Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for February 23, 2021

uh-oh, the bump

the plot thicken – I bet it’s Ox!

TOO LATE, Tara! She found you. Please hide Luann to keep her safe!

So now we get to meet Tara’s cousin, who is even wilder than Tara. Maybe it’ll turn out to be Ann Awful…

And here it comes. Odds are 60-40 it’s Bernice. She couldn’t take the conflict in her mind and chose to end her torment. Now for the big confrontation.

One question is why was Luann meeting up with Tara both during the day and night?

Tara says she has a crazy cousin who does stupid things, who is she to judge?

On the other hand. Tara in intimating that her “cousin” may do something stupid. What stupid thing could she do? Supposedly the “cousin” doesn’t know where Tara is hiding out!

I love the secret Boris and Natasha secret door “Knockity knock knock.” 8^ )

Of course, LuAnn doesn’t lock the door after herself…

Well Tara maybe she just a wild child at heart.

So…Tara has her bag loaded up with provisions from the Fuse, and her cousin probably was able to get in to the safe?

It’s Bern. Maybe this is will be her chance to learn some compassion by learning Tara’s situation.

Too many players, no scorecard

It’s either Bernice, Jack. It may be the crazy cousin, but only at Tara’s direction…

Dun Dun Da!

Wonder when Tara planned to tell Luann she’d split?

Who is her cousin?

So Tara intends to go the way of Aaron Hill, Rosa, Knute etc. and leave Pitts, never to be seen again.

Another character leaving the strip!

It’s a thing that goes bump in the night!

One: The “bump”: Tyge already called it as Bernice. If so, then mixed messages once again – are we supposed to “hate” her? (Snooping, self-righteous, snarky, oh you guys do it so much better than I)

Two: Is Tara being written out of the strip?

Stay tuned for the next episode of Wagons East!

Could it be … … Satan?!?

Could be that Tara and her accomplice are cleaning out the Fuse before making their getaway.

If it’s Tara’s cousin – a new character! Maybe something fascinatingly sinister.

It’s either the cousin or Bernice.

TJ, the arsonist?

Maybe the Fuse has a big ‘Ratt’ problem …..

Could be the crazy cousin. Or Bernice. Or the cops who got an alarm call.

No matter what, Luann is about to find out why letting Tara stay there without letting her parents know was a really BAD idea.

Jack, checking on them to make sure their ok as apposed to Bernice who wants to catch them doing something wrong.

Or dumpster being slid out for morning pick up trapping them for the night.

This is going to go sideways. Good. The writers are making it interesting.

Cousin’s going to show up and be threatening, Bernice will show up a few strips later and save the day and prevent Tara from needing to go to Utah. Bernice and Tara will reconcile.

Let’s hope is Bernice, because Tara’s crazy cousin sounds really scary to me. But… on the other hand….I want to see her!!! And it’s nice to see how Tara is so serious that, instead of just counting on Luann’s help, she looked for another place to stay. Luann really has a great friend in her ♡♡. This shows how much what Bernice (and others) think of Tara is just based on prejudice. By the way, "Knockity knock knock is such a beautiful sound ♡.

“From Ghoulies and Ghoosties, long-leggety Beasties, and Things that go Bump in the Night, Good Lord, deliver us!”

“Come, Watson! Looks like the game’s afoot!”

Probably just Busybody Bernice.

I bet Bernice, I hope not the cousin, since she is clearly presented as a danger, and no harm should come to Luann or Tara, although the Dirk like danger might be scary/fun. This is not that situation though between Brad and Dirk, that was a mano a mano contest between doofus but maturing Brad fighting to protect the love of his life, our beloved character Toni. Here doofus Luann is tryin to secretly help a friend whom she has forgiven, taking quite a risk to do so. Bernice is too me the most likely person (she has a car as well btw) because this her friend and she is being tortured by the secret, while going through her issue with coming to terms with her feelings for Jack. That’s my take a 6:12 am Tuesday morning anyway. Ah anticipation!

It was a dark and stormy night! – Snoopy, from Peanuts.

Luann should have taken her own advice and lock the door after entering.

“My cousin is crazy. She might do something stupid like steal a TV, or hide someone in the building her parents own.”

Wow, G&K are writing Tara out of the strip? I didn’t see that coming.

This time I’m going to take the safe bet and say Bernice followed Luann.

Rut-roh….

Things that go bump in the night. Cue something stupid.

nope prob bright girl who wants to stick her nose in everyone elses business

Is it her cousin with friends?

Nah. Bern. She can never keep her nose out of ANYTHING.

Utah is nice. Let’s go to Utah with Tara.

You’d better get out of there, right now.

My first thoughts – Tara leaving the strip and cousin is inside building. Second thoughts – it’s Jack (following Luann to see if she is okay) and Jack will offer Tara to stay at his house (he can protect her).

