Emilia Clarke’s Debut Comic Book Follows a Single Mom Whose Secret Weapon Is Her Period
Emilia Clarke’s Debut Comic Book Follows a Single Mom Whose Secret Weapon Is Her Period https://t.co/bXD6Z6Ec9k
- Variety (@Variety) June 8, 2021
Emilia Clarke is branching out. The Game of Thrones actress has co-written a new comic book with Marguerite Bennett, featuring illustrations by Leila Leiz.
Called “M.O.M.: Mother of Madness”, the comic follows single mom Maya, who discovers she has superpowers that manifest from her menstrual cycle.
“She’s a single mum that’s got to get shit done. This was born from the idea that single mothers are superheroes. You need superhuman strength to do that. When you get into your 30s and your friends start having kids, you’re like, ‘Oh my god. I was not aware of what it took. Holy shit,'” Clarke said.
“The bloating, the hair growth, the mood swings, the [acne], all of it. We hate that when it happens, speaking for myself and everyone I’ve ever met who has had a period. What if we turned that around and made the period something that we can feel as this unique, crazy, superhuman thing that happens in our body? When Maya is scared, she goes invisible, when she’s angry, she has superhuman strength. She can swing like Spider-Man from her armpit hair,” Clarke continued.
As for what inspired her to write a comic book, Clarke cites the Me Too movement and realizing how male-dominated the business is despite having many female readers:
“In doing my research, I found that 16% of comic book creators are female, according to a 2019 study, and only 30% of comic book characters are women. On the other hand, roughly half of comic book buyers are female. Something did not sit right with me in that exchange, and all these signs were telling me to go make my own."
Besides portraying a single mom as strong rather than the often sad, struggling woman, Clarke and her all-female creative team hopes to normalize periods with their comic.
“She’s so ashamed of her powers at the start. It’s mental. Even today, if your tampon falls out of your bag, it’s embarrassing. Why?”
“M.O.M.: Mother of Madness” will publish in July from Image Comics.
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