As a child in London, Emilia Clarke was met with a very particular vibe from her local comic book store: “No girls allowed.”
The Emmy nominee and lead actress in the HBO pop culture hit “Game of Thrones” was therefore doomed to spend her youth reading the comics given to her by her older brother and meeting caped crusaders on the big screen, she said.
More from Variety
“As a child, I read a lot of fantasy novels full of visual worlds, like ‘Lord of the Rings.’ That was always the place my imagination was drawn to. Later, when I went to Comic-Con for the first time at 22 with ‘Game of Thrones,’ I was amazed at what I saw – almost exclusively men. Later, when the tide turned in the industry and #MeToo came along, I started looking at the community through those eyes and it was fascinating,” she said.
Clarke began dreaming about what a comic book from her perspective might look like—an idea that quickly gained momentum. She assembled an all-female creative team and created a comic featuring what is undoubtedly one of the genre’s most progressive female heroines.
“MOM: Mother of Madness” will be published in July by Image Comics, co-written by Clarke and Marguerite Bennett (“Bombshells,” “Josie and the Pussycats”) with art by Leila Leiz (“Horde”).
“In my research, I found that according to a 2019 study, 16% of comic book creators are female and only 30% of comic book characters are female. On the other hand, about half of comic book buyers are female. There was something I didn’t like about this exchange and all these signs told me I should make my own comic,” Clarke said.
“MOM” follows Maya, a busy single mother whose life is turned upside down by the discovery of superpowers.
“She’s a single mom who’s got to figure her shit out. The whole thing was born out of the idea that single moms are superheroes. You need superhuman powers to do that. When you get into your 30s and your friends start having kids, you’re like, ‘Oh my God. I didn’t realize what that meant. Holy shit,'” she said.
Another important identifying feature of the character is that all her powers come from her menstrual cycle.
“The bloating, the hair growth, the mood swings, the acne, all of it. We hate it when it happens. I speak for myself and everyone I’ve ever met who has had their period. What if we flipped that and made periods something we can feel in our bodies as this unique, crazy, superhuman event? When Maya is scared, she becomes invisible; when she’s angry, she has superhuman powers. She can swing from her armpit hair like Spider-Man,” Clarke says.
From both perspectives, Clarke and her creative team sought to glorify the single mother whose media portrayal is usually marked by struggle, sadness and the effort to rebalance her life with a male partner. As for menstruation, the actress believes it’s high time we normalized something that over half the world’s population experiences (in upcoming issues of the three-part comic book miniseries, Maya uses “inflated breasts” to foil a human trafficking ring).
“She’s so ashamed of her powers at first. It’s crazy. Even today, it’s embarrassing when your tampon falls out of your pocket. Why?” asks Clarke.
Although the timely themes and raunchy humor (the publisher describes the series’ tone as “‘Deadpool’ action meets ‘Fleabag’ comedy”) lend themselves well to a film adaptation, Clarke’s ambition was not to create a vehicle for the screen, but rather an artifact to enjoy “on her deathbed.”
She’s already checked a box for comic book adaptations, joining the cast of Marvel Studios’ highly anticipated “Secret Invasion,” a Disney Plus original about the shapeshifting aliens introduced in the “Captain Marvel” feature film. Clarke, who is familiar with top-secret TV shows that captivate large fan bases, said her first meeting about the project was with Marvel’s security team.
“The people behind it are the best at what they do; it’s great to be part of this high-caliber group. But with Marvel and ‘Star Wars,’ you always get fake roles for auditions,” Clarke said, referring to script pages that actors read for casting directors. “I remember the character I read on ‘Star Wars’ was a fictional music producer.”
While she may never return to Westeros or her beloved character Daenerys Targaryen, she has seen promotional images for HBO’s upcoming Game of Thrones prequel, titled House of the Dragon.
“I think it’s great. It’s totally crazy to see my wig everywhere!” Clarke said of the iconic white-blonde wig she wore for eight seasons. “That’s why they didn’t give it to me when I left. Matt Smith wears it.”
“MOM: Mother of Madness” is currently on pre-sale and will be in stores on July 21st.
The best of diversity
Subscribe to Variety’s newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
