Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for July 01, 2017

Careful Shannon, or they’ll start you on those ADHD meds.

The giraffe is taking notes….

But, Shannon, what do your aunt, uncle, and their roommate want to do? (Jonah – being a narcissist – sure raised himself a daughter to be a narcissist. “Narcissist” is the right words, right?)

Something tells me it going to be a loooooooong day for these two

At least Brad and Toni are learning what it will be like to be parents.

For some reason, supper and going to bed at the end of the day are not on her list.

Why do I sense a phone call to Luann coming up?

“Yeah, that sounds nice. And while you are doing that, Brad and I will be in our room. Don’t worry about any strange noises you hear.”

“You mean like when the nice ladies visit daddy?”

Well a 5 or 6 year old being with auntie and uncle and adult roomie, and does this mean her dad caters to her all the time so she is used to it? I doubt that very much, I think she is extremely needy because of neglect. How they are going to deal with this over their break, and possibly beyond is going to be an interesting ride.

And so, Shannon has grown into a sweet little girl, and should no longer be considered, by any measure, a brat?

I think that most sweet little first graders would be asking, “Aunt Toni, can we go to the zoo today?”

It seems that Shannon is still almost at her brat-wurst.

Poor Brad did not get much sleep on that couch, and I am sure he would have preferred to be drowsy because he had been busy in the bedroom with Toni; they could just go back to bed, but not now. It’s hard to read Toni, is she sleepy too, or thinking about the whole thing? I think sleepy. TJ is smiling, so he is the one ADULT who got a full night’s sleep.

Thank goodness she sees it that way now. When she grows she’ll learn it is nothing like that!

TJ is actually Klingon. In the blue bowl is a Klingon delicacy known as gagh, which is a type of worm that is prized by Klingons as a live food. The green “mommy” worm is watching her little ones in the bowl.

Noooooooo!! We have just hit bottom. From romantic romps to boring babysitting.

We can be pretty sure that Jonah doesn’t take time to do all this stuff with Shannon. However it’s my guess that Jonah told Shannon yes, Brad, Toni & TJ will. If so, Jonah goes down another notch in character. I remember as a sitter, Luann very sweetly set limits for Shannon right off the bat. Time for Luann to the rescue – for one day – after that, Brad & Toni can take Shannon to the park for a couple hours, then plunk her in front of the TV until she falls asleep. And yes – Shannon is not too young to learn the word “No.”

It looks like TJ is finally making a connection here, first comes love… then comes marriage…. then comes TJ moving out into his own place to avoid the baby carriage :)

Even the best of marriages have ended over less. They better tell Jonah NO and stick to it SOON!!!

No matter where this strip goes, there’s a steady chorus of dissatisfaction. The question of why so many of the dissatisfied continue to read it has been posed. Here’s a different tack… Suppose you got to write a Luann spinoff strip, who would be the focus? I’d love to see the adventures of Knute and Crystal in, oh, New York, maybe. Maybe one of her welded sculptures attracts patronage from a gallery owner there. Knute, seeing clearly for perhaps the first time how much she means to him, relocates to be near her. Maybe he struggles from job to job? Or maybe he finds a natural knack for selling art in the gallery? His vague understanding of art as it is presently constituted could pass for profound understanding, à la “Chauncey Gardner,” Peter Sellers simple (and perhaps intellectually impaired?) gardener who bumbles into success in big business and Washington politics. (The movie was “Being There.”)

Good thing they’re not on shift at the fire station… I hope…

And then, after lunch, we’ll REALLY get busy!

She is kind of commanding … or is she just used to that life when being there?

To quote W.C. Fields:“Go away kid, ya bother me.”“There’s not a man in America who at one time or another hasn’t had a secret desire to boot a child in the ass.”

You need to set limits or else you get a kid like her. ME, ME, ME. I WANT I WANT, I WANT.

I have asked this before, but where the heck is this kid’s mother???

Stream of consciousness is a strange thing. I think about Brad, potential problems in his marriage, which makes me think about Brad Pitt and the divorce from Angelina Jolie and about Melissa Etheridge and her song about divorce prompted by her conversation with Angelina Jolie. So I went from Brad to verse.

