Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for January 23, 2018

A fine strip.

Not a fine mother Ann is to Leslie.

At last! The truth is out.

I’m kind of surprised Les is talking to Tiff.

Well, that was an honest answer from Les. And he’s not too shocked by Tiff’s looks it seems. And unknowingly he just met his step sister.

This is really super!

Les did not act ugly. And obviously he’s still charmed by Tiff (contrary to some people thinking he’d be “shallow”). He can only see her face at the moment, and he’s smiling and happy to see her.

The interesting point, though, is how Tiff will digest the revelation that Ann is Les’s mother.

People have not been seeing the forest for the trees, I have been saying for the last few nights. Clearly this is a lost parent situation, Les is estranged from his mom, but maybe not for long, and TIffany is constrained from her Dad, because he is dating Les’s mom. Both of them have been influenced by the parents, and this will be a lot more than just getting revenge for some lost lingerie money. Plus by the way what is happening with Gunther’s mom, and Les’s uncle. Its convergence, and distant parents, and history and all that means. What will happen I don’t’ know, but it will be interesting. Oh and those who thought that all Les could see was the flirty, slim Tiffany? Well you were so far off, you could not see your nose in front of your faces.

“She ain’t Heavy, She’s My Mother,” eh Les?

So Les will Lie and tell Tiffany Why He hates His Mom, And Tiffany will loosen up and tell why She has a problem with with Her Dad.

After a wordless Panel Two, the two will stare into each other’s eyes and realize that They kinda have something in common and form an Friendship/Alliance to in order to Destroy Les’ Mom. Tiffany foolishly thinks that maybe Les ain’t so bad after all and gives Les Her phone number.

A Triumphant Drooling Les, however, makes the mistake of blurting Out how much he loves FAT girls, and how He can’t wait to see Tiff “model some of that fancy French Stuff behind closed doors, And by the way, did You say your father was RICH?”

Wow – I love the way Tiffany put her cards on the table in her first reply! Now I see Tiff & Les warming up to each other (too bad, Gunther). How will all the other characters land on this field? Tiff’s Dad, Ann, Luann, Tara, Dez…

Tiff is greatly improving psychologically.

Earlier, she wouldn’t come out of her dorm room.

But now, she’s nonchalantly telling Les that she’s up by 30 pounds, and then getting on with business.

I say once again, in the last year or two, Tiffany went from being the least interesting character to the most interesting.

I do believe Les will invite Miss Sheridan St. Louis to the next lingerie party just to see what happens.

I am thinking that Tiffany is thinking “Ann is your mom? Ouch.” She is sympathetic towards Les. But she is still determined to get into the party and take her down nonetheless.

“30 Pounds.”

Very specific. ✨

Oh what a tangled web we weave.

This appears to be getting stranger by the moment. Certainly Ann knows Tiffany because Tiffany knows Ann. Yet Les doesn’t know Ann is dating Tifffany’s father. And when Les finds out that Ann is dating Tiffany’s father how wilt that change the relationship between Tiffany and Les. And if Ann marries Tiffany’s father will Tiffan’s father say to Les “I am your father” ( wait that’s the wrong movie). Yet Kirk did loose a son “the Klingon bastards killed Kenny” (wait that’s the wrong TV show ;) I better quit while I’m ahead.

Les took it better than I thought. Glad to be wrong.

And to all the ladies out there: if Tiffany’s appearance reflective of what a 30-lb weight gain would really do to a woman? It seems exaggerated to me (as in, 30 lbs shouldn’t change your looks that drastically), but I really wouldn’t know so I figured I’d put the question out there. I’m not trying to bash the strip here (after all, artistic license is needed sometimes to get the point across); I’m genuinely curious.

Out of all Dez’s outfits she could have given to Tiffany, and Dez wears pretty awesome stuff, that’s the deciding outfit? I already stated it yesterday, but I do not like that outfit.

I guess, upon hearing about Ann Eiffel, Jonah Daytona would feel like he’s got a little less competition for “Parent of the year”….

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Tiffany is gaining access to a little more than she was expecting….

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…and Ann is probably plotting for more and more…. but I wonder how she felt about having “A little Les”, Sixteen or so years ago?

“Truth Is Stranger Than Friction”

“The Eiffel Power”

“Welcome To My World”

“Inroads And Outliers”

“A Little Rig…A Little Fig… Let Me In!”

“Doors And Windows”

“We Are Family….Sort Of…” (♬)

“The Power Of Cold” (♬)

“Windows And Walls” (♩)

“She’s Got Bette Davis Cries, And A Groan-ing Crawful, To Boot” (♩)

“Whatever Didn’t Happen To Baby Jane?”

