Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for September 11, 2013

“Metthod To The Madness” or " my mother the counsellor"

This should be interesting…

MJ:Is that “Unless Zane comes back to Pitts” another hidden arc idea? That along with the kill Quill arc and Insta-family- wow don’t go telling Crummy about your stories for Evans. We’re already begging him to hook up Luann and Gunther So you know…But they all work as arcs for me : )Crummy is right though- ultimately the artist has to do what comes from the heart or it’s not authentic…

The old gal will probably cause Bernice to change careers pronto.

Not so news flash- the considered best creators often can take and dish out criticism. Schultz work was considered inferior later on when he refused all criticism. I would have told him to stick to the formulas that worked in the past and try to write new ideas for them. Nothing more or less. Instead he got to the point of jokes being encrypted messages on the side of a panel or characters acting like straight men and without their idiosyncrasies. He can trash the idea but at least he knows what we want without trying to create it for him. I asked Mike Judge to do one more animation for Beavis and Butthead of Beavis being hurt and he did it with a lot of detail. That was real nice of him. The show got too over the top and repetitive way too much but that was nice to see. It was revealed that that was his swan song animation. ********************************************************************So here is a rethorical for you gang (minus Dave 53): Do you think that Karen should not be interfering with Evan’s work and giving him ideas?… My answer is he asked her so… but then is there a point where she can interfer with his art too much?

Well, Well, Well.

“Little Ms. Strychnine” wants to be a Counselor, eh?

AND She being trained by someone She has Absolutely NO Respect for.

It’s Good to Know that Tomorrow’s Yutes will be in GREAT Hands. (Sarcasm Off)

Or Mike Savage got to the point where he was the God of comedy, writing, film, stage show and so on as well as Radio talk show host and gained the megaego or many people’s definition of it. No one could tell him anything at this point. I heard that he asked for a lot more money and got pulled from his syndicated program. I really like that I never think that Evans will go to this place and that he is moving the arcs now. I do think if we are not getting old Brad that it’s time for Insta-family but Evans will do what Evans wants to do. : )Ok that’s my analytical mode for Luann.

Bernice cuts to the chase with pithy psychobabble in panel 3. I don’t think she’d be a good counselor (doesn’t like drama, doesn’t seem to like people much these days), but she sure calls ’em.

> We’re already begging him to hook up Luann and Gunther>Speak for yourself. I know that Greg Evans wants to hook his avatar Gunther up with the most desirable girl in the strip, but (A) that’s not Luann, and (B) Gunther ought to be alone in his Mom’s basement at age 40, because that’s the way it would be in real life for the Gunthers of this world.

Excuse me, but is Quill still around?

As usual, Bernice has it right!

Suddenly, I hear the Daria theme song.

Seis:I mean more Levy/MJ when I say that but sad but true point. But I did like the dating situations with Gunther/Luann and trying to make-out with the boy. But maybe by focusing on it, I’m encouraging what is not in my best interests to focus on in lifeexcept: there are ways with work to overcome this situation and also some of the shyest people have done great things. Holst created the Planets and was written about as barely able to speak 2 letter words such as “oh” to people. Phlegmatics are said to spend prolonged periods drawing, creating blueprints, interior design and so on. But the point is that shy, Holst carried his ideas to fruition… So as has been stated already if he could redirect the sewing into another use for his IQ- maybe Science- the sky is the limit. He’s young and the research also shows that cognitive therapy can under right conditions produce the results to overcome this condition even at older ages. Who’s to say what can happen for him if he gets a Ph.D. You forget that despite this behavior he talks normally to Knute and Luann, he is still the top student as far as we know and he will probably get big offers for college. So he might call mommy from campus everyday (if what you say is accurate). But you know if he makes it to class and does his homework… Look at Woodrow WIlson- he established the US tour that created the League of Nations when he was that sick and from cross-country tours that occurred through travel on non-air conditioned Trains. Gunther gets shy around Rosa more than anywhere else now and Evans Dr. Jeckyl/Hyde deal is present with him. Sometimes he is way shy and sometimes talks in the moment.

She really needs to marry Fogherty…

What are the awards on her wall?

Hey, Ms. Phelps…..did you get that degree out of a Corn Flakes box?

Hey this is an arc featuring Bernice Halper. Lets enjoy it and see what she learns in itquill, or gunther and luann, i don’t see that dog hunting anymore, he has Rosa, remember? Quill, well he is out there and by Fall we will know for sure. So lets enjoy this Bernice arc, they never last long.

Miss Phelps is still upset about that house landing on her sister…

Miss Phelps is, to be very charitable, way too Old School for Bernice or any other of the Pitts kids. I don’t know how she manages to hang on to her job. Oh, wait; yes, I do: tenure.

Bernice is being openly contemptuous of someone who’s trying to mentor her. What lovely people Luann and her friends are!

