Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for January 15, 2022

Burn! ✨

It was accurate?!? =-O

O.M.G. Is right! All this week comes to NOTHING???

Except in Bernice’s case, all went well that ended well.

This is a great fit for Berniece. Everybody hates lawyers, and …

Darn!… No Knute and Crystal at the Library, like I hoped.

A nice snappy comeback Luann! You go girl!!

At least as a schoolteacher, Luann would be something USEFUL to society! Hopefully she can take over Mr. Fogey’s job. As for Bernice, who would hire her as a lawyer, Ann Eiffel!?

Bernice would make a great lawyer, she can make a federal case out of anything!

At least Luann didn’t say this is where Bernice is going to call for a r…..

Nope. Can’t finish the sentence. Comment count would go through the roof.

Bernice describes the scoring system as “both convoluted and simplistic.” I guess that means it’s time for the commenters who previously griped about the scoring system being convoluted and/or simplistic to

(1) act as if G&K must have responded to their comments (presumably requesting that GoComics accept an emergency last-minute substitution for a strip previously submitted with the usual 8 weeks or so of lead time),

(2) admit (pfft!) that G&K were a step ahead of them this time, or

(3) skip directly to griping about what a disagreeable character Bernice is.

Keep following your dream to teaching, Luann. You have always been good with kids.

Luann kept it short and sweet.

So it’s been three week with this story and in the end….. nothing has changed. What a waste.

In that long – winded second panel, Bernice reminds me a lot of my 78 year – old seventh grade typing teacher, Mrs. Scott. She was the kind that would ask you if something was up if she saw you smiling in class. One day, she caught me talking in class. At the end of class, she “requested” that I come in after school so I could type “I will not talk in class” one hundred times with NO strike – outs and NO errors. I assumed it would be a cinch as I was one of the better typists in class. So, I show up after school and figured I would be out of there in 20 minutes, tops. I could not have been more wrong. By the time I got there, she had my sentence I had to type 100 times without error already written out on the board:

.

“Unless, henceforth, specifically called upon by the teacher, I will refrain from elucidating upon the copiousness of my vocabulary within the confines of this classroom.”

.

I don’t remember what the hell time I eventually got out of there that night.

Wow, so Bern said she thought the test was biased and then proved its accuracy by going on a rant that most lawyers would be so proud of. Nice to see Luann get in the last word. Bernice would have to a prosecutor though, throwing the book at people who truly deserve to be punished, I am not sure she could defend anyone as her abrasive personality would not bring any sympathy to her client while a prosecutor can throw tact to the wind and go for the jugular for better or worse. With a vocabulary like hers, she can also be a speech writer for politicians.

So Lu drops a snark on Bern – fair enough…

Luann, a kindergarten and Bernice, a defense attorney.

Touché, Luann! Touché!

Kim Kardashian passed the First-Year Law Students’ Examination.

Amen, Luann.

Perfect. Bernice loves to hear herself talk.

I would like to thank the repliers to my yesterday comment. I wondered if anyone ever looked at these comments. Duck – you obviously know more about the cartoon business than the rest of us. seven figures! Had I known I might have called her.Bebo – an interesting comment , better than your usual, very insighting.Paulscom – I am not the only one who complains.

In future, maybe I’ll just read the comments, skip the cartoon.

YEEEEEEESS! Now the doubt is inside Bernice’s mind and will slowly erode it! She can say whatever she wants, but her absolute trust in tests and in psychology will lead her to study law. It’s just a matter of time… Luann knows!

Well, congrats to all those who called it:

Bernice gets the career advice.

Luann leaves „situation normal“ (fill in the blank).

Next week: Bernice vs the existential crisis

This is exactly the way I thought this arc would go, that Bernice would have the surprise—her being more suitable as an attorney—than as a counselor. Luann’s pointing it out after Bernice’s panel 2 where in Panel 3 Been realizes the truth. I always expect school teacher for Luann. Her issue is belief in herself, not her skill set.

Nice to see Luann have the last laugh in this arc.

Bernice caught up in her own appeal to the “jury”.

But could Bernice make it through law school?

And how does Luann fix the problem that she still doesn’t have any interest in the education she’ll need to become a teacher? She still hates tutoring.

I can see it…..

She’s not wrong tho.

Perry Mason

Looks like Bernice is gonna be eating a big slice of humble pie.

Luann finally out-snarked Bernice!

Ah.

But maybe that “test” was more accurate than you’re willing to admit, Bernice.

Deep down inside, can you see your pal Luann as anything more than a teacher?

But more important than that, why do you scoff at being an attorney?

Used properly, attorneys do a lot of good.

Especially when they become District Attorneys seeking justice for the public, against those who wronged them.

Bernice Halper has been a “victim” before. And the “person” that inflicted that pain pretty much got away it. WORSE, that “person” was free to return to inflict pain on others. And there’s no reason to assume that “person” won’t return to inflict even more pain on someone you care about one day.

But the next time that “person” returns and commits a crime, Assistant District Attorney Halper can be there to put her away. This time, maybe for GOOD.

