Luann Bonus Material by Greg Evans for August 05, 2014

I think, eventually, he will depart the strip but, hopefully, to make a few guest appearances on occasion.

I believe he has lived his useful life as a “regular” in the strip. He was needed to keep Brad busy as a foil while Brad is/was single. With Brad marrying soon (HINT HINT!), he won’t be needed anymore. I think Toni will keep him well occupied. And Shannon can serve as the “foil” in TJ fashion.

How this will happen, I don’t know. Totally up to the Evan’es. I hope he doesn’t have to go to prison over it. But that might very well be the logical choice, as he won’t be dead and could return at some point. Furthermore, I hope it doesn’t result in his having a permanent fall out with Brad. TJ may try to sucker Brad into his scheme about this insurance claim. Brad has to refuse. He has to stay away from TJ. I just hope that TJ won’t break ties with him as a result.

But I think TJ’s status as a “regular” in the strip has come to an end.

I don’t think he purposefully caused the fire, even though it does get him out of what was turning out to be a losing business proposition. Unfortunately his demeanor in the last few strips would make him appear guilty… a possibility Brad seems to be contemplating in today’s strip. Say it ain’t so, Mr. Evans!

How do I vote? I’m a responsible community member and want to exercise the franchise!

He was struck by a tiny piece of shrapnel which lodged in his body and will slowly make its way to his heart over the next two or three months, eventually killing him! Oh wait, I thought this was Funky Winkerbean.

1) TJ adds drama to a script — note the number of comments when he appears2) Thus far, TJ is Brad’s only friend, and old friends are golden (even if they’re rotten)3) If you’ve got to make room for new people, Team Evans could just decrease TJ’s role, having him investigated for arson and having him mysteriously “disappear”. He will show up later on a beach with the beautiful girls from Ipanima (sp?), possibly meeting up with Gunther and Rosa in Peru at some point.

Greg drew TJ ‘surprised’ at the blowup. I doubt he’s directly responsible. That said, his history and his subesquent reactions will point fingers at him.

If you look to the right of the bonus strip and down a bit, you should see a panel with Knute that says “vote here” or something. Mouse over that to get the vote options. (I think that’s how it went…working from memory here.)

I don’t think T.J. purposely caused the explosion. He was too calm before leaving the van and while taking out the trash. He was definitely surprised, but I think he was pleased that he didn’t have to continue the business anymore. He was struggling with the decision about what to do with the business, but if he caused it to blow up it was accidental. T.J. has been known to be careless, but he is no arsonist. He is carefree, but he does have values.

I would like to see him be the best man at Brad and Toni’s wedding. He has always been there for Brad even if he has made mistakes. He has a place in the life of the strip as Brad’s loyal, carefree, but sometimes careless friend.

I don’t believe that TJ did this deliberately, but I believe that he’s going to be accused of it.

I think that his insurance claim will be approved, and he will use the money to start his own non-mobile restaurant with clients who will appreciate him. (Incidentally, I don’t know why he didn’t do this in the first place: I thought that he was rich enough to finance more than a food truck. Oh well.) In any case, I want a happy ending for TJ, and I definitely don’t want him gone from the strip. He’s sort of like Knute: he adds ‘comic’ relief when the more serious characters run the risk of becoming too serious. I don’t see why this latest episode would signal his dismissal.

I like TJ myself, and while it looks like he may have torched Cafe TJ on purpose, I’m hoping he didn’t. I’d like to see TJs role expanded. He’s Brad’s friend, after all, and you don’t just throw friends away. I mean, gosh, even that jerk Toni was involved with turned his life around. I’d like to see TJ get approved by the insurance company and start a new venture of some kind. Only because I’d hate to see him go. He needs to be best man at Brad and Toni’s wedding, and maybe even godfather to their first child. Did he do it on purpose? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe it was a subconscious act. Who knows? But I’d like to see TJ stay.

25 Years in PRISON for Insurance Fraud!

Hell, make it 30!!

Approved.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who is rooting for TJ! I can absolutely see him rocking Brad’s wedding as his best man, and I can also imagine him in many humorous situations as the godfather of a future child. I can also see him playing a big role in Shannon’s life, if Toni finds herself in custody of her niece on an increasingly frequent basis.

As for the fire, I admit that at first I thought that TJ got a sneaky plan in his head, but from what we saw of the situation, from him taking out the trash to his surprise, I definitely think it was just an accident that will hopefully turn out for the best for him. An act of Providence, as they say. Or it may very well have been a subconscious act. Either way, I don’t think he’s guilty, and I believe in his future :)

I doubt Greg penned two strip outcomes – that’s needless work and after this long in the business I doubt he is turning over the helm to the whim of his online fans. If he DID do that, he’s stuck coloring the unused one. There are some very interesting developments coming up. Enjoy the ride.

I vote for approved, but it should not be easy. As in many cases like this, he will be thought guilty until proven innocent, probably even by his friends. I don’t want to see him leave the strip. A best friend can’t be replaced by a wife and child, (as in Toni and Shannon). It is a totally different kind of relationship and in no way should have to be an either/or decision.

TJ was a useful character to draw Brad and Toni together, but I think he needs to slowly decrease in importance while more focus is put on Brad and Toni’s relationship. Maybe he can be (wrongfully) accused and go into hiding for a while, just reappearing occasionally??

Brad periodically visits TJ who is spending 3-5 years in jail for arson.

