Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for August 18, 2016

Toni looks so tired in that last panel.

I’m with Toni on this one: Jonah owes his sister a LOT of favors.

Very disappointing. And of course Toni will have to cancel her plans, or risk another crying fit by Shannon. Shannon is learning all the wrong lessons from her waste of oxygen father…

I knew she’d throw in the towel before the conversation was over (not literally). Toni has a big heart, maybe too big.

NOOOOO!! You have a wedding to plan, you don’t have time to babysit!! Stand up to your brother, stop giving in!! This is why some people call us women weak!!

You seem to forget what could happen to Shannon if she didn’t. Really, think about it. Too many aren’t.^^Which is why Toni should fight for custody

I am really starting to hate Jonah worse than Ann Awful.

I really didn’t think she’d cave that easily

Toni should not have crumbled. Where is Shannons mom at? Jonah will keep using Toni until she finally puts her foot down.

No, you think about it. A child who is told that someone else exists solely to do her bidding grows up to expect that in the world, and finds life very difficult. Toni at the very least should have been able to require Jonah to explain to Shannon that the pool has to be postponed because he did not check with Toni first, and did not understand that she had a prior commitment. It should be Jonah who tells his daughter that she has to wait for swimming, and go with Toni to her meeting. That is going to be enough of a problem for Toni, but she does not have to be turned into a monster by either telling her future husband ‘no’ or telling her niece ‘no’.

And if you are saying that Shannon would go to the pool on her own, in most apartment complexes these days, liability laws require locking gates to avoid exactly this kind of thing, unaccompanied children drowning in a pool.

I have become so disappointed in all of this that I guess I’ll just have to wait until the arcs with Jonah in them are finished. This disgusting self-centered act of his, teaching his daughter to similarly expect the world to always do what the two of them want, spoils my day enough that I will have to spend time away from this ’toon.

Someone needs to tell Jonah he can’t just dump Shannon whenever he wants. If he actually have auditions it’s rarely a last minute thing.

This story line terrifies me. I keep waiting for Shannon to go unnoticed to the pool. Can’t wait to move on.

“Hello?”“Brad it’s me Toni…. I can’t make it….”“I KNEW it… you were never all that big on marriage, were you?”“Me? You’re the one who needs 4 months just to live together…”“So, what’s the big friggin’ emergency?”“…. It’s Shannon…..”“I’ll be right over!!”

Does Greg have a sadistic streak? Can’t any of his characters actually be happy once in a while? Life is not that bad, even old goats, like me, can manage to find little treasures in each day. The trick is to recognize it.

I was going to ask… then I figured it out :D

The brother is spoiled, let’s not spoil the kid, too. She must go to meeting with Toni- swimming can wait. Yes, this is getting annoying…

Jonah whines almost as well as Gunther!

Yeah – Shannon is important although Jonah is not. Toni should look up a day care or sitter to use for occasional emergencies. However it looks like both Brad & Toni are real misers. They can’t be that poor.

Argythree said, 41 minutes ago

@Mikeyj

It honestly makes little sense to assume that Ann Eiffel is Shannon’s mother. The Eiffel woman is too business oriented to have ever been involved with someone like Jonah. Just because both of them have dark hair is not a sufficient reason to assume they are related.^^True, I am just saying it isn’t impossible and would be a fun twist… although, no longer much of a surprise! :p

Toni has some guilt buttons that get pushed too easily. We don’t know how it was, going back a few years.

Toni was caught between a rock and and a hard place because of her concern for Shannon – but unfortunately, Jonah will read it as one more sign of the power of manipulation. Toni, sweetie, get yourself some counselling, or to an al-anon or narc-anon meeting.

Why does everyone here assume that it is the responsibility of an aunt and her fiance to pay for child care, and not the responsibility of the father? ^^If someone is an unfit parent in your own family, are you saying you wouldn’t do whatever was necessary to help their children? That is how families work!

Answer to question #1: Yes.

I think maybe we’re all breddy por da bool.

I think Toni is right. She ‘should take’ Shannon to help her brother with his career.

Take her and never give her back.

