Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for March 24, 2016

Poor Tiffany (well not so poor, her dad is rich).

She actually had tears in her eyes.

Awwww, poor baby. (I’m being sarcastic)

well, time for plan B

Now we are seeing the old Tiffany. And I think that Gunther has focused on something else. Hey, her eyes are up here!

-Fast recovery from tears for Tiffany, then on with her real plan. And it’s working already, if the last frame is any indication. Maybe Piro didn’t notice the missing button, but Gunther sure did…

New poll up: Can Tiffany deal with being rejected by Piro?

Will Gunther ever grow a spine?1) 31 votes – No2) 23 votes – Yes3) 20 votes – Other4) 8 votes – What’s a “spine”?Other: He left it in Peru; If a hen and a half lays an egg and a half…Wait, what was the question?; Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze?; Ya got me; HELL No!; Eventually, when he gets fed up; Who knows?; If he did, Evans would abandon him like the other high school folks; Yes – like a tail; eventually!; he might grow something; No but he may grow some weed; He’ll have to grow some other things first; just a tail; Probably. In a laboratory. From pig tissue. I doubt he’ll ever use it; What’s a “Gunther”?You mean Gunthy-boy there?; Eventually, but don’t hold your breath waiting for it; I think that Tiffany will help Gunther grow one. And, he will realize that Tiff. is good for him.

Gunther is hooked now. He glanced down at the missing button and noticed that Tiff is a woman.

-Because all Gunther is doing in the last frame is staring, I’m thinking that the sentence in the first frame would have been "Maybe it’s Piro, maybe he’s nervous and awkward around women, too, just like me

Gunther’s eyes are exactly where Tiffany wants them to be.

317 comments yesterday. Too many of them repeating (as if the commenter was the first person to ever think of it) the “Piro must be gay” conclusion.

Probably going to have even more of that today.

I think Team Evans may have to retire that character before they had intended to, as he has now officially become a distraction.

He is focused down there. But sort of out of it mentally.

Now she will have to get him to sew that button back on.

I wonder if Piro had been in Tiffany’s room because they were planning this together? Tiffany’s real plan is to show Gunther that he should be with her, through the illusion of helping him with Bernice. Piro is probably in on this as well. Now that he’s “rejected” Tiffany, Gunther is there to comfort her.

As for Piro and Bernice, I wonder if anything will ever happen there. It seems like a silly obsession for her, but she has always been attracted to guys who were a little… different.

Three Steps Over Japan said, 17 minutes agoNew poll up: Can Tiffany deal with being rejected by Piro?-————————————-She cares zilch for Piro..She knew what would happen..But how did she manufacture those tears.?

Hmmm, curioser and curioser. I think its obvious that Piro is gay, but that specific word, or lesbian, is not in the lexicon that the strip can or will use. Pru mentioned not that she was gay, or a lesbian, just that she was not into boys. Piro is obviously gay, but readers must infer he is and the question that Gunther began to ask in the first panel, and answered by Tiffany in the second panel, where she declares that basically no red-blooded straight man could resist her is the way that inference is established. What is most interesting is panel 3, where Tiffany is still trying to convince Gunther that he could get Bernice because there is no chance Piro would be interested, but poor confused Gunther is clearly turned on by Tiffany, even though he does not really understand it. And Tiffany is not really trying to turn Gunther on, she is trying to help him because she has such fondness for him. Not love, but fondness. He treated her kindly, and she has not forgotten. Gunther, you gotta step up man. You basically let Rosa go to Peru, when you might have been able to convince her to stay, you are afraid to approach Bernice, and now you are becoming attracted to Tiffany. What a mess.

Eyes front, soldier!

I think Gunther just popped a button, too.

Tiff must have phoned Piro during those “15 minutes of preparation” in order to make sure that he’d come by her room at the right time. .So it was a plot..If Piro has a laptop, he surely has a phone.

Bernice is the last thing Gunther wants to focus on at the moment. Two days to make this a good story or just another dead end.

I suspect that Piro may not be a student at all. Perhaps he is an undercover narc with instructions not to get involved with students.

