Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for April 19, 2023

What?? How has Bets been living there, all this time, without Irma & Al knowing about it?

Where does she park her car? She has to come and go multiple times a day.. surely she would be spotted.

Either Gunther takes a stand, and they become OK with her living there, or she probably needs to go back to the dorm.

.

Don’t jump, Bets! lol

way to get the matter off your chest, Bets

Irma will never accept Bets.

Sneaking around and hiding roommates from the landlord is not a viable long term option.

Ah Wednesday, the basic misdirection day: “poof” we morph from Tiffany’s arc to Bets and the inevitable confrontation with Al and Irma. Ought to get interesting.

Secrecy? It can never remain a secret by co-inhabiting with two men! I mean spilling the beans with Tiff is just asking her to share!

Irma and Al vs Bets any bets on Al and Irma 500 to 1 on winning.

My guess is that Gunther is trying to have it both ways. He wants Bets but doesn’t want to hurt his mother. He’s hiding Bets from Irma. As a result, she feels unvalued.

Gunther and Betts need their own studio apartment. I don’t think the old folks are going to agree to Betts and Gunther living together.

I guess Irma and Al aren’t among Bets’s thousands of internet fans. If they ever get curious about those selfies and videos she’s always taking, and what she does with them, she’ll be so busted!

Pretty gutsy living there Bets…time for plan B. 乁⁠ ⁠˘⁠ ⁠o⁠ ⁠˘⁠ ⁠ㄏ

Interesting how easily this strip segues from one crisis to another.

If it is smelly and messy, why live there?Seems like the guys took better care of Tiff.

Jumping out the window is such a callback to Luann’s visit to Gunther, though I never understood what was the problem with Gunther having a girl in his room with the door closed. They were 19. It was legal if they wanted to do it and since they weren’t doing it they could have just opened the door. It’s these contrived problems that hurt this strip.

No sex ?

I guess it’s too late for Bets to pretend she’s gay. Worked for Jack Tripper for 8 years.

AHA!

I’m wondering if the “fun” Bets is having with Gunther is not that great.

Guess women jumping in and out Gunter’s window’s a thing. First Luann, Now Betts.

Wouldn’t mind a few jumping in my window. Mebbe I’ll leave it open tonite.

“Gunth and “Gutsy” Bets Malone, Bets Malone, Bets Malooooone!”

“They’ve got some thing, going on!”

“Well Gunth knows it’s wrong,”

“But Bets is too head strong, to let it go now!” – Billy Paul

First of all, “shacking up at Gunny’s place, was mostly Bets’ idea.

Second, Bets knew as far back as December of last year that Al and Irma wouldn’t approve of that, but she did it anyway. So Bets. Your “discomfort” is ALL YOUR FAULT.

But let’s be honest here.

What’s REALLY eating Bets is the fact that Tiffany was welcomed by Al and Irma to stay, but she, Bets, WASN’T.

The solution? Bets moves back to the dorm for the remainder of the semester.

And as for the Summer? Bets talks Tiffany into living at the manse once again.

Perhaps We’ll even finally be treated to that long awaited Summer trip to Paris to visit Soufflé Lingerie.

If the “protestors” haven’t TRASHED it. ;-)

Poor Bets, doing things secretly is not in her character and it makes her feel horribly. I think Tiffany is the only one she can talk about it knowing she understood her. Even if Dez is a close childhood friend of hers, Tiffany not only knows the situation better, but she wouldn’t give her overly positive advice. I don’t know if Tiffany will go talk to Al and Irma or if she’ll try to arrange a meeting between the four to discuss about it civilly, but I think it’s very possible that she’ll go talk about it with Gunther. Now Tiffany, please, give Bets a hug.

Leaping out windows? You mean like Luann fourteen months ago?

https://www.gocomics.com/luann/2019/02/22

I must say, the boy does get around!

How in the world could Bets be LIVING in the guest house and Irma and Al not know about it??? The house is in their back yard!

Ah, there it is….the lying. Will true love ever win for them?Sheesh, that batch of T’s Tea is losing it’s magic by the minute!

“Lt. Uhura, open a channel…”

What’s going to be worse? Mr. Al finding out that Bets is living there? Or Stef finding out that Tiffany makes him smile?

Well, the walls did look kinda thin… :D

Tiff asks, “Are you, like, leaping out windows?”

Fortunately it’s relatively safe in a one floor building.

After all of the drama, it would be funny if they finally gain the guts to confront Irma and Al, – only for them to say, “Of course, we knew you were staying there. We didn’t say anything because you’re both adults and it’s your business.”

Looks like they’re gonna have to either try to find better ways to prevent the folks from knowing or they’ll just have to find their own place.

This girl should stop shacking up with Gunth and stop trying to corrupt him.

THEY STILL DON’T KNOW?!

Yep, I was right.

Bets should probably stop helping. Her energy is going to make some negativi-TEA!

Nice location shot in panel one.

Either the Grays are totally oblivious, or, they decided that they just don’t want know Betts is living with Gunther (and, Les.)

Oh, the folks know, Bets.

What a tangled web we weave…

Holy crap!

Grow a pair Gunther!

Wow. Gunther is really hiding Bets like a he’s kid trying to sneak a pet their mom won’t allow them to have into their house (like it’s a kids’ movie like Airbud lol). Gunther’s really that scared to just move out or discuss with Irma about being better toward Bets? And Bets’ would put up with being treated like a dirty secret? Also I’m surprised that Irma’s mommy-senses aren’t going off after multiple days of Bets living there in secret?

