Graphic Novel Review: Self-Esteem And The End Of The World by Luke Healy

Self-Esteem And The End Of The World by Luke Healy. Drawn & Quarterly, 2024. 9781770467149. 324pp.

A stressed out, thirty-year-old Luke Healy has a lot of stress and anxiety. The earth is falling apart, he’s never going to own a home, and then his twin brother, Teddy, doesn’t ask Luke to be best man at his wedding. He orders a bunch of self-help books and listens to his brother’s voice on the Head App. (Teddy doesn’t believe any of the crap he says via the app.)

Jump forward five years to Luke having invited his mom to see one of his plays performed. Then five more when he’s hiking in Greece while trying to work a day job (he takes calls and pretends to be home). Then five more to the set of a movie based on a minicomic Luke wrote back in 2013. Healy’s mother and brother continue to figure into the story throughout, as do floods. It’s all weird as what starts out feeling like a memoir veers into deadpan, near-future science fiction.

Worth noting: Healy uses the same six-panel layout on most pages. It works really well with his limited use of color (see the cover) and his crisp, clear style of illustration.

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