Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for August 17, 2016

Wow. For the first time I can see the Daytona family resemblance, in that last panel.

You’ve had help. She’s been helping you for years.

As Yoda told Luke, “Do or do not. There is no try.” Jonah should learn that.

Also, I’m assuming that Luann isn’t an option since she’s the Maid of Honor and is a major part of the wedding.

Anyone still wondering why I consider Jonah the new villain of this strip?

Try not: do or do not. Good to see Toni standing up!

A little help? You just asked drafted your sister to watch your kid….how much “help-ier” could you expect!?

If Jonah forgets himself and slaps her… she could accidentally cuff him with a monkey wrench!

Truly an ingrate, after all she’s done for him

Cute how Shannon is totally oblivious of the whole fight

@Brdshtt

I’m getting the impression that Jonah is not much good at anything…^^Other than being an A-o

It’s always someone else fault.

I think he’s a Jedi Master at manipulating his sister to do what he needs. Or he has been…

With Jonah, you’re only as good as your next favor. I suspect that this is the ground work for him to blow town and leave Shannon with Toni.

Tiffany has had more acting experience than Jonah and one main advantage………………….daddy’s money.

I have a boss like that right now…

IF Jonah is being depicted as having mild borderline personality disorder then his biggest fear will be of anything he sees as abandonment (which CAN include not getting his way). Such people are also therefore terribly afraid of any rejection and tend to need to have people around and get their constant pats on the head. The result is that they do not cope well with living alone, and they do best in schooling or work which either involves a herd of people, or regular praise, or both. So, such a person could become a truly excellent waiter but not be a fiction writer.Some people with it are not great at separating out their personal achievement fantasies from reality, so someone pursuing a career which remains out of reach due to ineptitude certainly could happen. The worse of the two tended/still somewhat tends to consistently have those about a future that was just out of reach, as w Jonah.The younger of the two people i have known w it is the grandchild of the older one, and although a good student began to find it difficult to do homework if a tv was not in the room and tuned to a show with conversation. It let the person feel like others were there. Kind of a herd thing, i think. As someone who likes having a certain amount of solitary time each day it has never made sense to me, though i have tried to understand it.I kind of doubt that the Evanes are going for actual pathology here, but if they are then Jonah feeling abandoned will get the emotional barbed wire unraveling and whipping around some. It his fantasy is also challenged it will get worse, though not as bad and if Jonah actually realizes that his dream does not match his abilities.If the problem is not extreme these people can function in the real world, and aging or its lessons can reduce the worse behaviors.Anyway, i doubt they will be going for anything pathologically that extreme, but just in case they are, there is the potential for Jonah to in that case have a response that would itself be extreme.

(Kicked:) Guess Jonah shouldn’t have asked for a “big break”….

Jonah believes he is doing what is best…FOR HIMSELF! He doesn’t realize that the main responsibility in his life is Shannon. Some me should never be allowed to procreate. I forget, where is Shannon’s mother in all this?

Someone should keep an eye on the kid. I think she’s leaving.

“The King Of Pawns”“Look In A Mirror”“Fuzzy Game Logic”“You Never Miss Your Water Until The Well Decides To Move”“A Watched Iron Never Strikes Twice”“Keys To The Audacity”“Acting Badly”“Acting On Your Worst Behavior”“He Who Dealt It Smells”“Ingrate Expectations”“Games Without Frontiers” (♬)“Forest For The Trees”or“Allergic To Selfish”

I have to wait until can I do a more complete comment on this strip today. This is Luannverse, so it’s fantasy so I should not be so DAMN MAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But even at 70 I can’t totally be objective about absentee or irresponsible fathers mine having never felt necessary to involve himself in my life. I forgave him for that, but to have an objective comment I need to forgive him again. Don’t worry I will have one later though. Greg man this hurts actually!

Do we know anything about where Jonah lives or how he pays for stuff? It looks like nobody else in the world wants to give Jonah “a little help.” Jonah deserves to work in a place that is run by Ann Eiffel and Les is his immediate supervisor.

