Posted in: Comics, Digital, Recent Updates | Tagged: webcomic

Looking Straight Ahead

Elaine M Will is a webcomic creator. I think her work is absolutely extraordinary. She's currently funded by the Xeric Award grants and is working on... well, why don't I get her to explain? She tells Bleeding Cool;

I've been drawing comics since I could hold a pencil, and I've been self-publishing for 10 years.

I attended The Arts University College at Bournemouth from 2007-2010 and started drawing the first issue of Look Straight Ahead as my final project. At the time I wasn't sure how far I would get with it, but it was of the utmost importance to me and I knew I needed to finish it eventually. The story is semi-autobiographical, based on a similar mental breakdown I suffered 10 years ago, almost to the day – ironically, shortly after I self-published my first comic.

I also began drawing LSA because I noticed that there was a distressingly small number of comics dealing with mental illness. It's still not a topic that's readily discussed, sadly.

The story focuses on the dark, vicious cycles of depression but is ultimately a story of healing & redemption, and the therapeutic power of art-making. (I'd be lying if I said I wasn't using the comic as a way of healing and obtaining some closure myself!)

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