Ah, you beat me to it. Great minds and all that, I suppose.

So any guy who refuses some random woman’s advances is gay? It isn’t OK to just not be interested in someone, sexually or romantically? Gee, I had no idea so many of the men I’ve encountered along the way were gay! The “10 percent of the population” estimates must be waaaaay off! ;)

Gunther is totally discombobulated in the last frame!

As far as Gunther is concerned, Tiff’s plan was a BUST!

Nor does Gunther seem quite as nervous as he did before. Tiffany is taking him through the baby steps. Gunther, you better do a little more than offer to sew that button back on. You can do that after.

Ah, I was wondering how the Evansi would get the Fan Club back to mocking Tiff like they’re used to doing.

I wish this story line would end. Piro has been nothing but an unneeded distraction. However. it DID bring out some better qualities in Tiff….for a change. She has not been thinking of herself 100%. Or has she???

Yes, it must be her experience as an actress and a drama Queen! lol

Okay, this strip just got pretty funny; also, it looks like Gunt has the “hots” for Tiff! Out of a sudden it is looking like a “rated R” series. For those of you with kids, you better send them to bed early before the next one!!!

In the last panel, rather than “ok”, he should have said “Bernice who?”

I think Gunther is starting to realize that Bernice is not all that he had thought. She wanted Piro. Piro doesn’t want Bern or Tiff. And Gunther is starting to realize that Tiff has much more to offer than she did in high school.

…and, the world turns.

I like that line, “Piro is a ZERO”. I’ve thought that from the first time he was introduced. Loser. Bernice, you deserve better.

Yeah, Tiffany’s RIGHT Gunther! So Buck Up!

You know, a little bit of ‘Practice’ might be in order BEFORE You INEXPLICABLY CONTINUE to ‘Pursue’ Bernice.

Tiff’s standing there, BLOSSOMING Right in Front of You. Sooooooooo…….,

She wants Gunther to make a move. She never wanted Piro.and Gunther sees the Benz he has in front of him, but hes an idiot! he doesn’t really want the Beetle, but he sees it as an easy buy. or used to. stay tuned. Goodness we are in pins and needles here. : – /

I like Mr Evans comic. But I’ve noticed something about new characters in this strip: Mr Grey was a mysterious person, with much speculation about him, particularly by Gunther. Dez was a mysterious person, much speculation, particularly by Tiff & Bernice. Pru was a mysterious person, a lot of speculation about her, much of it by Luann& Bernice. Piro is a mysterious person, much speculated about by Bernice & Tiff. My point: we never seem to see a new character that is open about themselves, never seem to see one of the main characters just directly asking a new character anything about them, until that person finally reveals something about themselves. They are all the same in this way, mystery, speculation, eventually some answers. Why not a new character that is more open?My longest post ever, I apologize!

So far so good.

Gunther is clueless. the goal is right in front of him and he just stands there.

Gunther may have been intent on Bernice, but hey, he’s not dead! EYES UP GUY!!!

I think we finally know how to pronounce his name. Tiff was going for a rhyme. Piro rhymes with zero.

This comic strip keeps getting more and more smutty. :(

I honestly hope that there is more than one dimension to these characters – that perhaps Tiffany is really trying to get Gunther to realize she’s got his number, and to forget Bernice altogether.

And if Bernice tries to retaliate it could descend into a tit for tat situation.

Eyes up Gunther… Some one might start thinking you are interested,

Suddenly, Gunther may not be so interested in Bernice. Meanwhile, Tiffany continues to help him snag Bernice. What a trooper she is to recover from Piro’s rebuff. She’s already categorized him as a ‘zero’ and moved on. And now Gunth may have also moved on down. With his eyes anyway.

I think they’re real tears, from the initial shock of rejection. but she recovers quickly.

Gunther is focusing, all right.

Like on a Seinfeld episode some time back: When there is cleavage ya’ gotta’ look…it’s some kind of primal rule buried deep in our mammalian brain. Hmmm, mammalian is the root word for mammaries.

