Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for September 17, 2020

Act 2 – FWOOOSH

So much anger on that face. ✨

I think I have seen this bit done by clowns in a circus. Luann and Brad and lucky that Shannon did not go for one of those tornados where it rains.

yep… kids need order (specially with Shannon’s own father Jonah)

Probably the best idea. Having two working parents isn’t a great way to grow up, so much would be missed out on.

Maybe Luann could teach Shannon how to put on a REAL show?

A sad depressing week here. Brad talks about having children while Shannon gives ample evidence that he should not.

Drove school bus for 17 years. Yup, there be a candidate for the front seat.

Brad, hello. you dont need kids to make your life complete.of course a a lot of people have kids because they cant keep their hormones in check too. so take care of toni and use protection or get a procedure.

If Brad talks and Luann isn’t there to listen to it, has he really said anything? I think now would be a good time for Luann to dust herself off and tell Brad, “Good luck with that” and lock herself in her room.

I’ll stick with my fur babies.

Shannon had a perfectly good aim at Luann. And if memory severs me correct Luann has tried to be nice to her.

This man-child’s idea of caregiving is to do. Absolutely. Nothing. Maybe Bernice will pick up the paper, cuz he ain’t gonna. Too much work.

If Toni thinks their chaotic lives will see settling dust soon, think again. That’s just life. And as long as they are surrogate parents to Shannon, that’s pretty much permanent chaos until she graduates and leaves. That said, they as well go childless until Shannon leaves or be like everyone else, just start a family and go with the flow.

Incredible imagination on Shannon’s part – how many kids her age would know how to simulate a tornado? Perhaps she should be encouraged to go into theater!

I’m an agent of chaos. Upset the established order. Introduce a little chaos.

“Kids need order.”

And sometimes a little discipline. I have yet to see her receive any….possibly ever. Small wonder she is out of control.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFSmEuq_fFI

Spending a week trying to follow this strip when Shannon is featured, makes me think of swimming under water, holding your breath until it becomes so painful, you just can’t stand it anymore.

Act 2, fully imaginative child, finishing up the last scenes of Wizard of Oz. She still has a future, what will it be? Anything about to happen? How about Toni and Brad and Auntie Lu?

Is there a hidden message behind the chaos?

I suppose there are two disappointments in this week’s offerings.

One, the over-the-top yet stereotypical behavior of the kid everyone loves to hate.

Two, and we don’t even get to see Toni!

Sometimes I think Shannon creates all the chaos she does because she thinks no one will notice her if she acts like an ordinary kid…

I’m starting to think that Jonah pays somebody to look after Shannon while he works, rehearses or goes on dates. Somebody that doesn’t care if Shannon learns what most kids learn by this age.

Not sure how old Shannon is – I think at least 6. Absolutely old enough to be made to pick up the mess. Shannon might decide the fun wasn’t worth the cleanup chore.

This week’s arc is not engaging, interesting, or funny.

Here comes Margaret Hamilton!

A method actress!

Brad looks very Asian in the middle panel.

Wow, a lot of Dr. Spocks here this early morning!

Well I’m going to sleep now after working into these wee hours and enjoying the reward of reading a new Luann, which is warm and funny.

I’ll expect a lot more parenting advice will pass here this morning. Yawn…Live long and prosper

Right, Brad. Raise a kid in chaos and you’ll get a disordered child. Poor Shannon.

Brad needs to become comfortably numb!

Yeah, that’ll be the day ……

All that garbage now lying around. Now, who’d we see as a waste removal technician? Why, it was Dirk. This would be a bad time for him to show up, especially since mebbe Brad ‘n Toni may’ve had a “discussion”.

Ah, Toni? Not having been a parent, I can’t really say. But as I understand it, kids can and will disrupt “order” Look at your niece.

My wife and I raised out two children with love but also discipline and they now the same with their children.

Now it is time for Brad to give Shannon a spanking!

It wouldn’t surprise me if Toni became pregnant when he got home.

It also occurred to me that you are not doing a child any favors by allowing them to behave in this manner.

