Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for July 09, 2022

How can Bernice be SOOO clueless and yet still want to be a psychiatrist?

This looks like a spot where they could possibly pause this story line. I’m thinking new arc on Monday!!

Delusion land

What we have here is a failure to communicate. ✨

Honesty is the best policy, Nil. Break it down gently to Bernice.

There’s some degree of “Observer Effect” – Or lack there of – at play here. ✨

Mixed messages all ’round!

“What we have hear is a failure to communicate!”

“This a fine mess we’ve gotten into.”

What a way to end the week.

Yeah, these characters can’t stand confrontation. It’s why nothing changes in any significant way. But since Bernice wants Nil to find her attractive AND wants him not to make out with her, big deal.

Words fail me. At least the polite ones! I’ve had less painful root canals.

Don’t tell them what they don’t want to hear or you will suffer much grief.

Oh, and if you fail to tell, you will suffer much grief.

Get used to suffering.

Delusional, confirmed.

Nil be blunt and honest and truthful if it hurts Bernice so be it she needs to hear it.

Uh-oh. A lesson Nil will need to learn. Say the truth.

Communication is EVERYTHING.

Too bad, old Bernice Halper was funnier than the new Bernice.

oh Bernice, please get out of your own way!

As suggested yesterday, wanted by many posters, not going to happen.

This needs to end

Okay. Nil and Bernice clearly can’t have a frank discussion about Bern’s “muse” outfit (or her accompanying behavior) because Nil doesn’t want to hurt Bern’s feelings and meanwhile Bern doesn’t have a clue that Nil might not be thrilled.

But I’ll go out on a limb and guess that Jack and Luann will eventually have a conversation in which they discover the disconnect between what Nil just told Jack and what Bernice just told Luann. I won’t attempt to predict whether they’ll try to do something about it or, if they do, what sort of hilarity will or won’t ensue.

I read a variety of comics every day. All are one day joke lines. Someday funny, sometimes not.

I can’t quit reading Luann. Not so much for the content, but for the commentary. The postings are usually more interesting than the strip itself.

End of arc as the new butterfly emerges from her cocoon and discovers the fun and pleasure of leather. Bernice was a winner.

Be honest with her, Nil – the worst she can do is punch you in your eye. First, tell her that you need to tell her something and ask her to look straight into your eye.

Denseness is Bern’s Superpower!

Okay.

So here We have yet another budding “relationship” where one partner doesn’t care what the other one thinks.

We need a modern day “Berlin Airlift” in order to air-drop a plane load of spines into the town of Pitts for the Strip’s males.

And STAT because I’m starting to miss Dirk……..,

Look like Nil will say nothing to Bernice, so I wonder if this will come out during a discussion between Jack and Luann. Maybe the two will try to convince Nil to be sincere with her. But seeing how much Bernice is happy, Nil could just accept her new style and nothing more.

I’m waiting for Bernice’s “house-of-cards” to come crashing down!!

IMO, Puddles has more sense than any of the “humans” on this strip!!

She needs to get some tattoos so she can look like a walking port-o-let.

Bernice is in denial.

…***head-desk***…. How about another week of this? Do I hear two weeks??

um… maybe she needs better glasses or something cause that’s not what the scene looked liked to me. :\

Yeah, happiness is sometimes better than the truth, but then the truth hurts more when it finally comes out. “Why didn’t you tell me this before instead of letting me make a fool of myself?”

Barf me out to the max, I mean like Tee-Totally!

“Don’t change a hair for me/ not if you care for me…”

Oh Greg, will you ever release/

Nil (and us !) from the grip of Bernice?/

Let’s take a new tack -/

Maybe focus on Jack/

And give us a bit of peace ?

“This muse thing kinda bugs” Well that’s a really ignorant statement from the loser who told Bernice he wanted her to be his muse. And since when does Nil care about clothing or outward appearance? Typical case of the pot calling the kettle black. What a whiny loser. How about we have him show up next time with no hat, a haircut, tshirt and shorts? THAT would make this all interesting!

Hey, Nil – you started the “muse thing.”

