Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for January 22, 2016

Oh jeez, I hate TJ, I loathe TJ, I despise TJ. I wish he would just go poof and disappear forever. That creature is a living catastrophe.

“Curiosity Killed The Caterer”“Your Dish Is My Command”

“Something’s Burning” (♫)“Food Fight”“Kitchen Nightmare”“Scrimp Sham- py”“Shrimp Scam-pi”“Frozen Peace”“Menu Got Some Nerve”“Lean Too Hard, Get A Fat Lip”“The Stew-y Of My Life”“Answer The Bell Pepper”“Pasta, Your Curfew”or“Never A Ladle Moment”

Ever heard the phrase, TJ, “the customer is always right”? You’re the businessman and Brad/Toni are the customer. So if they want a seven-course meal instead of nine, just take it.

What’s the problem? Wedding food is expensive. TJ is offering a nine course meal, for (I assume) free, because Luanniverse. It’s also guaranteed it will go well as long as he doesn’t set anything on fire or blow anything……

oh.

When weddings occur crazy thing always happen. People get quite emotional.

It must be just me, but after the Luann-Quill pre-New Years fight, Team Evans are just coasting with their meatless plotlines and drifting story arcs … the week’s worth of strips with Bern & Luann basically saying nothing … Luann sitting Shannon (but that appears to have occurred all off-panel) … and the non-directional wandering of Toni and Brad, going through the motions (but with very little emotions) of planning a wedding that now has the undertones that maybe should not happen …

Brad needs to learn to say “no.” I realize that, because this is the Luannverse, TJ is probably going to offer the 9 course meal for each guest for free. Toni already is dissappointed in the direction the wedding planning is taking. If it’s something YOU don’t want and it’s something Toni will HATE, then it really doesn’t matter how TJ feels. The. End.

Why the TJ hate? He’s offering to take a major headache off their hands, not just in the planning but also the buying and the cooking. His insistence is rather touching, I think. Passionately supportive. And the only reason Toni wants to keep it simple is because she hates making choices. Now that’s one less choice she has to worry about.

“What Goes Down Might Come Back Up”^True enough! Somebody will be able to play the “remember the time…” card. Eventually, if not sooner…and will be equally as hard to digest…

Umm….doesn’t Cottage 4-2 have it’s own caterer they expect you to use?

Is there such a thing as a 9 course meal? Soup Salad, entree and dessert.

I’m confused, if they are having it at the Cottage, doesn’t the Cottage provide the meal? So how does TJ figure to serve his meal?

Uh-oh. This wedding is getting out of control, “thanks” to Brad! It may be too late already for Toni to rein him in!

Comic strips are often a reflection of life, magnified/exaggerated, therefore, TJ is that friend we all have—or know somebody who has him/her as a friend—that always gets away with everything. Or, worse yet, causes a heap of trouble & then walks away unscathed. But is also usually the only one who doesn’t’t run away screaming when the mess happens to their pal.

New poll up: Food style?

Big Wedding, or Small?1) 33 votes – Small. Keep it simple and intimate.2) 9 votes – Other3) 4 votes – Big. This is the bride’s day, let her enjoy it.4) 3 votes – Big. The parents are paying for this, it’s not our money.5) 1 votes – Big. Make it an extravaganza.Other: None. Just move in with him; Which one gets them married quicker?; Any wedding is fine – watching Toni stress about it is getting really old; Since it’ll be at the Fuse and Evans can’t draw more than 6 characters,-tiny; Don’t get married, stay single, live together; Call it off – they’ll be divorced in a year; Let the Ring Bearer decide; How small is “none”?; big. this is the groom’s day, let him enjoy it. toni can deal for one day.

Oh GREAT. Now Old Smiley’s getting INVOLVED.

Let’s SEE, What are His lists of “Cooking Accomplishments?”

1) Sent Fire to the Horner House while Cooking.2) “Accidentally” (Allegedly) Blew Up His Food Truck while Cooking.3) Turned off Dozens of customers with an unappealing cuisine, while cooking.

Frankly, Brado, I’d TELL this Joker to get LOST.

As You SHOULD have done DECADES ago….,

8Very interesting…. for ME, this is the best comic of the week, and with that impression, it gave me pause to try to think about why today’s comic is (IMO) fun and funny, but much of the earlier part of the week felt “ho-hum”. Again, it is only my opinion, but to me it seems now that in the story arcs when it is ONLY Brad and Toni together, that the two characters themsleves are perhaps not strong enough as characters to sustain the story. Looking back, with other various arcs that feature Toni and Brad…. it always seemed that the most enjoyable and interesting moments involved at least one other character (be it Shannon, or TJ, or Eiffel, or whomever). Perhaps Brad and Toni really are best as characters as foils for other characters to act off of? I am not fully confident in this assessment at the moment, but in some ways it does ring true to me. Anyone have opinions on this idea?

