Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for August 31, 2021

UGH Still a messy room!

wonderful

Zero effort as well. ✨

Did Bernice just say that she’s Luann’s friend only to excape the chaos of her own family?

Take the laptop away and the strip is from 1989. =-/

A week of Sunday strips?

Stress for someone who has a clean and organized compulsive nature.

So Nancy is cranky! Poor Frank. And just why has Bernice’s mom been cranky “forever?”

If you’re lucky, you might find a relic from 2004 in there somewhere!

Interesting—we finally get some insight into what makes Bernice tick!

No more non-wire hangers ever.

…and then Bernice joins the quad dorm and finds out the hard way that living with Luann wasn’t so bad after all?

Luann’s room is a great place to be when you want to be down in the dumps.

Somehow, I find this whole scene comforting for both Luann and Bernice. In the midst of the chaos of the clutter of Luann’s room is a familiarity that this space isn’t going to change anytime soon. Plus, don’t you love how Puddles always chimes in with an eye roll of sorts?

Luann is such a slob, there comes an age where its just a turn off to see someone who lives in squalor

Do now we get to learn about Bernice’s home life. No wonder she is content living with Luann’s family.

Again with the messy room?

That looks just like the living room downstairs here. Yuck.

You girls don’t know what stress is! ;/

Prefect Mother’s week? Is Luann and Bernice bonding?

Maybe your mom is “cranky” because of you and ONLY You, Bernice.

Which is why she put forth ZERO effort for ypu to stay at home after You got kicked out of the dorm last year.

Jest sayin’……, -)

Radical Idea Luann: your mom is cranky cause she is doing way. Too. Much. Go learn to do The Fuse’s books, start asking around and suggest hiring extra help at the fuse, ask TJ how the Fuse can be made more profitable, shoot- go ask business major Tiff how to make the Fuse more profitable, clean up around the house, move out & find a way to contribute more financially (I can’t imagine Kids First is paying much as a female dominated caregiving occupation, though the economics of Pittsville are a mystery to me). At the very least go suprise her with some flowers. This pair makes me glad I never had kids/ungrateful brats.

Well, the room confirms it. Luann hasn’t grown up beyond high school. She is in limbo. GnK needs to get their head out of the sand and move forward their beloved Luann. Yes, drawing that messy room is probably fun and creative, but it has become pathetic for a twenty-something girl. No need for a tidy white glove test room – just a reasonably clean room will do with a few toss asides here and there which would be normal for a young adult who is supposed to know how to do laundry and put away clothes and use the hamper for dirty clothes and leaves just a few dinnerware from a recent snack rather than weeks prior. Funny that GnK always draws a made bed as if that satisfies as a tidy room. I think most people don’t make their beds these days unless they expect guests or are selling the house. Like, what’s the point of making the bed when you’re gonna mess it up every night? As long as the bed only has the sheets, cover and pillows on it – nothing else.

Good reply about Bernice’s home life from Luann. Hopefully, this will lead deeper into Bernice, Jack, Ben, and Nil stuff.

Interesting, an always cranky mom could be an explanation for Bernice’s horrible behavior towards everyone. Especially towards Luann, the friend she envies because she has nicer parents and can live in a relaxing messy room.I can imagine that Bernice grew up in a house where if she didn’t exactly put her things in the allotted space she was scolded for at least twenty minutes. Poor thing.

If something like someone else’s messy room stresses you out, you probably need help.

Stress? Or Mess?!

A messy room is stressful as is an antiseptic perfectly ordered room, I try to find the perfect balance , though my wife disagrees with me!

Uh, doesn’t Bern LIVE there now?

And Luann shouldn’t still be living in filth at her age. She’s way past the messy teenager time frame. Her parents need to tell her to either start keeping her room clean or she can find somewhere else to live.

No dummy, Bernice only hangs out with you so her life will look better by comparison.

You’ll never clean up this place, will you?

At least G&K aren’t showing bras or panties hanging from the bedposts this time… but really… Luann should be past the “slobby high school bedroom” thing by now. I know it’s supposed to be a running gag through the strip, but come on..

I’m stressed just looking at that pig sty

And a closet with a whole row of empty clothes hangers.

Mess isn’t stress and it’s really easy to fix.

Well, at least Bernice is acting like less of a jerk in today’s strip. Low bar, but still.

Yes the room is a mess, and who has heard the old shibboleth that a clean desk can reveal a disordered mind, a messy one brilliant? Whether you agree or not Bern and Lu are kind of two sides of a coin, relaxed while silly, but basically a very good person, stressed while supercilious and judgmental, but again basically a very good person. Nobody is perfect.

50 is old? I’d LOVE to see 50 again.

Zero stress. Mucho squalor. Dios mio – how old is Luann ? Ten ?

