Revision 543320596 of "Motley's Crew (August 28, 1997)" on enwiki

<!-- Please do not remove or change this AfD message until the issue is settled -->
{{Article for deletion/dated|page=Motley&#39;s Crew (August 28, 1997)|timestamp=20130311013357|year=2013|month=March|day=11|substed=yes}}
<!-- For administrator use only: {{Old AfD multi|page=Motley&#39;s Crew (August 28, 1997)|date=11 March 2013|result='''keep'''}} -->
<!-- End of AfD message, feel free to edit beyond this point -->
The August 28, 1997 episode of the American newspaper comic strip ''[[Motley's Crew]]'' illustrated a dispute between [[Mike and Mabel Motley]] about how her husband Mike should dress and groom himself over the visit of his brother-in-law [[List of Motley's Crew characters#Abel and Buffy|Abel and his wife Buffy]]. Buffy and Abel shared a [[Rivalries of Mike Motley|joint rivalry against their brother-in-law Mike]]; turning this moment into a humorous gag.

Mabel did manage to get Mike to gave her brother a handshake; giving husbands the moral of not arguing with their wives when their relatives come to visit.

==Summary==
===Before the visit===
[[File:HiyaAbelBuffy.PNG|250px|left|thumb|Abel and Buffy are proud to meet their rather confused brother-in-law Mike.]]

{{Quote|'''Mabel:''' 'What are earth do you think you're doing? Abel and Buffy should be here any second.' / '''Mike (in his tee shirt and boxer shorts):''' 'This's as dressed up as I'm getting.' / '''Mike (in a white tie outfit that looks torn apart in certain places):''' 'Hi ya Abel Buffy.'|''Mike and Mabel Motley before and after Abel and Buffy arrived at their house''}}

Because Mabel and Mike Motley were an "old married couple," there were times where Mabel had to "shape up" her husband before Abel and Buffy were to enter the house.<ref name="toonpedia">{{cite web | url = http://www.toonopedia.com/motley.htm| title = Complete summary of Motley's Crew| publisher = [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]]| date = | accessdate = 2011-02-04 | archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/66xWd6Hlw|archivedate=2013-01-02|deadurl=yes}}</ref><ref name="hiyabelbuffy"/>

Mike was comfortably sitting on the couch drinking a can of beer while looking outside at Mabel's shrubs. His face hadn't been shaved for days and he was having a perfect day at home away from the pressures of work. With the backdrop of the situation being a weekend afternoon, the non-verbal emotions demonstrated by Mike were a combination of both indifference and pity. He was wearing a [[T-shirt|tee shirt]] with [[boxer shorts]] in addition to wearing a pair of [[slipper]]s on his feet; a type of footwear that is primarily for casually lounging around at home. Mabel came up to him and said "What on earth are you doing? Abel and Buffy will be here any second now" while putting on her [[earring]]s. Mike immediately replied with the remark "This's is as dressed up as I'm getting," believing that a tee shirt and a pair of boxer shorts were suitable attire for a visit by a couple of people who belonged to his extended family.<ref name="hiyabelbuffy"/>

Mabel almost immediately gave Mike a pair of black eyes due to his inability to follow her instructions as the result of a marital dispute. A forceful change into a [[white tie]] outfit was made in order for Mabel to save herself from being humiliated by her brother and his wife. The white briefs that Mabel got out from one of the dresser drawers for Mike were not tucked in adequately after replacing the boxer shorts. This would have caused the top portion of the waistband to stick out like a sore thumb.<ref name="toonpedia"/><ref name="hiyabelbuffy"/>

===During the visit===
Abel is seen wearing a normal [[Suit (clothing)|business suit]] and Buffy is in a black sweater and a long [[skirt]] while holding an elegant white [[handbag]]. They enter Mabel and Mike Motley's house to see their embarrassed [[brother-in-law]] Mike Motley being forced to dress up in a white tie outfit that was completely inappropriate for the afternoon visit. Simply by shaving her husband's facial hair to the point of making his face bleed, Mabel had the inner strength to meddle in Mike's spare time in order to create an illusion of superiority to her frugal relatives.<ref name="toonpedia"/>

She wanted to hide her husband's bald spot so that Abel and Buffy wouldn't notice. Mike ended up going into a muddled state when Mabel's older sister and brother-in-law came into the living room to greet an enthusiastic Mabel while barely conjuring a second thought after Abel managed to shake the hand of an almost uncooperative Mike. He was just finishing up a typical marital [[wikt:spat|spat]] between him and his wife Mabel when Abel and Buffy suddenly arrived. If that wasn't enough, the gruelling process of getting dressed in white tie caused his [[Androgenic alopecia|bald spot]] to be more clearly shown.<ref name="hiyabelbuffy">{{cite web | url = http://news.google.ca/newspapers?nid=gL9scSG3K_gC&dat=19970828&printsec=frontpage&hl=en| title = Visit with the In-Laws| publisher = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Google News Archives)| date = 1997-08-28 | accessdate = 2012-01-20}}</ref>

