Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for April 15, 2013

Who CARES what “Mrs. BAD Advice” Thinks? Here Brad. Let Me GIVE You My X-Acto Knife to FINALLY the umbilical between You and Meddlesome Mom.

Frank on the other hand will be fine with the Wedding, right until it slowly DAWNS on Him that since Toni’s Folks are both Dead, that HE will have to PAY for the Whole Thing.

And he’s modest too

That’s Tom Batiuk territory. Greg knows not to cross that line.

Since Brad and Toni are mature, responsible adults coping well with dangerous jobs, I’m sure Mom and Dad will view them both as mature enough for marriage. As for Dad having to pay for the wedding, I strongly suspect that Toni has saved enough to handle her share of the costs. She makes good money I’m sure and is quite diligent at saving,too. Any parents would be proud to have these two as a married couple.

My mother never got to meet her future mother-in-law; Grandmother died when her son was still in college before he met his bride. The future wives of my brother and me will never meet Mom either; she died a few days after my brother’s return home from his LDS mission and I was still on mine.

Toni looks rather nervous here, but, with good reason, I suppose.

I will admit I thought the same thing, But…No,No,No,NO!!! Luann can’t go all dark like that. PLEASE GREG DON’T GO DOWN THAT ROUTE, STAY AWAY FROM THE DARK SIDE! Luann can talk to Toni about stuff that she can’t discuss with her Mom, someone LIKE a “Big Sister”, but more.

We had to wait an extra week for this, I hope it’s as funny as I’ve imagined it.

His confidence has certainly grown

Hey Brad is handling it. If they have a kid – Mom will be on board totally…

I’m loving the uptempo, cheerful strips in the last couple of weeks! Makes you kinda wonder about the future.

Brad appears to be smarter than some of the commenters.

His behaviour is not ‘cocky’, it is a sign that he understands his parents’ point of view. When he says ’you’re the luckiest girl in the world’, he says what his parents think.

Does he think so himself? No, I don’t buy that. It would also be inconsistent with his more recent behaviour.

It’ll be alright Toni. Remember you’re trained to remain calm in high stress environments..@Donny Wallace:

???

I bet Brad’s mom grabs Toni in a big hug as soon a she hears the news.

Butterfly time, Toni. I think they’re lucky to get her. Holdon, Toni. I suspect Nancy may know or suspect already,down in her Mother’s heart.Let’s hope this goes well.

WHAT WILL BE NANCY’S REACTION??? (Vote if you like)Vclick on thumbnail to enlarge

…and now, for twist number tweeeeew…….

I have always felt that Nancy’s problem was that she thought Toni was too good-looking and would break Brad’s heart by dumping him for a better-looking guy. Toni’s choice in her first boyfriend didn’t help.

Now that Toni and Brad have become engaged, that is a little less worrisome. She invited them both over to Easter dinner, remember? Toni had to work, but still the gesture was unmistakable.

Plus the fact that I have a hard time believing Nancy Degroot would not want to be part of her only son’s wedding. What, she’s going to leave all the fun to Luann? Not on your life.

Hi, mom, dad? Yeah, Toni just proposed to me! Ugh. Traditions out the window.

If Brad and Toni’s idea is to “tell” them, I hope she isn’t wearing the engagement ring they bought yesterday because either Luann or Nancy or both are going to notice right off.

Females have a knack for that sort of thing.

Oo, saves lives and is a good salesmen.Brad is the total package.

I AM GOING TO STOP READING THESE COMMENTS. They remind me so much of my grandmother and her friends discussing the “Guiding Light” and “As the World Turns.”

Of course, nothing says that they actually bought the rings yesterday. They may have just been shopping and checking out the prices. Or if they did buy them yesterday, it’s quite likely that they need to be sized.

The bottom line is that it is not a sure bet that they have the rings just yet.

I have to enjoy the way time and life in Luanniverse flows. In real life Brad, Toni, and Shannon would have spent plenty of time at “Mom’s” and get to know each other well. We all speculate what these characters do off-strip, as if they could! Like Brad and Toni’s love life. If their relationship with mom and dad hasn’t progressed then I guess nothing much happens off-strip.

Can’t wait till tomorrow.This strip has seriously been reinvigorated.

