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

First off, “B-A-T” must mean “Brad and Toni.” Second, Jonah came at a wrong time since both his sister and future brother-in-law both left for a big work assignment (not that he cares).

Hmmmm, I wonder what this is leading too? An intervention? A beat-down? Nah, but very curious.

Operation B-A-T = Brad And Toni? Everyone is going to help fix up the house???

Ohhh. Maybe a surprise rehab like DaJellyBelly said? Brad and Toni. Are they all in on it, including the firefighters?

Looks like TJ isn’t going to let Jonah get away without doing some real work.

Uh, Brad and Toni are off fighting wildfires in EVERY corner of this Great Nation of Ours, and won’t be back for at least six months, so YOU are on Your OWN, “Jonah.”

Probably doesn’t stand for “Build A Tetrahedron,” huh?

“Buy And Trade.” TJ’s going to sell the house while Brad’s out.

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The interview with Laurie Triefeldt (World of Wonder) posted at:

webcomicsinterviews.com

New poll question – Poll: Does Luann read the children’s edutainment section of the newspaper?

Post your answer in the blog comments.

Maybe a small wild fire to distract the couple, so TJ can finish everything.

No pity for Toni’s brother – but poor Shannon! I noted Les working for Ox – not a happy camper. And the forest fire! The last few days are gathering to hit the fan.

Good for TJ. Now, someone needs to give Les the same wake up call. More importantly, the gang is gathering for what will become the wildfire watch. Most likely there will be TV coverage and they will have a marathon monitor and worry session. Quill might hear about it and leave whatever he’s doing to be with Luann. They might also be joined by Tiffany, Gunther, Crystal, and Knute.

If anybody can handle Jonah it’s TJ!

Looks like a serious work party is about to happen…. to get the place finished in time for Brad and Toni’s return from the wildfire.

B.A.T. “Brother Adoption Talk”. It’s an intervention to get Shannon out of Jonah’s custody into a real family.

They are going to have a marathon session interspersed with drama from the fire, while everyone is working, Jonah will slip away when no one is looking (except maybe Shannon). thinking he can “explain” later…either way he will get his audition or show or whatever he thinks he has….and be as selfish as usual. I think Shannon is going to see that Brad is the dad she needs and wants…

I think the finishing the house premise is most likely… TJ should watch it, Jonah could break that skinny kid in half, if he wanted to!

Please don’t end this arc with one of them dying…

Why do I now get the feeling that the “wildfire” is a ruse by TJ with the Firemen in on it, to do whatever he’s gathering everyone to do?

Go TJ! At least someone doesn’t give in to Jonah’s passive/aggressiveness!

I am just amazed how this strip has matured over the years. Not many pull it off, or really even try.

I love TJ’s smile. It is Jonah’s come-uppance.

Pru plays on Team DeGroot?

Combined bachelor and bachelorette surprise party?

Good Lord, don’t involve Les. The guy is scum. Why would TJ want him there anyway? Les isn’t friends with anybody in their group and in fact beat tried to beat Gunther up.

Kind of a “wonder-what’s-going-on?” expression from Shannon.

Did I miss Leslie getting caught for the fake charity?

Please tap this guy in the head with a nail gun

Show no mercy, TJ!

Why is the brother wearing a woman’s shirt and carrying a purse?

I’ve got a bad feeling about this. I picture TJ giving everyone a baseball bat (B-A-T) and tearing down walls.

Wait, wait — How did Shannon get out of the back of Brad’s car?

It looks like Les is still work— uh, employed at the Kafe. He seems to have dodged one bullet. Perhaps he’s cleaned up his act, or perhaps he’s just staying off of Pru’s radar. I don’t think we’re done with that plot twist yet, and I hope it’s Ox who ends up taking care of Les.

I find it hard to believe that the Fire Chief would go along with a fake wildfire, but this may be one of those Luanniverse things where the practices of law and/or government bend themselves in service to a comic situation.

