'Drawing comics saved me from anxiety' says author

Lucie Ebrey has published her first children's comic, titled Cowgirls and Dinosaurs

An author says creating comics has helped her to overcome her mental health challenges.

Lucie Ebrey, 31, from Hotwells in Bristol, began drawing at the age of seven.

Her first children's comic book Cowgirls and Dinosaurs has just been published.

She said: “I was always a bit of an anxious kid but especially when I was in university alone for the first time and dealing with so much work and so much stress."

She said the process of drawing and planning the comics became a useful tool to help her overcome her anxiety.

The graphic novel was released in the United States in 2023

Ms Ebrey has always been passionate about comics and grew up reading the Beano.

While studying Illustration at Falmouth University, she started creating a daily comic diary to help her to process her thoughts.

"I didn't have the facilities to cope with it (the anxiety)," she said.

Ms Ebrey said her comic diary helped her to talk through her feelings with her friends.

She left university in 2015 and has been working as a comic book writer and illustrator alongside two part-time jobs.

Lucie Ebrey's debut comic is a children's adventure book

Her debut children's comic is an adventure-filled Western-inspired graphic novel

Ms Ebrey spent much of the Covid-19 lockdown working on the book and it was eventually released in America in 2023 and the UK in June 2024.

The two main characters are female - something which Ms Ebrey said was very important.

"Growing up I was a bit of a tomboy and although I love comics, it's a male-dominated space.

"I found it hard to relate to the girl characters, so it felt important to have two female characters who are quite different but still friends."

Ms Ebrey said she feels she has come a long way since creating her comic diaries in university, and is excited to go on more book tours.

"It feels really nice that something that I made in my flat in Bristol is out there...it makes me feel more connected to the world."