Madaya Mom: Marvel's latest hero is Syrian mother trapped in besieged town

'It is a mother, but it is every mother. It is a family, but it’s every family'

Throughout their long history, Marvel has published numerous comics commenting on the current state of world affairs. During World War 2, for instance, they famously depicted Captain America punching Adolf Hitler in the face.

In keeping with this tradition, the company has teamed up with ABC to produce a rather wonderful comic - available for free online - about a Syrian mother with superhuman patience and motherly instinct.

Titled ‘Madaya Mom’, the comic - based on real events - depicts a mother of five trapped inside the besieged Syrian town Madaya. So far this year, dozens of the town’s people have died from starvation, with few people able to contact the outside world.

The character of ‘Madaya Mom’ was inspired by an anonymous citizen of Madaya who managed to make contact with ABC journalists who chronicled her fight for survival across numerous blog posts.

"Our bodies are no longer used to eating," she says in one panel. "My children are hungry but are getting sick, severe stomach pains from the food because their bodies aren’t able to digest and absorb the food because they were hungry for so long.”

Speaking to The National, artist Dalibor Talajic spoke about not sensationalising the comic. "I didn’t want to do a war comic," he told the publication. "I wanted to make a comic with a civilian point of view, where you’re really powerless. You can’t do anything. You’re just waiting for it to pass or for you to die.”

Talajic, best known for his work on Deadpool - added: “It is a mother, but it is every mother. It is a family, but it’s every family.” You can read the comic here.