!

I have this foreboding that the “Bernice out of water” sequence is going to be as painful as the “Ann Eiffel makes her move” sequence.

Bernice! Turn on the lights! It’s quieter.

I don’t get it; Bernice “The Mistress of Snark” , the “Queen of the One Line Put Down” has suddenly (and most unexpectedly) developed a concern about other people? Talk about outta character.

My predictions have been off the mark, but I’m going to try yet again. I suspect we have a really good scream coming up.

Where’s your shower shoes Bernice?

well she’s right when you are walking down the steps at night and everyone is in bed at my house the steps always seem louder than they actually are

Or…you are trying too hard that you are making noises, Bernice. Well, in my family they’d sleep through all that.

Bern those #2 can be quiet loud.

Who puts on jeans underneath their nightgown just to go to the john?

I know noises sound louder in a house where everyone else is sleeping, but I honestly think ‘stomp, stomp’ for walking barefoot is a bit much…

Let’s hope the toilet doesn’t malfunction…

This is a sound effect cartoon where the standard was set by the late, great Don Martin. That’s a pretty high bar and this one is not that close. With a good one, the joke is the sound effects.

She pretty much grew up in that house. She should see them as family and not be so paranoid.

Didn’t even disturb Puddles.

Bernice, why are you getting dressed to answer the call of nature? just stay in your nightgown until you’re done, then get dressed.

Augh! is usually in “Peanuts”.

why is she putting on her jeans to go to the bathroom..her nightgown in the first panel goes almost to her knees, then in the last panel it’s short, like a top…come on Greg

When you’re familiar with a house, you know where the creaky floorboards are, and you can easily walk ninja quiet. Just sayin’.

Who else thinks that the DeGroots will not even recall that Bernice had to get up to pee in the middle of the night, nor care if she does.

For a typical family that raised kids, no one is waking at all. This is an entirely routine noise that could at worst result in someone coming half awake with a fuzzy thought about someone is using the toilet and then immediately falling back to sleep.

Just because Bernice has neuroses, it does not follow that the DeGroots have them as well. If the DeGroots did not want Bernice to use the toilet as needed, would not they have given her a chamber pot?

Be her luck, the toilet will back up and flood the hallway because not only did the toilet plug, but the flapper valve in the tank did not close so the fill valve is running full bore, and the wooden handle broke off the plunger. Have we ever seen Bernie curse before?

This is so true. The quieter you try to be, every little movement you make tends to seem really really loud…

Don’t worry; they’re probably nearly deaf.

Cue the Temptations “Just My Imagination” as Bern makes her way down the hall, I think we have all been in that predicament. However, it is true that sounds seem louder in the dead of night, but that in my case that was usually when you are a senior in high school (or on break from college the year right after HS) and trying to sneak in at 2 or 3 AM after telling the parents you’d be home by midnight and it was the one in a million time they did not wait up for you! Somehow I doubt if Bern has ever hit the midnight movies (Rocky Horror midnight show anyone???) or went out to concerts where she’d be hitting Taco Bell at 2 AM on the way home though there is the off chance that perhaps Dez got her to go and do some fun but clean late night activities like a bonfire, drum circle, or late night poetry reading some place near campus after the Saturday night play at the campus theater……

Such a gripping, drama filled storyline

I keep listening for the mouse trap to go “SNAP!!!” (I set up a trap to catch the varmint)

putting on jeans to go to the bathroom, Bernice? Don’t you own a robe? Unless Muni U dorm rooms come with bathrooms, I’m sure you needed one to shower, and, etc., there.

Why did she get dressed to use the bathroom?

Someone, get the lady some sweats!

Who puts on pants over their pj’s to go PEE? I figured she was getting up and about to go make coffee (after the pee, of course).

I can imagine this with a 12 year old, but not with a young adult

Wow. Hard to believe that this is the same young woman once used a shared dormitory bathroom at Mooney U, apparently without incident.

Now considering how Bernice doesn’t react well to “small furry animals” (I refer specifically to the squirrels encountered during last years camping trip) let’s HOPE a small mouse doesn’t cross her path. ;)

Poor Bernice. Trying not to make noise at night/early morning is really stressful and makes you feel guilty of waking up others. After all, she’s still a shy, young girl♡. Let’s hope no one is in the bathroom or Bernice could explode for the embarrassment.

So we get it. Bernice is uncomfortable being a guest in a house of her best friend. As many readers have pointed out, she has probably slept over there many many times during her life. However living there now is completely new territory for her

Who puts on pants to go pee after getting out of bed?