Also I’m genuinely wondering what would be “worse” in Tiffany’s opinion about the Dorm. Bets wouldn’t (or at least shouldn’t) abide the nonsense that Tiffany got stuck with regarding Stef and Kip. And Stef’s not even in town (being out on her cheer tournament) so Bets should take advantage of having the room to herself and invite Gunth over there (even for a couple of days). Instead she’d rather stay at the Gulag with the stinky messes and lack of privacy and the Ire of Irma looming over her…

Ahhh, so it’s not that Bets and Gun are having trouble, it’s that Al and Irma are still being close-minded. Time for them all to grow up.

This is inconsistent with the previous story. There was a whole series where Gunther told his Mom and Al that Bets would be staying with him.

I didn’t think Bets would actually move into the Gulag, maybe just spend more time there, ~ 2-3 nights (max) per week. It seems to me that would be better all around, for the relationship and the situation, i.e. if Bets did just that. Irma and Al built the place for two and they are paying the utilities and maintenance; so they have a say in the matter. But…. their attitude toward Bets (relative to Tiff) is not acceptable and that’s the issue here.

Bets is paying for the dorm. She should live there. Gunther is living in Al and Irma’s house for free. He needs to follow their rules or move out.

Irma married a (if not wealthy) rich man. Tiff is rich, Bets isn’t. It might also be that Tiff is white, Bets isn’t. All up to the cartoonist as to the dynamics and which way this is going. But my money is behind the Tiff is rich and Bets isn’t; so Irma prefers Tiff over Bets for Gunther.

No the leaping out of windows would been Luann? Remember her exciting climb out of Gunther’s window when there was absolutely nothing going on. Wow—-the facet that they’ve maintained this secret for so long is unbelievable!! No wonder Bets is upset. It’s really not the other things such as mess, smells, lack of privacy that bothers her. She’s tough enough to handle all that. But she is frustrated and disappointed that Gunther hasn’t come clean about them living together and I don’t blame her.

Its a one story window, hopefully she doesn’t land in the rose bushes

Assume you will never get away with anything and act accordingly.

Keeping any aspect of her life a secret must be absolute torture for the social-media-obsessed Bets.

Likely Irma/Al realized Tiffany is a #9 and would never consider a #6 Gunther.“smells” so they are going back to flushing once a week?

Don’t jump, Bets, RUN! I dated a “mama’s boy” once, and believe me, you will never matter more (or even as much) to “Gun” as his mommy does. His idea of standing up to her was to propose marriage, thereby effectively telling Irma that although he wants to be with you, he’ll do it according to her standards. You deserve better.

Geez..what does she need to get a clue? If Bets doesn’t like the parents, the house or the way she’s being treated, she has a perfectly good and paid for place to live in at the dorm. She doesn’t have to get on Gunther’s case about it, they tried it, it’s not working out, so just go back to what you were doing before…..and then break up with him later. Good riddance.

Take Steffi with you.

She’s just not happy because she’s not getting—————her way?

The only high road I see short of Gunther facing up to his parents is Tiff coming over, telling the Grays she’s better now and introducing Betts, break the ice. Since they seem to respect Tiff.

Yep.

Tif sez “Hey Al and Irma, I’m moving out an Betts’ taking my place.”

Gunter should be the one saying that but he can’t find the ticket to go pick up his spine from the cleaners

Can we please give Tiffany a makeover? I miss her being the fashionista of the strip. Even Bernice looks better than Tiff now. So what if Tiffany gained a few pounds? She doesn’t have to look and dress like a 40-year-old housewife from the 1980’s!

Bets wants to film her and Gunther together, but if she does, then it will reveal where they are to the world. Plus she might be noise with the intimacy stuff and doesn’t like the constraints.

How ungrateful! WTF is this, Tiff complaining about the “mess, the smells and lack of privacy” at the Gulag? All while Les gave up his own room for her, both of the boys waited on her hand and foot, she hogged up the bathroom and ate their food and pretended (lied to herself) that the boys just LOVED this arrangement?

If there was a lack of privacy, Les took the brunt of it.

Screw this. She should be grateful for what they did and what they sacrificed for her. She was too chicken to go back to the mansion, or return to the dorm and let the boys sacrifice their time and comfort FOR HER. She used them. It was Bets who shook her out of that complacency, otherwise she’d still be there as Queen of the Gulag with her 2 servants secretly fuming and resenting her daily.

She should recognize all they’ve done for her, and give them a complimentary 6-pack of T’s Teas. And by golly, thank them to the skies!

Whenever someone, because of a disaster (injury, fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane) loses their home/can’t go home and needs a place to stay and friends and relatives take them in, they don’t complain about the condition of the room, or the food or the smells. Clean the place up your d**n self, buy your own eats, and purchase air freshener! And thank your lucky stars that someone did this favor to you for free!

Bets has other options. I would never stay somewhere that I felt I wasn’t wanted if I had other options. Gunther may not have another living option, so he can’t stand up to his Mom for Bets. Staying there seems to be damaging the relationship.

Maybe Tiffany can convince her dad to let Bets & Gunther housesit the mansion. He wouldn’t care about hanky-panky.

Ok, well they own the place. Just go back to the dorm. graduate from school get married and move out asap. Like really far away out of state. Wouldn’t matter if you’re accepted or not then. A downer is that Gun may be attached at the hip to his mom. At some point he’s gotta stand up and be a man and move on. But who knows if he’ll ever do that. If he “really” love Bets then, that’ll be no problem.

This strip has been added to my paper but I feel the need to read comments.

Who ever thought Tiff would be an advisor for Bets? Perhaps she’ll get in with Irma if Nets stops Gun from being beaten up. Or something. It’s not plausible Irma and Al don’t know. They’re just making it awkward for the young’uns.

I can see how maintaining secrecy would create a major mental strain, Bets. So, why not make Gunny man up and tell them the truth? —Couldn’t make things any worse….

She’s leaping tall dorm buildings at a single bound