List of Motley's Crew characters

This is a list of characters from the Motley's Crew comic strip.

The Mike Motley family

Mabel Motley

Mabel Motley
Born	1944?
Died	2000 (aged 55–56)
Cause of death	Termination of comic strip
Nationality	United States
Occupation	Homemaker
Known for	Being the leading lady in the Motley's Crew comic strip.

In the comic strip Motley's Crew, Mabel Motley (maiden name: unknown^[1]) was a stay-at-home mother. Her primary task in the family was to cook and clean while her husband was working and providing a paycheck for the family unit. Eventually, she became a grandmother later in the lifetime of the comic strip. Mabel revealed some of the aspects of her personality during her time as a wife and a mother. She would frequently complained about her husband spending his weekend afternoons doing nothing but watching sports on the television. With all the masculine elements that the comic strip portrayed, having Mike Motley married to her provided a feminine balance to the comic strip.

Setting her husband straight was always one of Mabel's things that kept her occupied. After Mike tried to bend the rules for certain situations, she would get upset with him. Strong criticism is often a part of being around her husband Mike. For example, a situation occurred where Mike refused to wear a necktie to a wedding service. Mabel even forced her husband put on a formal outfit that wasn't exactly perfect in order to create an illusion of dignity for Mabel's side of the family.^[1][2] White tie outfits tend to be very fragile due to their delicate fabrics used in their manufacturing. The incredible rush to get her husband to switch from a casual tee shirt and boxer short ensemble to an ultra formal ensemble (jacket, bow tie, vest, tuxedo shirt, formal trousers, socks, and shoes) caused Mike Motley to cause an inevitable flaw (something that affected the delicate wool fabric) to appear on an outfit meant for ultra formal evening occasions.^[2] Notice that the character development of Mike Motley suggested that he wore boxer shorts while resting inside his house and briefs when he was outside the home. This was not meant to be a consistency error because some men prefer the support that briefs provide when away from home and the more comfortable fit of boxer shorts as outer clothing when relaxing at home.

While her husband was losing his brown hair, Mabel's hair was always blond throughout the entire comic strip series. The blond hair also serves a stereotype for females with a relatively low level of intelligence. Mabel liked to wear her hair in a traditionally feminine style, like a typical housewife. This femininity was extended to her wardrobe, her personality, and how she responds to life in general. Frequently seen in delicate dresses and almost never seen in trousers, Mabel was like a poster model for the 1950s lady. Mabel got married as a virgin and believes that a woman's place was home being the wife. There was never any mention of Mabel having any college education prior to marrying her husband Mike.

Mike Motley

Mike Motley
Born	1941
Died	2000 (aged 58–59)
Cause of death	Termination of comic strip
Nationality	United States
Occupation	Factory worker (earlier strips) Webmaster (later strips)
Known for	Being the main character of the Motley's Crew comic strip.

This is the Mike Motley family tree. All members of the family from Mike and Mabel's parents to Truman and Tacoma's children are included in this family tree.

In the comic strip Motley's Crew, Michael "Mike" Motley was a middle aged unskilled factory worker (later being promoted to webmaster).^[1] He worked for his employer Mister Drudge and was married to his equally middle aged wife Mabel. When not working, he was often caught spending most of his Sundays watching football on television. The occasional moments that he spent outside his factory workplace and his home was considered to be spent on creating masculine humor to the readers of the comic strip that he played the starring role in. During his working days, he often wore a hard hat because his blue collar job was considered to be dangerous work. While his character was in development during the early days of the comic strip, he and his wife took care of their son Truman. Eventually, the son grew up and got married because the comic strip had a story arc like a soap opera instead of a floating timeline like a Saturday morning cartoon. Even with his busy schedule of work, family, and bar life, Mike still had time to travel the world.

Unlike Homer Simpson and similar to Red Forman on That '70s Show, his lack of hair was caused by advanced age. It was never claimed to be caused by the dangerous chemicals that Mike was forced to deal every day in his job description. If Mike would have maintained all of his hair, his hairstyle would have closely followed that of a crew cut; a typical hairstyle used by young middle class men starting in the 1950s. According to the chronology of the story, Mike Motley would have been born around the year 1941. Although his life prior to 1976 was never shown on the comic strip, he was shown as a younger man in the year 1977 when he joined the "working class poor." Mike can be seen in the comic strips as the equivalent to Archie Bunker without the prejudice that dominated the character.