And yes, I’m aware that our own real-world government sometimes bends itself into a ridiculous position for arbitrary reasons. It can happen…

I suppose it’s “Luanniverse rules” again, that Ox and Les can just leave the Kafe at 8 pm to take care of something else, even if it is the owners’ family. Is Mr. Grey going to run the place by himself, or are there other employees we haven’t met?

It looks like Jonah is finally going to start paying a few moral debts. About darn time.

time for Jonah to pay for all the favors! AND HE BETTER PAY!

B-A-T=Brad and Toni?

Wildfires, Operation B-A-T, making Jonah do something responsible… we’re heading for a pre-wedding singularity, here.

TJ is my hero today!

This just got more interesting.

They’re grabbing Les, so…Bag A Thief? 

 It’s almost Thanksgiving, so…Bake A Turkey?

 Hmm, it’s GoComics, so….Ban A Troll? :→

He’s got Jonah by the shirt, so…Berate A Turd?

I can’t ‘reply’ for some reason, but to Dreamdeer, Roberta, Husky and others, agree with you re Jonah. Should he leave, which is highly probable given work is involved, Shannon can paint as she has done once before. I too think the rehab is on and all hands will gather to knock it out. TJ’s great at this stuff. He’ll keep control over Leslie, er Les, too I’d bet.

Gromit…you haven’t kept up with Jonah very well

Now that i have some sleep I can look at and comment on today’s panels with a bit more depth. The first two panels are interesting for a number of reasons. Mr. Gray has a Fuse uniform on, and he has control and presumably a close eye over his problematic nephew (I think nephew, definitely a relative he feels responsible for) Les. That should mean that he is maintaining a relationship with Gunther’s mom, and there should be some interesting developments coming with that. Les, well I think having the possibility of him and Jonah in one set of panels ought to be very interesting. Also Shannon, whose reaction to TJ’s aggressive stance with her dad in the last panel (and lets face it TJ is no wimp. If anyone can make an “impression” on Jonah he can) remains to be seen, it should be fascinating the development of that development. -:) Obviously TJ is coordinating a previously thought of and communicated plan, named operation B.A.T which, as some of you smarter than me have picked up, stands for Brad and Toni. I am little bit less worried about the wildfire, although I am still a bit worried than I was, because the going to a “wildfire” may be part of the plan, although some of you, such as my favorite non Trufan, seismic, might point out that this is such a waste of fire department resources to use a truck and take a crew out in the country to fight a non-existent wildfire. But hey this in Luannverse, so any twist might be possible. I just hope a bad twist is not going to happen. Greg, my man, you HAVE TO HAVE THAT WEDDING NEXT MONTH. Half the country is depressed for one thing (lol). Anyway, this is clearly the start of a major, pre-wedding arc, with all the main characters being involved. I agree with another commentor, somehow the whole crew, including Delta, and I hope Rosa, will probably show up over the next few short weeks but how GE and Karen plan it out will be fun to see. I hope, that damn wildfire scenari

OOPS! I am not one to have a bunch of comments, I like to comment, then come back to see what others have been saying and responding in fun to other points of view. In this case I have violated my practice I admit. But I notice my main comment did not finish the last sentence if anyone read that far. I meant to say I hope that damn wildfire scenario is nothing dangerous, and is perhaps part of the elaborate ruse.

B-A-T = Beat a Thespian? (I wish)B-A-T = Brace a Truss? After all, Tj was doing demo until his quiche burned.Can’t wait till tomorrow!

Misread the first panel. The get together at TJ’s must be to do all the remodel immediately.

TJ is the man. Not even Jonah can escape.

TJ is smart and realizes that the modifications won’t be fully finished in time for “Christmas” wedding so he’s calling the “team” together to get the slam dunk!!

6

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Hmm. To me this reads like the “wildfires” were a red herring. Operation B.A.T. seems likely to be a huge push by family and friends to remodel the house prior to the big day.

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Not sure if anyone remembers the old show (on TLC, I believe) called “Trading Spaces” with Paige Davis as host. It was a wonderfully fun show where two couples worked in conjunction with a designer to remodel each other’s home (usually one or two rooms) for roughly $500 (I think, perhaps it was $1000).

