Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for July 23, 2016

Well, Shannon handled the sad news quite well. (Anyone got a tissue for the poor lass?)

Aww, Shannon! Sorry you won’t get to sing “Babaloo” in the show, all because of Slicky Rick-Carded!-Wait-is she crying about her dad…or the show- or maybe both???

When those two get married I hope they adopt Shannon.

WHOA! Hey, That’s GREAT, Kid! The ‘Tears’ the ‘Wailing!’

This Kid can ACT! Quick Toni! SHOVE Her out on Stage while She’s still CRYING. She’ll BRING the House down with Her performance.

Yeah, Yeah, I KNOW Gunther’s on now, but Really? Whoever heard of ‘Abraham Lincoln’ in a cape performing ‘magic?’

Toni, no attempt to find out if another musician can play that song?

she’s going to need Clorox wipes for all that make-up.something has to happen, NOW! tune in on monday

Hopefully Shannon can soon become assuaged…or else she’ll go from looking Like Lady Elaine, to Tammy Faye…

And here comes the water work.

Finding one’s priorities in life has been an underlying theme for many of the characters in Luann for the last two years. Most of them have been adults or teens, but today Shannon’s priorities come to the fore. I hope the big one, working to find ways to have firm relationships with those who matter to her, winds up being a life long priority. I am just so very sorry that today is so painful for her.

Why not let her do the act alone?

Since Shannon’s “dance” routine consisted basically of just flopping around, she really doesn’t need musical accompaniment. Of course, unless this is the last act, they could just postpone it to later in the show, in the hope that Jonah will show up in a bit.

What insensitive early comments. This is a comic strip that delves into real feelings, sometimes seriously. As a man who never knew his father I have a pretty good idea how that abandonment feels. It hurts like a knife that never leaves, and a child feels less valuable, like she is already rejected. No that is painful. It is amazing how many successful people in public life though have gone through that, Halle Berry, and Marion Jones are women that come to mind, and so many men as well. One has to come to terms with that sense of rejection, if they are to move on with life, not feeling that there is something wrong with them. No this is not funny at all, its very said, and again, even though this is a comic strip, my heart goes out to the situation that is portrayed. One of the sub-thermes is how it is handled. The best thing is that Jonah comes in suddenly at the last minute and the show goes on. But like I said a few days ago this was exactly what I was afraid of. And even being in Luannverse, Toni is going to be pissed, or hurt, or at a loss, or sad, or needing Brad to come through somehow to help, and needing to help the feelings of her niece who is clearly very very excited about this dance and guitar number. Disappointing a child in something so important is cruel. ANd what about Brad, or the other characters. No this is a very important arc development, and to me anyway it is not one that snarky commentary is appropriate for. That is just shameful.

Maybe Jonah came in late, caught Les stealing the contributions jar, and is in fact being a hero while all this is going on.

Realistically, Jonah is probably actually winning his audition for “Cats”, so he will show up later and tell everyone that he’s leaving on a tour with the show tomorrow and will be gone for the next 20 or so years. So Toni and Brad will have to adopt Shannon immediately as soon as they are married, as the Trufans have been demanding for years now. That’s the way things work, in the Luannverse.

i bet Brad has been thinking and preparing for this.

“Up, Up And Allay!” “Melting, I Scream!”“The ‘Denied’ Is High” (♬)“Absence Makes Her Heart Go Over Yonder”“Battle Of The Indulge”“Alleviate…Satiate…We All Rotate….” (♪)“There’s Other Diminish In The Sea”“A Hard ‘Lessen’ To Take”“Paying Your Re-duced” “Better Abate, Than Never”“No Letup On The Letdowns”“Wish You Were Here” (♬)or

“Give Appease A Chance” (♬)

Toni and her brother lost their parents in a car accident, so it’s not likely that the creators of this ’toon would do that.

The obvious thing to do is call in Mr Grey who will have a small orchestra there in 20 minutes.

They should have the Luann-and-Bernice comedy “act” go on right before Shannon. Then anything at all that Shannon does will look better than what came before it.