TJ will get into trouble, be accused, cause complication in the strip for Brad (and Toni), but will eventually be cleared and go back to be Brad’s smart-ass buddy. At least, that’s my guess; only Greg and Karen know for sure….

would be funny if TJ ends up eventually with either Tiff or Ann, he is not the type to be an owner of an eating place, but he looks like the type that would enjoy working in a cruise ship kitchen

is far more likely(if Greg goes according to vote) that there would be a long investigation and maybe trial before it goes according to vote, so Greg might have not done drawings of the outcome YET

Well. TJ will go,over there to… and he will look up at, and then go to, after doing this thing that, and then he will wave, and then put that thing over, and then be the best.

It seems pretty suspicious—he didn’t look at all unhappy when it happened. But that could just be because he sees a way out of his dilemma. I do think the insurance company will be suspicious and investigate him and involve the police. If TJ has any prior record (does he?) he’ll be suspected even more.

Interesting.

The vote is 4 to 3 in favor of TJ being honest.

TJ didn’t seem surprised when the truck blew. If it was a shock wouldn’t he have run over, or at least turned around immediately to see if any customers had walked up to it while he was taking out the trash? It seems he knew nobody was around (because he made sure of it before the explosion). I don’t know, but that’s what it seems like to me.

TJ did not set the explosion. After Brad and Toni get hitched and then have a baby, TJ can be the paid nanny so that Brad and Toni can both continue with their jobs.

his face was like “what was that???”, SPECIALLY when his hat flew up, and those who know “cartoon symbols” they know what a hat flying up means, this is from a magazine about cartoons……………. I confess myself somewhat at a loss to account for the origin of the surprise symbol which consists of the violent unsettling of the hat from its normal position on the top of the head Is it the cartoonist’s idea that the hair rises as forcibly as all that or is it that the start of astonishment is so cataclysmic as to cause all loosely attached portions of one’s habiliments inevitably to separate from one’s person A little of both I dare say Certainly when Mutt’s hat flies off there is always perpendicular hair visible beneath it Certainly however this is not the case with Baron Bean And the Baron is evidently so shocked that he not only loses his hat but his cigar holder

Right now, TJ is in the court of public opinion…and it’s still, surprisingly, 4:3 in his favor.

I don’t think TJ torched the Cafe on purpose, but because Brad ‘thinks’ it might have happened that way, he will have to investigate. In the course of his investigation, he will find what appears to be evidence and have to turn it in. TJ will be accused, he will have to disprove the accusation all the while being hurt that Brad would even consider his best friend capable of such an act. A falling out between the two will occur. When new evidence lets TJ off the hook, Brad will have to apologize.

That’s what I think will happen.

Jail. TJ is going to jail.

I don’t think the investigation will be conducted by Brad. The insurance company will have their own professional, and the fire department will also have experts with a lot more specialized training than Brad has. Neither of these parties is about to let TJ’s friend and roommate be the only one to investigate and write the official report.

There would also be a strong chance of someone besides Brad in the Fire Department remembering TJs little swindle with the catering service. Café TJ was even the same business name he used back then! There’s an old saying: “The burned hand teaches best”.

TJ has been shown as crooked in the past, but he’s not smart enough to fool an arson investigator. He may have out-maneuvered Ann Eiffel, but this isn’t at all the same thing.

There’s also the question of when exactly, did TJ take out the insurance policy, and has he been making the payments?

@horseygirl and Nermal M-Sorry, tried to use the ‘reply’ function, but it failed.-I really wouldn’t trust TJ with a baby’s safety….

So where are the voting buttons?-I vote that TJ is actually not guilty, but because of the ‘preponderance of circumstantial evidence’ (i.e., his financial problems and his constant complaining about same, AND his previous scamming of the fire fighters), he is actually charged with a crime.- This enables Mr. Evans to introduce a new character – a lawyer who successfully defends TJ (or at least gets charges reduced enough that TJ is ordered to provide public service charitable works, like cooking at a homeless shelter.)-AND the new character could attract Luann’s attention. Not only as a new boyfriend, but as someone who could inspire her with some different career directions….

what? wait….TJ leaving the strip? Say it ain’t so! What is all this about voting TJ has to stay…he’s part of the original cast. what’s going on??

The last panel of the first strip in the arc clearly shows TJ being surprised by the explosion; anything else is hand waving or reading through I-hate-TJ colored glasses.

Pushing the story in any other direction would make that last panel a cheat.

TJ will be found to be guilty only of being glad he was insured (aren’t YOU when an accident occurs?)Brad ‘s about to commit slander against TJ due to his unfounded “suspicions” about the food truck fire (he is in no way qualified to express an opinion on a fire’s origin), this will result in TJ moving out of the house they share (and consequently, out of the strip).In real life. TJ would have grounds to sue Brad and anyone else who joins in Brad ‘s loose talk.He could also sue the DeGroots for return of his security deposit on the house, plus any rent he’s already paid.

Whatever happens to TJ, please don’t make it be Brad’s call. In real life he could be excused from the investigation for being too close. In the world he lives in that is not necessarily the case.

I hope TJ didn’t do this, we like to suspect him, but he’s been innocent many times. Might make some bad decisions occasionally, but he’s got a good heart.

He can always use the money for another “real” restaurant, catering business (in fact he can cater the wedding). Please don’t write him out of the strip.