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It was a really fun show and seemed more accessible than the current shows which focus more on making everything very high end, expensive, and usually involve major gutting of the home in the remodel. I miss that show, not only because it was fun and often humorous, but because it really felt more akin to how us real, everyday folks could tackle some home remodeling…. it felt more inspirational than the current crop of shows…. which although many are enjoyable, they feel less inspiring to “do it yourself”.

Of course, flaky Jonah had no clue as to what was going on…. that is to be expected as he lives in his own private universe. But, now even he is being roped in.

Jonah will just find a way to slip away unnoticed while leaving Shannon there for others to watch.

I love the last panel. TJ is someone who can actually deal with Jonah like he should be dealt with.

Say what we will about TJ, but he is actually a faithful friend. He will make this work for Brad.

See! This is why I like TJ!!!! Keep him around. Also, nice job in the last panel…’bout time.

He’s holding the shirt so that if TJ told him he Toni was not there he would not turn around and say " well I need to go so thanks for watching Shannon" and just take off. TJ is not giving him the option.

Put slacker-boy to work!

Even Shannon hammering nails into the wall might be more useful than Jonah.

Brad’s tool belt should fit Jonah as well.

Operation BAT: Bag A Thief. “Grab Les and empty his pockets!”

Prediction: TJ is gathering the troops to complete all the construction updates that Brad was trying to get done when he was called away. TJ is going to make Jonah help out for once.

Does Jonah look a little like Luann with a beard?

I have never loved TJ more than in this moment. He isn’t going to put up with any of Jonah’s b.s., and Toni isn’t around to rescue him. Maybe Jonah will feel a tiny bit of shame when Shannon kicks his behind at renovating.

I LIKE THE WAY THIS IS GOING

I’m now thinking “Plan B.A.T.” was prearranged to go into effect the first time Brad and Toni’s different fire stations were called to the same fire, more than [time] away. This would explain TJ’s calling everyone in at a moment’s notice, but doesn’t suggest inappropriate use of the Fire Department’s resources or personnel. It’s still a bit much for me to believe that two fire stations would agree to be unavailable to fight fires in order to do some kind of bridal surprise.

I will back off on the Kafe, though. Maybe they did just blow off an evening’s revenue. Not impossible, even on short notice. Or, maybe there are other employees we haven’t met. Maybe Mr. Grey can whistle up another crew from his, uh, contacts.

You tell ’im, TJ! Time to step up and watch your own brat, Jonah!

They’d better keep an eye on Les or they might find stuff missing when they get back.

I previously asked a question and no one answered it, but i hope some have been thinking about it. What i was trying to figure out was this: if Luann winds up with reasons to be very worried about Brad and Toni while they are away, how will each of her friends react to her worries? I think i figured out pretty much all of them in ways that could make sense for the characters, EXCEPT FOR BERNICE. Bernice has been so hiding from life and so brittle recently (possibly because she is being such a turtle and trying to fit herself and her interpretation of the world into preconceptions – rather than finding what fits her and facing the world’s realities) that i simply can not imagine how she woukd wrap her head around such a need in friend right now. Ideas?

At first glance I thought TJ was grabbing a woman’s boob.

Not unlike our President Elect.

Give Jonah what for T.J. !

T. J. you really don’t think that sluggo cares about anyone or anything, do you?

I wonder whether Jonah will so something (more) irresponsible (than usual) like leave Shannon alone somewhere while he goes to his audition, during which time she gets lost or hurt.

I think TJ is dragging Jonah into the house to put him to work because it’s Toni who needs his help, thus “other way around, bud.”

Hmm idk Templo; maybe he just made dinner and it stands for Bad Ass Tacos.

Also, is Les ever gonna get popped for ripping off the charity? ’Cause for a comic strip, especially one about a place thats like the Mayberry of the 21st century, that seems…odd.

Coming Soon… “Operation B-A-T!” Starring Jonah in his most challenging role as… Handy Man.

