Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for January 11, 2018

Saying “First!” is so déclassé.

you sure are quite the businesswoman, Ann Eiffel

Please let Luann snap a picture of “Lady Lingerie” and show it to her brother or Bernice.

Magic?

She does know how to work a crowd.

Does Ann have some plants in the audience to start all the cheers?

Oh lord. And the last panel says to me she’s the same devious Ann. She is not rehabilitated.

Oh lord. And the last panel says to me she’s the same devious Ann. She is not rehabilitated.

mmmm so I guess the exclusive lingerie must be from Victorious’ Secret ( made in China ) LMAO

She seems to have the exact same wardrobe as when she managed WeenieWorld … miniskirts and all.

Okay, I’m curious what the angle is here, because so far all I’m seeing is the standard spiel for selling overpriced garbage to people who probably can’t afford it (and definitely can’t, in Luann’s case, considering she’s still living off her parents). A bit disingenuous perhaps, but not quite “immoral,” much less a crime. So why would Evans bring back the strip’s chief mustache-twirler for what looks to be a plain old merchandise sale? Let’s stay tuned…

“And I accept check, card or cash” (and I deliver by courier, mail or never).

I hope the checks are faulty

♫ You’re a shrewd one Ms. Eiffel

You really are a heel.

You’re as cuddly as a cactus,

And as charming as an eel,

Ms. Eiffel!

You’re a bad banana,

With a greasy black peel!

You’re a shyster, Ms, Eiffel!

Your heart’s an empty hole.

Your brain is full of spiders.

You’ve got garlic in your soul,

Ms. Eiffel! ♪

Just how much free liquor did she give these women?

Why do I have a feeling she would also take Bitcoin?

“…or Bitcoin!”

(I don’t mind being second.)

Awful Annie is the wurst! ie: She’s a lot of baloney!!

I think I’m seeing what could go wrong, over priced product. By the way, I would never give her cash. A credit card or nothing. It offers me some protection in case the goods are substandard or don’t appear. Plus, I would really read the fine print of everything I’m signing.

This from the woman who could not “up-sell” at a fast food restaurant.

ya right. Better expect an orgasm discount

Trilobyte=elrathia kingi…. long extinct…shows there’s hope for getting rid of mosquitos….maybe in another million years.

Why is there always an ‘Annie’ in every city, town or village? At least, these lingerie home parties are more enjoyable than those of Tupperware…….lol. Selling these products does not mean you qualify as a crook or shyster….people who are ‘motivated’ ( as car sales people would say) to coerce you out of your money. They’re just meant to help you enjoy spending it on something that really pleases you.

This kind of pitch would never work on men…………

I know I’m a strange woman, but why would you shell out lots of $$ for underwear? Pampering yourself with underwear? If I was going to splurge on pampering, it would be a massage or something like that, not clothes that no one is going to see (and if anyone does see them, it’s only for a short time).

Yep, now that she had them all in a “windup”, here comes the “pitch”! And of course, what follows? ….the “catch”, I’m sure!

-

There is the possibility of a “hit”, too, though….to each of their bank accounts….

So…let’s get going! Front seat or back?

So…let’s get going! Front seat or back?

Because going to Victoria’s Secret to overspend on underwear is too much of a hassle.

“No Personal Checks!”

Nicely done Team Evans. I love how the set up of Bernice’s not wanting to go allows for three characters ignorate of Ann’s corruption to be on stage.

So, will this be the time when Lu/Tara/Dez step up and call Ann out for this? Even if it compromises their dealings with Les? We’ll have to see….

It would be like Ann to substitute knockoffs for the real thing in order to expand her profit.

I’m thinking the owners of the St. Louis Cardinals are watching that “Souffle Lingerie” logo really carefully…

“The Words Of Profits” (♩)

“Give Her Some Credit!”

“She’ll Take Your Visa, At The Borderline”

“An Interest In Your Account”

“I Ran With The Turkeys, Rushin’ To Hand Over The Checks”

“The Cash Is Greener, Over On Her Side”

“Beware Of False Profits!”

“The Rise Of The Souffle”

“Floored By Wall Street”

“Hoops And Garters” (♩)

“In This Way, Ms. E May Challenge The World!” (♪)

“Enjoy The Hot Wings? Now Try The Shake’N’Bake!”

“Scanty Things Can Be Risque Business!”

or

“The Expense Is Killin’ Me!”

What is wrong with me, that I’ve never much cared what my underwear looked like?

Interesting sale pitch “Its” not worth the money but “You’re” worth it. A little too close to the truth.

So the big “invitation only”, “no FUSE staff allowed”, “just give me the key”, “behind closed doors and blackened windows”, top-secret happenings at the so-called clandestine “lingerie show” turns out actually to be the cover operation for… a lingerie show???

She also takes Rupees and Quatloos.

So, does Murphy’s Law cut in now, given what today is?

https://www.improbable.com/2018/01/10/the-100th-birthday-of-murphy-the-murphy-of-murphys-law/

is her supplier called “Five Finger Discount”?

is her supplier called “Five Finger Discount”?

Thanks for the welcome back messages. Everything is as fine as is typical for those of our ages; life has just been busy for us with some of that being very good stuff and some not — so, pretty much like happens for anyone.

There! You SEE? Absolutely NOTHING “Illegal” is going on, so far.

