Motherlands

Simon Spurrier loves his high concepts.  Which is why his new Vertigo miniseries isn’t just about mother and daughter bounty hunters working out their tortured history while on a job.  No, it’s about mother and daughter bounty hunters working out their tortured history while on a job in a futuristic world where people can easily travel through multiple realities with ease.  Oh, and the mother in this story happened to be the most famous bounty hunter in the multiverse at one time after her exploits were chronicled on a reality TV show. Our protagonist, Tabitha Tubach, hated growing up with a mother whose main concern was how everything played to the cameras, yet she still followed in her footsteps to become (charitably speaking) a B-list hunter.  That may change after the hunter community gets some new info on the most wanted fugitive in the multiverse and Tabitha’s mom, Sylvie, winds up being the one person she can turn to in order to bring this person in. Why? That’s because the leader of the Scab Pickers, Bubba, happens to be Sylvie’s son and Tabitha’s brother.

“Motherlands” boasts strong art from Rachel Stott, with Stephen Byrne and Pete Woods pitching in on an issue apice, as she’s clearly onboard with the multiversal craziness that Spurrier is throwing out here.  If only the multiverse concept actually felt necessary to this story as there’s no reason it couldn’t have taken place in the far future. That’s my main issue with the story, though I can see others being put off by the torturedness of Tabitha and Sylvie’s relationship.  Spurrier’s portrayal of it is very much a “warts and all, heavy on the warts” look at what showbusiness can do to a woman. So while the antagonism between mother and daughter feels genuine, I can understand how some people would find it to be unpleasant to the point of putting them off the whole miniseries.  Even with all the negativity generated by that relationship I was still surprised to see “Motherlands” deliver an ending whose uplift actually feels earned and worthwhile. It’s not the best work that Spurrier has delivered this year (more on that towards the end of the month) but it’s still one that’s still worth picking up if you’re a fan of his work.