Good job, Nil. He’s considerate of her feelings and knows how to pick and choose his battles. It’s just an outfit for Pete’s sake. If she likes it why spoil her pleasure by telling her that he doesn’t? He likes her but she’s freaky about a physical relationship so he keeps the door open by telling her that she’s his muse. He and Jack are the most stable characters in this strip.

I’m hoping this lame storyline is over.

On one hand, it’s nice that Nil recognized and respected her happiness, but he hasn’t been honest with her about his feelings. If we ever get back to Jack/Nil scene, will Jack give any good advice? How long can Bernice maintain this “look” without seeing Nil? Seems if we switch arcs, this one is hanging by many threads. ;-o

If it’s possible to feel embarrassment for someone else, I feel embarrassed for Bernice. The Clueless Muse.

“All the girls go by, dressed up for each other…”

With Luann, what you see is what you get. Bernice, however, is a mystery gift that needs to be carefully unwrapped.

Sure, practicality. That’s what young men most like about young women. Just like if they are listing requirements for a job application.

a small typo.. it really read “only I loved it”. yes, two persons, one with a communication issue and the other with a listening problem, trying to connect and not doing it.

Actually, I kinda like Bernice’s new look.

Be careful you might get accused of not knowing what a plot development is by the cowboy guy.

ANOTHER WASTED WEEK!!!

How did Nil suddenly go from being on Jack’s right side to being on his left side?

New arc? People have been saying that for a week.

Bernice is very gullible!

Delusional.

Key lesson from the second panel: Communication!

I’m a big fan of good comedy writing, but I think the clueless-person-who-misinterprets-everything-the-exact-wrong-way-for-effect has been overdone for a few decades running.

Another classic performer is gone.

Larry Storch, who played Corporal Agarn on “F Troop” and was the voice of Mr. Whoopee in the “Tennessee Tuxedo” cartoons has passed away at the age of 99.

Farewell to one of show business’s truly class acts.

For a wannabe psychologist Bernice is shockingly bad at reading people. But more importantly, this “relationship” is extremely toxic. Nil is willing to disregard his own happiness and preferences to please Bernice, but she doesn’t give a crap about him. I know she enjoys the idea of being a muse and inspiring an artist, but she doesn’t really care about Nil at all as a person. She was ready to drop him altogether until he brought up the muse thing. This is almost as bad as when Luann strung Gunther along with no intention of dating him just because she liked the ego boost of having an admirer, but at least Luann had the excuse of just being a kid at the time.

No good will come of this.

Yes, please a new arc! Personally, I think Bernice has always shown signs of being clueless at times. It might be a good idea for her to get some therapy. They say that if you are going into the field, it might be a good idea to experience it from the other side as well.

Uh Nil, aren’t you the one who told her she’s your Muse?

Hopefully (I trust) Jack will ask the leading questions and get Nil to open up a little more to Bern who is just taking advantage of his lack of words and interpreting things her way. The last thing Nil implied regarding Bern’s clothes was that they ‘..did not stop talking..’. Bern likely interpreted that in a positive way which suggests that she still doesn’t know or understand Nil. There’s definitely more to come in this story because these two are not connecting. We can hope that Luann will probe Bern’s answer a bit more but that’s not a given.

And then a White Rabbit enters the scene!!!

If Nil acted more like a stereotypical young hetero male, he might notice what Bernice is wearing on the outside, but would like to get to know what’s underneath the underlayer.

What are the chances that two strips are practical on the same day?

Everybody: If Nil is willing to just let Bernice be happy, there may be a future here…

SUNDAY : Frank looks into a cabinet.

None so blind as they who will not see!

Alas, it’s almost sad to see that Bernie has a blind crush on Nil, who is not now reciprocating….

Bernice has been dressing up like Dez these days.

Next week: Bernice meets the drag queen who previously wore her dress. Since they are the same size, he suggests that they become like sisters and borrow each others clothes. Unfortunately, Bernie’s wardrobe was too masculine for him and he had to back out of the proposed deal. Kind of like Elon Musk and Twitter.

And Nil proves he’s a lot wiser than most give him credit

Puddles likes it.

Nil wisely waits for the storm to blow over.Wait until cold weather season and she’ll have to change.

Bernice finds a boyfriend who likes her for her and makes no requirements of her. He doesn’t even try to get into her pants! And she screwed that up.