Self-Esteem and the End of the World

by Luke Healy

“Who is Luke Healy?” An absurdist dramedy about self-esteem in the wake of a climate destruction

Life is not a race. There are no winners and losers. Immeasurable people are doing better than you…immeasurably worse. You are statistically average.


For over ten years, cartoonist Luke Healy has invested all of his self-esteem into his career. But two years post publication of his last book, and suffering the blow of his twin-brother not finding him fit to act as best man, both Luke’s career and self-esteem seem to have disintegrated.

Set against the backdrop of a dangerously changing global climate, with melting ice-caps and flooding cities, Self-Esteem and the End of the World spans two decades of tragicomic self-discovery. From self-help books to summiting Greek mountaintops, and workplace murder mysteries to a Hollywood revival of Luke’s early work, we see our protagonist grappling with his identity as the world crumbles.

Quietly funny, smartly introspective, and grounded in deeply-felt familial highs and lows, Self-Esteem and the End of the World ponders what happens when the person you are isn’t who you need to be, who you are when nobody’s watching, and ultimately, Who can you possibly be at the end of the world?

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Memoir, Nonfiction, LGBT, Humor, Bande Dessinée

324 pages, Paperback

First published May 14, 2024

Reviews

[Keen Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the style and quality of the drawing in here, along with the nice pastel colouring - I thought they blended really well together. As for the story itself, its certainly a dark and fairly original one, there's initially some humour in there and this does go to some curious places, but I thought it just went a bit too random towards the end and got a little messy - but still worth the read.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times, frighteningly relatable- I used several quotes in my therapy group. A really good book about not feeling really good.

[Matt Quann · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining, semi-autobiographical graphic memoir with a central conceit of 5 year time jump with every chapter. I ripped through this on a hotel chair, pages dimly lit so as not to wake the kids. I chuckled, felt occasionally moved, and appreciated the art throughout. A fine roadtrip read.

[Lindsay Webb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Making my way through the Drawn & Quarterly list. This one was somewhat of a bog slog.

[Paul Dickerson]

I am statistically average

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is funny and surprisingly sad at moments, about a stalled comic who is struggling in life and his relationship with his twin brother and mother, which he writes about in a successful comic that he hasn't done much since. There are outlandish subplots about a movie and about a play that bring the absurdist sense of humor further.

[Richard Howlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luke Healy is back with a comic about how he doesn't write comics anymore!

This auto-bio graphic novel tells of a period in Luke's life when he'd been forced to move on from comics, but he's not entirely sure what he's moving on to.

Thankfully he came back to comics, because this was a really great read! Often funny, and sometimes tragic, this darkly comedic book gave us a look at the state of the authors mental health during a difficult time in his life.

I love these kind of quietly meandering snapshots of someone's life, and the added humour in this one made it a joy to read through.

Luke Healy is a cartoonist that I can now call myself a fan of, and I'm looking forward to adding more of his books to my collection.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just the right blend of self-deprecating humor and angst.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Der Autor ist die Hauptfigur in dem Buch über Probleme mit dem eigenen Leben, Ausbeutung im Job, Trauer über einen Tod in der Familie. Bin nicht wirklich reingekommen.

[Morgane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another 2.5 today. A bit too disjointed / absurd for me to really grasp but there is something I enjoy about Luke Healy’s style and storytelling (from really enjoying Americana)

[Reece · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wherever Luke Healy is, I hope he's doing well.

I really enjoyed Luke's account of his struggle with his inadequacies or the perception of his inadequacies more accurately. His work is brilliant, and in it, we see the true face of living with depressive issues. It's cheesy jokes and witty digs in the face of cataclysmic events. It's lashing out as a coping mechanism. It's something everyone can relate to. We all struggle to understand her emotions in some capacity.

This is just one man's account of his self-esteem issues. It really doesn't give you any sort of solution of coping, because even Healy doesn't know. Even so, it does a great job of showing the moments of levity that can make the whole rotten experience of life worth living.

It's full of life's ridiculous moments that you are so absurd you couldn't possibly make them up. I encourage anyone to read this book to experience Healy's dry Irish wit.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked a lot of things about this graphic novel! How distinct the stories were in every chapter within this book was really captivating. The art style is clean and satisfying and I really enjoy the color palate used. The balance between humor, mundanity, nihilism, and acceptance is relatable and humbling. I'll have to check out more of Luke Healy's work!

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say this has one of the most attractive cover designs I’ve seen on a graphic novel in some time. Not every aspect of this landed with me (a Greek chorus of mice in one chapter and of sea birds in another seemed tacked in to no discernable purpose), but overall this is good, complex work from a talented artist.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cheers to the first book I’ve finished in 2025—a book that managed to validate all my feelings heading into the year. In a cartoon style that feels intentionally unfinished, Luke Healy explores his fears, trauma, and uncertainties through what he does best: drawing. As much as I hate, hate, HATE reading about COVID, this felt real—probably because it came from a place of disinterest and indifference. It honestly seemed like Healy hated revisiting that part of his life as much as I hated reading about it, which, strangely enough, made it tolerable.

It was strangely comforting to read about a sad, stressed, and hopeless queer person just existing and trying to accept life for what it is. Healy normalizes the idea that talented people, even those brimming with potential, don’t have to destroy themselves to prove their worth. The memoir is witty, painfully honest, and, like real life, a little unfinished and messy. Healy created a small, safe space for people who feel like their existence just is.

