Unfortunately, the handling of his erratic behavior has been, well, erratic. To do what they do, you have to have something in your brain wired abnormally. This unique mirrorissue reminds us how anyone can suffer from mental health problems in the world of superheroes. Whether its in a comic book or a movie, most everyone has seen a superhero. Comics are a good medium for exploring mental health, and there are. Its a subject never far from the minds and pens of many cartoonists. Symptoms involve constant seeking for approval, inappropriate seductive dressing or behaviour, and being overly dramatic and emotional, traits ohara has. And most heroes have, if not a full blown mental illness, some amount of severe psychological problems. The storyline present in iron man 3 explores a tony suffering from ptsd. The importance of addressing trauma and mental health in comics. We just saw joaquin phoenix win an oscar for playing joker, a comic book character with mental illness, but.
In superhero stories, mental illness is often associated with violence and villainy. Nine graphic novels and comic books about mental health. You must be out of your mind if you are able to kill somebody or if you think that you should rule the world. If youre tired of faking it, want to get a little perspective, or just want to laugh really hard at how absurd everything is, take a glance at these graphic novels and comic books.
Six comic book characters who suffer from a mental illness. Mental health americas mental health month promotes mental health as a critical part of overall wellness. They show readers that even the mightiest of superheroes like thor and captain marvel can be vulnerable. Fun home explores bechdels queerness as well as her obsessivecompulsive disorder.
Heroes fight villains all the time, but its often their internal struggles that are the most important. Dc comics heroes in crisis explores the mental health. Books that feature characters dealing with mental illness. So there are six comic book characters who are way more messed up than you and i, and if they cant get mental health right with all their power and money, then what hope do we have. The shows on tv that actually portray mental illness well. While most of these characters have suffered from mental illness at some point. There are hundreds of extremely worthy films that have been made over the years that deal with the issue of mental illness, but these ones are fantastic and in most cases very educational. Psychiatrist vasilis pozios and renowned illustrator marguerite sauvage have joined forces to create aura, a new superpowered hero who also happens to have bipolar disorder. I was able to see words to what my anxiety felt like in a character like me. Initiating awareness and conversations about mental health is a crucial need in these times of great psychological distress. Mac does not seem to actually suffer from a mental illness, and neither do several other characters in the psychiatric institution he has been committed to. In recognition of mental health awareness month, i have composed a list of several pieces of literature, mostly fiction, that examine the topic of characters suffering from mental illness.
How is mental illness represented in superhero comics. Alexis has bipolar disorder and has survived a suicide attempt. On its face, mental illness is nothing to laugh about, but illustrator gemma correll has used her biting wit as a coping mechanism for her own depression and anxiety. Two of the main characters are having serious mental troubles extreme anxiety, rage, need for mental manipulation and is stated, that both may or may not existed just in the head of the third main character. They deal with issues across a broad spectrum of mental illnesses, disorders, and clinical psychoses. Though superhero comics portray mental illness for what it is. The importance of addressing trauma and mental health in. While most of these characters have suffered from mental illness at some point in their career, the struggle for antman, aka giant man, aka yellowjacket, aka goliath, has been ongoing.
Possibly the most celebrated graphic text to substantively tackle mental illness is alison bechdel s memoir about her relationship with her father, fun home. He is the type of character that has an impressive attitude like being optimistic, hardworking, friendly, energetic, always happy, and adventure lover. On the whole, the comic book industry still has room to grow when it comes to addressing reallife social problems without exploiting mental health struggles and marginalized populations. What are the top 10 mentally ill dc and marvel comic characters. Thats why it can be completely magical when you find a book that shows what its like to live with a chronic illness, disability or mental health condition. They depict characters with mental illnesses as violent and destructive. Many of these authors experienced mental illness themselves firsthand, and their work reflects some of their own personal struggles. Its no wonder that heroes might suffer depression as a result. Many heroes in recent comic book movie history have battled with mental health issues. Best mentally ill characters this list is for the best characters, not the best books.
Scarlett ohara gone with the wind the archetypal character with histrionic personality disorder. Why reading comic books benefits your mental health. Given the prevalence of mental illness, you might ask yourself if your characters arent a little too sane. But some supers also have to cope with mental illness. When it comes to mental illness, many tv shows have a hard time really hitting the nail on the head. Robbie williams, tana ford and more gathered at c2e2 to discuss the importance of creators addressing how mental health is presented in comics. This really depends on how you want to parse out what counts as mental illness in comic books. Its also reflected in his need to be the smartest man in the room at all times. However, these gods are subject to many mental health problems. Mental health awareness through superheroes comicbook. The book describes the physiology of trauma, many case studies, and new nonpharmaceutical treatments. Most mental illnesses were previously met with a good amount of unfair stigma. The comic that explains where joker went wrong the.