You know, when everyone sees Oscar Madison’s messy room in “The Odd Couple”, everyone laughs. But when everyone sees Luann’s messy room here, it’s “bring out the pitchforks and torches!” I do kind of see a double standard here. I have a feeling it’s time to bring back Aaron Hill because I have a feeling that when Tiffany fails once again to steal Kip away from Stef, she’ll steal Jack away from Luann and everyone is going to gang up on Luann and force her to start dating Gunther (after he eventually breaks up with Bets, that is). Luann is not selfish; she’s not immature; she doesn’t have that messy of a room compared to Oscar Madison and she has a right to be happy—and only Aaron Hill can giver her that happiness. Do it, Greg Evans! Bring back Aaron Hill because Luann and Aaron Hill were meant to be together forever!

Maybe these moms are cranky because they do too much. They are TIRED! How about pitching in and helping, either by getting a part time job and contributing financially or helping out around the house more? After all, both these young women are adults now. Act like it!!! And Luann could start by cleaning that pigsty of a room.

Today’s strip is a perfect example of why the rule “show, don’t tell” exists. Instead of just watching Bernice tell us about her home life, we the readers could have instead been shown it over the years, so as to better understand her situation. It probably would’ve been a better use of storytelling space than doing endless retreads of the same old gags (today’s strip is an example of that too: did we really need another “Luann’s bedroom is such a mess” gag?)

Criticize me if you want, but I think it’s a legitimate question: why don’t we ever get to see any of Bernice’s home life? Is watching her and Luann sit around staring into the distance really a better use of storytelling space?

That would stress me out – can’t stand mess. (one reason I’m no longer married)

Could be a little more gracious, Bernice. You ARE a guest.

I could tolerate the clutter but I would never allow food or eating gear to stay in a bedroom. That is unsanitary.

So Bernice’s mom has always been cranky. That explains a lot.

Being neat is not something that happens at a certain age. Some people are just hoarders or slobs and they live their whole lives that way. It is a mental disorder.

It’s not just teenagers or college dorms. When I was in the NAVY, my roommate and I shared a house on the base. She was due to go on leave one afternoon but we had had our regular inspection. When the Senior Chief opened her closet door, Mt. Laundry came falling at his feet!! She had to get all that laundry done before she could be signed out on leave…LOL!! Yes, I was a good roommate and helped her! She is still my best friend to this day!

Both of you are to young to have stress in your life.

Did we ever really see Brad’s room? He often slobbed up the living room and the kitchen, but I don’t recall his room or how he kept it.

I keep thinking of the very old joke that ends with the line—“Oh,the goat doesn’t mind!”

Luann’s room as time capsule and symbol of being stuck in a teenage time warp. Time for them to be having more age appropriate arcs!

Which kind of explains why Bern didn’t complain all that much when the Prodigal Son returned with kidlets in tow. I mean, yeah, she did, but she didn’t fight all that hard for her place.

Gosh, it would be nice to see Luann to grow up a little. Her room looks like a highschoolers room, not a young woman’s room who is starting to take care of herself. God help whoever her roommate turns out to be at some distant point in the future. Actually, I’m kind of looking forward to that. If I had a roommate that lived like that I’d boot them out on their butt and get a cat.

Ok, continuing from last week and a little of the same old, same old. No real growth while Nancy comments on her age. I’m seriously hoping GnK use this as a launchpad for showing character growth. Luann needs it, Bernice needs it, and Nancy might be feeling it but she’s doing great.

No stress from having to clean up the room

Luann needs to tune-up her sarcasm meter.

Zero stress, major mess!

And over here I can shoot my mouth off without getting my teeth kicked in!

Laptop on the floor by the tea cup, spilled drink and food crumbs. Nice.

Toni&Brad,as a joke,declare Luann’s room to be a fire hazard.

So if Mom is almost 50, and Luann is what, 19? That means Mom was about 31 when she had Luann? Hardly a “young” age.

Will we ever see Bernice’s parents? Maybe they will show up when she finally marries. One can dream.

I thought the “messy room” gags were reserved for Sundays.

Amazing how these arcs segue. i thought this was going to continue to be about Nancy; but now we move on to how Luann and Bern feel about their parents in general.

Luann is in college now. Isn’t it time they stop depicting her room like this?

Bernie’s could have use this opportunity to express some gratitude for the Degroat having provided a haven from her (apparently) bad home life as she was growing up… or for the free room they’re giving her now… but no, she squandered that opportunity to get in a dig at Luann. I’ve tried to be sympathetic towards Bernice in the past – I mean, some people are just born uptight for whatever reason – but her constant harping is getting very, very old.

These two are night and day.

Well, except for Brad. Brad always tried to create some stress.

It’s true, Bernie stresses me out.

As for Nan and the fabled messy bedroom of Luann, I know not of such things….

Where is this arc going? Why is Luann still stuck in teenagedom? Why must Bern be so snarky with her supposed BFF? Same old stuff.

Yup