Except for maybe, Ann’s (SLOBBER/LUST) “Skirt.”

Oh, I have I Mentioned already that I think that Ann’s HOT?

Hard to believe that Ann is Leslie’s mother or Mr, Gray’s sister. She looks better than most of the college girls.

I am just going to drop this in as a speculation at best: looking carefully at the drawing in the panel, particularly panel 3, and always wondering why Ann went to Japan one time when she had to get away when a scheme fell apart, I wonder if she is partly Asian? We don’t know about her husband or father and her uncle (brother)? except his origins are mysterious as well. As far as the lingerie show itself is concerned, I bet there will be surprises, and a convergence of arcs, as I have been predicting, but I doubt if legality is an issue. Just some bird seed for your “birds” to peck at (lol).

I wanna know if we are going to get to see the models this time.

Never has evil looked so good. Well, maybe Dru, from Pibgorn, but she’s only kinda evil. Ann’s full out.

There is no way there is a demand for this type of expensive product in a town the size of Pitts on a Monthly (or more) basis. Not possible.

I don’t like the name Souffle. Maybe it’s edible…!!! oh man I just thought of that while I was typing….what a dunce….

I’m still suspicious…

I’m still suspicious that Ann’s anybody’s mommy. She’s far too hawt, even for a comic strip character. But then again, if Blondie still looks like she does after 2 kids…

5

Afternoon pipe break commentary:

Overall a very confusing set of panels today for me. Not in terms of what is drawn…. but in what the intent may be. So many possibilities:

1) It truthfully appears that Ann is being legit at the moment (as legit as a huckster salesperson can be). Could Greg be guiding us on a story of redemption? { Prognostication score = 2 out of 10 (Low numbers = Less Likely) }

2) Ann is just winding up at the moment for a pitch for what is actually her sinister plot related to Souffle Lingerie sales. { Prognostication score = 6 out of 10 }

3) Ann is portraying a “legit” venture at the moment to try to wield her way into a prominent position at The Fuse and we will not see anything transpire yet in this arc…. but that somewhere down the road, her sinister plot to do something mean/nasty to TJ or her brother Al or her son Les will be revealed. { Prognostication score = 8 out of 10 }

Pipe finished, back to work for me!

The ugly side of capitalism. Accurate depiction of human greed, exhibitionism, and voyeurism. Idiocracy. Utterly bizarre…

The ugly side of capitalism. Accurate depiction of human greed, exhibitionism, and voyeurism. Idiocracy. Utterly bizarre…

What is it with this strip and rhyming names? I had thought it was just TJ being uncreative with his “Café TJ” and “Château Trio”, but now we have “Soufflé Lingerie” here, proving the problem is the writer’s rather than the character’s. And notice it’s always an accented French word up front? Time to expand the repertoire a bit, Evans. Once the trend has been noticed then it’s time to break it (and yes, this naming scheme is definitely a trend. I have a saying I liked to use when my subordinates kept making the same mistakes over and over: “One time is an aberration, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern.”) Not to mention that soufflés seem like a rather nonsensical thing to name your clothing company after.

Still, if dumb naming conventions are the most irritating thing I see today, that means there’s nothing overly stupid going on. Having to nitpick for complaints means things are all right overall.

Also Ann could be selling cheap imitation products. The “Made in Sri Lanka” label is too small to read.

So she really is selling lingerie, go figure. Or is she merely stealing credit card numbers and checks?

Just wait ’till she gets to the household cleaning supplies and really wows them with genuine Kansas City Hickory Smoked Bleach. Only $34.99/Gallon, sold only in cases of 4 one gallon jugs.

I wanna go to the party!!!

Most scam artists do accept check, card or cash.

Most scam artists do accept check, card or cash.

Friday Ann shows off the sideline cosmetics.

whatever she’s selling I’m buying.

Annie would have been a great Sideshow Barker! Maybe even a decent Cheerleader, too! Or an Inspirational Speaker for hire!

Definitely for hire!

gotta wonder what kind of “games” she’s referring to?

Great expressions and mannerisms developed by Greg & Karen. It’s hard not to like “Fake” – when “Fake” is that good!

Following her pattern at Weenie World where she upsold to her customer by selling them extras they did not order initially and threatened any crew workers with termination if they didn’t follow her example (which was not the protocol with WW and led to her termination when TJ presented them with a recording of her bragging about it)…Ann would be selling lingerie AND twisting them arms to order sex toys, magazines, etc, which are her real moneymakers. And yes, she probably bought the underwear from Target, replaced the tags and called them lingerie. If her customers are smart, they will know name brands and who sold those brands, and catch Ann for fraud.

Leslie lost his father, Shannon’s mother skipped town, Gunther’s dad also left his family, Tiffany’s mom abandoned them and her father just gives Tiff enough money to stay away from him, Toni’s parents were killed, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bernice’s parents. Hooray for Frank and Nancy and now Brad and Toni. But we can’t complain because I don’t think that we ever saw any adult in 50 years of Peanuts.

Ok – well she’s learned how to spruik to a crowd since her days at Weenie World. Went and reread the entire arc recently on the Fan site… and she wasn’t great at the sales pitch- whereas TJ was. I still have the opinion that it’s going to be cheap knock-offs at premium prices (priced lower than Victoria’s Secret, but still expensive) . Fake Souffle from sweatshops?