Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for August 16, 2023

Al is not a happy camper looking at their messed up van!

I doubt he wants that thing disgracing his driveway. It’s nice to see Irma is so thrilled to see them, after their long adventurous trip.

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So will Bets be able to spend the night now or… ??

Since it looks like we’re not going to be shown any of the road trip I wonder what we will get this week, maybe a montage of Brad and Toni working on that burned out hulk of a 30 year old van?

Note that everyone was afraid to wash off the dirt because they suspected it was all that holding the van together.

Al doesn’t look so delighted.There may be some residual friction between the Mr. and Mrs. as an outcome of this little road trip mosh up!

I think Irma has realized how much she has missed her son and has accepted Bets is his one. Mr. Grey is a jerk.

Ummm, no, Irma … he isn’t.

Al is thrilled

Still has scrap value Al, part it out.

Al is the official Debbie Downer of their town…

Al’s looking at the money wasted on a hunk of junk that never had a chance of lasting through a road trip.

His range of facial expressions seems to go from this look of annoyance to an almost imperceptible attempt at a smile, but it usually falls into the middle of this, er, “spectrum” as just plain neutral.

I remember when Al could pretty much make anything happen. He just walked around with that neutral facial expression, and stuff happened almost as soon as he thought about it. What happened to that magical ability? This nasty-looking vehicle in the yard should be a Lambo by now.

Not only Al’s facial expression of extreme displeasure, but look at his balled up fists. He’s not unhappy, he is really ticked off.

Cool it, Al. Irma did not buy the van. The lovebirds bought it. You can have it delivered to a dump or car graveyard or wherever…and buy them a newer and safer car. You can blame the lovebirds and the van’s condition on Irma. She got the ball rolling with that one.

Gunny has a Rorschach smudge on his face.

If that’s Al’s facial expression when he’s ‘delighted’ about something, I’d hate to see him when he’s really mad. I don’t think it’s just the messed up van he’s mad about, either. I think he’s the reason Irma was rejecting Bets, originally. Maybe now that she sees how important Bets is to Gunther, though, there may be trouble in Irma’s paradise…

Looks like Irma has fully accepted Bets. This is adorable.

And Al, I’m sure they won’t leave that van in the driveway for too long

June 28, 2023.

Whatever happens next, We’d all do well to remember that the “road trip” was basically Irma’s idea.

And yeah.

Part of Me hopes that Bets and Gun did “elope.”

Or at least lie to Irma about it.

I just wanna see Her have a Stroke.

Right now uncle Al aint the kiddies pal

Is the van starting to move?

What on earth happened to Gunther’s shirt? Al looks really ticked off. Even his hand is in a fist. He isn’t going to let that van stay on his property. So now where will Bets go? Al won’t let her stay in his guest house. I think we have a pretty good upcoming story.

Al saying Irma don’t sell to hard babe.

He doesn’t look like it.

Al is wondering what happened. He had that sleazy mechanic put several booby traps in the old van, but somehow Gunther and Bets survived

Irma did work here: she let them have the trip she wanted and they loved it.I wondered how much it cost to tow the van. Yep, something needs to happen rather than leaving it on Al’s property.

That ravioli fiasco, is this what they are talking about? Hundreds of pounds of cooked pasta mysteriously dumped in New Jersey woods. LOL!

I would never have guessed a few years ago that Gunther would have the most relationship. Excluding the grow-up Brad that is.

Al Gary’s body looks tense? He staring at the Van being dropped onto his property. Al’s hand appears to be a fist and is thinking that the “van must go”. Is Irma going give permission to Gunther to store the Van?

Al cannot contain his delight!

“Al” doesn’t look at all pleased with the situation. Be verycareful. If Dembe showsup, run for it!

Al not happy about the van or is Al not happy that they came back and that he didn’t get rid of them?

So, is Al’s anger going to spur Gunther & Bets to move out, or Irma to kick him out?

