December 4th, 2008

Mommy Dearest…

by Terri Libenson

My mom has a great sense of humor. She has to. Otherwise she wouldn’t put up with Judy, her alter ego on the comics page. Judy is the intrusive, chatty, kvetchy mother from Florida who likes to drop in on Jill Kaplan with half her belongings (to give away, mind you) and countless newspaper clippings about Jill’s highly successful acquaintances and various rampant diseases.

In reality, my own mother is a tamer version of Judy. She’s a chronic worrywart and a kvetcher. But she’s highly creative, appreciates what I do, and gets a big kick out of her alter ego (what are mothers for). I remember when I introduced the character in my first Thanksgiving series three years ago; I sent my mom the rough cartoons beforehand because I was so worried about her reaction. When I got her on the phone for the verdict, she was laughing hysterically. I guess it was apropos she got a kick out of “herself”…it’s a lesson that we shouldn’t take our own selves so seriously.