Dude, it’s a freakin’ comic strip. There are the main characters, and there are extras. Just like in the movies. I bet you’re a blast at a movie theater, sitting there yelling “Hey, where did all these accursed SHADOW people come from!” and berating the movie director for taking such an egregious shortcut.But, again, I get it. You’re just following my “How to be Implausible” rules, step by step. Right now you’ve got steps 1-3 covered, including being one of the first posters, and you’re on step 4, picking out something — ANYthing — negative to say (in this case, “Brad has only one friend,”) and nattering on about it day after day, hoping someone will bite. Well, I guess I just did, huh, so you win your little prize for the day! High Fives all around! (Too bad it’s a Golden Raspberry Award, but hey.)

Brad just say “No” to TJ. Bad things will happen. Things will explode or catch on fire. There will be strangeness or weird stuff. This is the first step on the path that leads to a Fuse Wedding. You don’t want that for your wedding day. Just tell TJ “NO!”

Does TJ have another tater tot dish planned?

Big or small or anything in-between, the meal is TJ’s gift. Let him try to give it. I say “try” because the kitchen will catch on fire.

I figured TJ was going to officiate the wedding…

lol but you forgot Quill. Who is Aunt Vicky & why count TJ ?

AKA: “Do not scrimp on the price you’ll be paying for a 9-course feast”

TJ never scammed any firefighters. They agreed to pay for meals that he would provide. They were not cheated out of anything. And there is no proof he blew his food truck up. The insurance company surely investigated before they gave him a big check. If they found any evidence of fraud they would not have paid TJ.

ZERO interest..I’ll just wait till this arc goes away..Wedding planning issues may interest some, but there are websites for that. And there’s little relationship to Luann and the various hanging plots that do exist here — unless they are to be forgotten. .This new version of pointless ‘cat-in-the tree’ chatter is burning up a half of a month of the strip here. .Is it necessary to “pad out” the progress on hanging issues until we almost forget them? .Is Karen dreaming out some wedding that never was?.Otherwise, . . . .

WHY ???

So TJ’s been planning for a dinner that wasn’t supposed to take place for another eight months? Sounds kinda obsessive to me. But time is pretty fluid in Luanniverse.

-How can someone serve as a best man when he’s busy getting the food ready? Doesn’t seem like it would work very well…

Implausible said, Aunt Vicky is a family member that we know exists and that they visit, so as family she’ll be invited.========There are also grandparents on both sides, some of whom we have seen.

Right! Though the beers like to run a course with a track completely different from the soup and salad…

don’t forget the Snausages !

I’m gonna make you an offer you can’t refuse

-Yes, sometimes fathers can be best men

Our step dad was my younger brother’s best man, and it was a great choice.

Seriously, if TJ is involved with the food, he would need to be supervising that. He wouldn’t have time to be in the wedding party…

Bad influences.Brad is old enough to ignore bad influences.CORN CHIPS FOR EVERYONE(He’s also old enough to ignore my silly suggestions.

Just hope they don’t notice us watching them.)

Both of you left out Diane. She will come out of curiosity but uninvited.

It seems a bit of the “Baghdad Bob Bug” is going around….

Let’s see, got a job just to harass someone, tried to scam the fire fighters, might have committed insurance fraud but somehow Brad owes it to TJ to let him cater as a gift? Right.

Implausible said, about 4 hours ago@LDoverThere are also grandparents on both sides, some of whom we have seen.

Well that’s good, with these additions and letting people bring a guest, we’re almost to 20 people.-—————————————————-Don’t forget the shadow people. .There are hundreds of them.

At the reception, they should serve Peruvian beer. Half a bottle is more potent than a quart of Scotch!

A Soup course,A Salad course, A Potato course,A Carrot course,A Jello course,A Beef or rubber Chicken course,An Asparagus course,A Chocolate Mousse course, andAn Ice Cream course ….Or, would you prefer a Crème Brûlée course?

Brad, it’s a 9 course wedding …Frank & Nancy will have to invite Mr. Gray.

Only if Brad doesn’t knock T.J. OUT!

Weddings don’t flip my switch, but the other characters do deserve a little ink time, so enjoy.

To those who dislike TJ, my thinking is somewhat different. To deal in real life with a person like TJ would be difficult, because he does seem to have “scamming” tendencies.

However, I don’t have a problem seeing him as a character in this comic strip, where I don’t actually have to deal with him, but can just be entertained by his schemes.

That ought to be some feast… Wasn’t T.J.‘s first business venture a Lunch Wagon that served veggie/vegan cuisine? That’s what all the guests are going to want… Health food at function where you have no choice. Pass.

Oh no…Toni wouldn’t like it.

SPOILER ALERT

Uh, oh. More trouble. Spelled with a capital “T”.Cover your ears, Brad. Don’t listen…

SPOILER ALERT

Pay me now or pay me later …

Between a rock and a shifty place …

-A loan from TJ could have many strings attached. Hope Brad can Just Say No…

I have never seen TJ so….Unbearable :/