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Book Cover for: It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth, Zoe Thorogood

It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth

Zoe Thorogood

Nominated for 2023 Eisner Awards in the Best Graphic Memoir and Best Writer/Artist categories

Nominated for the 2023 Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award

Included in Forbes' "The Best Graphic Novels of 2022" list

"Thorogood elevates the dark material with her expressive use of the comics medium and the urgency of her voice. One to watch for the 2020s." --Forbes

"This has the force of a fist punching through the page." --Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"Thorogood taps into sensation and the way that it is experienced in a way that is unlike anything I've seen before. It's astonishing." -- AIPT (review link)

Cartoonist Zoe Thorogood records six months of her own life as it falls apart in a desperate attempt to put it back together again in the only way she knows how. IT'S LONELY AT THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH is an intimate and metanarrative 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.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Image Comics
  • Publish Date: Nov 15th, 2022
  • Pages: 192
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 10.16in - 6.66in - 0.40in - 0.85lb
  • EAN: 9781534323865
  • Categories: Nonfiction - Biography & MemoirArtists, Architects, Photographers

About the Author

Thorogood, Zoe: - Zoe Thorogood is a comic creator from the UK. She debuted in 2020 with The Impending Blindness Of Billie Scott. She has also illustrated HAHA and most recently JOE HILL'S RAIN. Her multiple award-winning auto-bio-graphic novel is IT'S LONELY AT THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH from Image Comics.

Praise for this book

"Already pushing herself to new limits, Thorogood more than delivers on the promise of her debut. This has the force of a fist punching through the page." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A wondrous achievement as both an autobiographical discussion and as a piece of the comics medium. The skill and ingenuity of her visual storytelling approach is staggering and awe-inspiring. Thorogood's courageous honesty is supported by her hilarious deadpan humor and then tied all together by her absolutely insane artistic vision. Centre of the Earth is an important work as a discussion of trauma, depression, and the hope that can keep one moving forward. This is an absolute must-read, and without a doubt one of the best comic creations of recent years." --Monkeys Fighting Robots

Forbes' "Best Graphic Novels of 2022" list

"Thorogood elevates the dark material with her expressive use of the comics medium and the urgency of her voice. One to watch for the 2020s." --Forbes

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (STARRED) -- "I'm in a codependent relationship with my own work," Thorogood worries in her raw and relentlessly imaginative graphic memoir, which bristles with self-awareness of the ample pitfalls of its genre. Following the release of her well-received debut graphic novel, The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott, Thorogood finds that artistic success is no cure for lifelong depression, which she draws as a looming Babadook-like monster. Battling isolation and suicidal thoughts through the Covid-19 pandemic, she focuses on concrete goals: attending a comic book convention in London, meeting an online crush in the U.S. Thorogood is an astonishingly flexible artist, and she visualizes her obsessive self-analysis by drawing herself in diverse art styles, appearing sometimes realistically, sometimes as a big-eyed cartoon, other times with the blank face of an online meme. She darts manically but still dazzles the reader with constantly shifting but always stunning artwork. At one point, Thorogood is shocked to discover how many people find her work relatable, but reminds herself, "You're sad and mildly insufferable. Do you have any idea how big of a base that covers?" Already pushing herself to new limits, Thorogood more than delivers on the promise of her debut. This has the force of a fist punching through the page. (Nov.)

"Tragic, funny and disturbing." --Connecticut Public Radio/NPR

"Unflinchingly stark and personal." --The Guardian UK