Fictional stories of heroes have been a source of great wonder and admiration since ancient times. These fantastical tales have taken the form of comic books in present world. However, most of the heroes of the past that we know of are males. Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke feels the representation and involvement of women in this genre should increase in current times. She recently talked to Entertainment Weekly about writing her very first comic book for Image Comics.
Clarke described herself as a fangirl of superhero comics and movies. She felt shut out of that world because of her gender — in some cases, literally.
“My brother was a comic nerd [growing up], and I wasn’t allowed in the shops!” the actress recalls. “I wasn’t allowed to go in with him, because I was the loser little sister. And the moments that I was allowed in, there weren’t a lot of women on the covers, and there weren’t a lot of women in the shops. So I didn’t feel safe to explore it at that age.”
“Cut to me at Comic-Con, and I’m there going, ‘I’m still not seeing a lot of women. I’m still not seeing women that aren’t in Lycra reflected back at me,” Clarke continues. “Are there any women out there that are superpowered, but aren’t in a skintight costume? Not that I can see.”
“It’s been a very beautiful female experience in the creation of it, and a phenomenally creatively fulfilling process,” Clarke says. “But the biggest reason why I wanted to make this comic is because I wanted young girls to look at a woman that was fallible. Obviously, you’re seeing that a lot in the industry; you’ve got all of these incredibly empowering female shows. But I just felt like I hadn’t seen it in this genre.”
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