“His Mother Is The Necessity For These Inventions”

“People Are Strangers, When You’re Estranged” (♪)

“Ask Us: It’s As Bold As A Shove” (♬)

or

“One Thing Leads To A Mother”

What is striking is the morphing of Tiffany’s character from an antagonist for Luann (an anti Bernice as it were) to a major character in her own right; one with her own life arc. In fact, Tiffany’s arc is, through circumstance and personality development, THE most interesting character in the strip now. And speaking of character development, Luann seems to be developing into her mother. Bernice’s character has flattened out, and seems to orbit around Tiffany’s life instead of Luann’s.

My, my, my!

A potential Greg and Marcia Brady…

I don’t think Les has any idea that his mom is scamming everyone with cheap knock-offs.

This is really good comic art. Notice how Les has his arms folded in both panel two and three, but the impression goes from one of ease and relaxation to one of tension and defensiveness, with just a few small changes.

Tiffany’s step one: stalk your prey, find a weak spot. This is a personal daughter-daddy thing. I have no idea where it is going.

Good to see Tiffany telling it straight, just as it is and how she is. She doing a Popeye’s “I yam what I yam!” statement. Les being civil, even polite, is also good.

Still – feeling the ’Ocean’s Eleven’ wave, for now. We’ll see.

6

Pipe and coffee break commentary for today….

Les responded better than I anticipated…. and Tiffany was more right to the point than I anticipated as well. This was actually a bit of a surprise and a good surprise!

What next?

1) Will Tiffany perceive and/or ask Les more about his relationship with his mother?

2) Will Tiffany (because of his negative relationship with his mother) now “clue Leslie in” as to what is happening with the “Souffle Lingerie” or will she keep the subterfuge under wraps fearing he may spill the beans?

But then…. what if any role will Luann and Dez and Bernice play in this plot? Will they be kept in the dark about it happening, or will they become part of the action?

Break over, back to work….

Les and get to know Tiff but not in the biblical sense.

WHERE IN HEAVEN’S NAME IS TJ?????

Before she goes to the lingerie party, Tiffany needs to find out if Les is in on the scam or not. He doesn’t seem to be in on it.

I think Les is pretty disgusted with his “mom” … and after being around Gunther’s mom and seeing how she and Gunther care about each other … he’s starting to want something GENUINE in his life. He’s starting to care about other people more.

Say “Hi Sis!”

Y’know, these people are adults now. It’s fun to come up with crazy schemes to mess with Ann and etc, but at least one of these college aged adults should have the presence of mind to tell the owners (the DeGroots) and the major investor (TJ) that there is something fishy going on at the place that represents their life savings, unless the future of the strip is a tale of how ALL of them end up living in homeless camps.

This strip has generally done a good job of dealing with serious issues that affect young people…menstruation, bullying, sexual harrassment, etc. But now it is heading in a pretty stupid direction during an era already saturated with the normalization of deceit, fraud, and larceny.

So far I like the new Tiffany, very straightforward and to the point; no teasy flirty behavior. She has experienced some of the negative emotional aspects of life and their consequences, and this has changed her outlook. She is seeing life for what it really is.

Tiffany is handling this potentially difficult meeting very well so far. And Les is being surprisingly honest for a change.

Okay, so now Tiffany knows of Les’ relationship with Ann. Since Gunther knows that Mr. Gray is Les’ uncle once he and Tiffany compare notes she will know Gray is also connected to Ann. Of course my question is, if Ann has hooked a sugar daddy, Tiffany’s dad, why is she wasting her time in a nickel dime scam selling knock-off lingerie? Just how wealthy is Tiffany’s dad, how did he make his money, what sort of businesses does he own or have pieces of? Could Ann merely be the pawn of the possibly Mobbed up Mr. Gray? Could she be getting cozy with Tiffany’s dad on orders from her brother so Mr. Gray can move in and take over whatever Tiffany’s dad is involved with? Or does Ann need the extra money from the fake lingerie to maintain a certain lifestyle so her boyfriend thinks she is financially solvent? The possibilities are endless.

Well, this is proceeding more calmly than I expected. But the Tiffster will still have her Rough Justice for Annie Awful….

Look out Tiff! Major convergence and confluence of events coming down!

Look out Tiff! Major convergence and confluence of events coming down!

Tiff is finally out of high school. YAY!

So, who’s Les’s father?

His head looks like it’s turned way too far in the first panel. That looks painful.