Not to be too observant but I notice that she might be all natural under her sleep shirt by the color near her pants button. So if that’s the case you think it would be easier to lift the night shirt to do her tinkling because now she will have to drop the pants to do it.

Okay so the system didn’t let me finish the comment. I guess the point is we now see how this counselor-in-training reacts. What is more interesting to me is are we going to get to see Ben and his kids at Bernice’s or maybe outside of Bernice’s house. I for one would like to see how Bernice reacts and if she can reconnect with her brother Ben, and how she reacts to being Aunt Bernice to his children. Remember years ago, Luann was interested in Ben. I would like to see how Luann reacts to Ben now and his kids. Does he have a wife? Did his wife leave him? Did his wife die? With Luann interested in becoming a primary education teacher, how will she bond with Ben’s children? What will Bernice’s reaction be to LuAnn if Luann gets interested in Ben again and his children? Oh and let’s not forget, why in the first place is Ben is he and his children living with his natural parents and not his adopted family who raised him? Did adoptive parents die? So many questions, but thankfully hopefully they will all be answered in Luannaverse time. Unfortunately I just turned 60 and by the time all my questions get answered I might be 75.

Bernice hasn’t even gotten the bathroom yet, where she will have to navigate around all of Luann’s accoutrements.

Her gown is knee length, and suddenly it is a top. It must be magic.

Interesting second panel. I didn’t know she was bi-racial.

Be vewy vewy quiet!

a coupe of years ago i spent the night in a colonial tavern in central PA. the necessary was in the courtyard behind the main building. in the middle of the night i was sure people would hear me going down the stairs.

Will Puddles make a splash here?

You…are…their…guest…Bernice. This is just……..j[q3jg[23’

Wait till she gets surprised by the bidet attachment they recently installed !

=:-O

she was stressing so hard pulling up the pants her whole arm turned red. she needs to relax more.

Nothing quit like trying to be quiet and being sensitive to every noise you’re making. The toilet you minimize by flushing while you’re still on it. I’d worry more about stubbing a toe or having someone startle you (like Frank getting up). now the funny thing would be if everyone was already up having breakfast (not likely).

Earth to Sheriff Mordecai. You still out there buddy? Is your phone ringing yet?

Will the seat be up or down? With three women in the house now there’s a 75% chance of down.

Looks like Bern is going commando in those jeans. And tight jeans put extra pressure on the bladder.

With this rather benign arc, GnK must be saving all the unanswered questions re Brer Ben and kids for the fall. The kids aspect is interesting. WHy does GnK need more kids in the strip? Shannon seems to be holding that slot down pretty well. Unless they are merely a McGuffin!

This is why Scotsmen wear kilts. That, and a sheep can hear a zipper a mile away…

I’ve had that experience.

What can I say about going to the bathroom that has not already been said above? I like the panel progression, and to me it is totally understandable that she slept in her skivvies and her night shirt, but would put on pants to go to the bathroom in another family’s house. At some point she would feel comfortable in the DeGroots’ they are the soul of normalcy and safety, but still. This is more getting used to her new situation though so I am waiting to see what is planned next. I really want to see the brother though. I think the grandfather arc here is always how Luann adjusts to life as she gets older, including her love life, and in that vein, will the brother come back in as a tantalizing possibility? How ironic if a somewhat spoiled (heavily parented) young woman suddenly had to consider being a stepmom to and lover of the kids and brother of her BFF? Now there is a heck of a storyline.

Why put on jeans just to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night?

Bernice lost a leg in the first pic

Boring. It’s insulting the way they are portraying this. Bernice has been in that house (and the dorm) more than her own home. They would have been better off using a new character who would actually be believable as “uncomfortable in new surroundings”. This doesn’t make sense to anyone, based on the comments. Do they use ghost writers for the story lines? It sure seems like it.

Now she’s P-d off even before she’s P-d off! :D

Some people.

Looks like killing time before we move on to another story. Must be pondering for a new story line.

Oh, just great! Frank’s going to think there’s an intruder and come out with his shotgun… I’m not a big fan of Bernice, but I’d hate to see her go THAT way…

Granted, it would be loads of laughs…

Bern needs to get over this quickly or she’s going to be even more grumpy than she usually is…

I love a good series of onomatopoeia!

A psychology professor once told my class that sometimes students with problems subconsciously take courses to diagnose themselves. Bernice may be doing the same, but I’m not sure which disorder this might be.

Now why would she put on jeans if she has to go pee?

Good use of pants Bernice!

