Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for June 15, 2018

I wonder what Ann is carrying.

Neutral territory.

A film noir yellow background.

Both parties probably have hidden seconds.

Imagine the outrageous comments to be made tomorrow if Saturday’s strip is merely an exchange of papers without any text at all.

And on Monday, back at the dorm /fire station / biology class / art class / Fuse / Stalag 17 / Take your pick…..

Thus forever out doing the TV theft arc by a landslide.

If a cop rolled up right now, he might get a very wrong idea about what’s happening. Ann: “You don’t understand. He’s my son.” Les: “Not helping!”

Please God let Ann be prepared for whatever “deal” Les has in mind. And if Ann has a copy of her marriage certificate to Tom Farrell, I promise I will never be mean and hateful again!

Until Monday……,;)

Perfect setting. A rendezvous under a street light. And a very good comeback – to be loyal to who raised you rather than the one who birthed you. Okay, now what was Uncle Al’s mystery plan?

That dark, acidic yellow is a color one seldom sees. ✨

One thing I hate is when you have black shoes and they start melting into a puddle when you get underneath a good, strong streetlight. I have so many gray shoes now just because of that.

This is going to be good! I look forward to seeing what comes out of this.

So does Evans not know that blackmail is a crime? Because he sure seems to have his characters rely on it a lot in their dealings with Ann, and nobody ever points out that they’re opening themselves up to a lot of trouble by doing so.

Why does Les hate his own mom so much? She’s hot!

Cut it out with the ass-kissing, Anne awful!

Of course they would have to meet in a dark, shady parking lot.

Side note: she looks like she’s about to seduce him. Personal comfort level: -100.

I can’t believe it took me this long to notice Tiffany and Eiffel are both helmet-heads, just different-colored helmet-heads.

Is Ann’s right hand supposed to not yet be in the spotlight?

It’s yellow.

That odd yellowish look reminded me of “Soylent Green”. I think it was “Soylent Green”.

Awesome drawing of Ann in the first frame – Wonder Woman!

Hmmm, she IS working with the shadows.

Is Les the setup guy for uncle Al, And what is Ann holding in her hand a list.

Could Ann and Uncle Al both be in on the lingerie deal and this is a clever way of Al getting the address book away from Les?

I hope this arc doesn’t end up like Ann vs TJ at Weenie World: Ann outsmarting Les/Uncle Al and then Les/Uncle Al outsmarting Ann and Ann is out the door. Too Deja Vu. Something that runs a little deeper could be great. It was kinda touching at The Fuse when Ann kept trying to get Les to call her “Mom.” Ann wasn’t much of a Mom, but at least some of us found something to like. If Les cuts ties with Ann (as Al Gray suggested), he will likely find out that he has gathered a lot of problems besides Mom in his young life. One potential turn of events could be Ann & her snazzy car get into a serious wreck – and Les sees her in the hospital – unconscious and not looking so good – and possibly not going to make it. Whatever the outcome, Les might lose some of those demons as he deals with growing up.

If Ann doesn’t get her comeuppance soon I’m deserting to Donald Duck comics. Enough! (Quack).

“Bad company, and they won’t deny………”

“Stealth Bummer”

“Cloak-And-Swagger”

“I’m Afraid I Can’t Give You Any Credit, At This Time…”

“The Horrible Traffic On Dangerfield Way”

“R.E.S.P.E.K.T.”

“They’ve Got Me Working For Ful-crums”

“It’s The World, Against You And Me….” (♪)

“A Degree In Secrets? Sure!”

“…..You’ve Arrived At Your Clandestine”

or

“When The Lights Go Down, In The City” (♪)

@ VILYEHMAll that’s missing is the smoky sax solo. And Les quietly muttering, “Dames!” Nice catch on the yellow hand, that’ll have to get patched.

This from a Calvin wiki:

Tracer Bullet is a rarely-seen alter-ego of Calvin’s.

The character, a private investigator based on any number of film noir and detective novel clichés, makes his first appearance in a story arc in which Calvin gets a bowl haircut courtesy of Hobbes. When Calvin was forced to wear a hat to cover his bad haircut, the alter-ego was born, and he would appear in a total of three story arcs. His rate is $50 a day plus expenses. However, in his first introduction he claims business is poor, as he has “an office on 49th Street and a nasty relationship with multiple collection agencies”. Tracer Bullet is a skilled marksman, and also claims “if business were as good as my aim, I would be on Easy Street”.