“Ann Eiffel sentenced to 20 years in prison for fraud,” thanks to you. Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

Bernice Halper, Attorney at Law. You’ve always been a person that believes in Order.

Besides, the position of Borg wasn’t a career option. ;-)

Blimey, the truth hurts.

“Systemically Biased”. So goes the lame complaint of everyone who can’t use facts to determine reality, rather than feelings and political agendas.

Turnaround is fair play.

Bernice isn’t wrong though.

And through use of the Socratic method, Luann teaches Bernice a lesson about self-awareness.

The best part of this is we won’t have to hear Bernice psychoanalyzing everything anymore. Thank Gawd.

Ha!

BOOM!

I’ve gone on similar rants about bad tests. That means I know about testing not law. :p

That was “brief”, Luann! :D

Well, good for Bernice; she might have found her true calling. I’d say that any college student who uses “ergo” in casual conversation with a friend, and is not using it mockingly or trying to be ironic, is sufficiently disconnected from humanity enough to qualify as a lawyer. :)

Yep!

Is it just a coincidence, or is Greg playing with us, that Attorneys are often addressed as “Counselor” ?! :-/

Bingo!

Good one, Luann!

Perfect! Lol!

So will any of this result in any change to the characters’ goals or personalities, or will this entire arc be forgotten by Monday (since today appears to be its conclusion), with the whole thing being another exercise in wheel-spinning? Let’s be honest: it’s probably the latter. I hope I’m wrong though.

Attorneys don’t have to be low-life drags on society, Bern.

I think the word you were looking for, Bernice, was “systemically” not “systematically.”

In high school, I took a number of those aptitude surveys. They all came up with the same two outcomes. I read the results and thought no way. Then 15 years later, after the Marines, college and various jobs I found myself in both positions: ordained clergy and social worker. Who knew?

I still feel bad that Luann wasn’t shown any other options than the career path that had already burned her out. Teaching (and I do respect it, I come from a family of teachers) is the kind of field that young women are traditionally directed to when they are considering careers. I’ve known a surprising number of women who started out as elementary/kindergarten teachers and realized later that they wanted to do something completely different. Considering the fact that Luann had a natural talent for theatre I’m surprised that nothing in the aptitude test at least pointed towards set design.

If Bernice becomes an attorney, her bat-craziness will lead to contempt of court charges..

We should have seen this coming. All this time we thought she was snarky and she’s just practicing to become a lawyer. Hmmm.

It’s not unusual for people to enter college with a desire to enter into one career, discover a field they like better, and then change their major.

Nailed it!!! B-D

She’s already got the lawyer-speak down pretty well.

You were saying Berniece?

Sunday: Frank and Nancy ponder the inevitable.

If the shoe fits… :-)

Ah, that middle panel. As Petula Clark once astutely observed, A Sign Of The Times.

Just like cockroaches…

Supporting evidence

I can see Bernice as a zealous advocate for her client or a ruthless DA.

It was likely an interest test, which can be pretty insightful. Aptitude tests range from pretty good (like the military’s ASVAB) to pretty silly.

Two questions about the conclusion of this week. 1) will Bernice continue to argue that she will become a psychologist despite her own drippling neuroises or will be turn to becoming a lawyer.

) what about Luann’s tutoring job? Has that been flushed down the Memory Hole or will we get a sequence where Luann cosplays as Mr, Fogarty with some slob cosplaying as Knute? Better yet: would she be tutoring the real Knute, who probably needs help in English classes to get his Associates Degree in welding. This would be interesting because they know each other and know the games they plays on Mr. Fogarty. Also it would allow GnK to sneak in fan favorite, Crystal, placing Knute between a rock and a hard place.

As long as Bernice doesn’t turn into a lawyer joke herself.

Butneece will have to move to another town as her current college is not a law school,, ergo, Bye Bye……..*one can hope)

I honestly don’t understand what Bernice is on about. People often have more than one aptitude. If she didn’t know about her lawyerish tendencies, she’s denser than mud. I actually thought she’d show aptitude re: research of some kind.

Wonder what that exam was? Sounds like the Strong Interest Inventory (Strong being the name of the developer, not an adjective :-). The SII analyzes a person’s likes/dislikes/interests and matches them to careers most suited to such a constellation of responses. This doesn’t measure aptitude or personality, just interests. I’ve taken this before—don’t remember a word of it, but I do recall it was fun.

I’ve taken a Rorschach, too, and it was fun. A grad student in psych was ranging through the student union looking for naive subjects (i.e., people who’ve never taken the test before) and I said sure. Took the test—tried to get the results, but the grad student never ponied up, the wench! Now I’m considered nonnaive and should not be administered the Rorschach again. Unless all that’s changed. I certainly don’t remember what I said way back then!

Based on how much Bernice likes to butt in I believe that her ideal career would be…paparazzi.

First clever remark Luann has made in weeks (if not longer)! But she has hit the mark in characterizing mouthy Bernie….

Doesn’t mean she has to be a trial attorney, although Bernice seems to have a lot of confidence when it doesn’t come to her behavior

Not a total a comeuppance, but enough where Bernice’s well laid out plans were upended.