Irma, Speak for yourself. Al looks awfully annoyed to have that smoking junk of a van in his front yard. He looks at it with the annoying expression of someone who hoped it would take away his stepson and his fiancée forever. But it’s nice to see Irma hugs them and looks sincerely happy to see them. I hope Gunther and Bets tell them something about their trip. Can’t wait to see if Al will say them something too.

Hey, Al, if you want to be happy, make your wife happy. If you want your wife happy, make her son happy. If you want her son happy, let Bets be happy. If you love them, love their car.

Is Bets automobile still parked around the corner? Did they sell it?

I’m tired of Al and Bets. Al is a shady thug. He’s probably only concerned about his property because he needs it for shady dealings. Bets needs to listen to people but she’s on her phone too often.

“Gunther, it’s nice to see that you and your woman have come back.”

I just adore Irma :-))

Al is either thinking about a waste of money on a junk vehicle or what were those two doing out there?

Panel 2: Why is Bets smelling Irma’s ear?!? Clearly, I missed out on an important piece of plot development!

Good Grief! Does Al ever not wear that gray suit?

You can definitely tell Al and Les are related by their poor attitudes.

What I wanna know is what happened to the van?

I like that frame 2 is oval.Like a forever family memory.

The end of Irma and Al?

Yeah, Al looks delighted to no end.

what if they got married in their travels?

Bets has a false smile and will be dumping gun leaving him with the van. Al isn’t looking at the van, he’s looking at something else.If the van was toast, how did bets keep her phone charged?

I wonder if Al seriously rethinks his decision to marry into this comic strip?

Yeah…Al looks “thrilled” LOL

That van looks like it’s about to slide off….

Al? Get over it. You gave them what they wanted and they got what they wanted. They’re together and want to BE together. Just charge her rent and leave it at that.

Al’s mad because he isn’t in control of the situation. He had the house built to control the boys, and to rule over them. He’s pretty much a d-bag.

Act 1 Scene 4 of Hamlet.

ok, So, if a day in this comic strip time is like 2 weeks in real time. that means Gunther and Bets have only been gone like 5 days. am I right or wrong here?

Maybe someone should tell Al that Al is happy…..

Yes, Al looks overjoyed, doesn’t he? Probably wishes Gunth and Betts would have extended their road trip permanently.

Al is the quintessential curmudgeon!

Al’s thinking he’ll have to pay to have the van fixed up. He sees the dark side of life; Irma sees the light side.

Bets haters, well I suppose that your hope this trip was a trick by Irma to break up the couple was your hopeful projection, not indicated by the on-going story. As for Al? I think something about his WiseGuy personna may cause a bit of controversy, but I see it working out in the wacky end. Bets and Gunther are made for each other.

That face on Al is all “Dang it, I was hoping they’d get lost and stay lost for good!”

And Al is too, well not really!

Bets seems pleasantly surprised at Irma’s hugs. I expected Mr. Grey to be annoyed. He may not have been aware of the road trip and the van and now it’s dumped at his house.

I do hope we hear about the adventures since those of us who signed on to the Luannfan mail didn’t get any road news. But Greg did say they would return in August.I want to hear about the ravioli! ;-))

As to whether Bets will be allowed to stay in the gulag, that’s anybody’s guess. It may not come up until Saturday.

Someone should tell Al he’s delighted so he can rearrange his facial expression.

Why’s Al so mad? It’s not like he paid for the van. Some people are just like that, I guess.

Where did Les go? It’s time for one of his zingers……

His joy is not overwhelming! But remember, even ole money bags understands that if momma ain’t happy, then he surely won’t be either. That’s the real sour in his disposition.

I wouldn’t trust Irma. She was rude and mean to Bets last year and now she is all sweet and loving to her. I think her sweet act is just an act, not her real self. Hopefully Bets will never stay overnight at Gunther’s place unless Al and Irma invite her. They clearly don’t want Bets to stay overnight and it is wrong of Bets to sneak around and disrespect the rules of the homeowners.

Meanwhile, they need to do something about that wrecker driver. They’re paying him by the hour to stand around and watch the family reunion.