I really hope that Toni doesn’t give in this time.

The guy’s got the nerve to suggest to Toni that Shannon occupy herself with an electronic device for the whole time…an electronic device to “babysit” her….imposing the task of babysitting to a live person, only to further suggest the electronic device can keep her occupied…after you imposed upon a person to do the ‘occupying (among other things)’…..

Good thing Brad’s not there to witness this side of Toni. He might have second thoughts about marrying her if he knew she had that much backbone.

Toni? Ready to throw in the towel? I didn’t think so.

1. You’re a grown man. Your sister is under no obligation, but she’s already given you loads of help.2. You’re teaching your daughter to be a mooch.3. So you want to be a music star, you and 10 million other tone deaf nobodies.

If Brad did see this side of Toni, he would be scared and turned on by it.

This is going to have an impact on Shannon. Two people she adores are fighting about who can’t take her. Someone Shannon’s age could easily see that as rejection or they don’t love her any more and trying to pawn her off on the other. This fight should not have occurred in Shannon’s presence.

I would not have wanted to marry a woman with no backbone and could not speak for herself.^^True, being with a gal with no backbone would be like marrying a dead fish :p

Perhaps this is the pre-wedding drama we were promised… Jonah pissing off his sister and threatening not to go to the wedding… or something like that. Maybe telling her that he doesn’t want her near Shannon, anymore.

Millenials… they will be the death of America.

By the way this is modeling terrible behavior for Shannon. It makes me think this is not the first argument, although this is probably more heated. But her behavior indicates that she expects Toni to accommodate her need with no fear that she will not go to the pool party and is almost reflecting her dad’s expectation that his needs are most important, thus hers will be taken c/o by Toni with no issue. This is expected behavior from Toni. The refusal, if she does, to do it will really cause major issues with the whole situation involving Toni, Brad, Shannon, Jonah (a true immature inadequate sad excuse for a fully realized person) and probably will wash over Luann and her family as well. I predict it will sort its way out, but not without a major amount of trauma.

Maybe Pru can help with that.

Tell him the truth that he sucks as an actor and he should go back to school and learn a trade and also go take some parenting classes.

if we exchanged the “money factor”, Jonah would become the male Tiff, who chooses which auditions to take and expects the big roles to be handed to him and Tiff the female Jonah who goes to hundreds of auditions hoping for someone to “discover her”

“BUT JONAH, YOU SON OF A GUN, YOU ARE ALWAYS GETTING HELP, WITHOUT HELPING BACK, YOU BIG CRYING BABY!!!” God, I hate this guy, he reminds me of some entitled people from work!

You said it! He is also ungrateful, selfish, and a complete douchebag.

They’re called ‘straving’ or ‘struggling’ artists for a reason.

Here Jonah,does a size 12 workboot help?I hope so.

with Jonah it is always someone else’s fault! and he has the nerve to get mad. totally selfish! anybody here knows anything about Shannon’s mom?

I see Toni has some ink.

SHANNON is a “total state of Denial” that Toni and her Dad are not getting along….and I expect also on a Sugar High.At some point she might ‘crash out’ or ‘Lash Out’ . I expect a scene where she tells her dad off coming very soon. The kid is sharper than you think.

Jonah Daytona, full of bologna.

And coming up NEXT, Jonah Suddenly BOLTS for the Door with a Hearty, “GOTTA RUN!” Leaving a Dumbfounded Toni in the Middle of the Floor while Dear Little Shannon SCREAMS: I WANNA GO TO THE POOL, NOW!!!!!!

Jonah is a putz!

Doesn’t Shannon sort of resemble Ann Eiffel? Ann wouldn’t be his ex, would she?

It’s been suggested.. and dismissed

That’s right, Jonah, it’s all her fault. Everything is your sister’s fault. With thinking like that, he’ll forever be a victim.