With Mickey conducting the band!

Pathetic, just pathetic. It seems like so few of you get the real point here. In general though the one thing that encourages me is that Greg and company have a positive result in mind for Shannon, although in situations like this, in real life, and again I know from painful experience, that there are shadows of apparent parental rejection that lasts far into adulthood. And one other point, and I will not comment on this further: a 6 year old cannot explain or understand why she is apparently being rejected, or her father is not there when she was so happy and excited about doing this show with him. All she feels is pain. And such pain in humans has a long, and serious half-life.

“Never Let Something Good Get In The Way Of A Real Disappointment”^Yeah, really! Good one!

Luann can sing, right? She could singl while Shannon could dance.

Or maybe Tiff could go on with Shannon. She’s been selfless lately.

Huge mistake by Toni!She should not have interfered in Shannon’s opportunity to perform, especially not after Tiffany had so cheered her up with that “glam” makeover. I’m pretty sure that someone (or even a recording) could have provided the needed musical accompaniment for the dance routine! Now Shannon is a bawling mess—and this did not have to happen!

Hmm, not how I thought this was going to end.

I keep thinking somebody will get out there with Shannon and do something…

Brad to the rescue again (and again) and plays the song on the “air guitar”!

No, Jonah’s doing what he always does: He puts what he wants to do above his kid’s needs. Frankly, Brad and Toni adopting her would be the best thing for her.

C’mon folks! We all know she’s going on but who will be with her?

I think Tiffany will come to the rescue here.

What better time and place and opportunity to bring on the generally agreed-on change in Shannon’s living situation. “Never waste a good crisis”.

heartbreaking.

That is just so un-cool!

Wonder if the other fireman is able to play.

Let the kid dance with Tiffany.

Why throw in the towel so quickly? Be creative with the kid giving her at least a chance to go out there and try.

Why not do it acapella? She’s been doing it for days.

Have Tiffany fill in!

What if dad shows up at the last minute…

This has become like Game of Thrones – unrelenting sadness, broken relationships, stealing and despair. It just isn’t fun anymore. . What happened to light humor in the life of a girl and her friends? Not for me anymore, sadly.

BWAD will save the day!

I bet Brad will pinch hit.

Money says Shannon is crying because she can’t perform. Money also says she does by end of next week.

Btw, I expect to to see most if not the whole cast singing it’s a Small World. The real question is when do we see Les leveled by his Uncle?

She can’t go on because her #$%@!!! of a dad isn’t there? That’s dumb. Just because he’s an A**hole doesn’t mean she shouldn’t go on and then be told.

I think someone else will go on with her. Brad or Tiffany come to mind.

I disagree with some of the comment trend here. The point is not at all to magically rescue Shannon’s Duo Act, but that it is deeply disappointing to her that, once again, her dad is a no-show. This isn’t one of those easy-fix things, and I would think less of the Evanses if they were to go down that clichéd path!

Parental Abuse in no joking matter. Shannon worked hardon her act for her bad acting ego centric dad. This kind of thing can stay with a child through her entire life.

Are we PLEASE done with this storyline?

Surely they could rearrange the order of the acts. And why haven’t they asked Luann to sing?

Jonah needs to be read the riot act.

Wait, don’t we get to see Gunther’s act? That fake rabbit made it look like it must be fascinating.

I knew Jonah would blow it, and now Shannon won’t get to perform because of her selfish and absent father being a no-show.

Those tears are for way more than learning her act was out. This verified to her that her Dad doesnt care a hoot about her.

Time for Brad to step up and take the jerks’ place!

“Gunther the Great”! In the old day, his self-esteem was so bad he would have called himself “Gunther the Good Enough”. So either his self esteem has improved, or Tiff has insisted on an upgrade.

There is NO reason someone can’t follow AB’s suggestion the other day and say, “Your dad couldn’t make it, but here’s a guitarist who can’t go on without a dancer— can you help?”*Yeah, Shannon’s heart is broke right now. This has been a HUGE event to look forward to.

Why can’t she just do it solo? I don’t get it.

