Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for February 05, 2013

Say what you will, but Shannon always seems to have a soft spot for Bwad!

How about that? The Monster Child has a heart after all!

If anyone ever gets her to straighten up and fly right, it will be Bwad.

Strange, it seems as if Brad can’t tell how much this little girl loves him

I’m disappointed in you Brad… this kid is starving for love, and you’re treating her as you would Luann….. Not to mention you might be her legal guardian soon

The people who need love the most are the ones who show it the least. That doesn’t make it any easier to love them, but it continues to be true.

Y’know, I really don’t like it, when a bit of the old Brad shows up!

or some sausage cards when you care enough to send the wurst…

Brad definitely needs to read a book about how to practice the theory of Positive Reinforcement. Shannon just needs to be handled with lots of TLC and with an effective reward system in place….and the reward doesn’t necessarily mean employing bribes of money. Even a smile from him at this moment would help Shannon trust him a little more and learn to respect his friendship.

Shannon is a little kid with a terrible home life, just be glad that she is as well behaved as she is. Would you like to go through life unwanted by your parents, and only tolerated by your aunt and almost-uncle? Brad almost looks mad when Shannon hugs him.

She would be better behaved if someone loved her enough to take care of her and discipline her. I get it, Toni and Brad are young and don’t want a rugrat yet. But maybe Toni should look for a real home for her with extended family members. There has to be some childless second cousins somewhere. Better send her to them while she’s still cute.

Okay seriously, how do I separate my paragraphs on GoComics? It never shows the extra lines I put in.

I still can’t stand that kid.

Thanks!

Time sequence is crucial here. In the last panel, Brad has not yet had time to react to Shannon’s surprise display of affection. I would hope, though, that he does respond positively, because if he doesn’t, he has a cold, cold heart….

Shannon’s right, they don’t come much stranger than Bwad.

Yes.

WAIT.There are FIVE kids that Shannon HATES and She Hasn’t TORN Them LIMB from LIMB, Yet???

I am Suddenly Much Less Impressed with THIS Kid…..,

I think this Valentine’s Day arc will end in a marriage proposal that Toni will facilitate.

There’s no such thing as quality time, just time and Bwad is giving his.

Um, I guess the ongoing psychoanalysis of Shannon, Brad, and the others is okay. But y’all do realize this is a comic strip, right? Right?

Yup. The packaging is never right.Back in the day, I might have noticed a couple or so that looked really nice, and I’d try to address each one to some girl that I thought was really nice.But it was second grade. You don’t go very far in second grade.Hmph. Valentine, shmalentine.

He was just anticipating a hard time. I’m sure the ol’ heart will begin melting in the next panel.

Never get too close to kids.

Let’s see if Shannon or T.J. gives one to Ann Eyefull.

Aww! That is so cute! Say, she gets along great with TJ…maybe she shold give him a few. Might be the only valentines he’ll get….

Aw. She loves Brad but we all already knew that. Brad loves her too. He just doesn’t know it yet. The angry face is just because he’s being cheap. Lighten up, Brad! Tomorrow’s strip should be wonderful.

Luann is getting ready to fly the coop. Maybe her mom and dad would look after Shannon?

the kid softens up !! :)@seyleigh – i guess that Brad’s irritated look is for when he says that he’ll buy 36 cards and not when shannon hugs him … one of the disadvantages of a comic strip limited by space

Brad’s frown is about buying the larger box of cards. I’ll wait for tomorrow’s reaction to judge him.

Aaaawwww!

Yeah – Maybe Shannon will blurt out that Toni is thinking of getting married… We need to get the story moving…

Well, at least I thought Shannon was sweet.

Remember Brad has already proposed (more than once) it just up to Toni to accept.

She is a sweet little kid after all!

How ’bout a little kindness, Bwad?

Brdshtt, what a true and hilarious observation! Yes, in panel 3, the child (Bwad) is reflecting what he has been shown by the adult (Shannon) in panel 1.*Great call!

Maybe we’ll see Brad melt tomorrow ;)

Shannon’s teacher appears to be doing a great job with even the troubled children in her class— teaching them that everyone, however unlovable, deserves love.*Now Shannon will need to sort through the valentines, carefully putting them in piles, running through her list of classmates, and deciding who gets what. *At least that’s what I did, did you? And the really cool kids always put a couple “chalk” hearts in the envelope too!