Most people have not been taught to name and understand their mental health experiences. The temptation to examine the human condition through characters who think or behave in ways we find strange is a common theme in literature, and yet more and more of society is waking up to the fact that frivolous depictions of mental illness can have serious realworld implications. Comic book superhero helps fight stigma surrounding mental. As well as the moon, moon knight is influenced by the heroes around. The joker was abandoned as a baby and adopted by a lady who has narcissistic personality disorder and delusions of. A crucial example on this list is iron man himself, tony stark. Stories chronicling the struggles of young people and their friends, siblings, or parents who suffer from anxiety, depression, obsessivecompulsive disorder ocd, agoraphobia, an eating disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, hypochondria, and other illnesses make for engrossing. Comics offer their readers parallel worlds, where despite the odds the protagonists of the stories may face, good always. Many comic books that involve a psychological disorder are written by an artist who can relate to these issues on a personal level. In comics there are plenty of characters with a mental illness or mental disorder. Superheroes who have depression or any other mental illness. Im actually surprised by some of the characters that have these illnesses. Aura aura is the superhero alias of a young woman named alexis pope.
Why everyone should be reading comic books longtime comic book fans are well aware of the benefits that come from reading comics. Handled with care, a character with mental illness can not only enliven a storyline but also open. Here are 15 superheroes and villains whove struggled with mental illness. Worse, many have been shamed for struggling with depression and other forms of mental health. The following ten graphic novels and comics show a huge diversity of perspectives on mental health and some of them are downright hilarious in their depictions. The best writers on the book seem to be the ones who put poor matt.
At gocomics, creators share their struggles with anxiety, depression, and more with an aim to relate to readers who may be going through the same thing. Superheroes and villains who are mentally ill screenrant. We all love cartoons, particularly for the goofy characters who behave in crazy, whacky ways. They take the form of relatable mental health comics and illustrations that allow us to commiserate with correll, as well as many others who share her condition.
There are, however, other, often personal, comics that can open your eyes to real human experiences with mental disorders. While most of us have actually grown up watching cartoons. Mental health awareness through superheroes comicbook debate. His character in the comics has been sober for a long ass time. Childrens comic cartoon characters with psychological disorders. Throughout the hundreds of comic books that carry the stories of these. How to treat mentally ill characters when writing a novel. Here are a few that i feel encapsulate the struggles of mental illness. Marvel comics is a prime example of bringing awareness and ending the stigma of mental illness through their superheroes. Those who suffer from mental illnesses may have to see their conditions play out on the small screen in ways that are. Living with mental illness is a daily struggle for many people and comic book superheroes are a way of escaping our everyday lives. His behavior indicates a tenuous grasp of reality combined with an absence of basic impulse control. To most fans, comics are a continuous source of entertainment that provide an escape from todays daily stressors.
Either way, these characters have all certainly had their ups and downs. Here are five popular fictional characters with mental illness. Illustrator draws humorous comics about her mental illness. But if we try to think what it might be like for a real person to have their traits, it might not look like a good idea. The themes of the film included the gross mistreatment of psychiatric patients in the sixties and the criminalization and ostracization of freethinking, antiauthoritative people. Heroes have to keep their identities secret and deal with everyday heroic problems. Spongebob is one of the funniest and loveable characters today. A lot of the time though, it can be difficult to find characters and storylines you directly relate to. The most lasting comic book attempt at crafting a joker origin.
By showing us heroes with these problems, marvel did a great. Superheroes and supervillains with mental disorders florida. And her relationship with therapy is later explored in depth in are you my mother. Fictional characters with psychological disorders flow. This makes superman an interesting character and proves that. Mental health is often misrepresented in most movies.
Humor is a powerful way to deal with the barbs of life. Mentallyill and insane characters have a long and storied history in anime and manga. Common sense media editors help you choose books that feature characters dealing with mental illness. What are the top 10 mentally ill dc and marvel comic. Many heroes in recent comic bookmovie history have battled with mental health issues. Depending on the situation, mental illness can be used to explain the suffering of a character, or make them seem more scary and frightening. Geoff johns, who portrayed the character s mental illness, did a fantastic job with that storyline. No speculative diagnoses here, the characters were all given bipolar disorder by their creators. Psychiatrists call out dc on depictions of mentally ill.
So ive taken it upon myself to share with you some mental illnesses and the characters that have them. The iconic character, also known as bruce banner, is a brilliant scientist who was. Identifying mental illness in comic books requires notice of a characters behavior as it is or becomes irrational to the social norms of the comic book. In the interests of a blog im about to write, can anyone think of any comic books or comic book characters, now or ever which have dealt with mental illness in a way that you consider to be. Ya novels with characters who have chronic or mental. The first week of october is recognized as mental health awareness week, while in november we recognize international survivors of suicide loss day. She also has migraine headaches not uncommon in people with bipolar disorder with visual aura although. The word histrionic refers to theatrical or acting. Even though he has those kinds of attitudes, he was included on the list of fictional characters with psychological disorders. Kids and teens work out depression, anxiety, and more in these compelling stories. Marvel comics has been at the forefront of awareness for mental illness for quite some time.
Historically, comics have been incredibly bad in their treatment. Others only served to pronounce the already wellworn stigma of psychological disorders. Mental illness, superheroes, and stereotypes vasilis. As well as being the first antman, hank pym is one of the smartest men in the marvel universe. The bell jar by sylvia plath, all the bright places by jennifer niven, turtles all the way down by john green, its kind.
Psychologists still like to blame the victim and so do psychiatrists. Mental illness is an area frequently misunderstood by authors and readers alike. Much of davids comic history, as well as the excellent legion tv show. She believes identifying with fictional characters can help us in mental health recovery.