Toni handled this awful. There must be someone else who could quickly pair up with Shannon so she could dance. It’s not rocket science, just play some music. I hope Toni does not ever get custody of Shannon, she would be a poor mom.

Remember Shannon’s comment that her father never misses HIS shows. She saw this as a way to create something he might see as one of his shows so that they could do it together. We already know that he often dumps her; she really seems to have thought that she had figured out a way to have more time with him. Maybe she even secretely hoped for a father-daughter act down the road to get more time together.

Pru knows all the acts in the show, she should be able to find someone to help Shannon with her act.

Sometimes life just stinks, doesn’t it? My heart breaks for little Shannon. It is Luann’s comic, so Luann will probably save the day, but I wish Tiffany will do it and a talent scout will be in the audience and Tiffany will get a break. But, if Tiffany gets a break, she will go back got her old self, so maybe Brad will be the hero. Through my tears, can’t wait to see what happens. I hope it is one of those nice heartwarming resolutions.

correction: “go back to her old self”. Which I don’t want because I like the new Tiffany.

Time to step up, Brad…

Jonah is sure irresponsible. He must be a conservative.

Six year old hearts are easily broken.

We have had a dozen or more fans enthusiastic that “Brad will step in and save the day!!!”, likely because they feel that will push along the “adoption” story line that they so strongly desire. But save the day by doing… what??? All Brad can do is go on stage with Shannon and walk around. How in the world does that “save the day”? Shannon needs an instrumentalist (or a boombox and a CD!), not another dancer (even of he could dance, which he can’t). The same applies to Luann, Tiffany, etc. None of these people play an instrument.

Jonah needs a visit from Child Services.

We are being set up for a ninth inning save. My guess is Tifanny or Luann does the “act” with her.

Brad will save the day!

Tiffany (or Pru) will explain to Shannon that “the show must go on!”Then the entire cast will accompany her on stage while she does her routine to resounding applause and acclaim.Then dad will turn up dead.Any bets?

Not likely, because (1) as Argythree pointed out, that would be too close to the character’s past history and (2) as was previously conjectured, researched, and discussed no one in the history of this strip has ever died, with the exception of Aaron Hill’s cousin, who we never even saw before it happened. (And even that was pre-2000.)

…and Toni and Jonah’s parents.True, but I was thinking in terms of a death that was the result of a story arc as opposed to a comment made by a character that was tangential to the arc.Okay if we’re both right on this one?

Conversely, the wedding could be fast forwarded so that Brad and Toni can legally adopt Shannon. I think this is the breaking straw in terms of Jonah’s ability to literally ‘care’ when it comes to raising a child.

I figured since he fixes everything else at the fuze… About the USB port, have you looked into the port itself to check for dust/dirt that might be messing up the connection? If you have a can of the compressed air people use to clean keyboards blast a shot in there. If you already checked this forgive my 2 cents.

A possible story arc that has not been discussed is one in which Jonah is injured but not killed, and his convalescence causes him to finally spend more time with his daughter and sister, causing him to better value the relationships he has too often taken for granted. Of course, that might delay the wedding, but maybe not. I wonder in such a scenario if he might become an adult student part time, too.

I’m still expecting Jonah to come back from the audition and tell everyone, “I got the part! The Cats company leaves for Japan next week, and I won’t be back until Shannon is 18!” That’s how characters disappear from Luann, and it gives a “justification” for Jonah’s giving her away, rather than just “disinterest”.

And Brad comes in and saves the day by being the dad she DESERVES and eventually will have.

when Nancy tried to remind Jonah of Toni’s wedding date in December. He didn’t remember and couldn’t even copy it down right. Probably he forgot this event too or got the date mixed up.

I wonder if Sunday will be a stand-alone as usually happens, or – given the importance of what is now happening – Sunday will instead illustrate a pivotal event?

So what kind of childhood did Tiffany have, that would make her connect with a little girl over absentee fathers? (crickets) Oh, more predictable things instead, thanks Team Evans.

