Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for February 24, 2017

OMG….breakthroughs?

Just when they were starting to bond. I have a cousin who grew up with a dad; he died a few months before the kid’s birth from illness or something.

It appears that Leslie and Gunthie had a moment there.

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And, we find a little more about Leslie’s backstory.

Whoa, common ground. Maybe Gunther’s dad shot Les’ dad and that’s why he had to disappear? Man, that went dark quick.

I’m guessing that this is the best-case scenario. At least they’re not fighting.

Odd … Les is actually human. But also odd he turned out this way when his dad was a cop.

I know what it is like to grow up losing a parent to violence. I lost my mom to murder when I was 7 63 years ago. My dad I never knew, So when I saw this panel today I had to stop a bit A bit close to home GE.. I think that what I thought might be behind this arc, redemption and possibly forgiveness could be possibly its goal. IN a way Gunther and Les share more things than they differ in. Gunther is passive-aggressive, and Les is kind of smoldering aggressive-aggresive. Not having a father is common to both of them. That is major in the real world let me tell you. In Luannverse is it? After the nuptials I think Luann is taking a new more edgy tack, reflective of a more mature, older Luannverse perspective. Still need to adjust, but there are so many panels I have stop before I start typing. Today was one.

Bromance!

Phew! That was close!

I’ve been noticing, but hardly wanting to believe, that Les is showing increasing maturity in recent episodes. It’s as if he’s beginning to realize that being confrontational is not going to help him win in life. But I think this episode confirms it. Gunther’s immediate reaction is understandable, but I definitely think that Les is coming around by being willing to show his vulnerable side.

Ok, i think it’s time for these boys to get over themselves and see they have common traits. Les is mad at the world and gunther has confidence issues as he’s morbidly afraid of rejection.

Cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon…Little boy blue and the man in the moon…

Common Ground …?

No one’s life exists in a vacuum.

Geez, that one moment in their eyes that say, ‘’I feel for you, bro’’

Les is cool. And badly treated by others. Haters gonna hate.

Wow – hugs to those of you who recognized a bit of yourselves in today’s strip.

This is where morals should slowly start.

To get a handle on what’s what, I’ve gone back to 2000 and am reading up. I understand the Knute/Crystal thing and why TJ is a jerk and stuff like that but I haven’t encountered Leslie bullying Gunther yet and I am up to 2002. Should I go further back?

So all of a sudden Greg Evans is trying to make a despicable character sympathetic. Fine. But you gotta admit it feels like he [Evans] is writing a soap opera rather than a comic strip! But hey, it’s Luann… I’ve been reading it forever and a day, not likely I’m gonna stop any time soon!

These two are “Taking Stock In Bonds”, pretty much… and in a sense, their ‘alikeness’ can make them akin as being “Common Folk” (in a relative way), grouped together in a shared sense.

-It’s funny (and deep) how two people can grow up in a neighborhood, or go to school together, each totally thinking they and the other are “worlds apart”, only to find later on (maybe even much later in life) that they have something shared, either by way of experiences, feelings, lessons learned, outcomes, values, or a combination of these…

Opposite ends of the same coin?

We are all connected, every single one of us to all others. Sometimes we just have to discover how.

For the briefest of moments, these two realized they have something in common.

If Les truly believes that Pru is into him, he is in for a big letdown.

I don’t necessarily buy the “he’s not such a bad guy after all” scenario. I think Greg is simply adding complexity to the characters. Nothing’s simply black or white.

ENOUGH! Les and Gunther have the SAME Dad! Ma Berger KNEW Her Husband LEFT Her because of Her ANNOYING “Cookie Baking,” but She Never Told Gunther. So, in effect, Gunther WASN’T the reason His Dad LEFT. It was on Account of His Annoying, Aggravating Mom.

So, Gunther. You and Les are Brothers! Have FUN spending the REST of Your Life Bailing Your Brother Out of Trouble every 30 minutes, due to some misplaced ‘Guilt.’

