Introduction

While most bibliotherapy activities focus on the use of written text, whether in the form of novels, poetry or self-help books, in recent years there has been a growing interest in the use of graphic novels and comics as a mode of bibliotherapy. The term ‘graphic narratives’ is used in this chapter to include both graphic novels and shorter comics in both print and digital formats. The chapter explores the ways in which graphic narratives of various types might be used as an effective form of bibliotherapy. It considers how the medium can be particularly effective in supporting important features of bibliotherapy such as providing reassurance, connection with others, alternative perspectives and models of identity. It then draws on examples of bibliotherapy collections from different library settings to demonstrate some of the ways in which graphic narratives are currently used in bibliotherapy practice, or might have potential to be used in the future. Finally, it considers the possible challenges of using graphic narratives for bibliotherapy, and how these could be overcome.

The representation of medical practices and conditions in graphic narratives is not new. For example, North American comic books of the 1940s were used to illustrate the history of medicine for mass audiences. Public health educators have used graphic narratives to communicate information on health issues for many years, including mental health (New York State Department of Mental Hygiene, 1950), the dangers of smoking (American Cancer Society, 1965), skin cancer (Putnam and Yanagisako, 1982) and HIV/AIDS (Gillies, Stork and Bretman, 1990). The number of graphic narratives being published on health-related issues appears to be growing however (Czerwiec et al., 2015). The last 15–20 years have seen the publication of a number sophisticated graphic narratives exploring health-related issues. Many have experienced high levels of popularity among mainstream audiences, as well as critical acclaim. Examples include, David B's Epileptic (2005); Brian Fies’ Mom's Cancer (2006); and Nicola Streeten's Billy, Me and You: a memoir of grief and recovery (2011), to name but a few. These texts are typically autobiographical, or semi-autobiographical, works created by skilled comics artists who have had a personal experience with illness, or with caring for a relative with a health condition.