8Interesting and very well done today! If Tiffany is really flustered about about Piro’s non-reaction, that could be the context of how Gunther begins to reassess his opinion of her as a potential girlfriend. But also, if (as Selena_V) has hypothesized, this is actually Piro and Tiffany working together to turn Gunther’s attention to Tiffany…. Tiffany’s reaction does show her skill as a drama student… and I think it too could be an effective strategy. Both scenarios are enjoyable to read and think about!

Am I the only one who thinks Piro might be more attracted to brains than bras? Much as I like the idea of a gay character, I’m still hoping Bernice gets the guy.

Stand corrected,thanks! I still basically hold to my point though, although that might be all wet too (lol).

@pointspread, @pipe

Thanks for bringing up this element of mystery. Being a bit data driven, I tried to arrange the characters in terms of Element of Mystery Index (E.M.I.). Gunther and Luann are 1% on this scale. Tiff is 15%. What really IS her kryptonite? Her dad? Ox and Quill are 0%. Leslie 15%.

Newer:

1) Mr. Gray → 90%2) Piro → 75%3) Dez → 60%4) Pru → 35%

please add, correct, or rearrange. or suggest that we quietly drop this silly topic.

‘Team Evans’ does not have to drop storylines. In case you haven’t noticed, storylines come back. They develop. People change. Except for the people who always complain.

She did recover . . .-———————————-Gunther said the right thing, as a good friend, to soothe her. Now he needs to be thanked!

He got his meaning across. And Piro totally ignored Bernice too. The factor not excluded is that Gunther was in the picture on both occasions and perhaps Piro was simply being tactful.

I think Gunther might have forgot about Bernice!

Hey Gunther, Tiffany’s head is a little higher than your eye line in the last panel.

Really offensive, Brdshtt.

Piro is a terrorist.

I suspect that Tiffany accomplished everything she set out to do.

The absolutely best guy for Tiffany is Gunther. He would always be an awe of her and her (ahem) talents.

Gunther is obsessed with that missing button. All he can think about is sewing the button back where it belongs.

seems like there is surely something going on with Piro. That is obvious. But he simply MAY have seen Gunther and felt it was wrong to intrude, or as someone suggested yesterday I believe, he may be a character that will flesh out to be on the autism spectrum.

“I can’t focus on Bernice when I have eye strain from worrying about that popped button. Take it off and I’ll sew it on so well that you’ll never have that problem again. And I’ll be able to stand without embarrassing myself.”

The only thing going on with Piro is he was freaked out that Tiff was wearing strange leg warmers.

I really think that Piro has some deep personal problem that weighs heavy on his mind and won’t let him think of anything else. And I don’t think it’s just homelessness.

Is anyone seeing my posts?

Gotta admire Tiffany’s self confidence.

Maybe Piro has a girl friend

Uh, Gunter? My face is up here…..

-Piro didn’t ignore her, he fled in terror from her

While I would agree with your statement about someone coming on strong can be not wanted, I don’t think Piro was terrified. Like a lot of others who post here, I think Piro has issues or problems that have nothing to do with the other characters, and his mind is just concentrated on those problems. I hope we get a chance to find out more about him.

Follow his eyes, Tiff. He’s not listening…

I do find one thing disappointing about today’s ‘toon, and that is Tiffany again referencing her body as the only major aspect of herself that is of value. So I guess she hasn’t matured much beyond high school after all.

And that will probably be why she doesn’t get to end up with Gunther. Because even though he is clearly drawn to what he’s staring at, he went after Bernice because he figured that two ‘brainiacs’ belong together. He’s unlikely to forget that idea, even with all the ‘distraction’ that Tiffany offers…

Miss Hot Stuff has never had a boyfriend.

He seems to be mesmerized by her cleavage in the last panel.

boobies!

Follow your nose, Gunther, just follow your nose.

Night Gaunt… you stated that “…he [Piro] fled in terror from her.”Do you really feel that was his response? I agree with you that “someone coming on that strong can be scary, unexpected, and not wanted” like you said, so you may be right.I had not considered the possibility you suggest. For me, it seems more like Piro was showing indifference. However, I think Piro is more “aware” than he appears. I have found his “ambiguity” and “mystery” as a character to be even more interesting to read than was Dez, who I also like as a character.

