Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for June 21, 2011

TJ will have his own farfetched ideas which somehow will, against all logic, common sense and laws of physics, save the day. Depend on it.On another note, just as I predicted, Evans has dropped the political angle like a hot potato. Nobody’s going “Oh how unfair this is. Let’s go to the union, or protest at the injustice being done to essential services.”

Aww..can’t he have like, one month’s grace on the house? He might be able to find a job quickly..he’s a hard worker and I bet he’ll get a good reference. (oh yeah, lousy job market, I forgot..grrrr.)

How many bathrooms in Frank and Nancy’s house?

Frank and Nancy aren’t rich. I’m sure that, like most people, they took out a loan to buy that house. With no rent coming in, they probably can’t make the mortgage payments.And if Greg wanted to get super realistic, it could come up that in today’s market, they can’t sell it, cos they owe more than they could get.A steady tenant is the only hope for a LOT of people who bought California investment property.It doesn’t mean they don’t care about Brad – they’re offering him room in their own house.

Offering him room in their house will offer Evans opportunity for more walking-in-on-Nancy gags and back porch heart-to-heart talks with TJ. In other words, slapstick “humour”.

B the B — true, but the strip’s popularity was built on the juxtaposition of silly humor and teen angst. Perhaps to lighten the seriousness of the current job loss and budding adult relationships arcs, it’ll simultaneously take a nostalgic side trip into its roots.

(Going “political” here for a one-liner…)

I DON’T think THIS was the “Change” that we were promised in 2008!

Isn’t TJ wealthy? Don’t you think he could come up with the total rent ’til Brad gets back on his feet or the department re-hires him?

Well as long as she is kicking Brad out of his home, I guess that where he moves is up to him. Obviously, Nancy is expecting Brad to be unemployed for a long time. Otherwise, she would not bother to find a short term renter to take his place.

And since when does a captain do the firing or laying off at the FD? In 16 years as such, I never did it. That’s the chief’s job, but the decision to do it usually comes from even higher up.

Wait, Wait, WAIT! Does ANYONE other Nancy have a Say-So in this House? Why does Brad have to move in with his parents? Remember, Toni once offered Brad the chance to stay with her. Why does TJ have to move? He at least STILL has his “invisible” means of support. In FACT, WHY does Brad have to move at all? I mean, he’ll be staying at his parents for free, so why can’t he stay at the Horner House for free til get he, no doubt, gets that stupid job at Weenie World?(Sigh) This is getting TOO much! I NEED Coffee…..,

Brad moves back home; TJ takes off for Argentina to find his long-lost family; Toni dumps Brad for the garbage man, who returns to rent the Horner House…. We all send hate mail to Greg Evans.

Hey, if both Brad and TJ end up moving into Casa DeGroot, at least TJ can keep them well-fed! :-) Or maybe moving in with Toni is an option….

thanks Doctor Toon for saying what I was thinking………only much more eloquently.

Instead of letting Brad and TJ move in with them, let them stay at the rental house rent free. If they move out, it will be empty and the DeGroots will still be paying taxes on it. At least with Brad and TJ living there, it will be kept up and occupied.

and, the beat goes on, and the beat goes on…..drums keep-a poundin’ a rhythm to the brainnnnn….la dee dah dee deela dee dah dee dah

Didn’t Brad put ANY money away? Doesn’t he have enough for 2 months rent saved up? What about the next town over? Maybe they’re hiring firefighters. How about the nearest ‘big city’ … they might be looking. Also, I didn’t think they lived in CA.

Maybe Brad and TJ will both move in with Toni. I would rather see “walk-in” humor with her than Nancy…uhn, because that would be, uhn… funnier? Okay, Toni’s just a babe. That’s why!

Ah! Today’s comic clarifies VERY WELL the situation that I was confused about yesterday. Namely… the DeGroots OWN the house that Brad and TJ were renting. Now it makes sense that she was asking about rent. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ With the ownership of the house in the DeGroot family, it NOW is very logical that Nancy wondered about Brad paying her rent. AND, it is equally logical and right for her to allow Brad to move home (for free) until he gets back on his feet. Nancy’s willingness to have TJ move in as well is EXTREMELY kind and unexpected. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Now the new issues that come to mind include: 1) Is it likely that the family will be able to find new renters? 2) With Brad being laid-off, I suspect he will have unemployment for several months so he probably could wait to move for a few months to see if he can scout out another position somewhere. 3) Having Brad (and potentially TJ) in the family house could be very fun for the comedy potential of the strip. 4) With this story arc that will also likely include Toni more and more… the potential is also there for Dirk’s return in some form… which would be entertaining… Greg’s latest portrayal of Dirk as a more complex character who actually was not ALL bad was very skillful and enjoyable. I suspect Greg could make some really good story lines with the group again.

Maybe a lot of these people are frustrated editorial cartoonists.

