Who Is The Author Of 'It'S Lonely At The Centre Of The Earth'?

I recently dove into 'It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth' and was struck by how raw and personal it feels. The author, Zoe Thorogood, is a British comic artist and writer who poured her own struggles with mental health into this graphic memoir. What makes her work stand out is the way she blends stark honesty with surreal visuals—her art style shifts between detailed realism and chaotic scribbles to mirror emotional states. Thorogood isn't just telling a story; she's dissecting the creative process itself, showing how isolation and depression warp perception. Her background in indie comics shines through in the experimental layouts, where some pages feel like fever dreams. The book's title perfectly captures its essence: that terrifying yet universal feeling of being trapped inside your own mind while the world moves on without you.

What's fascinating is how Thorogood's earlier works, like 'The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott', also explore themes of vulnerability through art. In 'It's Lonely...', she takes it further by breaking the fourth wall, literally drawing herself as a character wrestling with self-doubt. Her influences range from Junji Ito's horror manga to Craig Thompson's autobiographical comics, but her voice is unmistakably her own—darkly humorous one moment, devastating the next. This isn't just another mental health narrative; it's a masterclass in using comics as therapy, with every pen stroke serving as both confession and catharsis.

Zoe Thorogood created 'It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth', and man, does her work hit hard. This graphic novel hits different because it's so visceral—you can practically feel her anxiety leaking through the pages. She's known for blending autobiography with nightmarish imagery, like when she draws her depression as a literal monster gnawing at her. What sets Thorogood apart is her refusal to sugarcoat anything; the comics industry doesn't often see this level of brutal self-reflection. Her art swings between gorgeous inkwork and messy sketches depending on the emotional weight of each scene, making it one of those rare books where form and content are inseparable.