Y’know, if you took her outside, that kind behavior would be perfectly appropriate and would burn off all her excess energy.

In Act III, Shannon sings “Somewhere over the drain bowl”.

Oz is missing a flying monkey. We found it.

I had it. Watching today’s strip made me break out in itchy rashes ( I have a condition in which bad plot arcs cause me itching and I become addicted to Lucky Charms). This child needs to be disciplined, at least for my sake! Argh my itch!

There is an old SF story where parents have to apply to be parents and need to take care of a robot child for a period of time. The robot is like Shannon and even more irritating. This causes most couples to rescind their applications and they are commended for keeping down the population.

Sounds to me that Brad’s simping has cost him any say in his life. Shannon has no discipline and is completely out of control. This is where resentment starts to build and can have an effect on a marriage.

That brat needs a swift swat on her rear end before being made to clean up HER mess.

It will take a lot of energy, which Brad and Luann don’t have, but Shannon should be made to pick up a piece of trash.

Brad just sitting there lecturing about how kids needing order….he should practice what he preaches. Can tomorrow show him dishing out some discipline? Oh wait…I forgot, the Degroot children just sit back and let everyone else do the heavy lifting.

I always tell my kids .Feel free to make as big of a mess as you would like. Just remember, you need to clean that mess up when you are finished. this has helped limit the spread of items around the home.

Pure brat

Where is the girls mother???

My hat is off to parents. Not a job for the fainthearted.

Shannon has a future in the theater. The one where you engage the audience in the action. This is the most engaging interpretation of Doroty and Toto’s tornado possible. Love how Luann and Brad’s patience is strong♡.

This is why creativity needs to be channeled to productive play instead of chaos.

Time Shannon learned there are things you do and things you do not do. So far she has had no direction at all…from anyone.

I predict ‘Bwad’ will discipline her and then end up in hot water with Toni . . .

someone needs a timeout

Brad and Toni can’t be worse parents then Toni’s brother Jonah.

Ha! Ha! Ha! How charming and whimsical! That Shannon is just a DE-LIGHT! How old is she, again? 3, right? Yeah, that sounds about right. She talks like she just learned how (“Bwad”- I love it!) and behaves like a 3 year-old who is just learning how to behave herself. I wonder what she’ll be like at say, 6 or 7? Probably just as charming and whimsical and delightful, but she can speak and behave properly. Yeah.

Shannon is out of order!She is a brat sometimes but she is also interesting and highly imaginative. She has the makings of a good kid. She just needs more structure from the adults.

I can’t stop laughing.

This kid needs her parents, not a substitute family. Still unknown why she’s still in the picture. She’s not even cute.

Shannon, the female version of “Red Chief.”

That kid needs a spanking!

Just so you know, guys, the orphanage in your community is located at 15438 Sycamore Blvd. It’s a $4 Uber ride from the DeGroot household. I’m volunteering to pay, and I’ll even include the tip.

If Bwad thinks someone painting a room and someone burning a casserole is “chaos”, then maybe he’s right and he’s not ready.

Another teaching/learning moment passed by….. I realize many find this amusing, but for me, it’s like nails on a chalkboard. And sad at the same time. Practice what you preach, Brad. Order!? Ha!

Brad just quietly cleans up after her..he’s not helpful, either. This kid is doomed if she were real. Society, school authorities, someone is going to clip her wings with a chainsaw to make up for what nobody is giving her as a family as far as manners, self control and civility. The alternative isn’t beating her, but it sure as heck involves boundaries.

Brad needs to realize that Toni basically had to take care of her brother and now she has to take care of his kid. She had to become a parental figure long ago without any say in the matter. He’ll first have to acknowledge that her experiences are vastly different from his own. They he will have to find a way to assuage the fears she has based on her life not his. Take off the rosy classes and see that family life isn’t the same for people who didn’t have the parents you had. Once he does that then he might have a chance at changing her mind. Start by helping reduce the chaos created by Jonah and Shannon. Help her make Jonah understand he needs to ask permission before he drops Shannon off and he needs to accept no for an answer. Help teach Shannon some manners so she sees that kids aren’t always chaotic and can be well behaved.