The conversation was quickly started with a "Hi ya" to Abel and Buffy. This was said with a slight speech defect because Mike was recovering from the black eyes that Mabel gave him before dressing him up for the event. The speech consisted of the [[nonsense|nonsensical]] sentence "Hi ya Abel Buffy" because the words didn't come out of Mike's mouth completely clear after trying to greet Abel and Buffy as individuals (he instead greeted them like they were one person). The effects of the black eye inflicted by Mabel could have forced him to see them literally as one person. In the caption that represented Mike's welcome to Abel and Buffy, there was no comma between "ya" and "Abel." In addition to this, the word "and" was missing between the names "Abel" and "Buffy.<ref name="hiyabelbuffy"/>" When closely examining the formality of the visit by his wife's relatives, the meeting seems to conform with [[Victorian era|Victorian]] standards. The women are wearing dresses instead of trousers, the men are in formal gear and introducing each other by shaking hands in a traditional manner.<ref name="hiyabelbuffy"/> 

Continuity from that comic strip lasted only until the next day's comic strip, where Mike Motley is wearing a short-sleeved black tee shirt and complains to his wife about how his [[brother-in-law]] Abel was doing some maintenance work on his tires when he was not supposed to. The black eye was completely removed from Mike's eyes in addition to the bandage on his nose being removed. Neither Mabel nor Mike's clothes were shown from below the waist; it was assumed that Mike was wearing either shorts or a casual pair of long pants while Mabel had a casual skirt with her black top.<ref name="rotatingtires">{{cite web | url = http://news.google.ca/newspapers?nid=gL9scSG3K_gC&dat=19970829&printsec=frontpage&hl=en| title = Abel Rotating Mike Motley's Tires| publisher = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Google News Archives)| date = 1997-08-29 | accessdate = 2012-01-21}}</ref> Mike's visit with his Mabel's brother and his wife turned out to be a disaster because Abel and Buffy never had much of a speaking role throughout the entire visit.

===Observations===
* The difference between Mike's [[waistcoat|vest]] and his tuxedo shirt was in the subtle shadings of white used by the cartoonist. Mike's [[bow tie]] also had a white color assigned to it; completing the uniformly monochrome color scheme of the formal outfit.

* Mike was wearing [[white tie]] (ultra formal evening attire);<ref name="toonpedia"/> this would be considered not to be appropriate for an afternoon visit by his wife's siblings. [[Morning dress]] would have been the most appropriate formal outfit for an occasion that started prior to seven o'clock in the evening.

* Mike's delicate [[Trousers|formal trousers]] were ripped in a manner that revealed the top portion of his underwear. His brother-in-law and his sister-in-law both ended up ignoring it and focused completely on the conversation at hand. They realized that trying to make a fool out of Mike with his underwear clearly being shown was completely inappropriate for the visit.<ref name="toonpedia"/>

* Even though the rip exposed a significant part of his underwear, the [[Fly (clothing)|fly]] of the [[briefs]] was never shown. The reason is that the fly of the briefs were not shown is because it allows easier access to the penis for urination. Since it is not considered to be appropriate to show adult content in a family publication, all underwear humor in the comic strip had to be used in a way that was not considered to be sexual.

* It is assumed from his manner of dress (but never actually shown) that Mike was wearing dark-colored silk [[socks]] and [[black]] [[court shoe]]s. The standard form of dress for a white tie outfit (in addition to morning dress) includes dark colored silk socks and black court shoes.

* People with an eye for details should have also noticed that his wife Mabel was wearing a floor-length [[evening gown|evening dress]] (which is a dress worn for formal occasions) in addition to a classic black [[headband]]. Since Mabel couldn't find a suitable black business suit from his closet, she had to get out the white tie outfit for Mike. That was the only way to make him look respectable in front of her family members.

===The condition of the formal outfit===
The rip on the formal trousers could have been caused by these factors:

* It could have been Mabel's fault because she was not given the time to make her husband put on the formal clothing at a [[Pace (speed)|normal pace]] before Abel and Buffy were to arrive; this could have attributed to the rapid state of disrepair.

* If it was a rental and was not purchased by Mabel sometime prior to the visit by her siblings, a numerous amount of users could have used the formal attire before it was used by Mike Motley. They would have most likely abused it before Mabel eventually found it.

* Another resolution to this query would be that the [[tailor]] was unable to mend the formal trousers before it was rented by Mabel (assuming the outfit was rented and not purchased).

* The perfect world solution to this problem would indicate that Mike Motley purchased the formal outfit to wear in his [[wedding]] but it ended up gathering dust all of those years. Mike Motley ended up [[weight gain|gained weight]] by drinking generous amounts of alcohol between his wedding and the mid-1990s.<ref name="drsaysnobeer4mike">{{cite web | url = http://news.google.ca/newspapers?nid=gL9scSG3K_gC&dat=19961205&printsec=frontpage&hl=en| title = Mike Motley's Problem with Beer| publisher = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Google News Archives)| date = 1995-12-06 | accessdate = 2012-12-30}}</ref> A rip emerged in his black formal trousers and his white briefs are revealed. This rip in the formal trousers were the most prominent within the general condition of the outfit because that is where the weight gain was probably the greatest.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Episodes of comic strips]]
[[Category:1997 in comics]]
[[Category:Motley's Crew|August 28, 1997]]