"It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth" is a deep and profound examination of the author, Zoe Thorogood's, struggles with serious mental health issues while pursuing a generally successful and creative career as an artist. This book is full of dark sequences, suicidal ideation, a good amount of angst ridden self-examination and even self-hatred.

However, the result is not dismal and even during the book's darkest moments Thorogood's artistic brilliance shines through as does her subtle and often self effacing sense of humor. Perhaps the best example of this is the frequent appearance of the personification of her depression which takes the form of a large looming monster that seems to be a hybrid of Ingmar Bergman's Death and a Teletubby.

Thorogood's representations of herself are also striking. Thus, she portrays herself visually in about half a dozen different ways, with multiple versions of herself often interacting, arguing and competing for attention. The result is a riotous and often confusing explosion of her thoughts and feelings that leap out at the reader.

Finally, in what is an important step for any book about depression, Thorogood begins her book with a warning about its content and ends it with some thoughts on how she has found some peace for herself. All in all, this is a challenging book to read that is well worth the effort and significantly less heavy and intense than the content would imply. This book is strongly recommended to anyone who enjoys the graphic arts and is ready and comfortable to read it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Zoe Thorogood and the publisher, Image Comics, for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

tw for this book: mention of suicide, self harm, depression, anxiety, panic attacks

This book was so unexpected. So different from anything I’ve ever read before!! the most creative and profound graphic novel yet also humorous in its own way

The author manages to depict dark themes of depression through beautiful and humorous illustrations. The author also uses fourth wall in such a unique yet authentically way where the reader is able to connect with the author. Like the book is so self aware of itself that it’s so funny.

i'm so mesmerized by the art! the detail of it all and the author has so many different art styles like THE RANGE

The main character is such a tragic mess and she’s so real for that bc who isn’t a tragic mess

I’m buying this immediately once it comes out

Although I've never read Zoe's other works before, I have a lot of artist friends and basically camped out at anime/comic conventions' artists alleys when I was younger, and I immediately felt connected to Zoe not only on that front, but also the themes that were discussed here. Anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide, expectations vs. reality,, life in general, putting yourself out there and not knowing how people will react to work and words and art is absolutely something that is thoroughly discussed here in an effective way.

I loved the art style, and the different mediums that Zoe also includes in this. I loved the way Zoe framed the six months together, and I really connected with Zoe as she was going through this period of life. Some parts didn't resonate with me as much, but that's the beauty of different people's experiences. I'm glad this work exists and that Image Comics released this. I'm glad that these themes are talked about, and I hope more works that explore the ups and downs of life. The ending was perfect! I'm absolutely going to look into Zoe's other titles now.

This was a super cool book. The illustrations are scary, cool, and edgy. I love the mix of black and white vs. colored drawing and those that fall in-between. The collage like illustrations are my favorite. The story itself is also spooky and engaging. Loved reading this!

This was a fantastic look at the inner struggle of a working artist. At times the content may be distressing to readers as the content deals with suicidal thoughts and depression. Still a highly recommended work.

I really enjoyed It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth. I love the different styles Zoe uses, it's very visually beautiful and the way it all collides is all over the place but perfect at the same time. Overall an excellent book and I just loved it

I get why many people liked this but I just didn't find it worked for me. I will however recommend for others to read this, especially those who like memoirs and graphic novels.

A biographical look at life, including issues of depression and suicidal thoughts. Well put together in its content, format and artwork. Something different in structure which is always welcome. An insight into the life of someone dealing with things, into the creative processes whilst this goes on. No real 'finale' in terms of lessons other than life continues and it's how you deal with things, what you make of it. The artwork is interesting, engaging and varied throughout and full of ideas.

One star off (or half a star if I could) - strangely (or perhaps not) for a book to a large degree about isolation, I found the section in America with two people trying and mostly failing to connect a bit hard to engage with. Compared to the rest this section seemed to lose a spark and meander.

An excellent, creative and thoughful book.

The artwork in this graphic novel is unlike anything else. The author weaves together so many art styles in this autobiographical story, it’s pretty cool to experience. I find it hard to rate an autobiography, but I must. I’m unsure who the target audience is for this book. It’s a very raw, honest, and unfiltered book. I imagine it was very cathartic to write. I was very frustrated while reading it. It didn’t have a natural progression. I think this would have been a very cool art piece to walk through instead of an angsty, diary-like book. I received this book as an ARC.

I had no idea what was happening. All I know is a girl was an artist and wanted to die. I dnfed at 27% The art was cool though.

TW: Suicidal ideation, depression, self-harm

I know this published a while ago, but I saw it here and based on this cover, I just really wanted to read it. Ironically, I had no idea what it was about. It sat in my shelf for a little bit though because I didn't have a deadline with this one.

I read it today in one sitting. I find the timing neat because I myself the week before last had spiraled into a really bad depression and something I've dealt with since I was about 15 years-old is recurring suicidal ideation.

It feels weird to give a star rating to something auto biographical, but honestly, I had to give a five-star rating because of my experience reading this book.

