Welcome to “So You Want To Read Comics”.  This is our weekly feature where we take a look at a single topic or genre, then give you two comic book recommendations, perfect for new readers, based on that topic or genre.  This week we’re taking a look at comics that deal with mental health.

According to a 2017 study, nearly 11 percent of the world’s population lives with a mental health condition.  This translates to nearly 800 million people worldwide.   Something so prevalent of course then translates into our popular culture.  In the last two decades, we’ve seen a rise of characters in our favorite TV shows, movies, and books with a wide range of conditions that are treated with the amount of sensitivity and nuance such a heavy subject deserves but hasn’t always received.  One of the sources that we’ve seen become a particularly powerful medium for stories about mental health has been comic books and sequential art. A strong number of the most celebrated and awarded comics have been deeply personal stories dealing with challenging subjects like depression, suicide, and eating disorders.

It should be said that consuming any type of media, regardless of the subject matter, is not a replacement for help from trained professionals.  Here are a couple of comics that each address the topic of mental health in their own ways.

PSYCHIATRIC TALES: ELEVEN GRAPHIC STORIES ABOUT MENTAL ILLNESS

Writer: Darryl Cunningham
Artist: Darryl Cunningham
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

One of the things about mental illness is how wide its scope is.  From small nagging issues in the back of your head to major issues that have serious impacts on day-to-day life, and all of them deserve some recognition.  That’s what you get here in Psychiatric Tales.  The creator, Darryl Cunningham, spent a good amount of time working in a psychiatric ward and has taken their experiences and created this compilation of stories.  What’s particularly nice about this, is that these stories are approached in such a way to eliminate any stigma associated with the particular mental health issue in question, while also maintaining the subject’s humanity.  Also, included in many of these stories are the perspectives from family and friends, because as many know, mental illness isn’t always a singular person affair.  It’s hard to read this one and not find something in it that you can relate to in one way or another.

GREEN LANTERNS: RAGE PLANET

Author: Sam Humphries
Artist: Rocha Robson
Publisher: DC Comics

Not everything has to be a serious and introspective look at personal history and the causes of mental illness. Sometimes it’s just nice to see people who have some similar issues as you, overcome them and be kind of awesome.  In this book, we see two of the newest Green Lanterns, Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz team up to fight an opposing Lantern Corps. Who’s trying to turn everyone into rage monsters.  The thing is, Jessica has PTSD and agoraphobia due to being the only survivor of a serial killer attack, and Baz has trouble managing his impulses and anger due to being unjustly locked up as a terrorist.  It might not have the most nuanced take on mental illness, there’s no doubt about that, but it doesn’t come off as insulting either and at times can be empowering.  As a bonus, this was part of a companywide relaunch from DC Comics, so it is written in a way to help new readers jump on board.

So what are some of your favorite depictions of mental health issues in media?  What did you think of these recommendations? Let us know in the comment section below.

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