Miss Phelps has been a good source of comic relief, but humor at its best is always based on an element of truth. People often laugh at things because they resonate. I have no doubt that there are many skilled, sensitive, and hardworking guidance counselors in the field; I doubt even less that many chairs are filled by unqualified, clueless drones who were assigned the job and would rather be stung by a thousand bees than counsel bored and unmotivated high-school seniors. It is to be hoped that Bernice would fit into the first category.

I had the BEST high school counselor. He was in a wheelchair, which he used to full advantage. Instead of sitting in his office all the time, he’d say “Let’s take a walk,” and then have me push him while we talked. Somehow, it brought down al the defenses, and we had such amazing talks while figuring out what I wanted to do in life and how to get there.

Yesterday someone said neither one of them has the least idea how to be a counselor. I’m thinking they were right.

“Oh my goodness, Miss Phelps is not only an incompetent counselor, but she is an incompetent mentor too. I hope Evans is not trying to make her look competent, because if he is, he is failing miserably.”>Hopefully it’s just the joke of the day and not an indication of things to come.

I have to disagree with those on this blog today who are disparaging Ms. Phelps. I think she is actually an excellent counselor, just as her erstwhile secret boyfriend, the older teacher, is an excellent teacher. This is drawn from the perspective of teen-agers and how they look at authority figures, with a bit of contemptousness. It goes with the territory. Bernice is kind of sarcastic anyway, even with Luann, her BFF. But Bernice is willing to learn, and Ms. Phelps will teach her, if only Bernice will listen. So give the character a break. If this overall arc goes the way I, at least think it will, we have maybe one more calendar year with these ancilliary characters, then either the strip will close down, or Greg will have them off to college, jobs, marriage, etc. Then there will arguments about new characters he might have in mind

…because you desperately don’t want the person you’re trying to counsel to feel at ease with you…

I know this is completely off the subject, but do y’all think we’ll ever see Aaron again? Maybe right around the time that Quill moves back? Just curious!

Yes, ‘Counslur’ is right

Hmm…and here I was hoping that Phelps would show she knows her stuff and make Bernice think twice…silly hoping :p

I think too that its a pun on plaque, with teeth becoming yellow from it.

Well, but then you’d land in juvie. Nothing funny about that.

Zoom in and check out the, ‘degrees’ on Miss Phelps’ wallLOL!

Oh no. Leave me out of this. I don’t have a dog in this hunt.

And of course many fine professionals are in the helping fields because they sincerely want to help others. I’ve met some amazing individuals who do excellent, excellent work with other people. My hat’s off to all who labor in these demanding professions with skill and empathy.

When I was being interviewed for a psych residency at Madison, I wangled a separate audience with the staff’s celebrity shrink. I went into his office, where he was writing at his desk, and sat down. Without looking up, he said: “At what age were you appointed the family peacemaker?” And I said: “Sixteen.” He put his pen down, looked me right in the eyes, and said, kindly, “Let’s talk about that.”

*

I was floored! Thought he was a mind reader. :-) Later I learned it was par for the course—many of us were the same kind of folks. Long time ago now, but somehow I doubt it’s changed much.

According to Miss Phelp’s Desk sign, she’s a “COUNTSLUR”.

Where she may gain insight is if Phelps has her redo her files, she might be able to peek inside one. The one file she would not be interested in is Luann’s. She knows it will only be about the boys in her life, and she knows far more about them than Phelps ever will. However, looking into Tiffany’s or Crystal’s could be of interest.

To me, that’s no different than if Bern were to sit in on the sessions… or, perhaps, observe them from a different room via one way glass (like a police “interrogation.”). I would think the files are just as confidential as the sessions. If Bern can’t have access to one, she shouldn’t have access to the other.

You’re right, Lu is not dumb, at all! But a teen can be boy crazy and still be smart. And everyone has smarts different from others. Some are book smart, some street smart, some people smart, tech smart, etc. Some are even combos of different kinds. Lu seemd to have common sense smarts, and a combo of some others. Though average in “book larnins”, she has exceptional “intuition” at times.

She has been extremely aggressive in her pursuit of Gunther, and while it’s played for laughs that Gunther is such a reluctant coward around her, it also gives the readers the impression Gunther is not that into her and they do not make a good couple.

Honestly, I think Gunth has warmed up to Rosa a lot more than most realize. He’ll certainly defend her against an “attack” of any sort (witness his issues with the boys splashing in the pool and getting her and the other girls wet). We’ve also seen Gunth and Rosa “snogging,” on occasion. I think he’s a lot more into her now, than he was when they first met and he was simply defending a girl against a bully (Leslie Knox). Which may make the impact of Rosa’s potential departure even more devastating for him, emotionally.

I think much depends on Greg/Karens’ direction for Lu and Gunth. Many are still “Lu/Gunth shippers” and think that they’re soul mates, destined for each other, if only they’d realize it themselves. Sort of like “Harm & Mac” on the old JAG TV series. Both went through quite a few relationships in front of each other before they realized and acknowledged (literally at the last minute) that they were meant for each other. I’m thinking something similar here with Lu & Gunth.