And here I thought this was finally going to be the time that Toni finally stood her ground and said no. Let Shannon cry and scream ‘I hate you’. She’s young, she’ll get over it.

Toni’s real mistake was not taking the shower at the fire station and going straight to the meeting.

What a disgusting piece of so-called abusive man Jonah is, but one thing we can be sure is that there will be more on this arc, quite a bit of drama. For now I continue to await developments. Something has to give though, Toni’s life is more important, to her, than his selfish life, is to him. He just does not realize it, and until he does this will not get resolved.

His smile in the last panel… He totally played her.

Jonah had better get that job, he owes Toni more than just ’’one’’

Why should his life be more important to her? She’s got one wedding to plan. He has dozens of auditions, all failures. I’m really annoyed Toni gave in. Her marriage will be in trouble if she always puts her brother first.

Of course he is getting away with it… He is blonde!

Oog, Trufans are feeling ze DISTURBED! Eet weel be such a relief when Brattoni gets custody of ze hell brat, zorry, poor maltreated Shannon. Like nobody could see that coming.

I hate to be an ass but I think it’s time for him to have an accident and for Toni to take full custody NOW. It’s best for Shannon. or have him followed and see were he is really going all the time? Now there’s a story line. put them together.

Manipulate——control or influence (a person or situation) cleverly, unfairly, or unscrupulously.

The one thing that creep is apparently good at.

But Jonah uses that to manipulate Toni and get what HE wants.

Guilt – that’s what Jonah lays on Toni. Until she grows a spine, nothing will change. Toni could use some professional help with her inability to stop being a doormat when it comes to her brother.

Toni, as Dear Landers once wrote, “someone only needs your permission to take advantage of you”, and you, my dear keep giving it. Feeling overwhelmed and stressed? Boo hoo.

Toni! You WUSS!

Jonah is projecting.

I’d like to project my fist into his sulky little face.On the other hand,Toni in a towel kinda makes up for not seeing any gratuitous bikini shots of Luann this summer.

Get back to Gunther and Bernice. This Jonah guy is an @$$.

" Just look at the second and third panels and see how fast he goes from a grimacing scowl to a bright and shiny smile. What a piece of work."^Indeed!

boy i’d love to slap off his smug face. but i guess Shannon will some day.and not necessarily with her hands.

Toni is a hard soft touch.

Toni? FORGET What Everyone Else Around HERE, is Saying. I Think it’s GREAT The Way YOU Stood Up to Your Jackass of a ‘Brother’ for All of 5 Seconds! Brad is gonna be so Jaw-Droppingly ‘PROUD’ of You when You Call and Tell Him the ‘Good News!’

You Know, I was Gonna get You a Door Mat for a Wedding Present, but then I Realized, YOU Already ARE One…..,

“One……In A Million”“A Debt In The Family”“Brattitude”“He Celebrates Thanksgetting”“The Actor Named Brat Pit”“Flaxen Lacks In Tact (And Is Taxing)”“Tow Headed And Haulin’ Junk”“A Library Book Called Shannon”“Grand Master Of Pawns”“Pool Cues”“Toni, In The Hip Pocket”“A Protection Racket”“See You Later, Manipulator”Or“After While, In Denial”

….and even then, there’s no brain, in either place…

Dang it! She caved in to him. Grrrrrr…..

Maybe Toni can work on Shannon directly, herself. By just getting a little intel from Shannon on how she feels about her father’s not focusing on her, and rather his own career, maybe Toni can train Shannon to put a little pressure on Jonah to start manning up (i.e. “Daddy… I want you to do it”).

Failing that, the only thing that will resolve this is Toni growing a spine and standing up to Jonah… for her own sanity, and for the sake of her relationship with Brad (and Shannon).

Is it wrong that I feel that if were Jonah were hit by a semi-truck and transitioned into road pizza, that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing? Shannon’s 6? She’ll get over it. Kids are malleable and resilient. I dated a woman with an 8 yr old who saw her dad shot/killed by police. Within a few months she was fine, and we all had wonderful road trips and adventures. I still keep in touch with her and her mom, and she is a brilliant young lady about to go off to university, active in her community, and just a great human being.

