Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for August 14, 2023

YAY! 2 for 2.. We’re on a roll! Welcome Back Gunther & Bets!

Is the van on fire or what’s going on with it? Looks like they been through he.ll but had a fun time doing it. I can’t wait to hear their story.

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So what happened to Gunther’s shirt? Wild make out session? Lion attack? or….? lol

Now there is an optimist with a selective memory

Jeez, did they get sucked into the van or run over by it?

OK. They’re back!

Aw, the trip is over already. So where is Bets going to sleep now? Momma was pretty clear that Bets had to go away. And I’m sure she didn’t mean just for the summer!

So are we going to hear a history of their travels? Will it be in the same excruciating detail as the last arc?

Maybe, they rented an apartment?

How come Les and TJ never had a girlfriend?

still hotter than Kip in a pineapple print thong swimsuit!

Gunther’s unshaven look has returned.

Bets looks super happy!

looks like they are back from Hawai… wait… there are no roads to Hawai…. well, let’s just say is comics physics

Well this would’ve been a better way to spend the summer than watching Tiffany be a peeper for weeks on end. But no, instead G&K choose the most boring option and let the (possibly) exciting one pass us by.

Well played Irma by giving Gunther the van from hell.

But is it an adventure you’d tell your kids and grandkids about? ;D

Up next: how I spent my summer vacation.

I hope we learn the details of the trip, but if the Evansi are smart, they’ll make it into one of those ‘Luann’ books they sell, and we’ll have to find out on our own…

Are these the first smiling faces that I’ve seen in like, forever? Okay, my guess is they eloped and their love making got pretty rip-roaring rough, but at least Gunther is clean shaven.

One preacher I used to listen to had a theory about what made for good, strong families: camping trips! Not so much the good times you shared, but how you had to work together to overcome the inevitable adversities that come up when traveling together.

someone came knocking, when the van was a rocking

I think when they first started, there was a link to a separate Bets and Gun story elsewhere. I didn’t follow it.

But i will say, something I’ve used as a personal maxim at work is that, it’s not when things are ‘normal’ but when things go wrong that you really learn things, and whether you can cut the mustard.

I want to know how long the trip was. If it lasted even a month, then probably a good experience.

It’s sad that arcs involving Luann aren’t as interesting. I still think Tara could help Lu venture out more. Lu & Bern spend too much time examining their navel.

Bet they’re going to get married.

Musta been mud wrestling in a combat round

The best raod trips are the ones you back from with a couple of dents and your life.

Very often, the most disastrous trips are the most fun. If everything goes according to plan, you’re doing something wrong. My dad and I took a driving trip through Ireland, once. My fondest memories are of our tiny rented car breaking down on a mountain in Donegal, and stranding us in a village that had this great traditional music session my dad absolutely loved.

This is a young couple, and it would be twice as true in their case. :)

Thereby hangs a story. And I suppose we’ll hear it.

I’m happy for them and assume Kippy is not at the bottom of the pool.

Oil pressure line leak?

Details! We want Details!!!! How did they manage to destroy the van without destroying their relationship? What was San Diego Comic Con like for them? What cosplays they have done? Did they also go elsewhere? This trip really seems to have made them closer. They looks so happy, is beautiful and Gunther has again his three days beard that really makes him looks better. Was this what Irma hoped for or it was the opposite? Is the van dead forever or can it be easily resurrected? At this point I wonder what the authors meant by saying the arc would go on in parallel with the blog through emails. OK, but when will this start?

If Gunther’s mom assumed the trip would split them up she’s in for an unpleasant (for her) suprise!

Looks like Bets and Gunther had a fun trip.

Making passionate love while you’re driving is never a good idea. (No matter what kind of fantasies you may have about it. Let’s hope Bets wasn’t doing live stream at the time.)

To live life to its fullest, one must get their hands dirty and their knees scraped up.

G n B appear to have had chances to tune up their mechanical skills. Flashbacks of the adventure to follow this week.

Oh gawd, back to this???

Glad to see a little Happiness once in a while. I don’t care what the explanation was, although I’m sure that we’re going to hear it.

Looks like they haf a fire. I didn’t know TJ went with them LOL!

Did the oil sump explode all over them?

WHA?! How the hell did THAT happen? Did they drive through a erupting volcano or something?

Wow, the vanagon on a flatbed. There’s a surprise.

They have matching scratches, scar or oil smears. But suffice to say they did it…together.

The comic on July 8 said “Join the Journey! LuannFan.com”… but I never saw anything there. Did anyone sign up for the emails? If so, did you get journey updates?

that’s often what happens when things get slippery.

Hopefully we get to see some of it in a flashback.

Ah Ha!

Many figured that next arc would be about Bets and Gun. Those “folks” were right.

I figured the “History Van” wouldn’t survive the trip. And it looks like the van is now truly History.

I’ll wager that Bets and Gun had a more interesting Summer than the rest of gang combined.

Now the only question is: Did they actually make it to the San Diego Comics Con to met Greg and Karen? (I hope so. Greg now has a beard. Something Gun should EMULATE. Again)

But the GOOD News? B&G may lost a van but gained a flatbed! They Should make quite a few bucks reprocessing cars around town. Start with Irma’s.

So.

Sit back. RE-LAX. And grab a cup of COFFEE.

