Recipe for Comedy

What? Mark's Mom saying something nice about Abby? You know that can't last.

Here's a panel from page fourteen. (Ten left!) Abby has to pick Mark's parents up at the airport, so Jerry and Joanne Spencer get to spend some time with Abby. I've said before, I think, that Mrs. Spencer one of the hardest characters in the book to write. Everything she says has to have a double meaning. It has to be on the surface negative to Abby, and then upon reflection, actually kind of nice.

In the second issue, Abby apologizes for being the reason Mark's away for Christmas. Mrs. Spencer responds, "That's fine, this year." Yeah, it sounds nasty, but on the other hand, Mark's Mom is also expecting Abby to be around the following year. But Abby hears the former and Joanne implies the latter.

Ah, such is the recipe for comedy.