Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for December 12, 2023

Well, I think theres a 99% chance this cabin will be a run down shack that’s almost uninhabitable.

They’ve used this plot in countless sitcoms to varying success. I think the best I’ve seen was the Bewitched episode where Larry lent out his cabin to Darrin and Sam and she had to use her witchcraft to make it bearable to stay there.

For those who thought this arc was going to be about Bernice… I have my doubts.

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So, where does Frank work? Have they ever said?

I know this trope: they go in expecting the Taj Mahal, but they get there and find it to be only marginally better than a dog house.

Were does Frank work.

Wait I thought Frank quit work to own the fuse?

This feels like a throwback to a much younger Luann and Brad. Wouldn’t Toni and Brad be making enough money to take their own independent vacations whenever they could get time off together? And wouldn’t Luann as a college student go places with her friends? Hoping it’s just a three-day weekend…

Hovel.

I didn’t know Frank still worked elsewhere since buying The Fuse. No wonder we never see him there. So what kind of work does Frank do? I think it will be a rustic cabin since they plan to go hiking. It doesn’t sound like it is near a resort.

Food court in the woods? That would sure be nice.

The boss, just want’s you to clean it up, before he there for Christmas and New Years.

Betcha the place is a broken down dump!!

Anyone wanna take bets on how soon they’ll be quarreling with one another??

Why is Brad there without his wife? Is this a flashback when Brad was living at home?

Agree that this cabin will be a disaster.

Good grief, what a setup. Greg and Karen write Frank as a complete stooge.

Zesus lodge is probably not amazing for Bradley and Luann Degroot?

Zeus’ Lodge. Could be worse. Could be called the Overlook Hotel.

Prolly like sayin to your little kids that you’re takin em to Disneyland an instead you drive em to an old burned out warehouse.

‘Oh, no!’ You say.. ‘Looks like Disneyland burned down.’

CFO + cabin in woods = total seclusion and no wi-fi, cell reception, etc. Execs buy those places to be completely out of touch with the world.

Sad trombone at the ready.

OOOOOOOO! An ICE RINK! This skater is getting excited! I hope Luann and Brad brought their skates. Rentals suck.

If the amazing place is close quarters, then it would be either a time for the DeGroots to bond and reminisce, or dredge up old irritants.

It’s probably an old corn shed with an oiled tarp for a door… the toilet is a 5 gallon plastic bucket.

It’s fun seeing the original family together and more Brad for a change but this is an odd arc lol

Well, we now know what the lodge will NOT look like.

I thought Frank quit his job to run The Fuse.

I’m still amazed to see the family going on vacation together like when Luann was 13. I wonder what will happen and how long this arc will last. Maybe it will be a long story that will introduce new characters (who will return even after the arc ends) and it will end after New Year’s Eve. Maybe it will be a short comic interval about the misadventures of the Degroots: in the mountains in a ruin invaded by wild animals without electricity, water and Internet. I hope to be pleasantly surprised.

You can bet that the cabin is going to be mega-rustic, perhaps it has running water and an indoor bathroom rather than an outhouse but lets wait and see. I would not be surprised if we see a character like the junk yokel who tried to “bait and switch” Brad and Toni on the junked out car and also tried to “low ball” Tiff on her belongings when she had to do a flash sale thanks to Ann Eifel. My advice to Frank: do a U-turn and head to the nearest Holiday Inn Express if you hear banjo music.

But seriously, I am guessing if the DeGroots are from Orange, LA or Ventura County as most surmise, they are probably on their way to Big Bear which is actually pretty nice if the weather is agreeable or doing a Kerouac and are up to Big Sur up the coast which will be indeed rustic.

Hey Brad…Toni’s working. Who’s watching the brat?

Two bits says it’s a dumpy run down, one room, outhouse amenity, tar paper shack.

LOL! I love the “imagination” bubbles! Of course… Zeus was a Greek god, so I’m thinking VERY Spartan!

I’m going to assume that this cabin is just some miserable, run down shack with bad indoor plumbing.

not a shack, but next to a fishing spot with no electricity, cell service, or flush toilets.

They didn’t Zillow it first?

Little log cabin in the woods, with lions and tigers and bears, oh my.

cue the dark ambient music with discordant overtones which, although broadly tonal, is inflected with chromatic and polytonal passages representing the archetypal example of a florid, melodramatic style without being interpreted as an overly heavy-handed metaphor within the context of the thematic material a bit on the frenetic and frantic side with interesting rhythmic devices which seem to counterpoint the surrealism of the underlying metaphor utilizing a novel imaging technique known as positron emission tomography and the spontaneous conceptions

Why would a fireman fantasize about a highly combustible wooden cabin?

