A struggling comedian. An old friend in need of support. A bad habit of self-sabotaging. So naturally, what do you get when you have all of these issues boiling over at the same time? A disaster just waiting to happen. It’s fair to say that Frank has a lot on his plate.

Luke Healy, an Irish author and cartoonist, presents the reader with these tricky problems from the very beginning of The Con Artists, giving us no time to turn back as we have already begun to venture into Frank’s crazy world. The Con Artists is a spunky, hilarious, yet heavy-hitting story about complicated friendships, mental health, and growing up. Being that this is Healy’s third graphic novel, it’s clear that he has mastered not only the art of fantastic storytelling, but has also honed his ability to create such captivating characters that pull us right into his world of creativity.

On the surface, Frank may look cool, calm, and collected. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. To be frank—pun intended—he’s seriously being put through the wringer. From his struggling stand-up comedy career to anxieties that continue to haunt him from his teen years—Frank’s in the thick of it. But now, there’s a new problem in the form of a phone call from his childhood friend, Giorgio. He informs Frank of some incredibly concerning news; he got hit by a bus. And Frank, being the good friend he is, decides to help Giorgio out while he’s recovering from his broken arm—a decision he’ll soon learn to regret.

Friendships can be complicated. There’s no doubt about that. But what if your old friend isn’t the same as you remembered them to be? This is the question that Frank’s left to wonder as Giorgio starts to reveal his true colours. With each moment that Frank spends around him, there comes new, bewildering problems. And although he likes to act like he’s an honest, true friend, Giorgio’s fabricated self-image quickly unfolds when he’s questioned by Frank. Instead of being warm and understanding of Frank’s genuine concern for his well-being, Giorgio shows his claws. He attempts to tear down Frank’s true perception of reality and sense of self through his manipulative words. Giorgio makes Frank feel as though he’s betraying him by wanting to inform his parents of his accident. Even when Frank backed away from Giorgio to care for his own needs, Giorgio made him second-guess himself as well as his own intentions as a friend.

All the signs point to the fact that Giorgio’s gaslighting Frank, since he causes him to question his own lived reality and motives towards others. I’m sure many of us have known a Giorgio or two in our lives. They’re usually people that leave us feeling drained and defeated, only wanting to face plant into our pillow at the end of each day out of sheer exhaustion. And like many of us in our own relationships, Frank doesn’t see that Giorgio is the root cause of this fatigue until it slaps him in the face. Though luckily, he begins to see through Giorgio’s facade, untangling the false image that he portrays online and distancing himself from his old friend for the sake of his own mental health and sanity.

Through the quirky mannerisms and revealing facial expressions of the characters, I was immediately entranced by Healy’s art style and attention to detail. Frank’s comical, blank stare and slow, lifeless blinks tell me all I need to know about where his head is at. Even after witnessing his deadpan humour, we get a glimpse of that sarcastic, crooked grin of his. Healy’s artistic choice of creating a black-and-white graphic novel gives these genuine expressions and emotions centre stage. The dull hues emphasise the characters’ physical appearance and remove any visual distractions from the slow-burning plot and underlying message of self-care. When Frank’s thoughts begin to twirl into a negative spiral, the grey shading becomes darker, representing his unhealthy state of mind. In contrast, when Frank isn’t feeling overwhelmed, the once dark grey columns become lighter. I truly love that Healy designed his illustrations to fit Frank’s emotions and his changing worldview, since often, our perception of ourselves and others drastically shifts depending on the outlook we have on life. Healy prompts us to self-reflect on how our own emotions affect us and our perceptions, just as Frank begins to doubt his old friend, Giorgio.

Healy takes us on a thought-provoking journey through toxic friendships and struggling mental health in a new and refreshing perspective. It’s rare to get a graphic novel that has such a nitty-gritty and imperfect depiction of companionship between two gay men and the rawness that comes with it. Through Healy’s smooth scene transitions, he allows us to experience the entire story naturally. I especially loved how Healy showed us Frank pondering the punchline for his “bullied by a crow” joke in the hospital waiting room. The scene transitions from Frank thinking in a chair to him standing on the comedy-stage in his imagination, running through his routine mentally like many of us do with our own projects. I loved seeing how Frank’s imagination was cut short by his own critical view of himself, as many of us can relate to the feelings of doubt about our own talents. This adds so many deeper layers to the character and reinforces our understanding of his battle with himself throughout the story.

In some cases, Healy himself juts into the story through brief intermissions throughout the novel. He takes a breather with us, even going as far as telling us to run ourselves a bath or grab a beverage. By having these small, playful moments with the narrator, Healy creates an intimate and unique relationship between himself and the reader. Despite breaking the fourth wall, I was still completely immersed in the story, excited for the next time Healy showed up to give his two cents and remind me to practice self-care. Loving himself is a constant battle that Frank struggles with throughout the story. He flips back and forth between living in the past and the present. He finds himself obsessing about old friends that he has lost contact with. He scrolls through their social media pages and can’t help but feel like they’re happier now without him in the picture. And haven’t we all felt this way at one point? We’re all susceptible to feeling that after falling out with friends, we must be hated or that our personality isn’t palatable enough for others. We might even sometimes feel like our absence is the reason that someone else is thriving. Healy shows us the dark sides of ourselves that we so desperately want to forget through Frank’s flaws. He normalises feeling these ways, prompting us to forgive ourselves for things that are long gone from our view.

For Frank, every year seems to be “the year” for him; but it always falls short of his expectations. He’s a struggling comedian who seems to have lost his spark, unable to complete the punchline to one of the jokes he’s been hemming and hawing about for a long time. It certainly doesn’t help that now, he has to care for Giorgio due to his broken arm. This new feeling of responsibility towards Giorgio only adds to his creative block and cuts down on the time he actually gets to spend on writing new material. Frank barely has time for himself anymore; the only escape being his conflicted mind. Healy handled the subject of mental health with care and great consideration for those who truly struggle with anxiety on a daily basis. He didn’t romanticise it, nor did he make it appear like it’s an easy issue to deal with. In fact, he created an accurate depiction of how mental health problems can manifest over time through broken friendships and internal conflicts. I’m sure many of us can identify with Frank and—having had demons of my own—I can testify that they start as small annoyances; but before you know it, they snowball, becoming massive headaches.

I have no reservations when I say that Healy’s got us tied around his little finger from the beginning to the end of The Con Artists. Through his mesmerising, playful illustrations and well-crafted dialogue, Healy seals the jar over your head, encasing you within the confines of each and every frame, pulling you further into Frank’s complicated life. I found myself smiling as I turned each page, laughing at Frank’s zaniness and loving his clever quips. As I got to know his characters better, I became more and more immersed in his curiosity revolving around Giorgio, furrowing my brows with him at the confusion of it all.

Even when the ground is crumbling below our feet, it’s crucial that each one of us recognizes that taking a step back from it all isn’t the end of the world. By moving farther from our whirling tornado of problems, we can see much clearer without the dust clouds of doubt and stormy skies that overload our senses. Our mental health is extremely important to care for, and by neglecting it, we can only fall further into our own self-destructive habits. Sometimes, we all need a day off or maybe cancel some plans. It’s incredibly important to know your own limits and learn how to keep those negative thoughts at bay. After all, they’re just thoughts and we can choose whether they affect our mindset for good or if we can claim our life back. In Healy’s The Con Artists, Frank shows us that, ultimately, we shouldn’t let one horrible day dictate who we are as individuals. Healy reminds us of this sentiment through Frank’s struggle with friendships and his overwhelming anxiety, underlining the importance of asking for help when you need it and not being afraid to step away from the craze of everyday life.