I have my own ideas as to who might save the day and how, and nobody’s mentioned them yet. But since said ideas would bring down even more wrath from some people than the current story line, I’m going to wait and see if Mr. Evans dares to follow my ideas independently.

PLEASE make sure Dad is sitting down before breaking the news to him.

They’re going to have a hard time finding a new tenant, because it won’t be long before no-one has enough money to afford rent.

If you’re referring to me, you have no idea what I am talking about. In any case I’m not an American so your politics is, at the most, a source of amusement and entertainment to me.

i was hoping that doc toon’s excellent post would save us from irrelevant and inane ideological grandstanding — but no. anyway i would like to correct the misconception that the “last hired first fired” policy is a union thing — it is used commonly (and extensively) in the corporate world, union and non-union alike. i know this from personal experience working in union and non-union shops.

wait – this is stupid. Why does he need to move in with the parents who own the house that he’s renting? Mortgage babble, blah blah. T.J. still has $$$ and the ‘rents have jobs. Also, Brad qualifies for unemployment. And, unless he’s still a total dweebork, he has savings. So why does he need to move back into the house, which doesn’t have room for all them anyway? Absurd. I’ve lost jobs and NEVER had to move in with mommy and daddy. A baby like that, Toni shouldn’t be with to start with.

I agree with you; there’s not political about the current story line and it annoys me when unions gets brought up since they’ve been doing more harm than good lately.

The family will cope. Brad will get a new job. I’m glad he shared with his family immediately. He may be more reluctant to tell Toni.@ DoctorToon- I didn’t read all the comments, but based on past experience I think you nailed it.

We will see how this goes. Up to Mr Evans. He has never promised a Blondie-type, gag-a-day strip. Sundays are bad enough for that. == He does deal with issues. == My only hope is that we don’t have countless talking-it-out strips with nothing happening. I fear some of this, next with T.J., then Luann and Bernice, then Toni. Could go on for weeks.

I’ve only been reading this strip for a couple of years so I don’t have the background like most of you do. Everybody has an opinion on this situation, but I am actually interested to see how it’s handled when all is said and done. From what I’ve observed, Mom runs the show and calls the shots, Dad is just panel dressing. Brad, although likable and honest is also beyond naive. Will this be the scenario when Brad is forced to cut the apron strings with Mom? It should be, but I have my doubts….

Just wait a bit … Toni will solve the riddle. Of course, the answer may not sit well with Nancy. But isn’t that what makes this fun?

Some have mentioned Dirk. I think he left town.Luann’s room – she has her own room. She and Quill were using Brad’s old room for their recording sessions.

Im so glad to these message boards back again,I so missed them when comics.com got rid of them.Now to the strip. Why would Brad have to move home so fast.Im sure he has at least one more paycheck coming and by then he would also get unemployment.I wonder if Brad could be moved to Toni’s station. This is so awful when Toni just told Brad that it was great that he had a steady job.

I was in the old forum as bbwadmirer.Is Sheriff Mordecia still here?

No TJ did that.

Brad’s room is the “recording studio” for Lu and Quill. She hasn’t moved into Brad’s room.

@Dave == If it leads to Brad moving in with Toni, we will have to learn of Nancy’s attitude now. == Male ego might make that hard for Brad. Thus Toni might move in with both Brad and TJ there. We can cast TJ as the chaperon, boggles the mind.

Is he allowed to wear that uniform now?

Eureka! Toni gets laid off too. She’ll end up bunking with Luann. Boy, wouldn’t that make for interesting times!

How about Toni being laid off and moving in with the DeGroots. She could bunk with LuAnn.

Huh. Calling someone a troll when they’ve done nothing to earn that title, while you yourself say trollish things? Hypocrite much?As for the strip, why wasn’t the father involved before the decision was made about inviting TJ to move in? That’s a recipe for disaster. Oh, that’s right— in the entertainment industry, dads aren’t important characters, they’re just comic relief.

Great idea Nancy – let’s turn everybodys lives upside-down for a period of unemployment that may last no more than a week or two. Lets move Luann back to the little room, move Brad back into his room, TJ to the sofa. Lets pack up all the furniture and other belongings in the Horner house and put them into rental storage. And for the finally, find a renter that doesnt mind being asked to leave on a moments notice when Brad starts working again.How much rent is Brad paying anyway? He can’t cover it with unemployment ins?

‘Your world’s been rocked, Dad.’ Love that answer by Luann!!!

Hey – wouldn’t it be a riot if Dirk was a person that wanted to rent the space? After all – he has a job.

Any bets on whether Toni goes to the chief/captain and insists that they bring Brad back in her place, and she moves in with Brad, perhaps even getting engaged?

Or am I just being a romantic? ;-)

hi

Good grief, wait a day or two before jumping ship, Brad. He’ll probably get to collect some unemployment, and he can find something else to tide him over. With TJ paying half the rent, he should be fine.