“Zeus Lodge”…. Does this mean that brother and sister have to marry each other and then produce children??

Log Cabin! Bears! No Wi-Fi!

I’ve pretty much decided after the skydiving thing – that this writing is pretty poor. Am I the only one annoyed with the “oh I didn’t do the jump after all” bit? Disappointing and poor writing. I think I’ve turned a corner with this strip.

After looking at the last panel, suddenly, the Addams Family theme song popped in My head.

I’m thinking the “lodge” may end up being some creepy old run down Victorian joint.

Or WORSE, an old log cabin straight out of the Jeremiah Johnson movie.

Who knows?

But I think that in ANY case, Frank is going to end up looking like a SAP.

And all thoughts of his bravery jumping out of an airplane will quickly be forgotten. :-)

No signal on their phones and no electricity! I see a LOT of family togetherness and enjoying the beauty of nature. Oh, and how about a snowstorm so they’re stuck there for a while.

No – no. It’s amazing the CFO would let a peon like me use his cabin – -

Can Greg draw bears?

Is the cabin out in the woods by itself, or part of a group of cabins? If it is just one cabin, it won’t have any amenities, except maybe a hot tub. If it is part of a group they surely would have checked it out online.

This is the first time Luann’s immediate family spent quality time alone in a long time!

Apparently nobody knows about Google in this strip.

Watch it turn out to be staffers dressed in togas…

Jet skis? In the weather they seem to be bundled up for?

Ok, with this setup, Zeus Lodge is sure to be a cardboard hut or a little shack made of sticks and straw.

Christmas season? Where’s Toni? Things move forward – doesn’t make sense.

We’re running parallel to a Scooby Doo storyline! “And the evil Swamp Monster is…Mr. Gray???”

Maybe Frank Degroot was promoted to CFO (Chief Financial Officer)??

I expect their amazement will be largely negative…

High expectations, hard to meet.

Cathy’s boss told her she was about to get a bonus bigger than her wildest dreams. She started yelling A MILLION DOLLARS! Then he remembered Cathy dreamt BIG.

The background looks good………..?

No phone, no pool, no ice machine, the TVs are black and white…

No Skiing?

My grandparents’ cabin had an outhouse, a big wood-burning stove to keep the place warm at night as long as you got up every couple of hours to feed it, a porch where the laundry machines sat (Grandma mostly used the clothesline, but we’re a lot further north than the deGroots and hanging laundry in a blizzard rarely dries it), and a big TV antenna that Grandpa put up in 1965 to watch the news about the moon missions.

I’ll be surprised if the Zeus Lodge is that luxurious.

Nice imagination there Brad and Luann, but I suspect you are in for a disappointment.

Am I the only one who thinks it odd that Brad is going on a family vacation while his wife is at home working?

Luann besides the creative writing class (which she is repeating and thus not earning any transfer credits) does not have any classes to attend?

Probably more along the line of Grizzly Adams…

I remember going into the deep woods to go hunting with my dad and we stayed in a bare-bones cabin for a week. all it had was a fireplace and an outhouse. no electricity. there were beds and a couple chairs and we had firewood provided for us for the week. i think thats what awaits luann and family.

So did we just take a step into a time warp? Seriously? Adult children going on a vacation with their parents?

The name Zeus lodge kinda reminds me of Zion National Park Lodge. And that’s kinda what the town outside the park, Springdale, looks sorta like that picture

The Cabin in the Woods

Is this set before Brad marriage to Toni?

Brad will get s tuck with firewood chopping duty

anyone else thinks it a bit odd that Brad would go on vaca when his wife is home working?

Doesn’t look likely the cabin will be amazing.

Whatever conition this place is, it won’t be even close to what Brad, and, Luann imagine. And, what are Frank and Nancy’s expectations?

I think there is a 70% chance they run into a face from the past

Looks like a horror movie setup; snowed-in at Christmas…with a killer

The CFO will a follower of stoicism.

What’s the over/under one their disappointment?

I’m thinking the cabin will look like the one from the movie The Great Outdoors or even Summer Rental my favorite John Candy movies

Reminds me of For Better or For Worse, when the Patterson Family got to use a friend’s cabin, only to wind up in a run-down shack and have the dog get skunked.

When they arrived home, it turned out they were in the wrong cabin. The one without the luxurious amenities.

So they’re taking a family vacation without Toni and Shannon??? That’s just wrong.

Different strokes [or lodges] for different folks, kids.

But I suspect “Zeus Lodge” may not live up to anyone’s fantasies….

I can imagine what that cabin will look like…No running water, no electricity, and is occupied by wildlife.