Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke will co-write her first superhero comic book series M.O.M.: Mother of Madness from Image Comics this July. The actor famously portrayed Daenerys Targaryen on the hit HBO show. This new three-issue series, co-written by Marguerite Bennett with art by Leila Leiz, will shift her focus from the Mother of Dragons to a mother who is also a superhero.
It has been a busy week for Clarke and her involvement in superhero properties. On Tuesday it was reported that she would be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a role on the upcoming Disney+ show Secret Invasion. The nature of her role in the show has not been revealed. In addition to starring in Game of Thrones for eight seasons, she also starred in Solo: A Star Wars Story and Terminator Genisys. She has kept busy since Game of Thrones aired its controversial series finale in 2019, starring in the films Last Christmas and Murder Manuel, recording voice work for the upcoming animated film The Amazing Maurice, and starring in stage productions of Private Lives and The Seagull.
Image announced the series in a story by EW. M.O.M.: Mother of Madness centers around Maya, who is described as an "under-the-weather scientist by day, over-the-top superhero by night, and badass single mom 24/7." Each issue of the series will be extra-length as the series depicts Maya using her superpowers to take on a secret sect of human traffickers. Check out a preview of the cover and images from the first issue below:
During her interview with EW, Clarke said that the series will mix the silliness of Deadpool with feminist sensibilities. Clarke has been a fan of comics since she was a young girl, and said that the idea for the series started as almost a joke after she noticed that there were not enough female heroes who did not wear skintight outfits. She said that she wanted to inspire young girls by providing them with a hero who is both empowering and fallible. "We're always calling mothers superheroes, and I'm like, what if they were? What if they legitimately were superheroes?" she said. "Maya has had a very hard life, and she finds herself in a place where everything that makes her unique, she hates and is ashamed about. It's only in the discovery of her powers that she finds her true acceptance of who she is." While she did not go into detail about what Maya's superpowers would be, she said that they would derive from the fact that she is a woman, and that "She can do a lot of stuff at certain moments in her month."
More and more actors and celebrities are getting involved in the writing of their own comics. Keanu Reeves made a huge splash in the comics world this year with the debut of BRZRKR, which had one of the highest-selling debut issues of an original series in nearly 30 years. That comic series is being turned into a Netflix series starring Reeves, so it will be interesting if something similar happens with Clarke and M.O.M. AfterShock Comics recently announced that actor Thomas Jane will be co-writing the series Lycan. Actor and comedian Patton Oswalt has also been co-writing M.O.D.O.K.: Head Games for Marvel ahead of the premiere of the M.O.D.O.K. television series. Time will tell if more celebrities follow suit and decide to get into the comic-writing game.
Co-writing the series with Emilia Clarke is Bennett is a GLAAD Media Award nominee who has written series such as Josie and the Pussycats and Angela. Artist Leiz is known for work on comics such as Horde and The Last Book You'll Ever Read. The first issue will feature a cover by Jo Ratcliffe and a variant by Jen Bartel. M.O.M.: Mother of Madness #1 from Image Comics will be available in comic shops and on digital platforms on July 21.