The Truman Motley family

Truman and Tacoma Motley

Truman and Tacoma Motley
Born	1970s
Nationality	United States
Occupation	Accountant (Tacoma) Unknown (Truman)
Known for	Representing Generation X in the world of comic strips

Truman Motley (born circa 1971) was the son of Mike and Mabel Motley. He was also the husband of Tacoma Motley and the father of her two children. Because he lived in the other side of the country with his wife, Truman only had the opportunity to see his parents on Christmas and major holidays. He was not old enough to either remember the 1973 oil crisis or the 1979 energy crisis that caused hard times in America along with increased prices for gasoline. Despite the minor economic troubles that he had to endure in the 1980s and the 1990s, Truman appeared to have a secure marriage and a secure life. Because his wife was considered to be the Michael Stivic in this comic strip, he could be generally summarized as the Gloria Bunker as he is Tacoma's husband.

Tacoma Motley was the wife Mike and Mabel Motley's son. She married the Motley's son Truman out of her love for him even though Tacoma refuses to eat meat. In addition to this, Tacoma believed in protecting Mother Earth and was a New Age guru. Tacoma also wanted to be a psychic, but her predictions always were wrong. When Tacoma was not exploring her spirituality, she was holding employment as an accountant in the big city. Her lifestyle was considered that to be bohemian chic and oriented towards the career path, the polar opposite of that of her mother-in-law.

Tacoma first met Truman Motley while at a school of higher learning. Their wedding was integrated into the comic strip series. Eventually, she became a mother as grandchildren were introduced to Mabel and Mike Motley much later in the series. Her name could be taken after the city of Tacoma, Washington, which is a liberal community near the western coast of the United States of America. Her willingness to have a career and to be a mother at the same time shows the contradictions between the Truman Motley family and the Mike Motley family. Tacoma could be considered to be the equivalent of Michael Stivic from the television show All in the Family as she shares the same liberal qualities as him.

Truman and Tacoma's sons

Truman and Tacoma Motley's children were born sometime around the year 1988. They were first introduced around August 1998 and appeared to be fraternal male twins.^[3] Eventually, they grew up to be children in the early stages of puberty that confuse their grandfather's work clothes for the baggy clothing that was popular among youth in the late 1990s. They are frequently seen hanging around their grandfather while he is trying to do his leisure time hobbies. Although they like their grandfather Mike for their paternal advice, they also like visiting their grandmother Mabel when time does not permit Mike to be with them. Their visits with Grandma Mabel and Grandpa Mike are infrequent because they live with their father Truman and their mother Tacoma. Both the individual and collective fates of Truman and Tacoma's children are unknown at the end of the comic strip series.

Both of the kids were nameless for the entire comic strip series.^[1]

Mabel Motley's side of the family

Abel and Buffy

Abel and Buffy ?
Born	1940s
Nationality	United States
Occupation	Homemaker? (Buffy) Unknown (Abel)
Known for	Being Mabel Motley's brother and sister-in-law.

Mabel: 'What are earth do you think you're doing? Abel and Buffy should be here any moment.' / 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

Abel and Buffy (last name unknown; as it would be the maiden name of Mabel Motley) provided comic relief when Mabel coerced her husband into embarrassing situations. This fact was especially revealed in a comic strip that was published around July 22, 1997. Abel is in a normal business suit and Buffy is in a cocktail dress.^[2] 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.^[2] While in a state of confusion caused by Mabel shaving her husband's facial hair to the point of making his face bleed, Mike Motley opens the door to greet his wife's older sister and brother-in-law^[1] (unaware of his face having injuries from his shaving wounds).^[2] His bald spot was now considered to be more clearly shown because his wife lacked the proper knowledge in how to comb a man's hair (this shallow attempt at being perfect was taken by Mabel because she didn't want her brother and his wife to think that her husband is going bald). Mike gave his wife's relatives a score of 2 out of 10 (20%) while his wife Mabel gave her family a mathematically illogical score of 12 out of 10 (120%).^[2]

The white underwear that was slightly revealed through the noticeable rip in the formal trousers was an attempt to capitalize America's newly found obsession with underwear oriented humor during that era. Most comic strips (and eventually other forms of popular culture) would eventually incorporate the use of underwear outside its expected role of underneath a person's trousers. This would find a use in humorous situations regardless of the age group being targeted.^[4] As long as the underwear was depicted in a form that was not considered to be sexual, it would be allowed on any media form in Western civilization. Mabel's relatives were always a thorn in his side to her husband Mike; especially Abel and Buffy. Even though Abel and Buffy secretly liked him, Mike never liked them for some reason or another.

