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Aug 2018

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.


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.

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

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 :slight_smile:

P.S. You comic seems really interesting too!

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 :slight_smile:

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

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 ^_^

well I have a boy with multiple personalities..

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! :slight_smile:

You're not here6 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 Internum8 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

If novels are your thing:

Good luck with your search! :slight_smile:

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.

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/

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.

@Progg Woah, a horror pixel art comic? That's awesome! I am definitely checking that out. :smiley: I've seen Mare Internum around before, and have been meaning to read it, but I guess it kept slipping my mind- thank you for reminding me about this one. It is a truly gorgeous looking comic. Seems like it has great dialogue too. I can see how's you'd feel that way about it!

@emmyengberts It's true I am primarily looking for comics, but I don't mind a few novel recommendations- especially if it's independent work that I might not have heard of otherwise. I really like the idea of (what appears at first glanceto be) a story that uses characters getting into MMOs as a vehicle for exploring subjects like dealing with autism or ADHD. Very cool, and thank you for recommending it! <3

@Beau_Van_D I see what you mean about containing similar themes- although it's actually your novel suggestion that interests me the most of them! (I have a soft spot for magical realism and surreal fantasy stories) I'll have to check it out for sure. Thank you for all these great recommendations!

@ericsalinas149 I'll admit I don't usually read comics that take a newspaper strip-like form, but I'm willing to give it a try (after all, I did enjoy Alison Bechdel's Dykes to Watch Out For) Thank you for recommending it <3 .

The name is Gravity Break: Cataclysm. If you type GravityBreak and add .eu after, you will get to my website. There are currently not too many pages available (there are a few more on my Patreon) but I have a lot of material and plan to keep it going

@yozhikisblue Her Elysium is a pure romance story that deals with ADHD in a positive and constructive way. BASE is a fantasy (LitRPG) story (so totally different genre :wink: ) where the main character (and a few side characters) are autistic.

Well, everything else I was going to rec has already been posted lol. Although there is Endzeit, it's a zombie comic but it does have themes of mental illness revolving around one of the main characters.
(Just a heads-up, this comic has blood and some gore)

Also, if you're into angst drama, there is my comic. Mental illness is one of the main themes, featuring subjects like depression, psychosis and schizophrenia, anxiety, and PTSD. With the main characters just trying to live with it, and eventually improve. I do have to warn you though, the comic is rated NC-17, and contains nudity, substance abuse, dark subjects, violence and abuse.