Just say “no”. You don’t have to give a reason, Toni, though it might be wise to say, “in the future, be sure to call first to make sure I’ll be home.”

Has Toni always had a tattoo? Or is that just some hair strands plastered on her upper arm?

And full of salami, the way he’s so hammy (playing with the pronunciation a bit!)..didn’t your parents tell you not to play with food?

Play Fuzzy Furballs for hours and hours? The modern equivalent of dumping your kids in front of the TV set all afternoon I suppose. Jonah’s parenting skills become more depressing with every strip.

Just noticed Toni’s tattoo. How appropriate.

Shannon is practically making the decision for them.

And another thing Jonah doesn’t get is that he’s belittling the help he has received at her hand…he thinks all she has to do is give her an electronic game, and not once showed he appreciated what she (and Brad, and others) have done in providing Shannon not only with care, but developing different skills and nurturing…but no, he only views Toni’s “services” as “Give her this game, just keep her with you, so she won’t be in my hair, and you’d better help me!”. Give her this game? He could’ve did all that, his own self, and taken her with him !

I bet Jonah wishes on a daily basis that he kept it zipped, lo those many years ago. . .

And if Toni shouldn’t be obligated to help, even with being someone related to them, Luann is under even less of an obligation…

Toni just punch your brother, take your shower, get dressed, and take your niece with you.

And, perhaps now, people can see just why Brad was so mad during the end of the Talent Show, and railing on Jonah…. for this very reason. Jonah has no sense of appreciation anything….

Jonah, your toast. You pushed your sister over the line dude.. no going back.

Jonah, a little help would be a HUGE deduction from what you’re getting now.

Little Shannon is the loser in this situation….I think….?

Jonah has to wise up. Child first, job, then do local theater to hone your skills if you have any. Me thinks he’s a legend in his own mind. How many name actors have you seen that talk about working years in sucky jobs before becoming an “overnight” success.

Get a real job little man. You suck at life.

reaching a criticality here

Toni is wasting her time arguing with Jonah. She should talk directly to Shannon. She should say she can’t spend time with her today because she already has plans, but she will make plans to spend time with Shannon very soon. Then take her shower and leave.

Daytona it takes a village! Come on and help a starving artist out! A silly wedding takes backseat to a career doesn’t it?

If Shannon can play for hours and hours with that fuzzy thing, why can’t he take her to the audition, sit her down out of the way, and be both a father & a potential actor?

It’s already been said, but Toni needs to let her actions speak for her. Don’t take Shannon with her, but explain to Shannon she can’t spend time with her right now, tell Jonah to leave and make other arrangements, go back and finish her shower and move along with her plans for the day. Surely Jonah isn’t the only actor who has had to bring along a child to an audition. If Shannon could play with that toy for hours, she could sit quietly while he auditions. And why doesn’t he have another job at least part time or some way to pay his bills? Maybe he does and we’ve been given no insight into this.

“I get by with a little help from my friends.”And I guilt trip the rest.

Toni says to take his responsibilities seriously, and Jonah says he takes acting very seriously. Acting, ACTING?! He is so selfish he doesn’t even remotely get that Toni is referring to his DAUGHTER! Wow, I’m so glad this is a cartoon, he is such a self-centered pig. Forget about that he’s a user with Toni and that he puts his life before hers; he puts his life before his child! Of course Shannon loves him, young children sadly put up with a lot because it’s their parent. The truly sad part is that Shannon will fully realize how little he cared for her once she’s an adult.Oh, prediction about the plot, Jonah does get an acting job with a touring show which he won’t be able to take his child along (that is how it works on tours, nothing unusual with that although Jonah will pretend he didn’t know). Of course he puts his “career” first, so he’ll dump poor Shannon with Toni and Brad for the months he’s gone. Whether he comes back and wants her back or not will be the question, although I see Toni and Brad wanting to keep her. After all, Shannon’s not inconvenient for Jonah since Toni fills in when he doesn’t want Shannon around. The strip is really taking on some serious issues, much like Delta’s cancer.

