Mom’s Choice Awards is excited to announce another post in our interview series where we chat with the inventors, designers, publishers, and others behind some of our favorite family-friendly products.

Hello, Mom’s Choice readers! We are excited to share with you all another installment of our interview series. For this installment, we were able to speak with Mauro Moro, the illustrator and co-author of the MCA award-winning comic book Captain Fingerman & the Boring Galaxy! Mauro is also the father of the other MCA award-winning author of Captain Fingerman & the Boring Galaxy, Matteo Moro. Captain Fingerman & the Boring Galaxy is a comic book starring “Fingerman,” who is represented by two fingers that also act as his legs. Captain Fingerman came alive to have fun and entertain young Matteo when toys did not do the trick. Keep reading to find out more about Mauro, Matteo, and Fingerman and how all of their adventures came to be!

MCA: Hi Mauro! Congratulations on your Mom’s Choice Award for Captain Fingerman & the Boring Galaxy! Fingerman is such a fun and unique concept for a comic book character, and I can tell by reading this story that a lot of creativity went into his creation. Can you tell us a little bit about you and your son’s creative background and where it all stems from?

Mauro Moro with his son and co-author, Matteo Moro, and their illustration of Fingerman

Mauro: I was born in Italy, and after receiving my degree in Architecture in Venice, I left my country to live for my passion: design. I am an architect by formation, but I am a designer by birth. I have always drawn a lot since I was a little boy. I am a very creative person with a volcanic brain in constant eruption. My creativity helps me in my work as a designer. But also in my hobby as an illustrator and as a writer too! I love to paint, to do urban sketching, to play my piano, and to rock with my band. I am a big passionate about music with a vast, eclectic, and multifaceted range, genres, and appreciation. I love to draw while listening to music or drinking a nice glass of wine.

I enjoy the pleasure of a good book, or an excellent comic book once in a while. Not to mention reading bedtime stories to my kids and playing with them.

MCA: That’s a colorful and creative background you have! With starting as a designer and architect, what was your transition to a writer like? What was the inspiration behind that transition?

Mauro: This is a good question. I never planned to become a writer or an illustrator! It just happened! I found it very useful to express my ideas through my writings and my sketches. My inspiration is the freedom I have while writing/sketching. It is probably the only place where I can finally do whatever I want, the way I want!

MCA: That’s the wonderful thing about writing and reading, it allows one to be free of the constraints of the real world! What lead you to write Captain Fingerman & the Boring Galaxy?

Mauro: Regarding our first comic book, it started with pure casualty during our summer vacation. It was unexpected: we began to sketch some vignettes just for fun, and then the work was proceeding prolifically by itself! My son was so bored during the vacation! I was getting mad with his nonsense, and I quickly ran out of options! I needed to come up with something quickly! So, one afternoon, after his boring drama, I told him: you must find a way to turn your boredom into something funny! Since Fingerman has always been Matteo’s best imaginary friend, we thought of sending him into the most annoying and terrible place in the universe: the boring galaxy! To do that, Matteo started listing all the boring stuff he hated, and that list became part of the exploration journey of our little hero.

MCA: That’s a great backstory! They do say, boredom always precedes a period of great creativity. What are some of the key lessons that can be found in Captain Fingerman & the Boring Galaxy? Why is it important to teach children how to have fun even in the most mundane?

Matteo Moro sketching out ideas for the Fingerman comics

Mauro: I think one of the lessons we have learned from this experience is to be focused and to aim for the best result. It takes a lot of effort to put together such material, so we must be sure it hits the target. In this case, we wanted to make kids laugh at our Fingerman’s adventures!

The second lesson is to always aim for a different point of view: it is crucial to not get stuck in one way, to not be fixed on one dull direction. Our intelligence must help us to twist annoying issues into something funny and positive!

The last valuable lesson we learned is that producing a book is just the first step. There are more significant efforts that attend us after the mere production of the drawing and the vignettes, like editing, publishing, promoting, etc.

MCA: What was the inspiration behind the comic book style illustrations within Captain Fingerman & the Boring Galaxy?

Mauro: Well, the first idea was to have a simple black and white comic book. Then, we started coloring the vignettes, and the result was much better! We wanted to keep the style quite simple and make it “pop” by using a vivid palette and solid colors on a bi-dimensional representation. I guess we were inspired by cartoons like “The Amazing World of Gumball” and movies like “Back to the future” (the trilogy)!

MCA: Well I have to say, you did a great job! The visuals within the book are amazing and are so helpful with getting the story across to readers. Speaking of the readers. what kind of response have you received from Captain Fingerman & the Boring Galaxy?

Mauro: Very positive. There is also a very different range of people/readers. Fingerman is a character able to please a wide variety of people: he is totally inclusive, cute, original, and very funny. Everybody likes him!

MCA: If you could ensure readers of your book walk away with one main lesson, what would it be?

Mauro: To take life easily. To be amazed by every little moment of your life. Fingerman is always curious and amazed!

Also, to be brave: Fingerman may be naive, sometimes a dummy, and someone with no superpowers, but he never gives up! Never retreats! He will always face his destiny no matter what!

MCA: What is next for Captain Fingerman & the Boring Galaxy?

Mauro: The Boring Galaxy was the first book on Fingerman’s adventures! Maybe the beginning of a series. And so, it is to be continued.

Surely there are already a lot of new experiences for Fingerman, with new friends, enemies, gags and laughing moments for everybody to enjoy!

MCA: Well, be sure to keep us all posted!

You can learn more about Mauro and his award-winning book, Captain Fingerman & the Boring Galaxy, by visiting his MCA Shop pages.