Since IamJayBluE isn’t here today (yet), I will “pinch-hit” for him:

“B-A-T-ting Order”

“The Man With A Plan”

“A Team Operation”

“Recruit Team DeGroot”

“While B-A-T’s Away”

“Tune In Tomorrow, Same B-A-T Time, Same B-A-T Channel”

“A Date At Eight To Renovate”

Oh. Fixing up the house… How disappointing. I was hoping for a resolution to the Les-embezzlement story.

Maybe…the forest fire is a surprise wedding set up by Brad in secret. Toni might love it – getting the whole thing done.

Three panels, nine characters. They are beginning to gather like birds on a telephone wire. This event is going to be epic, Greg’s Tour de force.

Is this not what I was saying would happen? someone would get hurt, they’ll get married in the hospital, Toni will wear the dress, Brad will probably be in a hospital gown because SHE can’t be the one to get hurt (all the fans’ drawings gone to waste? no way), and they’ll probably have Toni’s quiche, family and firefighters will be there along with Bern and probably Gunth, and Toni will be like best wedding ever! They’ll probably keep us worried that Brad’s going to die and THEN after a sunday strip tell us he’s fine. And I will probably be really annoying, reminding everyone, but I’ve never been more sure of something in my life and it’s my time to shine. But I’m kind of tired of all of this stuff…I’m tired of Luann in general.

TTFN. One post a day is the new goal. Not a 20% solution.

Hey I made a mistake on the first panel commenting in my “long” entry earlier. It was clearly not Mr. Gray and I totally blew that. Thanks for calling me out on that, and I acknowledged it and apologize to the forum/blog/bunch of Luann fans, Trufans or not, for that mistake. I want to keep my credibility, particularly so I have the right to be critical. I think my point about OX being the Les watcher instead of Mr. Gray, is valid though.

Sukie & Argy:

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Thank you for explaining the Toni & Brad work situation. I had been mistakenly assuming they were working at the same station because they had the same Captain.

With the new idea of the two of them being at different stations under the same Captain, my earlier suggestion that the “wildfire” is a red herring is now very, very likely incorrect. So, now the possibility for real drama and/or trauma is again back in play.

OK, I apologize in advance if I am repeating what someone else has proposed. The wildfire incident is real but TJ is taking advantage of the fact that both Toni and Brad are out on assignment and he wants to get the house all fixed up before they get back as a surprise; so he has rounded up the assistance of others under the guise of Operation BAT. Jonah and Shannon may get drafted into the work. All that said, there may be some dangerous situation in the wildfire and Toni and Brad do not return by evening or when expected.

How long has “Operation B-A-T” been in the works? Is the fire department part of it, with a false alarm to way out of town for a non-existent wildfire?

If B-A-T stands for “Brand and Toni” and not something more esoteric, and for fixing up the house, this will be fun to see, especially with Jonah impressed into service….

My take on TJ is that he has always been in love with his own cleverness, and as a younger man, was constantly coming up with elaborate, but poorly-thought-out plans. Hanging out with the DeGroots (he once used the phrase “this family I’ve glommed onto”) has helped him become a more mature, thoughtful guy — who still loves complicated plans, intrigue and sneakiness.

I wouldn’t call him evil, or even bad. He’s very loyal to the only family he has, he just enjoys being the one pulling the strings and seeing his elaborate schemes come together.

Some of his early plans were really pretty stupid and half-baked. I think he’s gotten better at organizing things, also as a part of his maturing process.

Just wondering, why would TJ need a ruse to get Brad out of the house? Brad probably works a schedule at the firehouse most of the time, so there are predictable times when he will be away from his and TJ’s house. And Toni doesn’t live there yet, and she wouldn’t be hanging out at Brad and TJ"s when Brad wasn’t home.

Much like was the case with Tiffany, the Evanses are completely rehabilitating TJ – a good thing.

I doubt Jonah is a fighter if he walks around with a man bag.

YES!! Let’s watch TJ handle the jerk.

They’re going to beat him to a pulp with baseball bats? Long overdue.

Pru is sitting by Luann. She will convert her yet.

argy.bargy2 said,

@David Green

“Being self-centered is not at all the same as being mentally challenged…”

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Sure it is.

It is a mental condition and creates difficulties.