Oh come on, Toni! Stuff your towel in his mouth!

What happened to the child’s mother?

Interesting to see where this will go, but yes…Jonah is not my favorite character to put in one way.

She was a loser when she was conceived by this prick.

A child does not get the opportunity to pick his or her parents and should not be held responsible for the fact that the parents are unfit.

Ha! I had a second verse to that rhyme, but it’s R-rated (and is a “groanah”) so I decided against it. Something to have to do with finally needing to atonah for his unprotected bo…OK, you get the idea.

What a worthless sack of S__T!

6I dislike the arguing in front of Shannon. It will impact her negatively. But, Greg does indeed show a realistic situation here…. a lot of kids hear such arguments and in many cases it can cause a lot of issues for the kids.I have a few questions I am contemplating and would like to hear other opinions:1. My take on this wedding meeting at the moment, is that it is occurring at Brad’s house. To my read on this, it would suggest a fairly casual meeting. It seems less likely that there would be wedding industry folks going to Brad’s house to speak with the two of them about wedding choices (at least in my neck of the woods, all of this sort of specific planning occurs in the wedding industry folk’s shop). 2. If this is just a casual planning meeting with Brad (such as they talk about things, perhaps go on the Internet and look at things)…. then it seems like a possible compromise that Toni may be able to accomodate would be to take Shannon to Brad’s house for the meeting, while explaining that unfortunately they cannot go swimming (unless perhaps the pool is open later than the meeting, and if so, she could try to have Brad go as well). 3. Toni is fully justified in being angry at Jonah. Do not get me wrong. But, I still think that if she can find a way to compromise, it will be helpful to HER and to Shannon (and fortunately or unfortunately to Jonah). I know it is going to annoy her to compromise initially…. but in the long run…. I think she will feel better about compromising…. if it is an actual option. 4. Even though Jonah appears for all intents and purposes to be an utter doofus…. if acting is his chosen career… he does need to go on auditions. Granted, he should have definitely pre-planned this a whole helluva lot better, and in general he is rather self-centered and acting like the hind end of a donkey. But, it would still be nice if he were to get to go to this audition… especially if it is a paying gig…. which I am presuming it is. 5. I cannot recall this in the FAQ or specifically in the history I know of…. but who is the older sibling…. Toni or Jonah?

It’s pretty telling how when Toni tells Jonah about taking his responsibilities seriously, he just assumes she’s talking about acting. The idea of his primary responsibility being his daughter didn’t even enter his mind.

I think Greg Evans is trolling this crowd. You guys do realize, donʻt you, that you are getting all riled about a CARTOON strip???

she taking Shannon would be for sake of Shannon, not for being nice to Jonah

the best option (if Jonah agrees, and most probably would, as he would see it as “more convenient for his career” ) is for Toni and Brad getting guardianship of her ( NOT adopt her ) , and Jonah getting “visitation rights” when he makes time (hopefully he would do that, and not decide to leave himself out of her life )

What a douche he is.

In keeping with Luannfan1212’s comments of yesterday I will continue to evaluate and grade Toni’s approach to this debacle that Jonah has laid on her. I give her an A- for sticking to her guns and not caving. But I give her a B- for allowing herself to be sucked into Jonah’s evasive tactics, like asking what Shannon could do at the meeting or getting into an argument about whose career is at what stage and whether or not she is helping him to achieve his. When Jonah started in about his acting career being a chief responsibility, she needed to rein him back and remind him that Shannon is his chief responsibility and that if he is going to attend auditions at a moment’s notice, he needs to have Shannon go with him and sit quietly while he tries out for the part. Moreover, she needed to stress the original issue of Jonah barging in un-announced and making demands without prior planning, and that he cannot always assume that she will be available at a moment’s notice…. The “trying always trying” comment was a mistake. I would never belittle someone for being persistant in their goals, a rare trait in many.

posted for background info:

Re: Jonah learning from Tiffany…I don’t see that happening. He would just take advantage of her, but Gunther seems to be having a positive effect on her. And, I could never see Tiff baby sitting for Shannon. Obviously, Greg and I come from totally different places, and even though I read the strip, I am never happy with the results. Maybe I’m just addicted to it and forever hopeful that some day, some one of the characters will actually experience some happiness. Like the song goes, “I can’t get no satisfaction.”

