Jamie Lee Curtis appeared at SDCC last week.
It has been quite a year for Jamie Lee Curtis. After closing the chapter on Laurie Strode in Halloween Ends, she opened 2023 by winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Everything Everywhere All at Once. There are already Emmy whispers for her hurricane performance as Carmy’s mother, Donna Berzatto, in FX’s The Bear.
During her SDCC panel last week, Curtis spoke about the plot and themes of her newest venture–a graphic novel called Mother Nature. This marks the actress’ first graphic novel collaboration. Mother Nature’s artist Karl Stevens, co-writer Russell Goldman, and Titan Comics VP Andrew Sumner were rounding out the panel.
Mother Nature is Woman vs. Oil Company.
While Curtis has previously published children’s books, Mother Nature takes her back to her horror roots. In this eco-horror tale, a woman named Nova Terrell seeks vengeance against a powerful oil corporation that she holds responsible for her father’s death. After discovering the company’s “Mother Nature” project, she learns of a captive, malicious spirit on its quest for revenge.
Curtis has been mulling over the concept of Mother Nature ever since she was a teenager and first became cognizant of the dangers of climate change. It wasn’t until she worked on David Gordon Green’s Halloween trilogy that she realized her vision and penned a narrative highlighting these dangers. Curtis then assembled a talented team to help her adapt the story into a film. Thanks to Karl Stevens’ keen artistic eye, however, she agreed the story ought to be told as a graphic novel instead.
Mother Nature addresses climate change.
With July unfolding as the world’s hottest month on record, the theme of Curtis’ work couldn’t be timelier. And it is at the forefront of her mind. As she opened the panel, she bluntly stated, “We’re fucking the world. There is a possibility of change, but we’re going to have to do it.” Curtis hopes that the novel delivers the message that the situation is dire and must be addressed urgently.
Beyond the narrative’s central metaphor, Curtis’ imagination and Stevens’ artwork bring this message into stark relief through increasingly bloody, gory, and violent imagery, much of which Curtis envisioned herself. In an interview she gave with ComicBook, she stated, “I have a really dark imagination for somebody who really doesn’t like violence.” But it serves a purpose. The violence seen on the page underscores the deadly reality of climate change people face all around the world.
It’s also about mothers.
Many of Curtis’ recent roles, including Everything Everywhere All at Once, Halloween Ends, and The Bear, reflect the challenges and triumphs of motherhood. Mother Nature explores motherhood, too; “It’s about mothers,” Curtis stated during the panel. In her own life, Curtis has two daughters, whom she referred to as her greatest success.
Mother Nature is scheduled to be released by Titan Comics on August 8.