Bets and Gun are about to save Christmas. ;-)

It was an adventure! … and they survived.

So, we missed the whole trip?

a good friend will bail you out of jail.a great friend will be sitting next to you waiting to get bailed out, but it was worth it.

AAaawwww!

And we missed it. Didn’t get anything at the pool party either. What a waste of time.

Hope the reduced price paid for the van was worth it and allows for Bets and Gunth to repair/replace the front tire and resolution of the cause of the black smoke emanating from under the van.

Well, now I really want to know the story of their road trip❣️

They packed a lot into a short time.

Why did Les even need to ask? Just follow Bets’ Insta feed and you’ll know EVERYthing they did. Ugh.

I wonder how far they got? Ruby may be salvageable. Old VW buses are prized collector cars and you can still find engines for them pretty easily.

Will this arc be told in flashbacks? And it’s good to see that Gunther & Betsy had a good time on the road.

Wasn’t the van trip supposed to be described on some website or newsletter or something like this on the side of the daily strip? Anyone got it?

Who was driving when they were unceremoniously distracted?

Methinks that a V-card has been turned in.

Flashbacks? I hope so

So we only got one “special comic” following Gunther and Bets’ trip. And that was on July 22nd. Well worth the subscription.

Looks like, of all the people from the original gang, the geekiest of all of them is the only one getting any.

Wore that van out in a week? They must have been busy.

I understand this perfectly. My last self guided raft trip was the vacation from Hell but the adventure of a lifetime.

Looks like Irma’s evil plan didn’t work. I believe her goal was to move them off the fence, but was secretly hoping that all that time together would drive them apart and not together.

Thought these 2 wouldn’t be back from their adventures for months!

Did the fanmail adventure where we were supposed to get updates on their road trip just fall off the face of the planet? I was really looking forward to that, but we got one whole whopping email about it and then nothing.

OK, you two – details. Now.

Now that the van is dead and they are back, where is she going to sack out?

Meanwhile, in another part of town, the girls are changing out of their suits. Why can’t there be two arcs at the same time like they do with lawyer shows on TV? Then things could really go slow in the strip.

Love is a many splendored thing………………….?

Gun and Bets: Their car died, but their sex life really took off.

Surviving hardships together can bring you closer.

And Bets looks crazy hot all disheveled like that.

I don’t see a tow truck driver. And they had the van taken to where Gunther lives. Does the van even run? If not, they would have it towed to a repair shop. School starts soon so hopefully Bets can move back into the dorms this week.

It is hard to believe that they enjoyed what ever happened that left them and the van is such awful shape. Having your vehicle break down and getting greasy and torn clothing is NOT fun in any way.

Simple fun fact:

By NOT including specific details (at least yet, if ever), the readers’ imaginations will provide two years’ worth (in strip time) of details, many of which they would likely not be allowed to portray in a “family” strip.

I’m sure someone right now is hard at work on “Rule 34.”

I’m assuming that Les met them at the junk yard to give them a ride home.

Do tell. We want to hear all about it.

Many commenters seem to think a chaotic trip, filled with disasters is fun and enjoyable. Maybe for Bets it was. But Gunther is an engineering type to likes to plan things ahead and have everything organized. I just don’t see anyway Gunther would enjoy a trip like this.

So a possibly interesting story happened with Gunther and Bets, off panel, while we were treated to watching Luann, Bernice, and Tiffany, sit around for 2 weeks.

I’d still like to know what happened to that young lady he met in Mexico or wherever it was between HS graduation and college. But I’d certainly like to see where this is heading with a re-tell of the trip.

Did they actually go anywhere, or did the car break down while they were still in town?

Reminds me of my first road trip with my wife then girlfriend. It didn’t go as smooth as silk. The a/c conked out in the car as we passed through the hottest place in the U.S. that day which happened to be in North Platte Nebraska. It was hilarious in retrospect but not at the time.

Much thanks to the authors for this installment. Now, plese tell us no more about it, and let our imaginations fill in the details.

Wouldn’t Bets have posted everything to social media? He should already know what happened.

forgot all about them….so did not miss them….

Uh… what?

I don’t usually comment on this strip. But, this was too close to home. Back in the early 80’s we made a trip from CA to my wife’s relatives in Utah. We were driving a 70’s VW minivan and it blew an oilseal just after we summited the Sierras. We got to our destination by buying a case of oil and adding a quart about every 50 miles. The engine was air-cooled by a fan in the engine compartment which pretty much painted it black with oil. Fortunately, one of her relatives owned a transmission repair shop and referred us to one of his friends who made the repairs at a very fair price.

Must have been some hot loving by the dashboard light

Something went right.

Wow, and I thought the VW bus from Zits was trouble.

Happy to see the LoveBirds back and sassy-happy! On the other hand, I miss having seen their adventures that ended like this!

This comic needs to have something HAPPEN. Like Gunther and Bets got married while they were on their trip, or Tiffany and Kip kiss, or Ann Eiffel comes back, or Luann FINALLY meets her true love. It seems like a long time since there was a big event for any of the characters in Pitts. The “epic” pool party was promising but that fizzled out, the van trip was interesting but no one got to see any of it.

The trips where things go wrong are the most memorable, certainly. ;-)