“Did we just become best friends?”

“Nope!”

No matter what these two just said in the last panel, they do care and it has mattered. I imagine they are going to uncross their arms and turn around and talk more. They won’t be besties, but at least they will reach some understanding of each other perhaps.

This song might be apropos for today’s strip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NaHhanrYjg

As I suggested yesterday: the Twisted Alliance is beginning to form!

WOW! This one hit home for me! I had a father who was distant in a number of ways, and it got worse in several, painful aspects – right during those years growing up through school. Won’t go into details, but will say the family dynamic was really bad in near overwhelming ways. It slowly got better, and years later on I tried my best to raise my young one by remembering what I experienced – then doing pretty much the opposite. Seems to have worked, so far … so good.

8

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Wow! That was interesting to get that surprising background information about Les. It will definitely add additional depth to his character, since it seems he may become a more and more frequent player here due to his Fuse affiliations.

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It is also interesting to have Les’ dad have been a police officer. A lot of kids with that sort of background and experience may have tried to follow the same path (into the police force). It appears that Les’ path was more to distance himself from his dad’s background (hence the shady, bully persona). Psychologically, that “rebelling” sort of action is interesting because being a “rebel” often times will eventually peter out. If that is the case for Les, perhaps given enough time, he will become more reasoned and less shady? It likely will be a very, very slow process, if it occurs, however.

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I do not recall if there was any specific mention of which of Les’ parents is the sibling to Mr. Gray? For some reason, I had always assumed Les’ mother was Mr. Gray’s sister, but that may not be the case. Anyone recall any specific comic with Gray where he states which of Les’ parents is his sibling?

Oh! One other thing…. it would have been really interesting if Greg had let us see the photograph of Gunther’s dad.

Awwww, Gunthie has found his true love!

Greg is setting a trap. Don’t fall for it.

Well that was a surprise. At least, Gunther has a good Mom. Know I want to know about Leslie’s mother. Did Mr. Gray raise Leslie? Also, very nice comment SACTOSYLVIA.

I hope they will be nicer to each other from now on. Every person has problems in life, you just can’t see them most of the time.

My sympathy for those who lost their dads. I recognize it is a pain I know nothing about. My father was never a dad. He was never qualified for the job. Still, others have definitely suffered worse abuse, and I’ve reached a place where the man is no longer relevant except as my mom’s husband whom she loves.

With the personality some exhibit, it is truly admirable more people don’t get shot. Shows self-restraint.

Reading all these replies, I’m wondering if anybody else thinks Les’s history of manipulative lying might point to the idea that Les might not be telling the truth about his dad.

A genuinely affecting moment. The Old Grouch isn’t easily impressed. But this could – just maybe – lead to a real story.

I’m still taking the Admiral Ackbar position.

That makes it good all around, because we don’t care either.

Characters with absent fathers (one way or another):

Gunther, Les, TJ, Tiffany (busy/disinterested dad), Shannon (ditto), Pru (orphan).

They’re starting to add up, aren’t they?

I am generally quite ambivalent about most of these strips on a daily basis. The one today, however, is one of the more insightful and interesting ones and perhaps gives these two characters a little more emotional dimension than we’ve seen previously. It will be interesting to see how this develops. Hopefully it doesn’t just peter out into nothingness.

:-p

This is a new twist! But…. I think that a prerequisite for Gunther’s full acceptance of Les would be some acknowledgement and/or regret for his high school behavior. For Les that would be a huge step that he may not be ready for.

Whenever two characters connect on some level, Greg draws a large illuminated circle on a darker background (for effect) with two faces on opposite ends. We’ve seen this before with Bernice and Piro when they were watching a silent movie together, and once between Tiffany and Gunther…..when they were on her couch after the field trip (feeling a little heated).

An opening, and then a door slamming. Will be interesting to see where this goes. (If anywhere…I’m still waiting to find out who stole the tv.)