Yeah, I don’t think those two will be having their own kid………At least for a long while anyway.

then this afternoon

What? No “Water-Park,” Shannon?? And TJ, No Bacon?? What is “Breakfast” without Bacon?!!?

And, My GAW! No COFFEE for BRAD!!! Toni has COFFEE and Brad Doesn’t!!! This is an Outrage, OUTRAGE, I Tell You!!!

The Teddy bear peed on the table,and no one seems to care.

If I’ve had a theme song lately, it’s been “How Can You Think That About This Character When There’s No Support in the Text for That and Anyway, Do You Really Think That’s the Way The Evanses Mean for Us to Evaluate Them Because Otherwise, It’s Coming from You and Not the Story.” I’ve just been looking at luann.com and reading Greg Evans’ comments on his intentions for the characters, how he sees them, and by extension how he intends them to be seen. They are often at odds with how many here are seeing them. Here’s one relevant quote from Mr. Evans:“It’s fun to write the stuff between Shannon and Brad. He’ll be a good dad someday because he’s direct. He doesn’t coddle or bargain or put up with. He knows when to inform and when to distract. He knows when to bend and when not to. Most important, I think, he knows how to be playful. And Shannon is pure child. Full of wonder, full of questions, full of answers and, mostly, full of herself.” There’s lots more where that came from, and lots of what is posted here is exactly the opposite of what actually goes on in the strip. The abiding and growing love between Brad and Shannon during the run-up to Brad and Toni’s engagement and marriage is an example of what many don’t remember or never read in the first place. And this tidbit. There was some commentary recently about the fact that religion is never acknowledged in any way in this strip. I just re-read the story of Dirk’s transformation from a bad guy to a loving family man and father. He mentions anger management classes, yoga, even meditation as factors. But when he wants to give Nancy an abbreviated “this is how I got here” he simply pulls out the neck chain he wears under his shirt and shows her the cross he wears and says, “I’m a changed man.” Simple, and the more effective for it’s simplicity. This strip ain’t that hard to read. It ain’t brain surgery or rocket science. For that reason, many of the mis-readings seem intentionally perverse, willfully obtuse.

She has quite the day planned out.

This is the day they decided to go back to using birth control.

Aren’t they supposed to be giving her Ritalin intravenously?

Anything else and the entire strip might have been just one giant speech bubble.

Children sure do make a lot of plans for not being able to drive.

Calling Luann is a good idea. Also, sending Whatzizname a bill.

give her an iPad

’Bout time she learns the meaning of NO…

Shannon is in her glory, with folks who pay attention to her.

If Brad and Toni do get stuck with Shannon permanently, they’d better not have a baby, not for a good, long while. How do you think little miss ME! ME! ME! Shannon will react to not being the center of attention anymore, especially when she’s used to her Aunt Toni just being there to entertain her?

Ohhhhhhh! Shades of “The Bad Seed.” :D

Shannon loves life! A lesson for all of us: when you play, play with all you’ve got.

I think Brad & Toni need to have a serious talk to Jonah when he gets back.

Living birth control device?

Kudos to Greg and Karen for raising a real issue in life. I have no objection to lingering on their most intimate moments, but that is actually less critical and important than figuring out how to cope with this situation. They do at least understand that Jonah is the source of this difficulty, not Shannon. But “the serious talk” with Jonah must have real honesty about acceptable behavior for Jonah, while safeguarding Shannon as much as they can. I think a good start would be to ask Jonah for financial support and a rough timetable for auditions and gigs. (Here I am speaking from ignorance, because I know little of the life of an aspiring actor. But some actor-parents must get it right!)

And tomorrow we’re gonna make a human sized hamster wheel and hook it up to an electrical generator and let Shannon provide electrical power for the weekend.

These were the first signs that Shannon showed her special aptitude for her future career as wedding planner.

even the bear has his own cup!

Not even noon yet, and 177 comments (with this one) already!

I have the feeling that Shannon will be living with Brad and Toni on a permanent basis. Think of it….First they were talking about the problems with TJ (who I think has matured in the strip from being an “Eddie Haskel” type to someone who is trying to do his share in the upkeep of the house hold. If Brad and Toni did adopt Shannon, what will happen to TJ? One solution is that he may become a part-time nanny to Shannon. But he seems to have his own career to consider as probably a chef. And while I am sure Luann might help some…she also has her college studies to consider. Anyway, I can’t help but feel sorry for the child.