I absolutely will be reading more of Zoe's comics/graphic novels in the future. I absolutely loved her art style, but also reading this book felt validating. My own mind, when set free of the millions of holds I put on it daily, feels very similar to this stream of consciousness vibe of this book. Which is weird to think about in itself because like Zoe mentions, there are so many moments of not feeling human or not feeling real and spiraling into a philosophical black hole that doesn't have and end in the hopes that you're tethered somewhere and can reel back.

This method of processing life and being human is absolutely intriguing to me and I am so grateful I chose to read this.

This is one of the very few books I've read on Netgalley that I know without a doubt that I need a physical copy of.

I had the pleasure of delving into It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood, and it's a strikingly self-aware journey. Zoe lays bare her own flaws and struggles, making this graphic novel an intimate and metanarrative exploration of her life as an artist desperately piecing it together. Reading it feels like a direct confrontation, a book calling out its creator, and it's an enthralling experience that I thoroughly enjoyed.

What truly captivated me was Zoe's ability to convey her state of mind through diverse art styles and her ingenious manipulation of text and format. It's as if her brain is unravelling with each page, resulting in beautifully distorted storytelling. The art is exceptional, the writing is compelling, and the overall execution is masterful. If you're looking for a thought-provoking and artistically rich narrative, I highly recommend giving this book a read. My thanks go to Netgalley and Image Comics for providing the eBook copy that allowed me to explore this remarkable work.

This was very interesting, funny, and very introspective. Liked how it is a meta narrative can have different storytelling perspectives about mundane life! She's being vulnerable but she makes her struggles relatable. She takes her words and molds it into visual art. It is pretty more graphic and visceral in the colors. This graphic novel is autobiographical has some very raw dialogue between flashback scenes. It is for adults though...It's a very good novel that is short yet has a lot of depth to it.

I really connected with this story. This is a graphic memoir of a young comic artist who is struggling with mental health, self doubt, and just life altogether. God it was so relatable and I just felt really understood by the author and them I read some reviews where they said they were annoyed because she was wallowing in her depression which I thought was just so funny. Like maybe yeah she does a bit but it’s sometimes very hard not to when you are depressed and it’s definitely not like in the way that many people used to romanticize depression like 10 years ago (particularly on tumblr). So sure maybe some people found her annoying but I got it. Also the formatting and the use of multimedia was just so creative and I really loved (again some reviews were calling it self indulgent and pointless). So obviously it’s not for everyone but I really connected with it and it worked for me. I’d recommend it especially for people who have dealt with mental health but would advise checking content warnings.

I was pleasantly surprised by my first attempt at a graphic novel that took a biographical approach. The conversation around mental health and childhood translates perfectly to Zoe’s art and I enjoyed myself so much more than I expected! Thank you Image Comics and Netgalley for the digital arc!

Thanks to Image Comics and NetGalley for an ARC of this dazzling autobio graphic novel!

5 out of 5⭐ for a physical reflection of deep and painful woes so similar to my own.

It's Lonely at the Center of the Earth is a deep dive into the psyche of comic artist Zoe Thorogood, and it is a beautiful, mesmerizing journey.

The composition, scene transitions, and various stylizations used throughout the novel keep the eyes thoroughly engaged. The use of animal heads on everyone but Zoe, her family, and those featured in flashbacks is such a prominent way to illustrate the isolation she feels from the world--even her loved ones, as they are expressed akin to one of her stylized selves and not drawn fully representative to how they look.

Thorogood is a master at pinpointing the mental havoc mental illness plays on you and those around you, and the Embodiment of Depression that haunts her looks as vividly evil as it feels when it's weighing down on your chest crippling every decision you make, or refuse to make.

I wish Thorogood healing on her journey & am thankful for her bravery on being open. It's a conversation that doesn't happen enough.

I have never resonated with anything more! And I’m not sure how I feel about that ha
This is a wonderfully raw account of mental health and I’ve never quite found anything that is as truthful as this. Sad girls - this is the book for you

"It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth is an intimate and meta-narrative look into the life of a selfish artist who must create for her own survival. A poignant and original depiction of a young woman's struggle with mental health—through the ups and downs of anxiety, depression, and imposter syndrome—as she forges a promising career in sequential art and finds herself along the way."

Amazing art style and different POV. A bit harder to read so I suggest checking the TW/CW before jumping in. I'm not sure if I got a defective copy of this but I thought the book was hard to follow with multiple blank pages... Might be a user-problem rather than the book. Though it was hard to follow, I still thought it was a wonderful depiction of how someone with mental health struggle cope with everyday life!

An ok read this is a graphic memoir covering six months of the author's life whilst she goes through ups and downs. The art accompanying it it's beautiful.
I enjoyed the exploration of the self-doubt and depressing feelings but whilst it was relatable to a certain extent it also felt like there was nothing to take away from it. Which is not necessarily a bad thing- just not something I tend to go for.

This book is some pretty big topics. It is emotional and not an easy read, but it is well done. A little odd at times, but a powerful look at life.

4 stars