In many ways, that’s the story The Con Artists seeks to tell, is the truth what we feel in the moment or how we objectively (or not) consider it afterwards? These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Frank and Giorgio, the two men at the heart of it, are brilliant, vivid creations, and the passive-aggressive scratchiness between them is so beautifully observed. The topics about mental health, and the reality of the main character's thoughts while experiencing a panic attack and other mental health issues to me were spot on.

Snippets from Frank’s middling stand-up routines are punctuated by the subtle farce of Healy’s mise-en-scène and the lively, at times scathingly pointed, banter of old friends. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it, but I did want a little more happening on a visual and emotionally expressive level.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. I think most readers will not care for any of the characters, but as I always say, I don't read to fall in love with fictional characters as my best friends. I only gave it three stars instead of two because I did like Frankie and hopeful that the author puts out a sequel that is a lot more in depth. It almost reads like a parable, just the exploration of a friend helping another friend and uncovering things he didn't know about them.

Luke Healy’s playful, hilarious third graphic novel uses crisp lines and physical comedy to portray an uneasy friendship between two young men on the cusp of adulting.He can be hilarious, and if you are even slightly tired of the current craze elsewhere in the literary world for thinly disguised autobiography (out of which, having cleverly given one of his characters a false moustache, he gently takes the piss), then I think this minor masterpiece of a book might be for you. I might as well come come straight to the point: The Con Artists by Luke Healy is my favourite graphic novel of the year so far, and to be honest, it might just be among my favourite comics ever. Moving in with and caring for his estranged childhood friend quickly starts to chip away at Frank’s sense of self, as well as Giogio’s carefully curated online persona. Hotjar sets this cookie to know whether a user is included in the data sampling defined by the site's pageview limit.

Payments made using National Book Tokens are processed by National Book Tokens Ltd, and you can read their Terms and Conditions here. It wants to be twisty, but its just a typical take on the stick in the mud being yanked out and waved about by a person with mysterious motives, dubious schemes, and/or mental health issues. It’s worried Frank, not Giorgio, who asks this question, but almost immediately he begins to regret the offer.If you are a vulnerable person, you hang on to that someone all the more tightly, certain that this someone will be there for you when others haven't. The simplicity of the artwork worked really well with the uncomplicated dialogue, and at times it worked excellently as a combo to bring forth more complex emotions. Finding himself unable to disentangle himself from his friend's complicated life, has Frank become Giorgio's unwitting accomplice? Healy’s bittersweet portrayal of a troubled friendship is full of finely observed detail and deadpan humour, but it’s also a deeply felt exploration of happiness, trust and the lies we tell our friends and ourselves. I liked the art and the main character a lot and felt like they were able to stand up for themselves in the end.

Sometimes someones are unhealthy and don't need to be in your life, and we need far more stories showing this to be true. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. The Con Artists by Luke Healy is my favourite graphic novel of the year so far, and to be honest, it might just be among my favourite comics ever. Luke Healy's playful, hilarious third graphic novel uses crisp lines and physical comedy to portray an uneasy friendship between two young men on the cusp of adulting.It’s almost sinister, the way he insists that Frank washes his hair or cuts up his dinner – and there’s something else, too. It’s definitely an interesting exploration of fraught interpersonal relationships complicated by anxiety.