Wow, 204 speculations on whether the show will go on, and only 8 comments on what will happen to the bully, Anthony Tabasco as he saves Tiffany Turtle from being run over in traffic in the Heart of the City comic strip. Just sayin’ folks, tongue in cheek, this stuff ain’t rocket science.

I’ve been thinking about the scattered comments, both in this and previous story arcs involving Jonah “the Flake” Daytona. about having child social services step in.One of my neighbors is employed by the County as a social worker, and even though she rarely has involvement with cases involving minor children, she says it is policy not to step in if the child is usually in the care of relatives when not in the care of the parent(s).So scratch that bit of fan-fiction as well, folks.

I read the strip and my first thought was – Shannon’s crying because Toni has proposed they go off and get ice cream.

I figured that along with the excessive make-up, Tiffany had a heart-to-heart about missing dads (7/21 Tiffany starts with a “no show dad” comment followed by, “I know how to make you feel better”) and added something about pursuing your dreams/activities.

Thus, Shannon was ready to have the show go on. Instead, Toni says, “your dad’s not here, let’s get ice cream” completely ignoring the possibility that Shannon might want to perform anyway. And that’s why Shannon blew a gasket.

-But Gunther does not have the ‘empathy’ orientation that would allow him to feel for others because of what he went through. We could see that because of the way he fixated on Bernice, assuming that she saw life as he did just because both were academically inclined. In the meantime, he lacked the empathy to realize that Tiffany was actually showing interest in her own way (by asking him to help her more with math, which she has learned is one way to get his attention.)

Long story short, I don’t see him helping out Shannon by bringing her into his act because he wouldn’t relate to what she is feeling.

Also, I don’t see Shannon helping out in some one else’s act as helping Shannon. She wanted to do an act with her father, first of all, and secondly, she was very excited about dancing and performing herself. Being a magician’s assistant wouldn’t give her any of that….

Also, just bringing a kid on stage to “assist” with a magic act with no preparation, when she doesn’t know any of the tricks, is a recipe for disaster. Shannon could mess up and be humiliated.

“Not being there for your kids” is not grounds to take away someone’s child. It’s a commonplace complaint about parents, if you were to survey a large group of people remembering their childhood.

Problem is, this is Saturday; Sunday is usually a stand-alone and Monday could start a new arc.

She took it better than I expected,

earth native said, @Kymberleigh“Am I the only normal person who comments here?”. No.But not for the reason you think.(Couldn’t help meself)

If Jonah had managed to get to the Fuse, he would presumably be able to find his own way backstage to meet up with Shannon, without Brad having to physically watch for him all the time.

Why would Shannon ever end up in an orphanage? Children don’t get sent to orphanages if there are relatives to take them in. Even if Jonah died, she would still have Toni (and, as of December, Brad).

Shannon will end up with Brad and Toni in December regardless of whether or not Jonas is alive or dead.

Had not thought of that angle. I do k now one thing, I think Gunther has had a really good effect on the original father deprived girl, Tiffany.

Why can’t she do her show? Pru and Luann helped her practice, so why not just wing it?

Hey is it MY Fault ‘They’ DON’T make ‘Smileys’ or ‘Winkys’ Available on on THIS Forum??

Agreed. I was too harsh myself by the way. We all have buttons and Greg, darn it, manages to push them. Still its worth going through the trouble

God, guys I am out on this today. I saw Sunday, so its has nothing to do with the arc. Its cute though. Monday, I will approach with trepidation. Jeez, this is a strip, guy, (me) remember that. Have a good weekend! Sorry I got so worked up, but then this strip will do that to you.

All they have to do is find someone who can play three chords. This is an EASY song to play on a guitar. I’ll bet there are at LEAST 50 people in the audience who could play it and would love to do it. Another idea—someone with a good voice could conduct a sing along for the audience (most people know this song.) Shannon could dance to the singing, and the audience would love it and feel a part of it. There’s no need for Shannon to give up her act.

If I were there, I would play for her and lead the audience in singing. She could do her act, and then deal with her feelings about her dad after the show. She would at least learn that other people can love her and help her.

