Looking for comics that explore mental illness

[yozhikisblue]

*Huh- weird- the forum posted a previous version of what I wrote, and not what I wanted to post- speaking of social anxiety xD What I meant to say:

Thanks for the recommendation! I think I've come across this one at one point or another. I actually didn't pick up on that from the pages I saw earlier, but I'll definitely have to give it another look.

I do find myself fighting back social anxiety a lot too- worrying how something you say or do might affect someone, or else coming across as peculiar in general. People can be frightening! x')

[Pandastrophic]

@SleepingPoppy wow thank you so much for recommenting my comic, I'm so flattered!
My comic gets into mental health slowly, so you definitely see more of it the more you read.

I would like to recommend

Little Mizzi Muffet and the Spider King | Tapas

Interesting unique plot and characters, one of the side characters who's story is explored very deeply has depression and I feel like other characters are showing some sort of mental illness too. The story handles themes of grief and guilt very well too.

[PaulieBlade]

I feel awkward pitching my own book, but I think it may match your request. My protagonist suffers from depression which he's, well, imposing upon himself. A psychological masochist, if you will. I didn't unveil the motives yet - I'm only finishing the first chapter, but we'll get there...

[SleepingPoppy]

Welcome! And yeah, they don't start addressing it explicitly until later, but it's very clearly there if you know what to look for. I know I relate to a lot of it, at least.

I do find myself fighting back social anxiety a lot too- worrying how something you say or do might affect someone, or else coming across as peculiar in general. People can be frightening! x')

Yeah, I struggle with general anxiety, but the social stuff definitely weighs on me at times. I think the comic understands a lot of the subtle and less visible aspects of anxiety (And a lot of social stuff in general) that you don't often see in other works.

@Pandastrophic You're very welcome! Its been a great read so far, and I look forward to every update.

[phen]

Oh, there's some incredible work suggested here. I must add a couple of my personal favourites:

Conduit | Tapas

3AM | Tapas

Both are stylistically supreme and have extremely gripping narratives. Conduit is particularly character driven with strong, unique personalities and 3AM has a bold, visceral appeal to its presentation and delivery.

[indagold]

A lot of my comics explore mental illness through fantasy narratives like magic and curses. I do have a whole bunch but i'll post my most recent.

This story is very short tragedy. Explores delusions and paranoia and societal reactions to people who are alienated by it.

Castle by the Beach :: Castle by the Beach Part 1 | Tapas

This is my main comic and its a little more actiony and comedic than outright tragedy. There are themes about disability/mental illness in it.

All Broken Gods :: Cover | Tapas

And i'll recommend a comic i've been reading that explores that as well:

Drugs & Wires :: Chapter 1 Pages 0-3 | Tapas

[yozhikisblue]

Thanks for the reccomendation! Looks like I'd have a lot of catching up to do with this one. I'll definitely check it out

P.S. You comic seems really interesting too!

[yozhikisblue]

Hey, don't worry about recommending your own work- I did mention I was perfectly happy with creators self-promoting on this thread. I think I came across your comic before, though I don't recall seeing anything in particular relating to mental illness- I suppose it hasn't come to that yet? I'll have to give it another look

[yozhikisblue]

Thank you for recommending these- the first thing I can't help but notice is that they both have beautiful artwork. <3

[yozhikisblue]

It so happens I'm already reading your comics (I recently commented on All Broken Gods), as well as Drugs & Wires- but thank you! I did recognize those themes creeping in- I guess I'll keep reading to find out more ^_^

[Kato-san15]

well I have a boy with multiple personalities..

The bitter boy | Tapas

[yozhikisblue]

I can't say for sure whether or not this is what I'm looking for, since there's only one page out so far- but thank you for recommending it. I'll have to check back when it's farther along!

[Progg]

You're not here is a comic on Tapas about a young man suffering from hallucinations and struggling with a malicious voice inside his head. It's a horror comic, but it's grounded in empathy and takes its subject matter very seriously. And the pixel art really elevates the story.
Mare Internum is a story about two astronauts trying to make it out of a subterranean sea on the planet Mars. One of the protagonists suffers from recurring depression and suicidal thoughts, partly because of abuse he suffered as a child. Probably the best webcomic I've ever read.

[emmyengberts]

I know they're not comics, but you also did ask about books

I've written two novels that deal with mental health issues.

Her Elysium is a romance about two gamer girls with ADHD who fall in love.

Her Elysium (Flowers and Keyboards) | Tapas

BASE Status: Online has an autistic main character who has to save her best friend after she goes missing.

BASE Status: Online (A LitRPG Novel) | Tapas

[PaulieBlade]

Well, it's not that obvious in the beginning. I didn't want to just outright state it. But the psyche of my protagonist is definitely on a downward spiral.

[OneHappyChap]

I was going to suggest Eerie Crests, it's a great comic!

[OneHappyChap]

Not sure if these ones count 100% as explorations, but they do have themes that might interest you.

Ghost Lights | Tapas

Countdown to Countdown | Tapas

Narcotic | Tapas

If novels are your thing:

Flower Girl | Tapas

Good luck with your search!

[indagold]

aw I didn't notice, my bad memory lol

[ericsalinas149]

I have a light-hearted comic strip, in which the protagonist Celeste is a care-free naive person.
However, the second main character, Paige, secretly suffers and copes with depression. I call these comics 'Something about Paige' which is an offshoot of the main strip. The Something about Paige strips are serious and somewhat philosophical as the character is introspective with what she is feeling.

Something about Celeste :: Blinding Light | Tapas

If you don't ant to search for those particular SaP strips on Tapastic, you can go to my website where I lump all the similar comic types together.
http://www.somethingceleste.com/chapter/something-about-paige/

[GravityBreakCat]

Hi. My comic (I won't link to it because apparently I got flagged as spam when I linked to it in the introduction thread) has a main character who is struggling with anxiety. The story isn't about this, but it affects the way she interacts with the world a lot. She is also autistic and plural (DID), tho those are not illnesses.

Other characters are struggling with mental health too. A major theme in my comic is that it's ok to have different emotional and psychological needs.