Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for July 07, 2011

Explain anyway…like, now-ISH. I’m all ears.

Okay, I want to know more about TJ. Mr. Evans, how about a hint ( :

TJ should answer, Brad consider this advance payment of, however many months, of my share of the rent money. And seeing Brad refusing help from a friend is somewhat disappointing.

I hope this arc doesn’t die without an explanation from TJ. Theory 1: TJ’s either a gigolo. Just for LOLs, he’s ELWOOD’S secret lover. Actual prostitution wouldn’t be covered in a family strip like Luann, but we all know Elwood’s not above paying someone pretty (like Luann or TJ) to be romantic with. Like Luann, TJ could have gone on a date with Elwood to help out a friend. Theory 2: he’s getting it from the trust fund his dad set up (which for TJ would be “Legal-ish” since TJ probably cheats on his taxes. Plus, if his father made all this money before he went to jail, there’s a chance that the money in TJ’s trust fund was stolen. Theory 3: He defrauded Dirk, managing to beat him at his own game of “Delivering products.” (When Dirk was first introduced, his job was “Delivering products.” He may be still doing it to bring in extra income). The "Legal-ish part comes from shady reasoning: Dirk’s done a lot worse than con somebody out of a couple thousand dollars. After all, when an uninsured Dirk wrecked Toni’s car in an earlier Luann strip, it cost $2500 to fix, and he stuck Toni (his then girlfriend) with the bill. The $3000 that he scammed from Dirk would cover that bill plus interest. Please don’t abort this arc, Greg. I wanna hear more about TJ!

Brad – TJ doesn’t work. Yet you were never curious to his ability to pay the rent. Now you want to know where the money comes from? Maybe he is involved in the same business as your parents – sit around the house and drink coffee.

Greg has let the reality of the real world invade Pittsville; but only part of it. He has let Brad have a recession-induced unemployment, however, Unemployment Insurance does not exist. Greg – you sank a ship and life vests don’t exist?

That’s the beauty of a comic strip. It doesn’t HAVE to be realistic. It could be how ever Greg wants it to be.

Maybe the “ish” was a joke to cover up his own discomfort at helping out a friend. I know that I would do the same.

Chuck is right on. TJ’S Mommy and Daddy are rich.

Yea TJ put $1.000 on the Giants last year won $25.000

I am glad Brad rejected TJ’s offer. It may well turn out that the cash is in no way hot; but for Brad to accept unexplained thousands of dollars that the potential donor has just called “legal-ish” would not be prudent. —Not to mention the blow to his pride.

I’m going out on a limb here… since TJ loves to cook, & pretty good at it, I’m betting he’s doing catering on the side & not reporting it to the IRS. Therefore the money is legally earned but not reported as income… I.E. legal-ish

Well Brad, Your SOUL is Safe for Now! Good for YOU for NOT taking the Money, IMHO. I’m curious as to what the DeGroots reactions will be once Brad tells them of Smiley’s offer.

If Brad doesn’t want/need that three grand, I’ll gladly take it off his hands! :-)

I think that Brad should accept the money, only he must insist that he will only accept it as a loan, which he will pay back gradually. An interest-free loan, if his pride can take it.I think all this pride is damaging. There are times when a person should be willing to accept help from others. OTOH, it would NOT be a good thing for Brad to move back in with his parents, which would take away some of his independence and self-respect. That’s another reason that a loan from TJ would be good.

I’m betting that the money is from some sort of trust set up for TJ that he doesn’t use…maybe from a dad he doesn’t speak to who’s in jail?…i don’t know, i’m throwing out anything

Believe me, you don’t wanna know!

Like I said yesterday (only it got ereased) TJ just may be a poor little rich kid doing things his way.

To those who persist in suggesting that unemployment would help, in SOME states that may be so, but the only time I had to take it, the amount was similar to serving on a jury – after a layoff from a REAL paycheck.

@stealth -who’s Gary? Did you mean Greg?

I like the fact that TJ is always smiling. One of my favorite characters! =-D

I for one am hoping that Greg has a long, multifaceted story arc where TJ is the major character. While I enjoy ALL of Greg’s characters, I think that TJ would be especially enjoyable to see an expansion of story lines. Brad’s unemployment issues may be realistic…. but it has been TJ’s input that has given the story arc its “funniness” and makes it enjoyable to read.

GOOD for Brad for not accepting TJ’s money. The way I see it, it’s not about pride. It’s that accepting TJ’s money would be inappropriate. Brad still has some other options right now and he can continue looking for another job. I would not accept money from a friend unless I was REALLY in need of it and had no other (more appropriate) source to draw from, like family. Would love to see more of TJ. His constant smile is endearing and yet creepy at the same time…

I get nervous whenever TJ is involved in a storyline. Though in this case he’s probably just selling pot to Knute.

Royalties from a tooth whitening product endorsement

I think Brad is to be commended for not wanting to accept the money as a gift, but should eventually accept it as a loan and be grateful to a good friend. I would also like to know more about TJ’s background.As I posted yesterday (but I’m always late) ISH can stand for “Insert Sarcasm Here”.

Witness protection program? That might explain TJ…

Boy, I’ve never seen so many people with so many takes on a comic. Greg can do anything and create any story arc he can dream of. It’s NOT reality. The money could come from Felix’s bag ‘o tricks or Uncle Scrooges vault for all we know. Greg tries to keep it real with the lives of Luann’s characters and is only limited by his own imagination as to where TJ got the dough. And when is Luann going to get a proper smooch from AussieBoy. The girl is due. As for me, I got’s some spinach to eat…

Why isn’t Brad getting unemployment benefits anyway?

I want to know where TJ got the cash.

“selling pot to Knute”..yep..that’s the ticket!

I’ve always thought TJ was rich…

Gambling is shady if it is not the state lotto huh? But they are just fine even though they give worse odds than the numbers games. I guess morality is relative. And I could come up with $3k cash when I was 14. I learned early that if you owe you are a slave.

Brad could double the rent due from TJ, that would help a lot to keep them in the house for the time being.

I find no way to access the archives. no button, no box, nothing..Even a search of the site for the word ‘archives’ comes back saying “no results”

To access past strips (as far back as March 3, 2003) go to the top of the page to the right of the date. There is a tiny calendar. Click on it, then click on the date arrow and previous years will show up. Select the year, then arrow left or right to get the desired month. Lastly select the day. I know of no search command yet.

Hmm, maybe TJ is attending school and took out a school loan to help brad? It’s legal-ish in that school loans can only be used for school and living expenses…

Did he really reject the TJ’s offer? The envelope is last seen in Brad’s hand :)

60 comments NO MORE COMMENTS PLEASE!!!!!!

What the hell happened to the comment section? 3 months ago 5 comments were a HUGE amount, now it went voer 100 and is constantly above 50 O.o