You people do realize this is a comic strip, and it’s not real people being depicted.

BTW, not only is Piro an Italian name, but if Tiff is rhyming it with zero then it has been Anglicized, so think Italian and likely been here for more than a generation in that case.

Tiff has worked with Gunther before. Teaching him the ways of the world:

She has her skills.And she has gotten good solid results:

She should be confident now. Gunther is Mr. Wishy-washy, or at least he was:

I doubt, however that things will be that simple for Tiff. She has some feelings now that she did not have back then..Gunther may even have learned a few things, at High School dances, in Lima, while drunk on the bus, from his study of salamanders, or elsewhere.

“maybe he’s… not interested in me.”*The most important thing, is now we know “Piro” rhymes with “zero”.

In the first frame, Tiff is obviously “deflated”, guys.

Dude, how are you not jumping Tiff right now?! Damn!

Has anyone considered that Piro’s reaction to Tiffany might have been the result of Gunther’s presence? I mean, he was there in plain sight, watching the interaction with interest – the guy might have thought he was being pranked or something….

I was surprised any would question the pronunciation of “Piro”To me, it seemed obvious its sound would be like pee-row or pea-rho.Out of my boundless curiosity, I googled “piro pronunciation” .None I bothered to check disagreed.It was interesting the claim the word is Italian is debatable.It can be Native American (and those languages have much variation), Argentinian, Latin, Hungarian or just a name some mother on Pond Street in Century, Florida dreamed up to name the latest young’un since Noggolla and Quintheria have been worn out — to name a few possibilities. Most variable..The meaning can also vary with origin to include pear, pear tree, rotten and “I dunno, just a name”..To hear people pronouncing their own names, you might try:.

http://www.pronouncenames.com/pronounce/Piro

.or not, up to you, free country and all that.

I don’t think that’s a tear, in the first panel, it’s a SWEAT DROP, used in cartoons to signify stress, fear, or as in this case, frustration (at being shunned despite throwing herself at the guy).

Okay, the 2 R name Pirro, as opposed to Piro which is Italian, refers to red hair or flame colored and is found in Greece and Albania, from pyro as the base.

m’ dawg!

Can you REALLY overthink Luann???

You post just to hear the voice in your head thinking, don’t you?

Go back and re-read what I wrote. It isn’t the strip I’m overthinking, it’s the behavior of posters who don’t read the other posts before posting. Like you just did.

From the Greek or Albanian Pirro, yes, but change one letter from the Italian name Piro and you get pero as in “but” IF I have not forgotten too much Spanish. Me fin classa ere en mil novecentos sesenta oche — again hoping i have not forgotten too much bbecause. The chances are that i made a lot of mistakes in that.

" "Mis últimas clases eran en mil novecientos sesenta y ocho. ".I noticed years back that Portuguese speakers didn’t tend to think of 1968, for example, as nineteen sixty-eight but one thousand nine hundred sixty eight.Just one of the many things I find interesting.

Brd, many thanks for your very gentle correction of what i have forgotten over almost a half century! You are a sweetie!

Yep, Yiff has Gunther ‘focused’ right where she wants him to be. And frankly, I don’t blame him one bit!

interesting how both Tiffany and Gunther take turns bolstering each other’s confidence; first Tiff trying to teach Gunther a few moves and how to kiss. Now it’s Gunther’s turn to let Tiffany know that her efforts to lure can work on someone… if not Piro…

I read that he was actually only 66. But, either way… It is indeed a significant loss. His humor was delightful.

!. The Tiffster is crushed by Piro’s indifference.2.Gunny restores Tiffany’s self-confidence.3. Tiff shows Gunther the meaning of it all and he chokes.

Carry on, collegians!

looking closer, the small droplet off to the left might indeed be a sweat drop ( of effort? exasperation?), but the one directly below her eye gives the impression of being more of a tear.