But the fact is………………. he’s right.

I like the way you put that, Brad!

The one thing I learned from my ex Mother-In-Law, was how NOT to treat a future Child-In-Law.

In case it hasn’t been said: “Let’s get ready to rrrrrruummmmbbblleleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

A rhetorical question: Where is it written that weddings HAVE to cost a lot of money? I understand a lot of brides want to make a big splash because it’s their version of a debutante’s ball (the groom is just an accessory), but they don’t have to put you into Chapter 7.

When my wife and I got married, we did it at center ice before a hockey game. A thousand people were there, plus we got a BIG picture in the local paper (that AP picked up and sent to papers elsewhere), so we got some notoriety out of it. We paid maybe $500 for our wedding, including the reception, and nobody’s forgotten it.

If you’re creative enough, you can put together a wedding people will remember without having to burn through money like Presto logs. Like funerals, weddings can be an overpriced racket.

“Son do you two HAVE to get MARRIED?”

To which I would have responded if I were Brad:

“To a BEAUTIFUL Babe like THAT?!? Of COURSE We HAVE to Get Married! Grand-Paw!!!”

And after Frank wakes up:

“Wow! Are YOU alright Dad?!? I was Just Kidding! Say, Toni and I need to borrow $10,000 for the wedding arrangeme….er Dad? DAD!!”

And it would be even MORE Fun to do THIS to Nancy…..,

I am still holding out that either Luann or Nancy will already realize what’s happening without either Toni or Brad saying a word. It’s a female trait Greg has alluded to more than once.

The problem Nancy had with Toni was that she thought Toni would never commit to Brad and would end up breaking his heart. This new development should put a lid on those concerns quite nicely.

" It’s like you are avoiding it because itdisproves your point…"

No. It’s because YOU are the one trying to prove the point. The burden is on YOU to prove it, not me. The least you could do is post the date of the strip you are alluding to.

One could also say that you are avoiding posting it because you know how weak it is… .

My sons would like to know what hair product Brad is using to grow more hair!

Hate to be mean, but can Donny PLEASE shut the hell up????

Donny,

Let me put it another way,

I spent more than two hours yesterday combing the archives for the past ten and a half years looking for the fifteen strips that made up yesterday’s collage. And that was because I recognized nearly all of the panels and had a good idea where each one was.

I have no idea where the strip you are alluding to is. In all my searching yesteday, I did not come across it. Since you have referred to it at least once that I’ve seen, I am fairly certain that I would have noted it if I saw it. Which I didn’t.

I have no desire to go hunting for a strip that may or may not exist that apparently nobody but you remembers.

So if you wish to go searching for it, be my guest. I will be most interested in it when you find it. I’ll even post it if you do not know how. I just need the date.

Donny,

Let me put it even more succinctly:

Donny, I am getting friction burns on my index finger scrolling past your filibusters.

“PM: I remember the strip also…”

Okay, fine. Date please.

Dave53,

You know, as soon as I told Donny that it seems nobody but him remembered that strip, I just knew somebody else would.:-)

Thanks Dave. That was fast. What year was that, BTW?

Donny, is that the strip you’ve been citing as “proof” that Toni and Brad have been doing it?

Thanks

You see Donny, we’ve had enough. Looking over the sheer number of incoherent submissions you’ve posted has led us to perceive you as a 15 year boy who’s on and off some pretty serious meds.

Donnie,you can troll me all you like. I’m not going to shoot back, I’m just going to let you tire and move on. There’s been an emergence of good advice for you lately, so we’d ask you to consider it and STFU. Thanks in advance friend.

Dave,

You’re right. It is far from “unambiguous”. It kinda hints at it, to be sure, but there really isn’t much to hang your hat on.

Now the 2/2/13 shower strip, that one came close to being unambiguous, but it still came up short in my opinion.

“Oct 20th of 2012”

Ah yes, the close of the 10/8/12 – 10/20/12 arc. Brad wants to spend time with Toni, but Toni is taking care of Shannon. Toni asks Luann to take her for a couple of hours and Luann agrees.

Shannon is a handful. She talks to Luann about her bra and “boobies”. She spills rootbeer on Puddles. It ends with the above strip.

The main thing I got out of it was the relationship between Toni and Luann. They are like sisters now.