It was never officially explained when this rivalry between Mike, Abel, and Buffy began; the fact remained that any good intentions that Abel and Buffy had were quickly repulsed by Mike Motley at first glance. Mike always realized his hatred for Abel and Buffy when they arrived at a time when he wanted to be with his wife and not have to deal with her relatives on a social trip. Mabel always got him in the mood for all their visits because Abel and Buffy were a part of her family by birth (and Mike's by marriage). Mike always complains about either Abel or Buffy doing something wrong to him or his property at the end of their visits. Since Mabel has to be nice to her brother and his wife, she usually took his remarks with a grain of salt and have him look suitable for the occasion (whether it was a cordial visit on a summer afternoon or a family function where a necktie was required).

Problems with the visit

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. Mike Motley was watching television with a face that hasn't been touched by a shaving razor.^[2] During that time, he was wearing a tee shirt with boxer shorts.^[2] His wife said to him "What on earth are you doing? Abel and Buffy will be here any moment now."^[2] Mike immediately replied with the remark "This 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 Mabel's brother and his wife.^[2]

By the relaxed appearance of Mike Motley, the visit by his wife's relatives took place on a Saturday or Sunday. Out of nowhere, Mabel gave him a pair of black eyes.^[1][2] She also took him upstairs and made him shave his face. Of course, Mabel didn't think that boxer shorts and a tee shirt were suitable clothing to wear for a visit by her brother's side of the family so she dressed him in white tie.^[1][2] Mike's white briefs were not tucked in adequately.^[1][2] This would cause the top portion (that would usually be tucked in with the formal trousers) to stick out like a sore thumb.^[1][2]

How Mabel solved the problem

While he could still feel the soreness of his black eyes, Mike Motley was forced to struggle his way to the door.^[2] The conversation was quickly started with a "Hi ya" to Abel and Buffy.^[2] 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.^[2] The speech consisted of the 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).^[2] The effects of the black eye inflicted by Mabel could have forced him to see them literally as one person.^[2]

In the caption that represented Mike's welcome to Abel and Buffy, there was no comma between "ya" and "Abel."^[2] In addition to this, the word "and" was missing between the names "Abel" and "Buffy."^[2] While saying "hi ya" to Abel and Buffy using informal American English, Mike shook the hand of his brother-in-law Abel.^[2] When closely examining the formality of the visit by his wife's relatives, the meeting seems to conform with 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.^[2] Continuity from that comic strip lasted only until the next day's comic strip, where Mike Motley is in his normal clothes and he is complaining to his wife about how his brother-in-law Abel was playing around with his automobile.^[2]

This visit with Mabel's side of the family was assumed to be somewhat of a disaster because no other words are exchanged between Mike, Abel, and Buffy except for the "Hi ya Abel Buffy" line. Truman had already moved away from his parents' place and was married to Tacoma by the 1997 running of this comic strip.

Observations

• Mike's vest shared the same white color as his tuxedo shirt. In addition to this, Mike's bow tie was white. Only slight variations in the shades of white (drawn by an expert cartoon drawer) could tell the difference between the vest and the formal shirt.

• Mike was wearing white tie (ultra formal evening attire);^[1] 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 a occasion that started prior to seven o'clock in the evening.

• Mike's delicate formal trousers were ripped in a manner that revealed the top portion of his underwear.^[1] His brother-in-law and his sister-in-law both ended up ignoring it and focused completely on the conversation at hand.^[1] They realized that trying to make a fool out of Mike with his underwear clearly being shown was completely inappropriate for the visit.^[1]

• Even though the rip exposed a significant part of his underwear, the 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 dress socks and black dress shoes. The standard form of dress for a white tie outfit (in addition to morning dress) includes dark colored socks and black shoes.

• People with an eye for details should have also noticed that his wife Mabel was wearing a long cocktail dress. The long dress was probably just a typical dress that someone would wear for a summer wedding. 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 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. While the idea was never shown on the comic strip, the formal outfit could have been gathering dust while Mike Motley gained weight waiting for another opportunity to use the outfit. 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.

Strangers and acquaintances

Earl and Abigail Bird

Earl and Abigail Bird
Born	1940s
Nationality	United States
Occupation	Homemaker (Abigail) Factory worker (Earl)
Known for	For being Mike and Mabel Motley's next door neighbors.

Earl Bird was the next-door neighbor of Mike and Mabel Motley and a fellow worker at Drudge Industries and they were seen working side by side. Earl usually had a cigar in his mouth and was the most incompetent person in the comic strip. When he was captured and forced to steer the ship, he took command of the ship until it collided with land in the middle of Kansas. The humor behind that scenario was that ships cannot land in Kansas; Earl was clearly an incompetent sailor and no clear explanation was given about the reason of giving him command of an entire ship.