Actually I just decided that Brad is teasing us with the phrase that has the obvious next word. But he will show us something about Piro that makes us aware of our shallow first judgments. Gunth is speaking as so many here. But we will be wrong…

I know where his eyes are focused

JPuzzleWhiz said, 41 minutes ago@argy.bargy2All he usually wants is a place to crash, not attention…

Crash and Bern?--

So, it is true? The comic is real? There is a cross dimensional Tardis handy? Crash is planning to enter the 2D world and woo Bernice? Ahhhh, the mind wobbles!

There are also artificial tears, and there are moisturing drops without preservatives that come in small, easily opened and easily hidden plastic vials. Those, too, could look like tears if a trick is going on.

We also lost Peter Brown on Monday 3/21. He played Deputy Johnny McKay on “Lawman”, one of the really good earlyb/w westerns, and also Texas Ranger ChadCooper on “Laredo”.

R I P

“the hill are alive with the sound…”

@Night-Gaunt49@Kymberleigh“Just say what you feel, your impressions etc. and don’t worry about repetition. Just be yourself.”.But if yourself doesn’t like repetition, yourself has to worry about repetition..You can’t be yourself and not do what you do.It traps you in a paradox.

What’s that black line on Tiff’s right arm in the second frame?

@argy.bargy2“Geez, people, don’t ya’ll recognize this here is a comic strip, and these folks ain’t real?”-LOL!! Good comment! I agree…———“No it is a bad comment because it ignores what fiction does to us who can suspend our disbelief an makes us out to be dolts. ".It might help if you took into consideration she was mocking those who say that.

@DavidHuieGreen“I would like to see how you rendered your evaluation into those percentages….”.It should be obvious.I had the voices in my head poll each other, then work out the percentages.

@argy.bargy2“Women glow when they are pregnant. Not sweating.”.So basically, women shine and we guys are dull.

this scene reminds me of the one where Tiff visited Gunther at his home. One minute she was strutting herself as some guy magnet.. two seconds later she burst into tears and said ‘Oh what am I thinking’. She has these two sides that keep vying for her core self.. the sensitive human Tiffany vs. the teazy showy sex object.

@DavidHuieGreenIt might help if you took into consideration she was mocking those who say that.-“By Poe’s Law I saw no indicator of mocking. And since it is phrased exactly as the serious ones do. I cannot agree at this juncture with you.”.Let Poe enforce her own law.It was in quotes, meaning it was what had already been said. Referencing that is easy enough.

.

PipeTobacco @KymberleighKymberleigh….. Thank you for your comments about the reading of comments and the “post and leave” commenters. .For me, one of the more frustrating forms of comments are from the group who harp the same basic message time and time again:.“Geez, people, don’t ya’ll recognize this here is a comic strip, and these folks ain’t real?”

That sort of comment does in deed grow repetitive to me. Maybe I should repeat that? :)

“You see I take everyone seriously. They have to prove to me they are mocking or use of sarcasm or bathos etc…”.Yes, I noticed but accept you as you are, because I love you, man.(I’m a very loving man.)

“Perhaps she is so robust, she has cleavage on her arm, too.”.And I have cleavage on my throat lately, more to follow.

“Man, it seems they’re dropping like flies…”.My father-in-law used to quote someone who wisely stated,“People’s dyin’ aint never died before.”

Spoiler alert: Whoa! Time warp!

Spoiler Alert: the Tree that Grows in Brooklyn just might be a pear tree! Will this conversation continue on the High Line?

Tiffany [tearfully]: “…What happened? I used all my best tricks. My A-Game!” … She’s trying awfully hard to be an alluring, charming female (not just here, but in general). I think she should come out as transgendered. Think of the uproar, Greg! You’d make headlines – and history! Hee hee! :-D

I work on / with clients, mostly women, in their 20’s – 80’s, (have been a massage therapist for the past 35 years), and we talk about everything. I am grateful for your strip, Greg, for reminding me how awkward, sweet and often confused the younger set can be, God bless them. I do not have very much exposure to the youngsters (mainstream or alternative) of the 15-22 demographic (except for my own son & his peers in middle school); so I am appreciative of the small window you folks are providing. (Luann’s parents, and peers are fun, too!) … Keep up the wonderful work!

thank you!