Therapist: Your body language tells me you may not take me seriously. What are you feeling right now?*Counselor: If you sit up straight and look people in the eye, they will take you more seriously.*Nag/Mom/Tyrant: Sit up straight and look me in the eye! Because I said so!

. If Bern can’t have access to one, she shouldn’t have access to the other

The question will be if Phelps realizes that.

If she (Phelps) doesn’t, she should have her GC credentials revoked… permanently!

yes, exactly. Well said.

Here’s a thought that goes in a totally different direction. If I could have drawn today’s comic, I would have shown the importance of a school counselor by having Phelps explain to Bern what she had to do on 9/11/2001, (I was long out of high school by then, but my friend who was in counseling at that time had to talk to a number of students with parents in the military who were afraid we were going to war… which we ultimately did, but that’s another story.)

There were only a few cartoonists today who featured 9/11 in their strips; probably the most significant cartoon was Rick Detorie’s ‘One Big Happy’, that actually showed a plane approaching the buildings, but Parker & Hart’s ‘Wizard of Id’ had an interesting approach. I really think today’s ‘gag a day’ comic was a missed opportunity….

Like the “Countslur” sign!!

“Who is ‘Crummy’?” …and who is Donny Wallace II? ;)

…did you get that degree out of a Corn Flakes box? (said blunebottle)…“Of course not. She got it from a gum machine!” or she got it from a Shredded Wheat box…guaranteed to get you moving… ;)

He is moving in the right direction, but he is still nowhere near the degree of obsession he had with Luann for years.

Fair enough. I don’t know their entire history, together. I’ll take your word on it.

The university plans of Rosa have already opened the door to the possible end of their relationship, while Luann’s academic future is still uncertain, i.e., there is nothing to separate her from Gunther. I don’t see a downside from Greg/Karen’s perspective.

If you mean no downside to keeping Rosa and Gunth together, I agree. I don’t see one either… not for the time being. But one never knows what’s in their (Greg/Karen)’s head. I guess it comes down to how strongly you believe that Lu and Gunth were meant for each other and should end up together, no matter how many others appear, in the mean time.

They have a positive latina in the comic strip. Her last name is a nice homage to the great cartoonist Sergio Aragones.

I always did like “Spy vs. Spy.” ;-)

“…indicates she might work well with children, but those two activities do not show up on her report card.” It might if she took a “Marriage and the Family” class. Also, it would be a great item to put on college application under some type of extra-curricular activity. Especially if she might plan to minor in Family Studies and major in Drama (which is helpful for the children she might like to continue working with). ;)

“, but he is still nowhere near the degree of obsession he had with Luann for years.”

Are you suggesting Rosa should try being as abusive and exploitative as Luann was?

That was done by Antonio Prohias

ARGGGH! My bad! Of course it was Prohias. I haven’t touched a Mad Magazine in years. After William Gaines died, it just wasn’t the same, anymore. :-(

I saw a recent picture of Aragones and Al Jaffee at a “Usual Gang of Idiots” reunion (what’s left of that gang). So that’s what made me think of him.

Gotta love it! ;)

…. but even less plausible than that would be Luann desiring any but the most platonic relationship with a los….. pardon me, with a cringeworthy character like Gunther.

“Los….cringeworthy” is in the eye of the beholder. What makes him so, to you?

:-pppppppppp ^^that should be " :-pbbbbblllltttttttt!

Cringeworthy? Ever time I see graph-paper-shirt Gunther huddled over his sewing machine, a see a guy who 30 years from now will be showing the F.B.I. where all the hitchhikers are buried in the vacant field.

Other than his total lack of social skills with the opposite sex ( most girls want to date someobe with a little daring, dash & panache…)

Differnt people value different things. I guess maybe someone who values “daring, dash & panache” might not be the best fit for him. Someone who values “bravery, intelligence, and integrity” might be better.

The biggie is that in his sort of negatve way, Gunther is just as self-centred as us Tiffany. The latter thinks she’s the centre of the universe and everything in it is focused on her., for her benefit. Gunther is the negative to that, he thinks everything is focussed on him to cause him inconvenience, embarassment and discomfort.I’m really going to have to consider re-reading some of the older strips, now…because I truly missed that angle. Shy? Yes. Angsty, maybe? Yes. Temper? When directly/actively pushed, yes. But what you’re describing sounds an awful lot like “clinical paranoia” (i.e. “Everyone’s out to get me…”), which I’d think a bit of a stretch, even for Gunther. If you could point me towards some strips that give evidence to that, I’d appreciate it.

Well, aren’t you two the spitting image! ;-D^^:-pbbbbblllltttttttt!

The always-graph-paper-shirt thing (reflecting a desire to make things conform to a rigid pattern), the naked-in-the-stacks-of-the-library thing, the obsession over Luann, the complete lack of basic social skills, etc., show that Gunther is disturbed. As for the incident at Rosa’s locker, it was Gunther, not the “bully”, who became violent, repeatedly hitting him with his backpack while denying that he was doing it, and feeling proud of himself on account of it. That’s not bravery, it’s anti-social behavior.