When are we going to meet Toni’s family? I don’t believe I’ve ever even heard her brothers name mentioned. Something smells about this.

It seems to me we were told they had died.

She’s about to make a huge mistake marrying that manchild.

I believe that, after reading some comments, that Dr. Sheldon Cooper is not the only person that misses sarcasm.

Runsforson,

Toni’s brother is named Joshua and he is supposed to look like Brad Pit.(Starting 6/12/2003):

Jonah.

And this one from 6/19/2003. It’s memorable because this is the first time we meet Dirk.

Brad’s in uniform. Toni Isn’t. As soon as the announcement is made he’ll get called out and Toni will be stuck with his folks in an awkward silence.

Toni needs to worryIts the Husband"s mother who cause troubleMy mother rejected my wife

Brad may be joking about how to treat the parents, but he’s right. Toni is lucky. She was headed down an unfortunate road. I don’t know where the relationship with Dirk would have gone if Brad had not brought out the worst in him. It might have ended up with her married to a man who treated her as, in his own words, property. It might have slowly escalated until he got violent with her. He might have dumped her for someone younger and prettier, leaving her doubting her worth. Instead Brad came along and caused things to escalate without her getting hurt, letting her choose to be the one to walk away. At the same time Brad showed her that she could be respected and valued for her mind. He showed her that love could be fun and caring. Meanwhile he grew up to be a good looking guy, without all the baggage that comes from a guy being obsessed with his own looks.

It is actually completely insulting of Nancy to behave as though her son is unworthy of a beautiful woman.

Not true, but lets pretend for the parents sake!

I musta missed the “shower” scene. What is this shower incident that everyone keeps talking about?

where does brad work at again?

Here is another great Toni/Luann strip. This was only last month. It sets up Toni meeting Domesticated Dirk, and is what most people remember from that arc. But I think this first strip gives us a great insight into the relationship between Toni and Luann.

Again, no money is mentioned.

This is going to be good!

I thought I recalled a strip prior to the friendly favor type babysitting where Brad offered her an hourly rate. When Luann found out who she was sitting she wanted twice Brad’s offer – or a strip akin to that. That’s where I thought the relationship changed.

Another interesting thing about the “Domesticated Dirk” story arc is that of its six days, only two had Dirk in them. The rest was Toni talking to Luann about it. So two thirds of a major, major Toni arc involved her interaction with Luann. Not Brad. Not Dirk. Luann.

“♫Sisters, Sisters;There were never such devoted Sisters!”

My m-in-l tried to always come between people so they’d only love her. When she got old and needed care in a home, I suddenly became her angel when we’d visit her. She’d light up as soon as she saw me. Funny how life is.

Holy crap! All this over a CARTOON?!!!! Do any of you have a life and a job?

Why assume that either one of this pair has lost his or her virginity? I don’t. It would be easy enough to hint, if that were Greg’s intent.I don’t know what astounds me more: that the assumption is made at all or that it’s made so easily by so many of this generation. You impatient people who have sex before marriage aren’t as numerous as you might think – not yet.

Never mind hints… their whole relationship as portrayed would’ve been completely different had sex been thrown into it before now. Been there, almost done that. Even a close brush changes the relationship profoundly and I don’t want to make that mistake again.

Their relationship is exactly as consistent with couples who have sex as it is with couples who don’t.

I’m not so bothered by people like Leviticus who do it because it entertains them, or people who do it because that is the way they enjoy the story more. But I get annoyed by people who insist that they are virgins because of some judgmental perceived moral superiority. Don’t project your hang ups on the rest of us, or our comics.

Donny, I’m 51 yrs old, have been single all my life… if I were ever to marry now, it would signal the end of the World as we know it XD

I’m thinking Mom’s reaction is a combination of Congratualtions, and My Baby’s Getting Married.

they will never get married in this comic era

There was no shower scene. People might post a date where in panel one Toni and Brad are sitting on a couch covered in makeup, and in panel three the couch is empty. They consider that a shower scene.^^How convenient of you to eliminate the dialogue in that strip…. TJ suggests they take a shower together and suddenly, he’s all alone in the room; the way you put it makes it sound like the idea of them showering together was never even mentioned

@DANAPAULUS Holy crap! All this over a CARTOON?!!!! Do any of you have a life and a job?^^And don’t you have anything better to do than put us down for doing something we enjoy? As for our lives and jobs, that is our business/choice

Apropos to nothing else being said, I notice in these older strips that Toni’s hair used to be the same strawberry blond as Luann’s, but more recently has become a lighter blond.

