Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for March 14, 2024

TJ is right, though.. You can’t go wrong with ACE DEGROOT. ;)

I’m still betting that the test will come out negative and that it’s a false alarm.

.

I’ve heard some people suggest that the baby could be from some other guy besides Brad. I think that’s highly unlikely. But, when she’s giving birth, if the baby comes out wearing sunglasses and has big biceps… well. hehe

I hope this story arc will continue.

The latest season if The Amazing Race has a team called “Firefighter Moms”

TJ calm down dude! Toni says she not ready yet, but until the test comes back we want know. But I think it will come back negative.

I’ve seen molasses move faster.

I don’t know why Brad wants to have kids. He shouldn’t be thinking about having them, anyway, considering that they can’t even discipline Shannon when she acts up. What makes Brad think he and Toni will make wonderful parents? Simply wanting them isn’t enough to be a good parent.

Urine trouble Toni!

Hoo-Hoooooooo!

Even the Grinning One wants Toni to have a kid!

Still “glad” you decided to “confide” in him about this instead of going straight to the bathroom, Toni?

Let’s see:

Brad wants to be a dad. Nancy and Frank wants to be grandparents. Luann wants to be an Aunt. And even the “Roommate Who shouldn’t be there” wants Toni to be a mom.

Everybody it seems but Toni.

But that’s okay. Ultimately it’s HER choice, like it or not. She’s not “ready.” I suspect she’ll NEVER be “ready.”

Heh.

NOW, I’m hoping that test turns out POSITIVE.

Just to SEE what happens NEXT.

A big help, TJ is! 8^ )

I hope the stick will be positive whether Toni is ready just to bring a new character to the strip and new story arcs away from the stale college drama.

In this weird day and age, a child that’s named Ace would be spelled as a symbol. On the other hand, Ace was one of Dr Who’s better companions. None better than Leela of course.

How about Ian DeGroot? Get it?

It will be fun watching TJ explain to Brad what’s going on with Toni….

Hoping she’s not preggers! Would either of them would quit their job to be carer? Or would they try to foist childcare off on TJ? TJ better be careful what he’s cheering for.

BTW, I miss the story arcs with Tiff, Steph, Gun, Bets, and of course, Ox…

When is Brad coming home? Next week? The week after??

TJ has great ideas for things somebody else should do.

It’s been a long time since this strip tackled a serious issue. Can the funnies handle family planning and abortion? I’d be disappointed by an unwanted pregnancy arc where those options aren’t even on the table.

Why does TJ’s hair look gray? How come we never see TJ with a girlfriend (or boyfriend)?

About 3 days ago I summarized a number of concerns that likely are contributing to Toni’s uneasiness about the possibility of pregnancy. Since a number of posters are still posing relevant questions, let me reiterate them. They include a possible change in her duties with the fire department as she withdraws from more dangerous life-threatening duties to something that would not place her child at risk of being orphaned as she and her brother Jonah were. For example, she might become a dispatcher or even an arson investigator rather than an active firefighter. Further, would she limit the period of her maternity leave, and return to non-hazardous duties, or would she extend it to engage in full-time mothering? How might this change the balance of her activities providing care to her niece Shannon; and would Jonah also spend more or less time with her care? Should Toni try to persuade Brad to also change his work duties or scheduling to accommodate his increased family responsibilities? What impact would any of these changes have on their family income and finances?

Now, considering how slowly time progresses in the Luanniverse relative to real time, we’re not likely to see any of this for years unless G&K decide to show some imagined futures in the same manner they showed the imaginations of Bets & Gunther, or Luann’s fictional skydive adventure. Indeed, the “what-ifs” for Brad & Toni plus a newborn could offer some real writing challenges for Luann and some opportunities to spend time with B&T to interview them and gather information about what they themselves might envision or worry about. It could be an excellent exercise in family planning even if Toni isn’t pregnant at all at this time.

TJ is one big stupid jerk.

A. Aron is cool for a boy.

Dearest Ann❤️Eiffel would suggest Houdini for the frisky tadpole that got out of the latex monkey wrapper. Wonder who the donor is? What? What’s this you lowly unworthies say? Moi? Our Be❤️ed Count? Child please… ummm… let The❤️Count rephrase that… Ummm… never mind. Mind your own lowly unworthy bees’ wax. The❤️Count digresses… this looks like a two week arc so let’s see how the cookie crumbles and how the sperm turns… TTFN, lowly unworthies. And Happy Pi Day… Count…OUT!

I’m not ready for Toni to be a mom either!

I hope she doesn’t live in Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, Utah, Arizona, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia or Florida. Women are not allow to make their own decisions there.

TJ, stay out this! This possible pregnancy is Brad and Toni’s situation and it doesn’t concern you!

What with Shannon, I thought she already was.

Ace? No, call him Brad after his father. Rather than Brad Jr. or Brad II, just call him Deuce.

Toni is about as ready as she’ll ever be, which in her mind is not ever…..but there are people around her, including TJ, who will help her be ready.

Whatever they name him, TJ can call him Ace. Cute nickname.

Negative test…But the result gets her “thinking”…..