Bill Watterson is quoted as saying:

Tracer Bullet stories are extremely time-consuming to write, so I don’t attempt them often. I’m not at all familiar with film noir or detective novels, so these are just spoofs on the clichés of the genre. Cartoonists don’t use black much anymore (the eye, being lazy, is attracted to empty white space, especially when the panels are so small), and we miss some dramatic possibilities that way.

While Tracer Bullet’s narration usually dominated the individual strips he appeared in, his monologues tended to only provide exposition or reflection on previous action. The actual storyline generally would progress through comments by Calvin or any associated characters, almost always in panels featuring the real world of Calvin, not the imagined world of Tracer Bullet.

The way todays strip is drawn reminds me of animated shorts called ‘Gotham Girls’. I would love to see GnK take one arc at a time and turn them into animated shorts, like Gotham Girls.Anyone?

Last time I checked committing fraud is a felony. When do the police show up for goodness sake?

Al must be a handy relative to have.

Ohhhhh SNAP! Way to stick it to Ann, Les! I can’t wait to hear this deal.

Still, it looks like Ann doesn’t seem scared of Les and his deal, whatever it is. Let’s hope it’s something that can shake her… and get her to accept it. Let’s hope that “leverage” is pretty good!

My takeaway from this has been to be dishonest and deceitful instead of being a good person and doing the right thing. I know the final scene has yet to be played here but I have been incredibly disappointed in Team Evans with this entire arc. Somebody get the police involved!

SO! Something clandestine and sinister is going down featuring two of the most sinister characters in Luannverse.

Someone is about to be scammed!

The plot thickens, this could get interesting. So how does this arc end? Monday… Details on Fay after being grounded.

LONESOMEPOINT has made it overt that Ann Eiffel is an “Eyeful,” noting the similarity in helmet-like hair treatment and exaggerated attention to appearance issues similar to Tiffany. Both have a “plastic” beauty about them; Ann more so than Tiffany lately. This is opposed to, say Toni, who is portrayed as having natural beauty.

One could speculate that Tiffany and Ann are archetypes out of Greg’s subconscious. Ann might be subliminal warning to Tiffany of one possible future that may lie ahead for her if she isn’t careful with her relationship choices. But hey! It’s just a ’toon, right? Right?!

(As to the matter of helmet-heads, Les might qualify. Apple and tree I guess.)

Wait! Could it be that somebody is wearing a “wire” here? And prepared to record an ill-timed “confession?” A “confession” that “one” party WILL use to endlessly BLACKMAIL……,Oh I’m Sorry. That word is too, harsh. That “one” party will use as “Leverage” over the “other” for the REST of their unnatural cartoon lives?

If So, I’m Shocked! SHOCKED, I tell You!!! Oh, the Cartoonity!!!!

It looks like the airport scene from Casablanca.

Sodium lights are so harsh ….

First of all let me say this once more and the last time—the Souffle hustle was a civil fraud not a criminal one. All Ann did was sell knock-offs. Unless there is some specific criminal law in a jurisdiction the remedy is civil, or administrative. Now today’s strip is also NOT blackmail, from what appears. They both have something to exchange with the other. In contract law this is called CONSIDERATION, or quid pro quo, or even more basic, you do this for me, and I do that for you. There is no blackmail, and NO CRIME!! Now lets see what they really are doing. There are so many judgmental people here sometimes you forget the strip is about a young girl’s world, as she grows.

I expect Les Nessman to pop out of the shadows, ready to blow the lid off of the greatest conspiracy plot he has ever seen in all of his years of “journalism”!

This is so sad on so many levels.

I hope Mr. Gray is nearby. I wouldn’t trust Ann at all when she is backed into a corner. At least we can tell she is not carrying any concealed weapon. A gun would show in that skimpy outfit she’s wearing.

In his own way Uncle Al is a lot scarier than Ann. He keeps everything to himself; Ann shows it in the open.

As much as Ann is a lying, manipulative snake-in-the-grass (euphemism for a certain 5-letter word I can’t say here), she is drawn well. Reminds me a bit of Jessica Rabbit in that way.

Ann and Les are both holding something in the first panel. Ann is still holding her object in the last panel, so Les probably still has the guest list.

A parking garage, a la Deep Throat?

If Karen were a real writer, she would be setting up the Gray clan as a mirror-image to the DeGroots. The DeGroots as decent but feckless folk, vs the Grays as shady but effective in getting what they want. (Young Les is certainly learning the ways of The Dark Side.) If the Evanses were smart, Ann would pop up every so often to make trouble and inject some life into the strip.