Wait until she flushes…

I know exactly what that floor sounds like. I stayed in someone’s house in England with floorboards that rumbled and groaned like an upset ghost when you walked across them at night.

7

We are continuing in the vein of Bernice trying ever so hard to do the “right” thing, that she ends up causing more problems. Today is relatively minor in that regard but:

1. With Bernice only wearing a relatively short shirt and underwear to bed (it seems), and the very real possibility she has not fully collected or unpacked her belongings… for the sake of her own modesty and to show respect to the rest of the DeGroots, putting on her jeans to go to the bathroom is a polite gesture to try to do what is right. Probably overkill though, a) because she believes no one else is up, and b) her short night shirt appears acceptably long enough to not require additional coverage….. it is close… but it appears long enough.

2. It seems that perhaps Bernice is wearing a pair of super skinny jeans, as it requires SO MUCH effort to zip up that her one arm turns beet red with the effort of the struggle, and I would recommend she not go for “fashion” but instead for comfort in her next pair (hah…. joke, people).

3. The idea of noises seeming to amplify in a quiet space…. especially when you want to be quiet… is related physiologically to our ear’s ability to attenuate to sound in environments with considerable background noise. In much the same way our eyes can adjust to low or high light levels via the conversion of the opsin protein in our rods, the ear can adjust its sensitivities to sound depending upon background. Fortunately for most folks, there is also an autonomic response during sleep that attenuates the ear to be minimally responsive to lighter sounds (non-threatening sounds) so as to not disturb sleep cycles.

So, even though the sounds seem to SOUND LOUDER to Bernice, they should not really be likely to disturb others in the household unless they are atypically sensitive to sounds and have a dampened autonomic response during sleep.

How is she this uncomfortable around the Degroots??? In the sheer number of nights she has spent there as Luann’s best friend, she never had the occasion for an early morning bathroom trip? And as restaurant/club owners, unless they open up past noon the owners would be awake already. At least Mr. Degroot would be getting ready for work. Can you actually hear my eyes rolling?

How in the world did she survive in the dorm?

Greg has really outdone himself here. Just when I thought the stakes in this strip couldn’t get any lower than Les and his kitten, now we have the nail-biting suspense of Bernice trying not to disturb people who wouldn’t make a fuss anyway. Will she make it to the bathroom in time?!? Tune in next time, dear readers!!!

Even so, I’m still enjoying the lingering good feelings of Ann being gone. I’ll take this week’s strips if it means that snake never returns.

Who puts jeans on to go to the washroom in the middle of the night???

Do you think G&K foresaw all of us carrying on endlessly about Bernices bathroom habits!? Excuse me, it’s Miller time…

keep losing internet here as the storms approach

It would be a lot funnier if she doesn’t make it!!!

ZZZZZZZip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”

“Up The CREAK”

“Who Put The STOMP! In The STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!” (♪♫)

“KA-CLICK Bait”

“Onomato-pee-ia”

“Urine Trouble Now!”

“The Noise That Annoys”

“Sound Thinking”

“Get-Up-And-Go”

Jay Blue would be proud

Of course Bern could always pre record truck noises, sirens, etc to play when she sneaks to the loo.

“David. There’s somebody walking around the house.”

“Warn him about the bag I left out in the open.”

THUMP! CURSE. BAM!

“I hope he didn’t hurt himself this time, but he shouldn’t wander around with a loaded gun.”

“What did you do with the gun the last one had?”

“Buried it with him. Don’t need another gun. You know how clumsy I am.”

“That’s true. Hey, sounds like he’s dragging himself outside.”

“Good. Less blood to mop up this time.”

No, of course this didn’t happen. Go back to sleep.

Why jeans though? Sweat pants are more quiet

So true

Maybe Greg should keep that 2nd panel on file, and use it again in reverse the next time Piro is staying with her.

;-)

A truism, Bernie….

Wait till she gets to the Pee Noises part.

She will Die of embarrassment.

The only thing that would redeem this for me would be to have Bernice entering the bathroom and then closeups of the Degroots’ “wide awake now” facial reactions to a stinky smell wafting through the house! LOL!

Strip in my newspaper is not in color, so Panel # 2 has no distracting glitch. Therefore I can see Bernice in the dark and the sad sound of a single zipper being opened. A single zipper when it should be a duet.

Final thought. Panel # 2 is not a mistake. It is a protest of the Washington football team dropping the nickname, Redskins.

who puts ON pants to go pee? lol

When I’m staying overnight at someone’s house I overthink the same things!

Did anyone notice we already seen Bernice wearing only a t shirt? Then she put on some jeans!

That, they are.