TJ is right, Toni would be a very capable mother. She has already demonstrated this taking care of her brother when they were children and then with Shannon. But the feeling of insecurity doesn’t go away easily. If they’re already thinking about names, I think they should use those of Toni’s parents.

Also a cool girl name. Although, some people think TJ is something of an acehole.

She’s ready to be a mom; she just doesn’t want to be.

TJ’s right about one thing, Toni is already kind of a "mom’.

She takes care of Shannon, and looks after Brad and TJ who can both be rather infantile at times.

‘Ace DeGroot’ doesn’t have much of a ring to it. But ‘Ace Daytona’ sounds like a strip club.

She’s not completely clueless; she’s had a live-in niece for years.

Or Squirt

Pressure Much? Gads! TJ’s already getting dopey! Just think Toni – you would have two men waiting on you hand and foot, and when your baby came you would have two helpers instead of one, or none.

im more interested in what banjo cat is up to

Boy, this strip could be walking a fine line here, politically. Hopefully it’s not going to fizzle out like the last time with our now-departed “lesbian thespian.” Or worse: It pulls the “it was all a dream” cliche out of the dusty drawer. (In that case, at least let it be someone else’s dream, like T.J., who might secretly be worried that his days as resident cook may be numbered.)

That’s exactly what all women want to hear… they’re own instincts, desires, and feelings swept aside and to be told, by a man who shouldn’t even be up in her business, that it’ll be fine, go with it, don’t worry about this thing that will change you and your life forever.

Better than Che Root Degroot.

If it’s a girl I like Cheroot DeGroot.

Being pregnant and being a mom are not the same thing. Many pregnancies end naturally early on, often before a woman even knows she is pregnant. I lost twins at 20 weeks in my first pregnancy. I certainly did not think of myself as a mother until my daughter was born a year later.

it’ll be a false negative, then she’ll realize she’s ready, and then she’ll see her doctor

It looks like TJ will know the results before Brad does.

TJ should know when to make himself scarce. But then, he’s TJ…

I guess Ace is better than Deuce

At least story arcs with Brad & Toni seem to actually end…eventually…at soap opera pace. But at least they end.

This is way overthinking, but the more I think about it, I’d actually really like a pregnancy storyline and could see it being a pivotal and much-needed change for this comic. Those of us who grew up with it are in a far different stage of life compared to when we found random teenage drama funny. I just don’t see modern teenagers being into this strip, so why not grow it up a bit? I think it could be fun to explore pregnancy and how Shannon, Luann, and their parents deal with new roles in life. This strip has been lacking suspense or even a good milestone moment arc for years now…Gunther’s love life maybe barely counts. It needs new life and something more riveting than Luann’s dense self-absorption. If they’re not going to evolve Luann or explore Piro’s drama further, maybe this is where it needs to go.

“Let me pee in private!!”

Ace? C’mon TJ you can do better than that.

If she’s NOT preggers, and she’s been using protection, she better make an appointment with her Gyn. double quick.

So I take it this was an “accidental” pregnancy then? Because newsflash, there is no such thing as an “accidental” pregnancy; people go willy-nilly into sex knowing full well there can be consequences and complications, they just were too lazy or didn’t want to take precautionary measures to prevent said consequences and complications.

hmmmmmm

TJ, bro, much love for being there for Toni.

But, my dude, stop hanging around the bathroom door. It’s just super creepy.

She knows how to be a mom, she has to take care of her bratty little niece all the time!

I think we are going to have a special pregnancy edition of the comic strip where you can buy the story of the birth on the side and it will also be the only place where you can find out the gender of the baby and its name.

I’m bothered that TJ appears to be the 1st know Toni thinks she may be pregnant and not Brad.

Why do so many people call call Shannon a brat? MOST kids her age are hyperactive.

Turn around – and it’ll be too late. You have less time than you think.

Is he standing outside the bathroom? Of course!

TJ surprisingly is right. Brad and Toni are more like being Shannon’s parents than Jonah is.

Happy Pi Day!!

Thank you, G & K Evans, for bringing this issue to the forefront.

I called this a couple of days ago. An abortion themed story arc. Clear evidence of the impact of Evan’s daughter is having on the direction of the strip (which I applaud if indeed it head the way i think it is, albeit with an uncertain ending for sure)

TJ, don’t follow a woman to a bathroom. Toni don’t go announcing your potential pregnancy to the creepy guy who lives with you and your husband.

A very current topic. Maybe she is pregnant and decides not to have it? Maybe she has to travel out of state to end the pregnancy? Or maybe somnething else? Tune in tomorrow for another instalment of “As the 2 dimensional World rotates.”

Well, considering how often Shannon stays with her and Brad, I’d dare say Toni already is a mom.

TJ’s right. Toni’s already a great mom. She’s raising Shannon way more than her actual parents.

I think Brad would be a great stay-at-home dad.

Try Karl Theodor Marie Georg Achaz Eberhardt Joseph. Perhaps she was a member of the Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg family. Try Ancestry.com?

Tomorrow:" I knew I shouldn’t have had that asparagus for lunch!" :-/

She should have not told TJ first about the possibility of being PG. if her test is positive, he will know before Brad. That’s just not right.