In the aftermath of a failed utopia, an exiled woman fights to be reunited with her children by harnessing the mythic power that changed the planet forever.

From the Sunday Times-bestselling creator of Newbury & Hobbes and author of numerous comics and novels for Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Warhammer 40,000, comes an epic modern fantasy, rich in mythology and adventure, with an emotional personal story at its heart.

Twenty years ago, the World Mother awoke, forming an enormous "worldbridge" from manmade ruins and knotted vegetation that spanned the globe. Borders fell, millions migrated, and legendary creatures returned to the forests. But recently, the World Mother has gone silent, and the worldbridge has begun to whither. Borders are being reinstated. Now, one woman, cast out by her adoptive nation, must assemble a team of outcasts to reawaken the World Mother and bring down the wall separating her from her family.

This book was provided for free by the Author and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!

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I first caught a glimpse of Motherbridge: Seeds of Change many months ago when George Mann shared some of the artwork on his Twitter timeline. Illustrated by the talented Aleta Vidal, the combination of stunning artwork and fantastic word smithing brings this story of a mother separated from her family to life at every stage. This isn’t Mann’s first time working with this medium, nor is it his first time writing in a dystopian future earth landscape. If you’re familiar with Engineward, that’s about where the similarities end in terms of genre; however, it’s just as dark and gritty, just on a whole different level.

In the world of Motherbridge: Seeds of Change, the borders that were obliterated when the Mother rose up have been reinstated. These borders are literal and figurative, with people returning to the old ideas of segregation. The utopia that the Mother had created, the one world united “blind to creed or colour to allegiance or belief”, died with her when she did; humans were incapable of honouring it without her there to enforce it.

During the time of the one world, Hayley Wells had moved from England to New York during the time of the Mother, made a new life, fell in love, started a family, and everything was great – until she was ripped away from it because she wasn’t born in that country. She and hundreds of others were rounded up in cages. The walls went back up, with the dying remains of the Mother and all the mythical creatures that awoke with her on the other side of those walls.

As a white man in a uniform shoves her outside the gate, telling her “to go back to whatever shithole you crawled from,” Hayley finds herself on the other side of those walls. Outside the wall, Hayley ends up finding a lot more than she bargained for. There’s a cult of Mother worshippers, mythical creatures, a world abandoned to nature and some like-minded outcasts who join her on her quest to get back to her family. To do that, Hayley’s planning to bring the wall separating her from her family crashing down. It isn’t just difficult, it’s near impossible – or it was until Hayley stepped into the wilds beyond the wall and things began to change. The Mother is not nearly as dead as people behind the wall have been told…

In Motherbridge: Seeds of Change, Mann and Vidal take on the fantasy tropes of journeying and questing to discuss the topics of segregation, forced separation, female rights, climate change, and a whole lot more. For anyone reading this review and thinking, “Why do comic books/fantasy/insert genre have to get political? I just want to read for fun!”, you might want to do a bit of background reading on how speculative fiction and comic books came to be. They were literally born from politics to voice issues just like this. Motherbridge is right on point and does so beautifully.

Nestled in a journey filled with nature magic and learning the full strength of your own power comes a tale of what fear of the unknown can do, and how the actions of a few in power can cause pain for so many. Mann’s words are given life by Vidal’s gorgeous artwork, which feels like nature has blossomed on every page, with leaves and flowers being utilised as frames. The full page spreads are masterpieces, mixing mythology and nature to create the unique vibe that is Motherbridge. It’s not just the landscapes, the magic and the creatures that Vidal has brought to life beautifully; the characters look amazing as well. As with all of Mann’s stories, they are full of emotions and reactions that make them feel genuine.

Motherbridge: Seeds of Change is a stunning graphic novel in so many ways. It has family, friends, found family, a great sapphic romance, bad guys which you’ll love to see get their ass kicked, gorgeous mythic creatures (that you might wish were real and want to adopt…), and if you’re anything like me, you’re going to wonder if there’s going to be any more. The story ends in a way where it could go on, or it can end as it is. It’s one of those endings that works either way. I personally feel that the world of Motherbridge has a lot more left to share, and I would love to see more of Vidal’s beautiful interpretations of it.

Motherbridge: Seeds of Change is out on May 31st!

Thanks for reading my review of Motherbridge: Seeds of Change! It is out on May 31st and is available to buy from any of the links in this review.

Don’t forget to check out the rest of my reviews if you’re looking for some more book recommendations 🙂 You can also now sign up for my newsletter to get an email each month with a list of my new reviews.

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