Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for March 19, 2021

well, that went perfectly well

Wow. Who knew the extent of Luann’s manipulation skills??

Better than I expected.

It’s little Miss Sunshine where the light out of here the sun don’t shine.

And Tara makes…a full house!

Sorry. Just too unbelievable. Maybe reality (even for Luanniverse) will happen tomorrow! I’m hoping some of the comments will be interesting. 8^ (

I kind of thought this might happen. It would have been better for Luann to start out with her parents involved, would have avoided a lot of grief. But would have been a boring story.

Next, they will be offering Tara a job at the Fuse. This is all about the redemption of Tara.

I feel like this is the DeGroots going “this isn’t over, but she DOES need a place to stay where she can feel safe”. I feel like Luann is still gonna be punished, but that it’s gonna be peppered in future strips like “my parents confiscated my keys to the Fuse” or “my parents are making me pay for college this semester to understand the value of your investments” or just working AT the Fuse to let it sink in that it’s a business and not a second house/location she gets to play with. I’m all for consequences for irresponsible behavior, but this story line has already been pretty serious for “The Funnies” so I understand if it seems like there’s a rush to the next story.

Given Taras background, this may be her first run in with a positive family wxperience.

Well that was predictably painless.

Not unexpected however.

Awhile back, the DeGroots, allowed (against their better judgement) TJ to move into the Horner House rental. And he showed his appreciation by darn near burning the place down. And instead of them telling him to hit the road, they allowed him to stay under their roof while the rental was repaired. Not to mention that Old Smiley went against Frank instructions on several occasions and made modifications to to rental without permission.

Just saying that only time the DeGroots ever truly “put their foot down” is when walking to the mailbox.

Repercussions for Luann?

Never gonna happen.

A better question is: How long are Tara and Bernice going to live free of charge, under the DeGroot roof?

Because Pru sure as shootin’ DIDN’T.

So Luann has a talk with her parents about Tara and out of the kindness of there hearts they ask Tara to stay the night. There is something about this picture that is not right.

Luann’s parents are compassionate, but maybe a little too trusting.

I’m glad this happened. Some were acting like she was caught making meth in the Fuse after hours. She has a good heart and was trying to help someone in danger who was her friend. I’m sure by the body language there were some new rules laid down, but not the draw and quartering job a few were hoping for.

Well this didn’t turn out the way i expected. I expected Luann to be ordered to hand her key to the fuse over and possibly told to pack her bags. I guess Frank and nancy have very soft hearts and view Luann as a “kid” who’s also soft hearted——too soft hearted for her own good.

I think we all knew this was going to happen. Greg set us up that Frank and Nancy will FINALLY come down on her but instead they are the happy little family. This is fine for a comic strip but in real life it could lead to Luann making bad…even dangerous…life choices.

Safer in their home than at the Fuse!

Just as I have been predicting so far.

I wonder if we’ll ever find out what was actually said.

Off to the side as it should be.

Luann made her case and they deemed her actions worthy of extending and enhancing.

Not what many wanted. Not what Tara expected.

(Not what David expected, but David has little imagination.)

And Luann once again weasels out of any actual consequences for her actions, and fails to learn anything from the experience.

Disappointing, but not surprising.

“Tonight.” Betcha she ends up staying there long term. Well, looks like the ’rents had a stern talk with their wayward daughter. Looks like GnK decided not to bore us with the deets.

And does anyone else think they should take Tara to the hospital? She did get run over by a car and we all thought she was dead.

Luann should change her name to Houdini the way she got herself outta this predicament.

Frank seems really happy about it. Nancy better keep an eye on him tonight…

You know what? I’m truly impressed by Tara’s hardiness. She’s been bounced off a moving vehicle and yet the paramedics have not thought it necessary for her to go to the hospital for observation. Surely some x-rays and/or at least a concussion test would be in order. Maybe she has a promising future as a stuntperson when this matter blows over.

Hallelujah – Luann gets to be a hero. She’s a good kid and it’s her turn.

SURPRISE But what did Luann sacrifice?

One night stay for Tara. Maybe, Tara can take Luann to Utah?

Meh, I’m okay with this. Considering the Crazy Cousin literally tried to run Tara over and has a history of violence, the decision makes sense and the outcome is good.