During the earlier years of the comic strip, Earl complained about the white flight from metropolitan cities into more suburban areas due to rising crime in the inner sections of North American cities.^[5] Humor was added when Earl talked about the things that suburban people had (swimming pools, shade trees, lawns) and complained about not being able to afford to move out of an inner city environment to enjoy them.^[5] Eventually, the series moved to the suburban area after Truman Motley started to attend school for safety reasons. Earl Bird's character was similar to George Jefferson who briefly lived next door to the Archie Bunker family.

Abigail Bird (maiden name: unknown) was Earl's wife who had suffered for a long time with him. She played a similar role to the late Maude Flanders on The Simpsons, Gladys Kravitz on Bewitched, and Louise Jefferson on All in the Family and The Jeffersons. Similar to the role that Mabel Motley played, she was the good wife and simply overlooked most of her husband's schemes that did bad things to him. Her maiden name is unknown, similar to the way that Mabel Motley's maiden name is also unknown. Abigail's past was never revealed on the comic strip, giving her the intention of being a stock character. Her supportive nature is what helps Earl keeps an even keel on life when he goes through one of his work-induced crises.

Mister Drudge

Mister Drudge
Born	1960s-1970s
Nationality	United States
Occupation	Factory manager[6]
Known for	Making Mike Motley's work life a living nightmare

In the comic strip, Mister Drudge was considered to be an autocratic factory manager.^[6] He personally ran the fictional corporation Drudge Industries, Inc., which was a construction company. His signature was on every paycheck that Mike Motley and his other subordinates received after working. The coarse nature of his operations is what kept the workplace in perfect working condition. Traditional gender roles reigned supreme in his factory. In addition to all that, Mister Drudge also had an obedient female secretary that was always ready to take orders from him. His last name came from a word that means "labor" or "work." Very rarely did anyone receive a pay raise or a promotion in his construction company.

Mister Drudge was considered to be a very young person, with red hair, very young skin, and a white bow tie.^[6][7] He also appeared content in his successful life running a major corporation at his age.^[6]

Yuri

Yuri
Born	1940s
Nationality	Soviet Union
Occupation	Worker Casino owner[8]
Known for	Symbolizing Russia's transition from communism to capitalism within the confines of the comic strip

Yuri was Mike Motley's friend from Russia (which was part of the Soviet Union during most of the comic strip's production). He provided Cold War humor from the perspective of what Americans were conditioned to believe to be the "enemy" during the Cold War years. This character was used the most often during the Mikhail Gorbachev administration. While Yuri was visited by his friend Mike Motley in the then-current Soviet Union, Yuri rarely traveled to America. The reason for Yuri's lack of visits to the United States was that financial and security reasons prevented citizens from the Soviet Union from entering Western Bloc countries during that time. During the 1980s when the Soviets were warming relations with the United States, Mike (representing the United States of America and his capitalist employer) had fewer financial and security restrictions upon entering the Soviet Union.

One of Yuri's recent roles in the comic strip came on the week of March 28, 1994 when he was a proprietor of a casino in Moscow. Ben Templeton has a strong interest in the former Soviet Union and has made a novel about the country called The Last Decathlon; which is a thriller novel that takes place in the 1980s.^[8]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} "Complete summary of Motley's Crew". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. http://www.toonopedia.com/motley.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-04. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x} Ben Templeton (w)Motley's Crew (circa July 22, 1997)
3. ^ "Introduction of the Grandsons". Google Groups. http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.comics.strips/tree/browse_frm/month/1998-08/2cdbe8bcefcaf6a0?rnum=191&_done=%2Fgroup%2Frec.arts.comics.strips%2Fbrowse_frm%2Fmonth%2F1998-08%3F#doc_fad4174fc705bf6f. Retrieved 2008-06-23. 
4. ^ "Mike Motley's Friend in Briefs". The Daily Gazette. 1997-07-11. http://news.google.ca/newspapers?nid=OtrppQHxQ5wC&dat=19970711&printsec=frontpage. Retrieved 2010-11-14. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Self and the Community in the City - Chapter 1.5: Symbolic History and Self". Brooklyn Sociology. http://www.brooklynsoc.org/PLG/selfandcommunity/ch1-5.html. Retrieved 2008-09-10. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d} "Mister Drudge at Work". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 1995-06-20. http://news.google.ca/newspapers?id=gOoNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kG4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3618,2506183&dq=motley's-crew&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-04-05. 
7. ^ "Mister Drudge Information". The Daily Gazette. 1995-02-08. http://news.google.ca/newspapers?id=SgwxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=F-AFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5849,1911840&dq=motley's-crew&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-04-05. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "Yuri's 1994 appearance". Editor & Publisher. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/article_brief/eandp/1/1149785. Retrieved 2008-05-15.