Give him a break! Brad just doesn’t like the idea of paying more for the larger box of valentine cards. He’s probably paying for them himself, and they’re not that cheap — at least I didn’t see any very cheap ones when I was at WalMart the other day.

Tomorrow he gives her a big hug. :-)

Brad is such a lucky guy

cute

Hero with interest.

Awww!

Wow the kid is actually human.

@Leviticus,

If RussHeim is a first time reader of these posts, it’s no surprise that he made that comment. Each time I see an impassioned expression of hatred from a poster toward one of the characters in this comic, I have the same question – do these guys realize that this isn’t real?

Brad’s frown isn’t his response to the hug. The hug is Shannon’s response to the frown. Just because two actions take place in the same panel doesn’t mean they happened at the same moment in time. If that doesn’t make sense to you, read this.

Yeah – She’s probably bright enough (and manipulative enough)…

To all the people who complain that people analyze the characters too much consider this. Stories are how humans understand their world. It’s a shared experience that has its roots in the ancient campfires of our ancestors and probably is largely responsible for our development of language and civilization.

Howabout Greg surprises us on Feb 14: A one-framer with Brad & Toni having a candlelight dinner – Brad with a big smile – Toni with bright light shining from a nice new ring…

Shannon is my Favorite little brat, she reminds Me of a girl I know..same haircut too.

Funny how in the US there is that belief that kids can’t know they are loved without being showered with ‘positive reinforcement’ and other positive signs (this is not a criticism, just a notice so please no tar and feathers). I would have said instead that Brad is acting like a father. He is taking her out, is annoyed by the quantity needed and discussing with her and accepting her good reason just like a real dad would. And she is responding to it.I’ll bet her father wouldn’t do any of it.

Brad is just being sarcastic, not uncaring. He volunteered to take Shannon shopping for valentines (didn’t need to do that), is presumably buying them with his own money, and solved her problem by getting the larger box.

I know Shannon has a rough life, but honestly, Toni does nothing to discipline her or teach her how to behave. Luann is the only one who did that. She needs love and positive reinforcement, yes, but she also needs discipline and a firm hand. That’s love, too.

Victorian Hate Valentines: Penny Awfuls. I knew they had a name. Carry on, please.

Brad would have to put on a moustache – and twirling it – go “Bwa Ha Ha…”

Life is not pleasant, sometimes.Happy Valentine’s day, little girl!All too soon, you’ll be grown up and will remember!Lean down, jerk, so she can hug you.

Better yet, pick her up and hug her.

Don’t be so tough on Brad. He’s learning … And it’s a tough position to be with a kid that isn’t yours in any sense. Parents have a hard enough time knowing the right thing to do all the time. I think he’s doing fine.

True that she also worried about her rootbeer, but, you CAN tell that she feels badly about it… even if it was only for a minute or two

I don’t think Shannon would be jealous of Toni’s relationship with Brad… TJ is her Bf (So she says), her feelings for Brad are Father-Daughter; it might sound far-fetched but, she barely sees her actual Daddy, and Brad is filling that role for her.

WB. Me and Lev don’t want to see Diane steal Brad from Toni, we just feel it would make a good story arc, if she TRIED

“If into the security recordings you go, only pain will you find.” … “Not if anything to say about it I have”

This kid responds to the slightest kindness from Brad..here’s hoping he sees that and works with it.

I’m suddenly trying to imagine Dirk interacting with Shannon. It’s good for a lot of characters that Toni got rid of him.

That would be the five kids who were short one valentine. Each gets one from every student. And yes, they would notice – they always count.

AWWWWW!!! X)

She’s a Cherub. ;) The horns hold up her halo sometimes though. :-D

If that statement doesn’t melt your heart, nothing will

They start at best and work their way down to thee then me.

If you wanted to get picked sooner, you should have gotten better. I just figured I kept the kid with the broken arm from being last. Therefor, my skill level helped him. That’s what I keep telling myself.

Awwwwwwww……

Awwwww

I want a valentine’s day present!

Awww! that was tender of Shannon.