Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis returned to San Diego Comic-Con, but she wasn’t there to promote any acting projects (which she can’t due to SAG-AFTRA strike rules). The iconic scream queen was there to launch her new ecological horror graphic novel Mother Nature, which she co-wrote with Russell Goldman with artwork by Karl Stevens(Penny).
During a Friday panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Curtis revealed some panels from Mother Nature and horror fans, we’re in for some gruesome imagery. “Of course, I had some gruesome deaths because I have a very dark mind,” Curtis told the audience. I would expect nothing less from Laurie Strode herself. Mother Nature‘s premise is as follows:
Nova Terrell who, after witnessing her father die in mysterious circumstances on one of the Cobalt Corporation’s experimental oil extraction projects, has grown up to despise the seemingly benevolent company that the town of Catch Creek, New Mexico, relies on for its jobs and prosperity. The rebellious Nova wages a campaign of sabotage and vandalism against the oil giant, until one night she accidentally makes a terrifying discovery about the true nature of the Mother Nature project and the long-dormant, vengeful entity it has awakened that threatens to destroy them all.
– Titan Comics
It’s important to note that Curtis and Goldman involved Indigenous individuals like Navajo author Brian Young (who wrote the novel’s afterword). Curtis, Goldman, and Stevens also consulted Navajo experts to help bring Mother Nature to life. Collaborating is crucial in these cases and should be commonplace. The reality is that oil spills still affect Indigenous communities and wildlife. And for the main character to be an Indigenous person is *chef’s kiss.
Few threats are greater or more existential than climate change and global warming. And horror as a genre is the perfect vehicle to drive the message home. Curtis told the crowd, “We’re f—ing the world! We need to do better. There is a possibility of change, but we are going to have to do it.” We can’t wait to see if Mother Nature is as great as we hope.
(featured image: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)