Not every kid is the same, of course, but Toni and Brad could adopt Shannon (since Baby Mama doesn’t seem to be anywhere in the picture), and live happily ever after. Toni’s always been the doting, fun Auntie, but we’ve gotten to see Brad’s transformation from a guy who first saw Shannon as an annoyance, an inconvenience that interfered with his Toni time, into a responsible young man who genuinely loves Shannon, enjoys spending time with her, exploring the world with her on her terms.

So, let’s just cut Jonah right out of the picture, so BraShaTon can happen.

Her and Brad ought to sue for custody as he is obviously an unfit parent…. End of Drama

I find it interesting that Jonah has some valid points during this argument, particularly in yesterday’s strip. But he has definitely taken Toni for granted and has come to expect she’ll drop what she’s doing for Shannon with little notice. Shannon seems to be immune to all of this argument, implying this is not the first time the Daytona siblings have argued in front of her.

How many times has THIS scene been played out before? (Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen…)

This is dumb. Just tell him no and to give a warning next time. She does not owe him anything and an excuse is not neccessary. It is his child and if he was too busy then he should not have had one. My son married a woman with three great little kids. One day they stopped in when we were getting ready to go somewhere and said they were going out and wanted us to watch the kids. They were mad when we said no we had plans. They acted like this guy until I told them that while the kids are great they are not ours and we take no responsibility for the adults lack of planning. They should have called ahead to ask if we had plans. And I refuse to say that I am sorry for having a life of my own. We did babysit days later but they called ahead.

First panel had me going. Then the second was a let down. I thought she was going to stand up for herself today. Now will she tell Shannon we can’t go to the pool or miss out on the wedding planning meeting.

When is Jonah going to actually hire some real day care for his kid?And why should Jonah’s life be a priority to anyone else?I think everyone knows a Jonah type sometime or another – and the type just makes you want to slap some sense into him.

So why can’t Toni explain to the kid the situation and tell her she is going with her to the meeting and she is to behave and maybe she might find it interesting – maybe have some input in the wedding planning, etc. It’s called making lemonade…

you may have managed to guilt trip Toni again, but wait until her fiance finds out about it. Good luck landing those auditions with no teeth…

As much as Brad would like to, he knows how disappointed Toni would be, and how much it would upset Shannon. So he’ll think twice, and not beat him into a bloody pulp.

#BraShaTon

I suspect the pool will have to do with one less kid p’ing in it!

I’d tell him and his 2-day stubble and girly vests to go orbit a black hole.

This guy is always saying “help me.” He does need help, all right.

groundwork for custody continues to build

Show him the list, Toni. If you’re tired now, think what Brad will say.

Sigh… you almost won the battle Toni, Love has teeth in it and Some times you have to use them. Its wisdom to know when and where to bite and I think you just missed an opportunity.

Jonah knows how to manipulate well.

Shannon goes with Toni to wedding planning. Turns out to be a good thing. Then all three (Brad included) goes swimming. I feel bad for Toni and Shannon. What a douche character.

While Jonah is being a jerk, this is on Toni just as much. They are doing a neurotic dance with child care. Her “what can I do” attitude is seriously enabling an unhealthy relationship. She needs to sit down with Brad, and decide what their real needs lie. DISAPPOINTING.

it may be disappointing, but perhaps it is nearer to truth in real life than her standing her ground.

I am of course wondering if Jonah’s widely swinging moods may be more than acting and might indicate an actual disorder like BPD, and if so, then how much that influences Toni caving in. If Jonah becomes like barbed wire unraveling and swinging around past a certain point (which sadly is how it is dealing w a person w BPD at times) then Toni may watch for his warning signs. On the other hand, it could just be long ingrained habits of the spoiled brat and his enabling older sister. Either way, this dysfunctional relationship stinks. I wish she had not given in.Oh, do note that it is again repeated by the characters today that Toni is older. What we do not know (among a great many other things) is how MUCH older Toni is than Jonah.