@ROY G BIV: Availing myself of the same first amendment rights you are exercising: Anyone who is published, or who is working toward publication, can be described as a ‘real writer’. On the other hand, someone who describes characters as ‘decent’ but ‘worthless, incompetent, n’eer do well’ (all definitions of ‘feckless’) may perhaps NOT be a writer. Or at least may not have a decent command of the English language. Worthless and incompetent people would not manage to save enough money to buy an old warehouse to be converted to a multipurpose building, or buy two homes, or raise two children.

there ain’t nutt’in to be gained here except wallowing in an obviously VERY dysfunctional relationship.

The police happen by and think Les has a list of “Johns.” After they handcuff Ann & Les and take them to jail – they read that all the Johns are women.

Oh my. Ann Eiffel … in short skirt and high-top boots, no less. Time for a cold shower.

••●✿Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✿●•• WELCOME BACK TIARELLACLARK ••●✿Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✿●••

Now Les is free to explore his ultimate destiny of being a 60’s beat poet.

I wonder if Eiffel actually spent any time raising Knox. Because I’ve never heard any other guardian mentioned besides that police officer father who died, I would guess she did raise him, but reluctantly, disinterestedly and inconsistently.

I’m not usually one to speculate, but maybe Les is wearing the wire…recording for a lawyer or police.

Les: So, Ann, This list is worth $5,000 or so to you? You must be very intent on refunding your customers money.

Ann: Why do you think I would do that. I’d lose even more money. I didn’t start this Souffle scam to lose money. (Or otherwise confessing.)

GOTCHA!

(Of course, the next detail to be wrapped up is: just who is listening to the conversation, and what is done with the confession.)

Hope Les made a copy of that guest list as insurance before handing it over to Ann. She can’t be trusted.

I this works, perhaps both Tiffany’s problem and Les’s parent problem will be solved, particularly if Ann decides to hightail it out-of-town. Only if she does, because Uncle Al knows her, but is interested in protecting Les.

So… uncle Al’s great idea was to let scammed people remain scammed.

“… Son it is wonderful that you have thought to contact all the ladies, but I have my own copy of the guest list and I have already contacted these ladies to explain that there were defects in the merchandise and that I am willing to exchange the items. They thanked me for calling and said they were satisfied with what they have…..”

If Saturday is to be a wordless exchange of papers, and the abrupt end to the Souffle party arc, we only have a few short weeks to establish what Tiffany will be doing all summer, since once again, it will not be with Daddy.

I think this is one of those cases where you have to separate law from ethics or morality. This is not a clear cut criminal case, it is a pretty strong civil case, but most important, in terms of morality, is that it is an ethical case. Is what they are doing, at the advice of Uncle Al ethical or not? I could do a few thousand words on Kantian ethics, deontological ethics, social justice, etc., etc,. etc., but what is important to me anyway, is how does it affect Les, and his position in Luannverse, and where will Ann end up at? She is a very good villain, and hot too, so I hope she is back, but I hope Uncle Al has given Les the strength he needs to grow past her, and to grow period as a better comic character.

Between Ann’s sweet sly sarcasm and Les’s deep seated anger and the fact that these two have much in common makes this mother-son relationship one of the saddest to observe, especially now in a parking lot under the nighttime glare of street lamp. Two mean spirited persons (one trying to change) whom we have least liked and lo and behold they are related. I can’t imagine what will happen. Will Ann just give Les what he wants? She’s smart and vindictive enough to figure a way wriggle out and keep Les on a leash. But if Les gets what he wants, he will then have much more respect for Uncle Al as a mentor who will be able to start molding him into a decent human being with worthwhile goals in life.

Funny how Ann thinks she’s clever.

Not a word I would’ve used.

Kids calling their parents by their first name has always seemed creepy to me…

He just doesn’t see her as his mother. Deep down I think it hurts Ann. She calls him Son in an effort to invoke that relationship. But it’s not working. Al gets to be called Uncle Al but there is no Mom.

Ann Eiffel, ever the pro con, cannot help but “sweet-talk” Les, even if she’d really rather kill him than pay off his blackmail scheme!

Big Brother rules, syrupy Ann pays, sullen Les “wins,” sort of, but isn’t really satisfied….

Jeezum Crow… under a corner street light like a common nightwalker… and with her son no less. (No pun intended.)

That hand is still yellow on that other site.

Oh, my! This is weird, this story line. I’m going through something KINDA on the similar side (I’d guess I’d be the ‘Al’ here, but MAN)! It’s why I have not been on the board as much as of late. You guys have been great, and I’ll stay in touch!

Can’t go into details, but more later. As they say, “Details at 11-ish-ish”. Do wish me well! This is a good mission for me, and all for the better, that I promise. Later and sooner than you think! -CtE ;)

OMG are those boots made for walking or what!