Narrator: “But Al was NOT, indeed, happy…”

Yes, I can see the look of delight on his face.

Depending on the number of hits from her podcast of the trip, Bets could well have sufficient bank balance to rent a nice apartment. Sharing a twin bed in a small room in a small apartment with Les would get old fast.

I find it interesting that Irma has changed from strongly disliking Bets and the ground she walks on to hugging her up. I suspect it is because GandK did not like all the posts about her possibly being racist. Since she is a generally positive (if somewhat overprotective) character this could not be allowed to happen so she has been transformed into an ally. In the other hand Al, who is a shady character, is going to be allowed to be the bad guy. Very interesting transformation.

Better remove those oil stains on the driveway fast, Al

Or maybe… JUST MAYBE… Al is thinking “what a run-down van, I should replace it with something much better.”

I know that it looks like Al is being a curmudgeon and is resentful of something but for all we know he could be thinking “Stupid van could have killed our boy! I wish I never pushed Irma to do that.” I hope things turn out well for all.

Oh, yeah…Al looks thrilled…

It is clear where Les gets his pessimistic, negative attitude from, his uncle Al.

Al does not impress me. He seems controlling. Let’s see how he reacts to Gunther and Bet’s road trip.

Congratulations Al! You get to have Bet’s junker van in your back yard! I’m sure Al is not happy with the prospect of the van sitting there for who knows how long, leaking oil and having weeds grow up around it. Hopefully Gunther and Bets will hire someone like Toni to come over and fix it so it can be moved, but then Al would also have a mechanic working in the back yard, (he might not object too much if it’s Toni, LOL)! I don’t think I would appreciate someone (even a relative) dumping a leaky junker in my yard. They should’ve had it taken to a repair shop while it was still on the tow truck.

Why would they unload the broken down van at the house? They need to have it repaired or sold for scrap parts. Al doesn’t want that eyesore on his property for a long time.

The title is likely in Bets name since she is the one making money. Al should just tell them if they are older enough to go on an extended road trip they are old enough (depending if they are 18/19 or 21+ ) to move away from home.

Why is AL always so grumpy?

Al is disturbed because he can’t believe they had the chance to sleep together, lol.

Why is Al so upset. Doesn’t he want the kid showing some independence? Not once did Gunth call him or mom for help. That should be a win for Al. LOL

Just checked: We have only seen one left hand all week (Bets’s at a distance, Monday). Might there be what Mordy’s hoping for in store for tomorrow, Friday or Saturday?

What’s up with Al? He didn’t buy the van…

Weeelll…. Maybe not.

… and Irma steps BETWEEN Gun and Bets…

Who didn’t see that coming?

Al is calculating the cost of repairing the van, and the fact that Bets will probably staying with them.

Al don’t look happy, by looking at the van, does he always need to be in a suit and tie.

Al doesn’t look all that delighted to me.

Al needs to learn that if Mamma ain’t happy, ain’t Nobody happy. And Mamma seems to want her son And his friend to be happy. This could get interesting.

Compared to yesterday pic, the van is definitely rolling off the truck.

Al may be less delighted about the wrecked van in the yard, but hey, that’s part of parenthood, Al.

I own a camper van… it’s not as expensive as a Jeep. A Jeep isn’t as expensive as a boat. A boat isn’t as expensive as an aircraft. And nothing is as expensive as a spaceship.

Well it’s still on the trailer so they just need to send it on for scrap. Maybe Al knows a guy…..

Mr. Al is not related to Gunther. So he has no right to be angry about Gunther’s adventure.

Al is never happy about anything

Irma has come round! She is so happy to see her Gunny back safe that she accepts and embraces both Gunther and Bets! Bets is now “in” with Irma.

On the other hand, grumpy Al Gray can barely conceal his disdain. His reaction going forward will be consequential, one way or another, unless he just swallows it….

delighted doesn’t seem to be the word he’s looking for.

I make a prediction! Nobody will be totally right on predicting this arc. That should be pretty safe.

Sure he is …