Toni should not have caved. Jonah will continue to use her by playing the “poor little me” card until she stands up to him once and for all.-And she should tell Shannon “I’m sorry, but we’re NOT going to the pool. Your stupid idiot useless father lied to you as usual.” -And she should do it while the stupid idiot is still within earshot. She’d be doing Shannon a favor—right now the kid thinks she’s going to get everything she wants when she wants it.

Jonah must die. Maybe in a fire at the audition. Toni and Brad find out while at the wedding planning meeting. Awesomeness ensues.

I think people are not forgetting Shannon as much as hoping that her father could still get it into his head to behave responsibly. Somehow, i think that – short of something truly huge happening which forces Jonah to rethink life – he is just not going to improve as a person. I coukd be wrong, of course, and like anyone else i often enough am. Anyway, i do not think that many think there is a reason to fear for Shannon. You have a point, though. There might be, and that woukd certainly affect Toni’s behavior.

wait till brad gets wind of this …

What if Toni had had to go to work because there was a fire? Wonder what Jonah would have said then. Guilt is a powerful weapon, but a master manipulator has to learn how to use it sparingly. Toni and Brad don’t need to take custody of Shannon. She’s already with them too much as is, and taking custody just lets Jonah off the hook completely. They need to force Jonah to step up and be a better father. A start would be finding a permanent babysitter, who’s NOT Toni.

Wow. Stood up against Dirk, but can’t stand up against brother?

Is it just me, or does anyone else think this is the last time Toni will ever see Jonah?

Here’s hoping Jonah gets eaten by a whale.

How can he possibly say she doesn’t help him enough, after all the stuff she does for his kid, and as if he – AND his offspring – are her responsibility.

Sounds like a familiar argument I’ve had with a family member. Some people really think that their responsibilities should be placed with other people and universe forbid that other person turn them down. “But we’re family!!” That argument never works with me.

Being family doesn’t make me a doormat.

I’d rather see what Rosa is up to. This is so boring. Maybe Jonah will get caught in a flaming building and it will be up to Bwad to rescue him.

Is it just me or does anyone else here really dislike this jonah character?

I agree. Airman’s response about how Gunther is totally different from Jonah was excellent.Do both whine at varying degrees and fir different purposes (Gunther typically from difficulty dealing with something which has happened, but Jonah to wheedle and be manipulative.), sure, but both also talk, frown, smile. Heck, if GE would write it in then both would probably fart. So what?

There have been so many comments about how big a brat Shannon is. Here we see that she comes by it naturally. Jonah is expert at turning a reasonable argument into a guilt trip.

Notice that little “gotcha” smile on Jonahs face in the last panel. Jonah is the quintessential millennial.

Jonah needs to grow up and take responsibility for his own life. Toni needs to grow a backbone where it concerns her brother. He plays her every time.

Enabler!

Aye.

Jonah will pay for his dumping of Shannon later in life. Small children are like little sponges in as much as they remember Everything you do with and for them. My grown daughter often brings up things we did that I’ve forgotten all about, then we both smile.

So…he’s actually a pretty good actor.

I’m betting Shannon will throw an epic temper tantrum when she finds out she’s not going to the pool after all.

The expression on Jonah’s face in panel two is so extremely ugly that I can’t imagine anyone hiring him as an actor. Unless he’s supposed to portray a monster. Yet in the last panel, he’s all smiles again. And we thought he had no talent as an actor…

She only said she’d take Shannon. She didn’t say where. Maybe she’ll take her to the planning meeting.

Some one needs to get their head out of a deep, dark stinky place… Just not sure if it’s really ONLY her brother…

Next she’s going to agree to take Shannon on the honeymoon.

And this is why we have useless Millennials! No one stands up to losers!

And the upshot is…

Jonah’s not getting THIS job, either.

His best acting gig is what he pulls on his sister, Toni and his acting like he might be somebody’s father…

Predictable.

Jonah is egomaniac.

What would solve this is a couple of days of honest conversation between Toni and Shannon and Brad…Something like, “Honey, you love BRad and me, right?” “You know that weddings are super hard to plan out and you really want ours to be nice, right?” “well, your dad didn’t know that me and Brad need to make our plans today, but how would you like to come along and be our special helper? Since youre such an important part of our lives, we want you to have some kind of a say in what we do”….something like that

Toni needs help with her negotiating skills.