Jonah gives all the other dirt bags a bad name!

squirrel !!

I know people like him

Be brave and hang in there, Toni, Now you can expect a renewed effort at manipulation, exploiting Shannon.

If Toni had showered at the Station, she wouldn’t have been home to take this grief from Jonah

A little help Jonah? I think Toni has been helping out quite a bit. But he gets pissed if she can’t help him out. Put your foot down Toni and don’t back down.

I like the tattoo.

…7,ignition sequence started,4…

“Had a little help??!!” Toni has given too much of her time, about time she allow you to be a real father instead of someone who bounces in and out of Shannon’s life when he feels like it. I can see Toni & Brad adopting her. Father is a talentless wanna be, never will be actor.

a legend in his own mind ….

here is an Archived page from the past showing what I have said about Ann Eiffel http://web.archive.org/web/20120327170747/http://thecartooniststudio.com/Blogs/greg/Archives/2010/9/26/EasyHardImpossible/Comments

Wiselad, GE said that the two Shannons were NOT the same individual. They WERE from the same character concept and Luann babysat for both, but he had forgotten that he used the character concept in the past when he reused it.

I am so fed up with Jonah and his self-centered sponging! I’d even consider fratricide!

Hey, Pipe, this article might be of interest for youhttp://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1002482The adrenal pathway and the response seen to green light despite that wavelength range being the second most disruptive to melatonin production might say something about daytime sleepiness. I only had time to skim a little of it.

I’d like to see Jonah get a break in the acting or music world. It’s confusing because he’s not a total “dirt bag” (to me) as some would have it. I thought the act he did with Shannon at the Fuse was cute and it made her really happy. There are other characters who have displayed imperfection in their behaviors. We give them a break and certainly we don’t wish them to be disposed of (from the strip). I’m intrigued by Jonah and hope he is not here just to give Brad and Toni an adopted child.

No question Jonah is not just a flake, but a conservative too.That’s how irresponsible those people can be.

Jonah, I think you just blew it. That just might have been the straw that breaks the camel’s – as in free emergency anytime baby sitter’s – back.

I know some who think that Gwen Eiffel is the long lost mother.Freudian slip there, NG. You meant Ann Eiffel but got her (I think) scrambled in your mind with Gwen Ifill who hosts PBS’ “Washington Week” and co-anchors the “News Hour”.

what she and the gang REALLY thought about his acting ability..all that would do was tell him they’re not on his side ( besides being wrong , in his mind). Jonah would not admit or be convinced that he wasn’t talented.

Definitely "Trying Times”, in so many ways!

(A Pip:) Thank you! All in a Knight’s work!

Activist’s suggestion struck me as being broad humor. It gave me a laugh.

Skunk bait is possible. They really do like to dug for grubs to devore. That was grubs, not grub…

“Most likely, Toni’s vocie mail prompt is the latter, because one should NEVER, EVER say “I’m not home right now,” because sometimes that’s how burglars pick out homes to rob. Fact.”^You may have misunderstood. That part was what I was saying in regard to her talking to Jonah on her cell phone, in a live conversation.

You have a kid, Toni doesn’t.

http://www.gocomics.com/luann/2010/06/08

“And when has Toni shown she has that kind of talent?”^You may need to ‘activate your sensor device’, to catch Activists’ dose of sarcasm in her comment.

SPOILER

Only one winner, and a bad lesson learned by a child. Patterns like this are meant to be broken, not continued.