Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for August 13, 2016

It’s great that Brad doesn’t know the difference between a doily and a dolly…

I’m still suspecting TJ’s gonna remodel the place rather than clean up its mess.

“I’m still suspecting TJ’s gonna remodel the place rather than clean up its mess.”

Did the new doorway give it away? ;-)

Um…if this is a rental…

So TJ is making a door to go to a room for Shannon?

Maybe he’s trying to somehow create a separate suite for the newlyweds?

I’d suggest a closet. A walk in closet. I know from experience that women never have enough closet space.

Some women never have enough of a lot of things.

Hope that isn’t a load bearing wall…

Oh good grief!!!

It’s gonna be a Fibber McGee closet!

It’s gonna be a Fibber McGee closet for the guys, so they don’t have to toss lotsa cool stuff.

It’s gonna be a Fibber McGee closet for the guys, so they don’t have to toss lotsa cool stuff.

TJ’s marking a door, because…

A) He’s secretly the new Bat Man (he’s already wearing a utility belt) and needs a new way to keep his bat cave secret (it wasn’t hard to keep it from Brad).B) it’s a matter of needing more pantry space, so they can keep their Spaghetti O’s separate from his precious gourmet suppliesC) He plans a way to escape, if Toni needs the rolling pin to throw at Brad (or in case he gets an idea for a new crazy scheme, and wants to “proactively be a step ahead”)OrD) They never had a back door….

They’re not doilies; they’re antimacassars!

Brad is being something of a pain in the butt.

I really am not all that knocked out about the house gag, although it will be fun to see how it turns out. What really is interesting is Brad’s description about and feelings about Toni. He describes her as a girl who has had a tough, hard life, losing her parents, and is a firefigther who could “kick TJ’s butt.” Those of us who know the strip know how Brad met Toni back with her dangerous (then) and abusive boyfriend, and her issue with her diffidant brother, and his inconsistent relationship with his daughter Shannon. Brad comes from a much more stable family. Ironically TJ shares a lot with Toni, having lost his mother, and basically his dad as well. So to me the character information and development is the real gold in this and related arcs. The rest is just background noise, sort of like how Shakespeare develops plays through the events of the main characters, as they are reflected through the subsidiary characters.

This is going to be like that tv show Threes Company.we have the gay guy T.J. the dumb guy Brad and the hot chick Toni.

Yo Smiley. Aren’t YOU Supposed to Obtain some kinda ‘Building Permit’ thing from some Over-Paid, Arrogant, Local City Bureaucrat by Greasing His/Her palms with Large Sums of Cash AND (DEEP Breath) Humbly Asking the Property Owners Permission BEFORE Completely Destroying whats Left of THEIR House, FIRST???

OK, so we go now from Brad being cocky, to T.J being cocky.Toni is needed there, badly!

Doilies,not dollies,Brad.Can’t you read Greg’s writing?Jeez.

Remember one cold fact: firefighters are government workers.

Off the kitchen would be TJ’s room. He’s the only cook/’chef

Brad has gone retro and is wearing his old shirts again, so I don’t see closet space as an issue.

Most men would want a feminine, girly women to marry. Odd that Brad almost brags about how unfeminine Toni is.

Moving wife and niece in without talking to roommate first doesn’t scream rational.

TJ gonna build a couple of rooms for himself, that way he doesn’t get lonesome and can still cook for his friends, and remain on standby to babysit Shannon

" i bet that even at my age and gender i can preacher curl heavier dumbells than you.".now now, you don’t really know how heavy a dumbell he is!

Brad is wrong about Toni. She clearly spends a lot of time on her hair, make-up and looks. She is a very feminine and she will not like living with a slob. A woman can be both feminine and strong.

Nothing girly about Toni? I beg to differ! There’s a LOT about Toni that’s “girly!”

Hmmmm, did some people fail to notice that, despite the vernacular use, “girl” is like “boy”, and just as adult men for excellent reasons object to being called “boy” as if they were essentially children, so too do a heck of a lot of adult women not enjoy being called “girls” FOR EXACTLY THE SAME REASON. Toni might feel that way. Brad certainly realizes she is an adult and rspects that.Not all men can deal well with women being intelligent, responsible, strong adults. That is those men’s problems and not the women’s. When it is really recalcitrant those men mistakenly assume it is the women’s problem.Some other men have just not bothered to really think about it, so who knows how much they might reduce their difficulties and evdn improve their social lives if they just tried?

We humans are an incredibly varied lot, both individually and as a group, and i personally respect that as one of our greatest strengths.

Brad is clearly conflicted.

thanks for the multiple chuckles!

My take on the “nothing ‘girly’ about Toni” remark from Brad comes from taking into account what he said in the preceding panel.Remember, he first noticed her when they took the same CPR class. He finally introduced himself when they subsequently were in the same paramedics training course. When they ended up in firefighter school together, he realized that this cute blonde woman also wanted to save lives, just like he did. From there, a lot of the Brad-Toni joint character development was about them finding the things they had in common.Brad discovered that he didn’t want a partner who was so into femininity that she would have a shallow personality. In Toni, he gets someone who is as strong as he is (in more ways than one) yet cleans up “pretty” when the occasion demands. That is what he means, I think, and that is why they are perfect for each other.As long as I’m creating this post, I think I’ll add the strip where Toni tells Brad for the first time she loves him, because I still tear up at it.July 22, 2009:

Kenny Baker passed away. I think i will watch Time Bandits today for that reason.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kenny-baker-dead-dies-star-wars_us_57af460ae4b007c36e4efbb4

Some would make a wall.Some would make a door.Together we can rise or fallApart we make each other sore.

TJ has his job all laid out. The Dishes are right behind you Brad. Get a move on. Some men have trouble seeing what has to be done.

“Yeah, Brad looks really disturbed in that strip you posted, LOL…”LOL! Thanks for the laugh! I was already laughing at Seismic’s deliberate, forced misreadings of tne strip (as usual), but this just iced it. Cheers.

It’s a reeeeeeal stretch to think doily sounds like dolly. I’m concerned. Bwad might be having a stroke.

aren’t all comic strip characters, by definition, made of “strokes” ( of the pen) ?

Also, I’ve got to wonder about the Spanish translation of today’s strip …. how did they handle the joke of a near homonym in English ?

Never trust TJ. Brad. —Especially if he has some kind of accent too thick for you to distinguish between doily and dolly (as in Barbie). He’s up to no good, I tell you, no matter what his stated intentions….

aren’t all comic strip characters, by definition, made of “strokes” ( of the pen) ?^^Nope, mine are made with the sweep of a mouse! :)

new bathroom

Sorry, I was on a trip! I had planned to at some point, but didn’t get the opportunity.

’"Cut It Out!"“Door Of Opportunity”“The Feminine Mesquite”“Never Cry Over Frilled Silk”

“Fits To A T Square”

“Marks Wreck The Spot”“I’m Gonna Knock You Out! (♪)“Interior Speculations”“Barbies, Bangles And Needs” (♬)“The Constructs Of Deconstruction”“Black Widow In My Corner”“Woman, Sometimes I Wonder…”

or“The Girly Bird Doesn’t Get Worms”

EKK! Stop Him! Cuff and stuff him.