Run Toto! Before the two Ogres stomp us into the carpet.

Sending Shannon off to Oz wouldn’t be a bad idea. I think Luann might want “Toto” to stay behind, though.

Take that kid to a park. She needs to burn off some of that energy in a constructive way. She spends too much time with adults.

Try disciplining THIS child for a start!

Either one of these adults could tell Shannon to clean up the mess right now and not to do that again. But they don’t. I am amazed that some parents don’t even try to teach their kids how to behave.

SOOoooo glad I never had kids.

That was hilarious, especially the “Run Toto”.

Shannon and the Wheel Chair.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlkxrD-yF_E

If I pulled something like that when was a kid, I’d be sitting on pillows for a week. Make her butt sting.

Okay, a couple of days ago I thought people were over reacting at Shannon making a rather unpalatable sandwich but the past couple of days it does seem as if the writers are making Shannon behave as hyperactively and obnoxiously out of control as possible. It reminds me a bit of all of those shows, often science fiction or fantasy based, that have one really annoying main character that it is assumed that the audience finds to be charming. (Neelix and Joxer come to mind.)

I realize the joke is that Brad is considering having children and here is an extreme example of what could be in store for him (and I am aware that Shannon is trying to perform a play) but I do find myself thinking that if Brad and Toni have been spending so much time caring for Shannon it is long past time to set some limits.

OK, this is just weird.

And the excuses for Shannon’s outrageous behavior by the trufans are even weirder.

Permissive parents get what they deserve. How about a little discipline?

All that energy just needs to be used for goodnes. It’ll come in handy when she’s older. :-)

You do realize, Brad, that you and Toni are going to end up raising this whirlwind?

I hate that brat, always have. Even the way she’s drawn makes me cringe.

Many posters here keep asking why Brad is not disciplining Shannon. At this point, since there don’t seem to have been any official actions (like Jonah identifying Toni and Brad as being caretakers of Shannon in his absence, in case she needs emergency medical treatment, for example), Brad and Toni are just like babysitters. Even though Toni is Shannon’s aunt, most babysitters aren’t given the right to discipline someone they are babysitting (even if they are blood relatives). Imagine the law case that could result if Brad paddled Shannon and she screamed ‘abuse’ to Jonah. It’s too bad that Brad doesn’t seem able to engage all that energy of Shannon into a more positive direction (like playing ball outside), but I don’t think physical discipline is the best response…

Time to apply the rod of knowledge to the seat of learning.

Shannon was introduced back when Luann was 13 or 14 and earning some money babysitting. Shannon was imagined as the worst of the worse among the babysat. The dynamics worked better back then. Luann basically had no authority over the kid and the kid knew it so it could do all kinds of outrageous stuff that it could never get away with with their parent. And Shannon then was drawn as about 3-4. The joke was how much flustered Luann could get. Even then I don;t think Shannon was that funny. Now that she is staying with her aunt and uncle who have authority over her but aren’t exercising any. And she’s being drawn as a 6-8 year old so her 4 year old antics are no longer excusable. The Evansi want Shannon as some kind of break from the main plot(s) but they are so misplaying her that she is the single most annoying character in the strip, even more annoying than Ann Eiffel, which is saying a lot. Day 4 of this arc feels like the Death March of Bataan. Will we survive till Sunday when Luann and Bernice sitting in the bedroom will come was merciful relief.

They need an orderly framework within which to create their disorder.

(Otherwise, how can they tell they’ve done anything?)

Best way to get order in your lives is to send that brat to a reform school!

What Shannon needs is discipline!

Yeah, you’d better run, Toto, ’cause if I catch you you will be introduced to the novel concept of corporal punishment!

Shannon is utterly out of control. That is not good, not sustainable….

Discipline, Brad. Kids need discipline. Shannon gets none.

Puddles made her do it.

Yeah shannons on a sugar rush, she could power the house with all the energy she’s got right now. lol

-a few hours on the grill!