Thanks again, PMark, for the work you did to put up these strips for us.

So you stand by your assertion that either one of them would have been seen outside with that silly makeup on?

For what it is worth, I’m on Leviticus’s team. I don’t think they are doing it, either. It’s just not Evan’s style to be so ambiguous about such things.

However, yes or no it about to become moot. If Tony moves in with Brad, then it is “yes they are”. If she doesn’t, then it is “no they aren’t”.

So enjoy the arguing while you can. It’s about to end real soon.

Sara and Levi,

I think you are both right. Luann isn’t about to charge babysitting for emergencies, especially for someone like Tony whom she looks upon as practically a sister. But for a normal, run-of-the-mill date like going to the fair, that is a different matter.

Luann is not one who can be taken advantage of easily, and Toni is not the sort to take advantage of Luann.

That is typical of the relationship between siblings. My two aunts were bitterly jealous of each other growing up. They are now the best of friends, but still say shockingly cruel things that no one would ever dream of saying to a stranger, just because part of them will always be the jealous children they once were.

Dave,

Now who is grasping at straws?

It now occurs to me that an opportunity was wasted there. While they were tearing stuff apart they might have found Mrs. Horner’s secret treasure.

Sara,

Luann has her first period. Greg is very circumspect, yet there is no question as to exactly what is going on. None whatsoever.

Luann is about to do it with Quill. Greg is very circumspect, yet there is no question as to exactly what is going on. None whatsoever.

Greg is always very circumspect, but he always leaves no question whatsoever about what is going on. It is his style. There is always something definite that points to what is really going on. TJ mentioning the need for a shower, and Toni and Brad leaving in the next frame is not definite. Sorry. No way.

Suggestive? Absolutely. Definite? No.

Now we have Dave53, who is usually quite level-headed, and whose opinion I respect, claiming that even if Greg doesn’t say or show anything definite, the fact that you can stand on one foot, bark like a dog, and squint through one eye and then you can convince yourself that they are doing it? I call that “grasping at straws”.

It simply is not Greg’s style to be that ambiguous about something that is really happening.

Didn’t Dirk find her secret treasure behind the clock during the move?

Yes, secret treasure could mean anything. A hoard of jewels. A secret passage into the governor’s office. The whereabouts of Jimmy Hoffa. A bunch of useless holes is much less fun.

I agree that they showered together, however be honest. T.J. didn’t say they should shower together. He suggested showering. He didn’t say together or separately. In this strip there is always an out if a kid asks questions and the adult doesn’t want to explain. In this case there could be two showers in that house and they could be both showering at the same time but not together. Now that you are upset with me read the first sentence I wrote.

Going to the chapel, going to get married!

Gosh-a-willy Leviticus! Do you spend all day thinking about xes?

No, Gregg, don’t let this one go down. No deadly fires, no parental rejections, no sudden discoveries of incompatibility…come on, let Brad have a life with this babe. He deserves it.

Why do assume that Brad is sexually active with Toni? I think rather the opposite, that he is showing her that waiting is best. Their relationship is Fireproof.

it’s about time Brad telling Mom Dad and Luann he getting married that what I been waiting for …only one problem?..will they accept her??!!!!!!

It’ll be fun to watch Bernice & Delta when they get the news. No doubt they’ll immediately want to be involved, concocting some teenage-type plans. It will interesting to see the mileage on that type of idea. I know that PMark and I would enjoy a storyline having Toni interacting with Luann and the girls..I have no idea what teenage-type plans would be.

I realize, you realize, and most of the commentatores realize that it is in Mr. Evans’ interest to keep us guessing

Lev, You are of course right on this. The job of Greg is not to slip up and make it convincing EITHER WAY about sex or even all nighters. We each bring our own beliefs and map it on to our heros. I’ll just repeat, statistically, in a religiously neutral family, the odds are that they’ve been, well, close.