But Shannon could have it worse in an orphanage.^^^^^^^^^^No one would place her in an orphanage. She has a blood relative living, who has already taken her on many times in her house.

Of course she wanted to do the act with her dad, but his is a chronic problem and she knows it. She will ultimately learn to depend on herself and others as she grows up, and will learn she doesn’t have to give up everything because of his irresponsibility.

They could also change the order of the acts. Shannon doesn’t have to go on stage next just because it’s written on a piece of paper.

I knew the SOB wouldn’t show. He doesn’t deserve this little girl. If I were Toni that would be it. When next I saw my brother I’d lay into him like you would not believe. I’d petition the court to take custody of this little girl. He doesn’t care about her. It’s all about him.

Children deal with feelings every day. Don’t short change them because they’re young. They do it in increments, not all at once. The trick is to deal with the problems as they come up, a little at a time. Right now, the problem is that she has anticipated the performance for quite some time, and is very upset about possibly not being able to. Deal with that by finding a way to allow her to perform. Then give her love and support and encourage her to talk about her feelings about her dad not showing up. If others assume she is just a brat, tell them it’s none of their business.

I never said she should not think of her dad as a hero. I would never say anything negative about her dad. I would simply allow her to express her feelings about his not showing up. She has dealt with this all her life, and would probably have an excuse for him. But she should express her feelings about it. She’s no dummy.

There seems to be quite a diversity of comments about what Shannon and others should do. The character is written as a 6 year old little girl, with a semi-absentee father. Some people here are suggesting she do the act with a substitute.

The point was that her Dad was supposed to do it WITH her. That was why she was so excited.

Someone pointed out that she may have been smart enough to figure out that if she did something similar to what he does all the time, she could convince him to spend more time with her. This could have been conscious or subconscious reasoning on her part. Maybe.It was also floated that she should deal with her feelings LATER, and perform now so that others could show her that she is loved.I think asking or expecting a 6 year old kid to postpone her reaction to a HUGE disappointment is not realistic. She constantly is shunted off to her aunt. It is her Dad she wants. The show was just a means to an end and to show everyone her Dad, whom she obviously adores.

He does not know how lucky he is. She won’t be 6 forever.Shame on him. Making her cry like that.

Mine is 21 and in Japan right now. She will be home in January. However she is planning to live there after college. Which means, that while I support her decision, I will very likely rarely or maybe never see her again once she moves permanently. There are days I LONG for the days she was my little 6 year old snuggling with me on movie night in our house.

She was excited about doing the act with her dad, yes, but she was also excited about getting up in front of the audience and performing for its own merit. At least she should be given the chance to do it.

In many ways the dad is younger than Shannon.

-I’m not sure that there is such a thing anymore in the US as an orphanage (?) I know other countries have them, but not so sure about the US.

Exactly. Tiff helped her and she got excited again. She could still be excited about performing, with or without her dad. I know she would prefer having him there, but I hope someone volunteers to help her with her performance.

Of course she wanted to perform with her father, AND she wanted to perform for an audience. She has been practicing her dance all day—at home, in the shower—everywhere. When Tiffany dressed her up, she became even more excited about performing. She should not be kept from performing just because Jonah didn’t show up.

Re: number of Luann posts. Of course, you are correct………..the fascinating thing is why? Could be its the “soap opera” aspect of running story lines that never quite get resolved. Could be that it has characters that people just plain like. Whatever the magic…it seems to work.

If Jonah’s appearance was supposed to be a surprise, I think Jonah would have missed the point of a surprise. He had signed up to be in the show, and Shannon had clearly expected him to be there to perform with her:If Jonah was trying to surprise Shannon by making it look like he wasn’t going to show up, then showing up at the last minute, that’s a mean kind of surprise — just the opposite attitude of a parent who is supposedly away in the military turning up at the family home.

268 posts. Busy Saturday!

Comments are getting a bit snarky. Can we all be a little kinder?

Toni made a very dumb move. She should have at least asked Shannon if she would like to do the dance solo.

I bet you that Tiffany comes to the rescue.