However, where Luann is trouble is why she just didn’t tell her parents Tara needed a place and …but w Bernice’s past with her and Tara probably has a police record …finding another place quick would have been hard.

They were just unhappy about being left out of the loop. They don’t have any problem with attempting to help those in need.

She doesn’t see a happy outcome here? She was just rundown by a car, and her knee looks really bad! Could this evening get any worse?

Luann manages to pull it off!

Toxic levels of contrived… writers will celebrate this by having the characters eat more pie.

So if it was this easy to get Luann’s parents to let Tara stay with them…why didn’t Luann ask them to do that in the first place?? Her parents clearly bend over backwards to accommodate her every need. The truth is her parents should be saying this to Tara…" Lets get you to the hospital!! You may have internal injuries you can’t feel." She needs that way more than she needs a place to stay right now.

“And tonight ONLY!”

Remember! We still have one more day this week! What will happen? Will Tara say no? Will Bernice and Tara share a room? Will Luann get grounded?

We still don’t know the “secret” info..

NANCY AND FRANK ARE THE BEST♡! They talk with their daughter and can see her reasons. Tara is so surprised ♡. Maybe she never met people as good as the Degroots ♡. Her family could be all for heavy and unfair punishment. Poor Tara. Their smile is so welcoming and open and Luann is at the pinnacle of happiness. She’s the best friend you can desire♡.

Whelp, her expression on the 1st panel and last says it all. We’re all back in happy-land. She survived a major comet life-ending impact against her world. Which would surely ended all prehistoric life on her planet/world. Prediction: Tara avoids those raging worlds and goes back to her recently reclaimed world in tomorrows wrap up of this exciting series. :)

Called it.Honestly if the money wasn’t recovered and the robber had not be caught (and the girls had not played a part in stopping them both Tara’s willingness to get in the way and Burnie’s memorization of the plate) then they’d probably be angrier.

but let’s face it, they kinda have a reputation of being a safe harbor to friends (TJ, Pru, Bernie) as I predicted, they are more likely to be upset that Luann didn’t go to them FIRST so they could have done more for Tara’s safety and comfort.

May as well call the place the Dagroot boarding house. What will be the sleeping arrangement though? Do they have another room or will she have to share with Bernice?

A new fight starts next week over whether she doubles up with Luann or with Bernice.

The night is half over. It will be dawn before you know it.

What? After all Luann has done? Aren’t they gonna ground her? Send her to her room? Take away her video games?

Luann is not a Karma Chameleon, she’s a Karma Houdini. Or would that be Idiot Houdini?

It’s nice that the DeGroots recognize that some things are more important than other things.

Luann did something wrong but with good motivation, and all the lecturing and punishment in the world won’t change the fact that Tara was genuinely in need, and needs a place to stay for now.

Tara doesn’t deserve to be a homeless wanderer. She needs some stability and the chance to change her life. She could work part time at the Fuse, pay a little rent, go back to school and marry TJ.

Luann: I’m also grounded for two weeks… but what of that?

All I can say after yesterday is: Huh? (And wasn’t Tara supposed to go to Utah or something?)

I thought that Tara did not want to stay at the Degroot’s because she didn’t want anyone “getting in her business”.

I thought the problem with where she was staying was her cousin who is in custody. Why does she need a new place to stay?

Nevertheless……………….I forgot!

Yep, called it. No way would Luann’s parents kick Tara to the curb. ;-) The lesson Luann really needed is about trust and communication with the people you love. As in, trust your parents to understand why your friend needs help, and communicate with them to figure out the best way for you to help them.

And this being fiction, that is also of course the lesson for young readers.

Tara can help Bernice make breakfast in the morning!!

If something had happened to the Fuze and the insurance company found out that Tara was living there, that could have voided their policy.

See, I told you so. :)

Maybe Luann has a calling as a negotiator?

Frank and Nancy just want to be the ones to get the credit for inviting Tara to stay with them. They aren’t mad at Luann.

The lesson for Luann is to run it by the folks

The parents are probably more upset that Luann didn’t trust them enough to talk to them about Tara’s situation instead of having her sleep at the Fuse. They feel left out of things Luann should have felt comfortable sharing with them. They don’t seem angry about Luann doing dumb, risky things.

