The Mother

New Yorker cartoonist Deutsch picks at the emotional tangle of new parenthood in this candid if slight graphic memoir debut. After a series of awkward and comical dating failures, Deutsch meets Marc, who is also eager to have kids. They move in together five months later, forming a “pragmatic and not very romantic” partnership. Once she gets pregnant, however, Deutsch worries about the pitfalls of parenthood, including passing on her family history of depression and dysfunction. An unsympathetic nurse warns her that “motherhood is pain,” and the pain continues beyond childbirth, as the baby isolates her from other adults and strains her relationship with Marc. “I was in love with my baby and lonely for adult love,” Deutsch recalls. She finds humor in her travails, envisioning outlandish birth plans like a “parkour birth” and “Olympic diving birth.” At times, her pre-pregnancy self floats above her whispering taunts like, “from when you were slutty and hot... wearing a chunky heel.” The squashy digital art features body humor—elongated breasts fall to the ground after nursing—but eschews detailed backgrounds (a maternity ward is rendered as some chairs with “Maternity Ward” written over them). Parents will find plenty here that’s painfully familiar. (Apr.)