Horror meets environmentalism, against a backdrop of personal & family struggle

After witnessing her engineer father die in mysterious circumstances on one of the Cobalt Corporation’s experimental oil extraction projects, Nova Terrell has grown up to hate the seemingly benevolent company that the town of Catch Creek, New Mexico, relies on for its livelihood and, thanks to the “Mother Nature” project, its clean water.

Haunted by her father’s death, the rebellious Nova wages a campaign of sabotage and vandalism on the oil giant’s facilities and equipment, until one night she accidentally makes a terrifying discovery about the true nature of the “Mother Nature” project and the malevolent, long-dormant horror it has awakened, and that threatens to destroy them all.

This is Oscar-winner Jamie Lee Curtis’s first graphic novel, co-authored by Russell Goldman, and with artwork by Karl Stevens. Adapted from a screenplay Curtis wrote, it’s an intriguing mystery/horror story about family, environmentalism, exploitation, and more. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I rather enjoyed this.

It’s tricky to review this without throwing out plenty of spoilers. The general gist is that it follows a handful of the occupants of Catch Creek, New Mexico. Specifically, Nova, her mother, and a couple of other teenage residents. Nova is forever changed after witnessing the gruesome death of her father, and this sets her down a path of oft-extreme eco-activism. Her mother, it seems, has made peace with the inevitability of the corporation’s takeover of the land. On the surface, it seems as if Cobalt is actually doing good, too. However, we all know where this is going…

What follows is an engaging story that weaves together environmental exploitation and activism with a more personal, character-focused story: the characters are navigating changes in their lives and their community, while simultaneously attempting to get to grips with what has befallen them in the past. Nova’s mother, Kai, was a particularly interesting character, and her quiet, graceful grappling with the loss of her husband, the spiralling of her daughter, and a wish to share her ancestral myths and story was very well told.

The story moves at a pretty good clip, building gradually before a third act that really picks up the pace. There were a couple of times, early on, when I wished the story would pick up just a little bit more, but generally readers are provided with pretty good insight into the characters’ motivations and inner lives, and an explosive denouement that’s quite satisfying.

The artwork is distinctive, and well-done. For a horror story, I was surprised how bright and vivid it was — this is in no way a bad thing, and I thought it was an interesting choice that worked rather well. (Perhaps I’ve become too used to whatever the art equivalent of pathetic fallacy is…?)

If you’re a fan of suspense and horror comics, then I think you’ll find something to like here. Definitely worth giving this a try.

*

Mother Nature is out now, published by Titan Comics in North America and in the UK.

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Review copy received from publisher