Cartoonist Luke Healy follows up 2022’s The Con Artists – in which he beautifully and successfully captured the many sides of human relationships – with Self-Esteem And The End Of The World, a graphic novel crammed with offbeat deadpan humour and uncanny human character observations. Weighing in at just over 300 pages, nicely paced and with pleasingly effective illustrations, Self-Esteem And The End Of The World is a more personal, reflective venture for Healy. 

We find the author suffering from a confidence and identity crisis as the world that surrounds him implodes with impending climate disasters and culture wars. The creative career that keeps Healy’s head above water is dissipating fast: what can he do as he tries to connect with an ever-changing world? When Hollywood beckons, will it salvage Healy’s fragile ego; will he sell his soul to save his soul?

The resulting book is not just funny, but spot on regarding human character traits, marking out Healy as the Wes Anderson of graphic novels. For those new to his oeuvre, Healy’s debut Americana – or The Con Artists – is a fine starting point. Thereafter, dive into Self-Esteem And The End Of The World with wild abandon. This is a book that people will want to borrow and not give back.