The only way Brad and Toni would be able to adopt Shannon without any repercussions later, is if both biological parents are completely out of the picture, as in DEAD. Even if a baby is adopted as a newborn, and 10 or 12 years down the road the biological mother decides she wants the kid back, well the courts have a nasty habit of ruling in favor of the bio mom. They don’t care that they’re tearing the kid away from the only life/family she or he has ever known. They’re reasoning is “the child is much better off with their biological parents,” even if those parents happen to be drug dealers/users, hookers, or criminals.

I’m not saying Jonah is that bad, and I don’t know anything about Shannon’s mom, but it would be just like Jonah to agree to the adoption, then a few month later change his mind, and a few months later change it back again.

Courts are incredibly myopic. They think that direct relations are somehow better than looking at them as personalities.

I think we’re about evenly split between those who feel that Shannon is this way because she’s “starved for affection and never gets these things” to “Jonah caters to her every whim”.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but these things seem mutually exclusive. Although, oddly, they both mean the writers hate her dad.

For all you comic experts and historians, what’s the deal with Tina’s Groove? Is the comic really coming to an end? I always thought it was a cute thing.

Shannon IS seeming a little more positive at least. Remember when she would always come inside and greet ‘Bwad’ with a frown?? She’s looking up to them [B&T (&TJ)] more and more. And YES – coming from someone who raised a young one – she’s pushing some limits here. She’s around 6, right? She’ll need some structure, but JONAH needs it more!

I don’t see how she gets to do any of these things or others with her father. This is all around unhealthy- for the child, the newlyweds, this marriage, this parenting and co-enabling situation. That it has gone on this long is both unsettling and no longer entertaining. Please- have we hit bottom yet?

Shannon the day planner.

Can anyone who is not already a parent put up with four straight days of this?

Has Shannon ever learned the meaning of “no”? Has Shannon ever heard “no” from her biological father, Jonah?

Maybe this is what they mean by “a teachable moment”….

tomorrow: Knute and Crystal go to the movies, but everyone watches them instead!

Tomorrow: Frank discovers he has male pattern baldness.

And Be sure to tune in Monday when:

Stranger – “Hey, Pal! Wanna make Yourself 50 bucks?”

Les – “Hell, Yeah! What do I have to do?”

Stranger – “Just hold this package for me! I gotta call my Mom. She’s in the Hospital. Just Stand on THAT corner and wear this pink carnation and hold this umbrella over your head. I’ll be right back with your Dough! Shouldn’t be more’n 10 minutes!”

Les – “It’s a DEAL! 10 Minutes! And Don’t Cross Me!”

(Five Minutes Later)

Stranger – “Okay, He’s got the package! Where’s My Money?”

Gunther – “Here You are. Fifty dollars as agreed. Now if You’ll excuse me.”

(“Hello Police? I’d like to report a crime. A young man is selling contraband on the corner of 3rd and Main. You can’t miss him. He’s wearing a Pink Carnation and Holding an Umbrella over his head. And He’s carrying a suspicious looking package. You can’t miss Him. He looks like a caricature of a Youthful EVIL Bob Hope! Oh, No PROBLEM! Just doing My duty as a Good Citizen!”)

Spoiler Alert: Taking it to extremes.

SPOILER TWO: An activity Shannon didn’t request, surprising from a fire fighter…

@WANTSCOMICSNOW: In each state, the rules differ about the time period given to biological parents to change their mind about an adoption. Our youngest sister was adopted in PA, and I believe the biological parents were given almost a year (and since the father’s whereabouts weren’t known, our parents had to pay for ads in a bunch of newspapers sold in cities where he had previously been known to work) But 10 or 12 years is very unlikely.

Hmmm … How about TJ take Daddy’s Little Monster out for the day and give the lovebirds the free time they need?

Spoiled rotten little snot! And, if they don’t do what she wants, she will lie on the floor kicking and screaming until they DO!!!! Can’t STAND this rotten kid!