Comic Book Review: M.O.M.: Mother of Madness #1

M.O.M.: Mother of Madness # 1 is the first of three issues for a new comic miniseries from Image Comics, which follows the story of a young single mother whose superpowers are tied to her emotions and who uses them to take on a secret group of human traffickers.

Earlier this year, when actor Emilia Clarke announced she’d be releasing a comic book miniseries serving as both the writer and leader of an all-woman creative team for the project, there was of course enthusiasm from her fanbase. But there was some hesitation and doubt regarding this project, which she mentioned was inspired by her wish to create more spaces that address the gigantic gap in the comic book world for diversity and inclusion. One of her main questions – as pointed out in the early sketches shared in the official Instagram account - was to show how the main character operates in a world where superheroes exist and where personal insecurities still go unanswered.

And indeed, this first issue truly delivers as the first act of a three-issue miniseries that focus on Maya Kuyper, our hero and leading character, whom we meet as she’s standing in the middle of a gala. We learn some details about her with a dash of meta-expositional interaction from the beginning and perhaps a subtle reference to Star Wars with her chosen greeting. (Yes, “Hello there.”).

Having meta-commentary such as in Deadpool and Fleabag doesn’t always work, since there’s always the risk of overusing it to the detriment of the narrative. However, Clarke, and co-writer Marguerite Bennett make it work by threading this resource as needed. The first act delves into more details about the present-day event, which is focused on “Female Empowerment in the Workplace”, while the bits of party-goers dialogues surrounding our hero are anything but.

Soon we learn more of Maya’s background, a watch on her wrist measures something (explained later in the issue) and we have an artistic rendition of her powers, which essentially come from her hormones. The rest of the issue shows the same combination of snapshots of her origin story combined with present day moments, and it is interesting to see how the authors envision a future human society ( M.O.M. is set in 2049) where a lot of the current conversations regarding gender issues, climate change, etc are still going on. There is one frame where Maya is at the subway and she is wearing a mask as are some of the other passengers in the same subway car, which can feel so close-to-home, even if the reason behind those masks is not disclosed in the plot. Also, the moments when we learn about her past and how her powers came are quite poignant and relatable – since Maya experienced objectification and bullying as she reached puberty – and totally worth reading, as the art created by Leila Leiz embodies a balanced combination of shadows and lights to frame each specific scene and give it more depth.

Worth commenting on are the jabs that Maya gives during her meta-commentary to existing pop-culture power houses like the very same Game of Thrones where Clarke had her big break and the MCU – which will be her next destination. These moments are so refreshing, hilarious and well-placed in the story.

At the end of the issue there is a heartfelt letter penned by the author Emilia Clarke dwelling more into the motivations that led her to start this new comic book adventure. It also includes a special page dedicated to valuable causes such as LGBT+, mental health, hate crimes, sexual assault, domestic abuse, and human trafficking helplines, as well as websites focused on the anti-racism fight.

This first issue was well defined, surprising for some, addressing several topics that are still taboo – such as periods and hormones - with a justifiable mature rating. It also gives glimpses of how the future issues will dwell on the fight that our hero Maya will use her superpowers for. And we are definitely in for the ride!

M.O.M.: Mother of Madness # 1 was released on July 21, 2021 and is available both in physical and digital formats.