From Booklist, February 1, 2007
Shaw, Dash. The Mother's Mouth. 2006. 128p. illus. Alternative Comics, paper, $12.95 (9781891867989). 741.5.
Virginia Miles gives up her much-loved library job in Illinois to be with her dying mother in New Orleans. But soon after she arrives at the hospital, her mother becomes completely unresponsive. Life goes on. Virginia meets Dick, a musician. He reminds her somehow of a childhood friend, Richard, who died as a result of rebirthing therapy gone awry. A love affair commences, Virginia's mother dies, and memories of Richard somehow console the death and nurture the relationship. Shaw draws a bold but fragile line that allows his characters no beauty but forces consideration of their moral quality. Virginia and Dick emerge as decent, lonely thirtysomethings who deserve a good relationship. There is much more stylistically to Shaw's presentation, however: flashbacks to Richard, rendered in gray; interpolated photos of Virginia's mother and Richard's fatal therapy; drawn "establishing shots" of settings; comic-strip-like scenes; typeset explanatory passages and notes; and more. Shaw adroitly uses this technical variety to give the simple story emotional, cultural, and psychological weight. As carefully made as a good "indie" movie.
—Ray Olson