Oh boy! Complications even in ‘toon land!

YAY! Shout out to Utah!! My home state. :D Also, I’m betting it’s Bernice at the “bump.”

A twist no one expected.

better do an inventory…

Oooh, we might meet the cousin!

Where are the keys to the Fuse? It is obvious that Tara has a fellow colleague?

I am not so sure Tara is being written out. they are telling a story.

Will we meet her crazy cousin?

Thinking the key here is Tara leaving the door open . With Tara being there and Luann saying she should have locked the door after means nobody should be there . Thinking the reason the door was open is Tara let somebody in after she arrived to an empty Fuse . Or not , lol .

“The suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.”

― Oscar Wilde

I still think there’s no cousin, and that it’s Tara who is on the lam. I doubt she plans to pilfer from the DeGroots however.

It’s Tracer Bullet from Calvin and Hobbes today.

If it’s Bernice, I’ll do a double face palm. Bern was in bed arguing with herself after Luann sped off. Bernice wouldn’t know where Luann went and so couldn’t follow her.

Oh, geez. I hope the crazy cousin isn’t an arsonist.

It’s Dirk, he wants to save her soul….

Those two are going to be cornered by a masked man and Bernice is going to save the day.

Strap in for one more week of fun and excitement. I doubt it will last more than a week, not unless the artist wants a cliff hanger. Here’s how it’s going to play out:1. Luann / Tara will be terrified at something.2. It turns out to be either – Tara’s crazy cousin, where we never see his/her face. – Someone else entirely.3. Bernice will stew in her head but figure out the only place Luann would go at that hour is the Fuse because it makes logical sense.4. The “unknown” part is the drama between Luann / Tara with the unknown third party.5. Bernice goes down and it all gets complicated, but Bernice saves the day.6. Luann / Bernice have a nasty fight.

That’s what. -She

Hmmm, so did the crazy cousin follow her, is someone else inside (like TJ or Ox), or is someone at the door (Bernice?). Since Bernice was still in bed when Luann left, she wouldn’t have known she was at the Fuse. TJ or Ox would be coming to the cafe in the morning? That leaves someone else hiding? Is Tara unaware of that someone or is it an accomplice? The plot thickens! ;-)

check her bag…

and her bag has ONLY her own stuff in it…right? please?

Ruh-ro!

Bernice. Totally Bernice.

THIS IS THE POLICE!!!

I suddenly have the feeling that something incredibly bad is about to happen.

Tara is probably packing that bag with whatever she is stealing this time.

I just remembered, this reminds me a strip from years ago. Bernice was in her car, telling Delta she needed a break from Luann, then there was some kind of sound depicted. Many readers thought it was Luann on the phone and started fuming—oh look, Luann is calling Bernice’s phone, she can’t let Bernice have a moment without her, Luann is awful, bla bla bla. The next day it was revealed that the sound was coming from the car, not the phone. Luann never called at all.

Dang I didn’t want to lose Tara – if she moves to Utah, it’s probably her exit. Hopefully we’ll at least find out more about Tara in the next couple of toons. I had counted on Tara exporting Luann out of the cocoon – especially when they reach 21, which should be not long from now. Looking ahead, Greg did visualize Luann in a nightclub having a martini once. I’d hate to see Luann & Puddles every Sunday for the next ten years.

She’ll be fine in Utah. They’re all kinda weird there..

The “bump” might be Jack checking on Luann. Tara is probably skipping town because she’s in trouble. There is no crazy cousin, but Tara is in such a big hurry, there might be cops on her tail.

Or maybe the crazy cousin has tracked her down!

cue the dark ambient music with discordant overtones

Bernice didn’t even follow Luann when she knew where she going that morning, i.e. the dog park. So I don’t think it is Bernice, who is now more confused than ever maybe even nervous and probably still lying wide awake battling options in her mind. Now, “bump” vs “thump” (not a car door, heavy boots?). It sounds like someone pushed the door shut or pushed into it. I think this cousin (or someone) does exist and Tara is on the run.

“Who Put The Bump In The Bump-Te-Bump-Te-Bump? (♪♫)”

“Knockity Knock-Knock…Who’s There?”

“Open Door Policy”

“Check Out Time”

“The Great Escape”

“Tara Gone”

I really hope it isn’t her cousin.

It’s only Tuesday, and that bumping noise is concerning. What is it? Will things be missing when Tata leaves? Will Luann be blamed? The plot thickens.

Bump? When a door closes, a window beckons.

But who could it be? Tara’s “crazy cousin”? And just how crazy is she, as judged by Tara, who is a tad loopy herself….

We’re about to find out who Really stole all that stuff over at Moonie Uni.

What cousin?

The door may be unlocked but it is not open in panel one.