Long before she starred as Daenerys Targaryen, the Mother of Dragons, on the acclaimed HBO television series Game of Thrones, Emilia Clarke was a deep fan of comic books. In July, Clarke makes her anticipated comic writing debut with M.O.M.: Mother of Madness. The upcoming three-issue miniseries from Image Comics is told through the perspective of a single mom named Maya who just so happens to gain her superhero powers from her menstrual cycle. Blending action with the comedy of deconstructing the superhero genre, M.O.M.: Mother of Madness is co-written by Marguerite Bennett and illustrated by Leila Leiz.
In a roundtable interview attended by CBR, Clarke shared the inspirations behind the comic book, discussed working with collaborators Bennett and Leiz and revealed when the idea for the comic series first struck her. Also included within this interview is a sneak peek at M.O.M.: Mother of Madness' first issue, which is slated to hit local comic stands on July 21.
Clarke shared that the impetus for the comic book project came about as a funny what-if suggestion while driving to a job. "We were talking about how moms are like superheroes, women have the incredible ability to have so much going on and achieve all those things, it's almost a superpower," Clarke recalled, stating her initial thoughts on the project.
Clarke continued, "The reason why I wanted to pursue feminist material in this space, within a comic book world, was that I love it. I love superheroes, I love comics, the freedom of your imagination and creativity have no boundaries whatsoever. In the fantasy fiction that I read as a kid, and reread now, anything is possible. What better way to tell a story than in a world where anything is possible and voice opinions in this space that is, in my opinion, friendly and for everyone and accepting of everyone? That's what the comic book space does, it allows people who -- I'm talking about myself as a kid -- don't fit in with the right group at the right time and you don't look or feel the right way, comics are your own private world to unite through that otherness... It just seemed like a really accepting space to be talking about these ideas. And fun! Fun is, surely, what we should be trying to do as much as possible."
Clarke was nothing but complimentary of her collaborators, co-writer Marguerite Bennett and artist Leila Leiz, referring to Leiz's artwork as "amazing" and declaring Bennett as her "guru" into the comics medium as a creator. While Clarke has been a reader of comics for a long time, she was inexperienced in making one herself. Clarke added, "I want it to feel and look different, in the comic book [universes] there are very strict rules and guidelines that you have to follow from a visual aesthetic and storytelling point-of-view. I wanted to be able to throw that out of the window because we're not there, the world's your oyster. We found Leila, fell in love with her artwork and just gave her the freedom to do what she does best."
Prior to scripting the actual issues, Clarke wrote forty pages of backstory to build her world and its various characters, including the comic's protagonist Maya. As Clarke continued to think on designs for the characters and premise, she added to her growing notes, with Bennett drawing her contributions from Clarke's ideas. For the story's irreverent sense of humor, Clarke drew inspiration from a certain Merc with a Mouth found in Marvel Comics.
"Deadpool is my favorite movie, it's just so good! I want to be Ryan Reynolds so badly!" Clarke exclaimed, smiling before elaborating on her influences. "You have Fleabag and House of Cards and Shakespeare, dare I say it. I read comics all the time and, when reading [them], it's such a personal experience. You feel like a well-written story is only for you and you get a really emotional connection to it and I wanted to hone in on that as much as possible."
CBR then asked Clarke how her partnership with Bennett first came about to bring Mother of Madness to life. "It started when I joined forces with Image Comics and I asked 'Who've you got?'" Clark recalled. "I've only hired women in every stage, from the letterer to the editor, everyone is a woman. So I said, 'Can you give me your best female writers of comics?' And I did my own research and Marguerite's name came up. I met her and she walked into the house I was staying at in L.A. and within a minute, I was like [she] is the nicest, smartest woman I've ever met. Every time I met her, it just solidified even more. Her just being so consistent and right on. The thing that really spun it completely for me with Marguerite is that she really wanted to do it... She added so much and [was] able to bring so much of her own battles and fights to this and stuff, as a writer, she always wanted to do. She seemed like the perfect person when I told her, 'You have free rein and I don't know what the rules are so let's break them!' And she seemed to be champing at the bit for that opportunity."
When designing the look of Maya's superhero costume, Clarke drew inspiration from her encounters with the cosplay community at comic book conventions, pragmatic considerations that aren't readily apparent on modern superhero costumes and her fashion sensibilities. Clarke found designing the superhero costumes in her story to be an especially fun part of the process and was influenced by Missy Elliot and Rihanna's music videos.
Clarke explored the story's focus on periods, stating, "This book is about a woman whose powers come from her menstrual cycle and, lads, if you weren't taught about this, we weren't either! I do not remember the conversation where someone told me what was actually going on in your body... And no one talks about it. The things that happen when you have your period make you hate yourself and your body. You don't need a period to do that and so many young people do it. I was watching that goddamn Netflix documentary [Audrie & Daisy] about the suicide rate of 13-year old girls, it just breaks my heart. For there to be something like this, where it's fun and bright and for lots of people but is also continually reminding young women and men it's good to be an individual and good to have feelings and live with them. They don't make you bad or wrong, they're super-powered because that's what makes you as an individual. That's a very big goal... I'm going to come nowhere in achieving it but if this comic educates and inspires, I'm going to be very, very happy!"
Clarke felt now was the perfect time for such a story to be told, given the ubiquity and success of superhero content currently on film and television. CBR then asked if Clarke had any intention of eventually adapting the comic book to television or film. Clarke enthusiastically replied, "Sure! I'm a producer and have a production company and I'm reading books in order to make them something on the screen so, in that sense, yes, but I don't want people to think that's why this exists. But this really been a frankly selfish exercise because I wanted to create this and see what this is like. And if it fails spectacularly, I still made a comic!"
Clarke observed that audiences consume media primarily through screens -- not just from television and film but also social media. With that in mind, Clarke felt that the comic book's visuals, right down to the paneling, would be more appealing if they had cinematic sensibilities to help connect with the readers' imagination. In regards to Clarke's love of Deadpool and its influence on her comic project, she felt that Wade Wilson's sense of comedic self-awareness was particularly key and would help connect readers further with the material.
Clarke found the entire experience to be massively educational. She also stated that she's open to taking the reins on a comic project in the future as a sole writer, but found her partnership with Bennett to be a particularly fruitful one. Clarke brought her British sense of humor to the story while Bennett brought her American comedic sensibilities to open the comic series to a wider audience. Clarke has story ideas where she would like to take Mother of Madness next but she first wanted to see readers' response to the initial three-issue miniseries.
In response to a prompt from CBR, Clarke shared one of her favorite moments from this creation thus far, stating, "Because of my production company, I have a tiny office space in Central London and the first thing that we did was we got all three covers printed really, really big and they're hanging up in my office. [Laughs.] That was the moment where I lost my mind, with a little tear of joy rolled down my cheek. That was the best bit."
The Game of Thrones star was thrilled that she created an intellectual property, which she feels is an increasingly rare opportunity for artists and one that gives her confidence to move forward, even while risking failure. Clarke felt that the comic's social commentary was integral to the world-building of the story and its premise. She also believed that the social commentary in the story gives Maya something to break from and fight against, while the story mirrors current events. Despite this serious bent, Clarke was keen to keep the proceedings freewheeling and fun, from its vibrant color palette, right down to its glossy paper quality.
Written by Emilia Clarke and Marguerite Bennett and illustrated by Leila Leiz, M.O.M.: Mother of Madness #1 is on sale July 21 from Image Comics.
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