Mother’s Day may not be until this weekend but we here at THE SOURCE thought we’d jumpstart our celebration by asking some of our creators to reflect on how their mothers inspired their careers in the comic book industry. First up? Art Baltazar and Franco, the Eisner Award-winning creative team of TINY TITANS, GREEN LANTERN: THE ANIMATED SERIES and the upcoming SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES.

“My mom has always been my biggest supporter,” Franco said to THE SOURCE. “We didn't have much when I was a kid, but there were always plenty of crayons around. She never criticized the way I drew or colored – even if it was outside the lines. You hear stories of adults saying their mom threw out their comic book collection...well, mine never did! She always cheered me on when I didn't think I would go into or even last in the comic book industry! My little Italian mom that doesn't speak English very well may not have known which characters were which when I showed her any of my new books but you should have seen her face when I showed her a copy of SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES! She knew exactly who that was! My mom has always been my biggest fan and I can never say thank you enough to her for letting a little kid dream about superheroes! Aw yeah MOM! Love you!”
 
“AW YEAH Mother’s Day!!! My mom is awesome! She has been an inspiration to me for all my life,” Baltazar told us. “She showed me how to draw Batman and Robin when I was 4 years old. She gave me praise when I would bring home drawings from school. She turned our fridge into an art gallery! She gave me comic book money every Friday for allowance. She bought me Star Wars Magazines when I was sick. She brought home an art table, which I used for college. She let me follow my dreams of becoming a 2-time Eisner Award-winning, New York Times bestselling, famous cartoonist! And, this past weekend, she watched me receive the Alumni of the Year Award! Thank you for all your support throughout the years! And thank you too, Dad. My Mom rocks. Happy Mother’s day! AW YEAH MOM!!!!”