Jonah is one manipulative lil bro…sigh

Let’s just stop for a second and realize that Toni stating, “OK! I’ll take Shannon” might have more of a meaning than just to the pool.

That’s what’s known as “enabling.”

It’s called “enabling”, Toni. You are too easily guilt-tripped. For a firefighter, she should have more backbone than this.

What if Jonah gets the job?? WHo is then going to watch Shannon???

Whiny, egocentric Jonah deserves nothing. Unfortunately, Shannon, an innocent child, is his pawn. He is scum. Nah!

Maybe this is all deliberate on Jonah’s part because he doesnt want Toni to get married

And why didn’t Dirk take care of Jonah years ago?

Interesting that of all the comics I read on this site, this one generates the most comments. Real life situations, I guess.

Frank Farkel said,

This was not a surprise. At Greg speed, I don’t see a resolution by Saturday. Does she take Shannon to the planning session or does she call Brad and postpone? If it is the latter, it might finally hit the wall for Jonah with Brad.-———————————————————maybe but……………………. at same time would not be surprised if Auntie Toni said “and here I was supposed to do some things to get ready for the wedding” and Shannon herself would be one to say "forget the pool. wedding is more important, let’s go see Bwad "

Please please please dont let Shannon wander off herself to find a pool because Toni is at the wedding meeting

5Interesting.Various thoughts:1. Toni did this for Shannon. With that in mind, it is an “ok” decision. 2. Jonah is a real jerk, and his smarmy grin in the last panel is infuriating. 3. I believe that after some thought and feeling a LOT of stress, Toni will be able to make this situation work and still be able to do the wedding meeting. It will be a helluva lot of stress for her, however, and that is not fair, but it is very often what family does…. for good or bad.4. I suspect that Brad will recognize what transpired easily enough…. and I suspect that even though Brad will likely gripe about it to some extent, in the end, he too will know Toni did the right thing and he will help out as well. Perhaps after the meeting is done, he and Toni and Shannon will do something fun together. Argy… yesterday you intimated that my suggestion that Toni would acquiesce and take Shannon in this was because she was a woman. I TOTALLY disagree with that idea. I would say that Toni or ANY loving sibling, be they male or female, would end up doing the same thing, even with a horrendous jerk of a sibling like Jonah. The loving sibling would do it for Shannon.

wow, way to cave Toni

as so many have said, Toni is not caving. For Shannon, this needs to be done. And I hope she is keeping a diary of every time this happens because it is getting easier and easier for Toni to gain custody—and I think that is what she is realizing in the last frame.

Toni’s not ready to get married. As long as she can let her brother manipulate her into doing his bidding, she’ll never be able to put her own family first. What’s going to happen when Jonah decides to dump Shannon on her at a critical moment when she needs to do something for Brad or their own children?

I wish Sheriff would come to the rescue with some kind of ‘white out’ material, and paint out Jonah’s face in that second frame…

I wonder how much of this “…owe you one…” is rhetorical or if Brad, on finding all of this out, uses the situation to ask Jonah to give up some rights regarding Shannon.

‘Jonah’ is misnamed: should be ‘Judas’

Is there a prize I don’t know about for the 500th comment on any given daily panel?

Shannon! You were supposed to go outside when they weren’t looking! Now this arc is boring again!

…Lift off aborted! At least until Brad finds out. He will go into orbit.

interesting the same two posters wishing Shannon to wander off and cause extra anxiety.tsk, tsk.

Toni is part of the reason why he is the way he is. She should have held her ground and make him be a father to Shannon. Stop giving into he guilt trip b/c he will never change until she change how she handles him.

Wow. Jonah thinks he’s the travel agent for the guilt trip.

Toni subcontracting Shannon to Luann:

Um…it’s not like she is your wife. So what if her career is more important to her than your career is?

Spoiler: the beginnings of female teamwork

The little tyke needs to become a drowning victim in order to permanently alter the unhealthy dynamic that exists between the two siblings.

@Birdsh!t Got a rise out of you, didn’t I?!