I like the private discussion with Luann and her parents. We know the DeGroots are caring as they invited Bernice to stay with them. This takes care of one night’s accommodations. Don’t know which roomie gets to share or if it’s the couch. Maybe tomorrow or later there will be more discussion on Tara’s situation and a solution or maybe not. Bernice’s temporary living arrangements seems to be ongoing.

So, did EMS ever arrive? Bernice didn’t call them off. If they suspected Tara had been hit by a vehicle, they probably would have called the police to investigate.

That is the last thing I expected.

It’s magic!

Did Luann actually convince the parental units that they should let Tara stay (at least overnight—but I suspect her stay at DeGroot House may drag out longer)?

At one point Frank was exceedingly pleased to have a “second daughter” in Bernice. Sweet, compliant, helpful Bernice.

I wonder how he’ll react to a rebellious, wild child “daughter?” I wonder how Bernice will accept this second threat her Bff-dom and another percieved rival for the affections of Jacques the Merman?

“Well, Tara… you can spend the night at our house because you’re cute and have supple lips!”

It sounds like they have come to an agreement. They probably went over the consequences that already took place, followed by why didn’t you let us know your friend was having problems? We would have been happy to help. No punishment needed. Luann is old enough to comprehend what happened. That is how adult children should be treated. An adult discussion concluding with an adult agreement. Too many people here haven’t had to deal with adult children. I think Luann is trustworthy enough and reasonable enough that she doesn’t need to be punished as if she was still in highschool.

One things for sure….. Luann has her parents completely whipped. She can do whatever she wants, and her parents will just roll over and take it…

I try to remind myself at times that these stories are drawn as far as months in advance and the story lines are decided even longer. So as Greg lays out the strips, only he knows where the story is going and each strip is just one flash look the whole thing.

But sometimes I wish his “flashes” advanced the story a bit more. Patience is not one of my stellar qualities. sigh

So the perplexing part to me was Tara led her cousin there, the Fuse lost money, but because Tara was hurt and needed help that part never came up in conversation? Def a comic scenario!

So sweet….

Oh gross! I think I was right, Luann won’t get told off. I don’t think there’ll be enough panel space for that tomorrow, and I don’t think it will be brought up next week. Yeah, I don’t think Luann’s life will change at all. The only thing that has changed is Tara’s pants, because they were torn.

Ok. In the end, the DeGroot’s are raising their kids to be selfless instead of selfish. Which is a major component of the comic strip. In addition, Luann, even if she did not execute it with proper adult like fashion, in the end was trying to do good for someone else. The immaturity factor is how she went about doing it. The logical thing would have been to let Tara into the house, via the front door, way back at the start of the story arch and inform her parents of what’s going on and ask them for their advice. The follow up story arch will be with Bern and Jack.

I love how Frank and Nancy are, they do make excellent parents, imo.

It’s funny how Tara initially didn’t want this, (because Bernice) choosing the supply closet. And now she’s getting this anyway, so she’s back to square one. Oops, looks like you never had to get hit by a car! And, looks like you never got hit by a car!

Tara undermisestimated the DeGroots generosity.

Good on Frank and Nancy to temper discipline with mercy.

Ok wait… So Tara gets hit by a car, and doesn’t go to the hospital?

The Degroots are not punishing Tara. Tara is a victim of Luann’s misguided use of logic and rational thought. Luann wanted to feel like a rebel, and go against common sense. Laws of probability favor the house (Luann).

The DeGroots are good parents.

But then, Luann’s whole life has been a load of woe. She was raised by Frank DeGroot, the absentee J@ck@$$!

Ah jeez…really? So, Luann hasn’t learned a darn thing out of all this. Nancy and Frank, yeah, they’re good people, but Tara HAS a place to stay. Stella was arrested, so she’s not in danger. So, why have her move in with you? Just watch…they’re going to offer Tara a job at the Fuse, and everything will come up roses. Not like real life, at all. But then, this IS a comic strip and NOT real life. I guess if we wanted “real life,” we’d read the police blotter in the local rag.

Now that Tara will be staying with the DeGroots, whose bedroom is she going sleep in?

Wow! 427 comments! Is it a record for any comic?

I think we all saw this coming. Predictable yet heart warming

Has anyone noticed that the “DeGroot Family” and the “DeBolt Family” sound so familiar? Coincidence? I think not!!!