Chapter 12: The Mother Trilogy
This chapter is kind of different. There isn’t really a single visual that could give a coherent representation of what it’s about. I was at a loss for what to draw on the cover, until I idly entertained the thought “What if this were like a TV series that made a gag opening credits sequence for an offbeat episode?” That’s when the idea popped into my head to draw a version of the Vol. 1 trade paperback cover peppered with elements from this chapter.
That cover was a huge challenge for me to draw, so it was a little intimidating to try capturing lightning in a bottle again. But I plugged away at it and I think it holds up at least decently. The perspective on the dollhouse is way off, but this scene is so surreal to begin with I feel like that’s not really a problem.
Some readers have correctly guessed that “The Mother Trilogy” is a reference to the video game series. I only know of the series due to the “controversy” surrounding it. Three RPGs were made in Japan under the “Mother” title, but they didn’t all make it to North America. “Mother 2” was adapted for English markets as “Earthbound” in the ’90s, and sold poorly, but gained a cult following. Nintendo didn’t release either of the other games in English until 2015, when they surprised gamers by releasing “Mother 1” as “Earthbound Beginnings.” “Mother 3” still hasn’t been released in English, and may never be.
The original title for this chapter was “JKB” (after Jen, Katsuko and Billie) but at some point “The Mother Trilogy” got stuck in my head and it was tempting to go for the reference. Plus it’s a more descriptive title.