While I was stressing out at my bookshop job, feeling like a failure for not being able to finish a book this year, picking this up was exactly what I needed. It’s not extraordinary, but that’s the beauty of it—it just is. And sometimes, that’s enough. Highly recommend if you’re feeling sad and alone.

[Ags · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure if I didn't get what this was about, or this didn't get what it was about, or both, or neither, or it doesn't matter? It didn't come together for me, but the slightly-absurdist tone and themes on loneliness were effective. This has some nice twists and parallels, and I imagine that other readers can put this (to me) disjointed work together better than I did on my chill, quick, casual library read.

I recommend the very last section/comic, at least (but I'm also just a sucker for dead dads).

[Isabella Schepisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

at times, i was confused by the novel's fragmented approach to building a narrative, but it all ties surprisingly well together. by the end, i loved all the ways the author chose to progress the story especially the last section.

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was meta and I really want to read more of this author. Life feels pointless sometimes and it’s easy to start feeling lost. Healy captures that well. It’s comforting knowing that nothing matters. It doesn’t matter what you do with your life so you can’t waste it. This was a nice read. The last chapter really tied it together especially with the foreshadowing

[Yaira · Rating 4 out of 5]

What started out as a laugh, turned out to be rather beautiful. Such a nice read.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a strange but well written graphic novel about a gay man who deals with being single and eventually some major family trauma. The artwork was well done, as was the story.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was beautiful actually

[Chris Brook · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Luke Healy and it was... perfectly okay. Lots of self deprecating humor, tales of working through depression, brief bits of absurdity. Great color palette in this one.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suuuuper specific/niche, I laughed out loud at parts and cringed at others. Healy holds a heavy weight and brings it to light

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luke Healy's semi-/meta memoir details his decision to pivot away from comics, except it's told in comic form. Healy's storytelling is filled with many more funny contradictions, balancing out most of the dour tone of the rest of the narrative. Self-Esteem and the End of the World is a deeply unhappy book, but it's also pretty entertaining too. Based off the idea of Healy leaving comics behind, much of the narrative follows him into a hypothetical future which I'm assuming serves to exorcise some of his internal demons. It took a decent while for me to really get into this book, since it is as I say, a deeply gloomy read, but purposefully so. Healy conveys the monotone existence with his clip art-esque aesthetic well, a style that can be equal parts grating as it can be effective. It isn't until the back third of the book that the payoff begins to land, and you can really see what he's shooting for. Despite this being yet another comic about a self-complaining cartoonist, Self-Esteem offers a unique perspective on the feeling of disaffection and apathy.

[D.J. Desmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very similar to other graphic memoirs with surreal elements. Immediately I always think of Zoe Thorogood. She is my standard for graphic memoir masterpiece. So this one is still really great, makes ya laugh while simultaneously creating empathy for someone unique but with relatable human issues to deal with.

I really liked it and it's an easy recommendation to any fans of graphic novels, humor, brevity, LGBTQ+ representation, or even twins cuz he's a twin.

Read it, twins.

[Matt Graupman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is it really so irrational, considering the current state of the world, to feel anxious and kind of hopeless, like, all of the time? Irish cartoonish Luke Healy doesn’t seem to think so and his latest graphic novel, “Self-Esteem And The End Of The World,” makes a pretty compelling case for his point of view. These comics are vulnerable and unflinching and (presumably) therapeutic, examining all the aggressions - micro and macro - that make life so damn hard lately. Parts of this are really funny, too. Sometimes you gotta laugh to keep from staring catatonically into the societal abyss.

[Abs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Americana and Permanent Press are two of my favourite comics EVER, and so I always eagerly anticipate more work from LH.

This did not disappoint; Seriously relatable, and went in a direction I didn't expect, but made for a fantastic narrative. A tone that is fairly serious and melancholic perfectly balanced with self-aware humour, and a tiny dash of something similar to whimsy, but much more dry.

I'm looking forwards to when I inevitably re-read this, which I feel will be aa great experience in itself given the context I have now.

[Zen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sigh... okay, I didn't have very high expectations for this one, but I still thought it would be a good laugh.

To be fair, it had some good moments; I particularly enjoyed the part with the hike, but for the most part, the humor was a bit hit or miss, and it got very weird towards the end, and not the good kind of weird. :(

[Juan Ferrer · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was so beautiful

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A more than 300-page memoir in connected stories by Luke Healy. I read it because it was coming up on some "best of" end of 2024 lists, and had missed it. I am in a kind of minority ofd reviewers who has liked his work a lot, his The Con Artists, How to Survive in the North, and I basically liked this quite a bit, too. Healy is a mass of contradictions; he's grumpy, morose, and a stand-up comedian. He's writing about the end of his comics career, but creates his story in a comic form. Of course, a lot of alt-comix artists and comedians are long-suffering, broke, unappreciated.

So the title was a draw, too, bleakly funny; Healy is depressed about climate change and fascism, but also admits he is sort of a narcissist. In the process of dealking with his depression, he consults his twin brother's self-help books on learning to love and accept yourself and. . . develop a foundation of self-esteem.

The book starts there, with a story entitled "Self-(ish)," where we get to meet our favorite person in the book, Healy's mother; they agree they are the two funniest people in the world, and they are miserably adorable in many ways. Healy develops a series of skits for a company he is working for, clearly sabotaging his job by stairizing his bosses. In the middle of everything, something serious happens to his twin bro, and his agents contact him to say they are going to make a movie based on a comic he wrote about whales. More humorous, anxious self-sabotaging.

None of these events are linked in any obvious way; as in, there are no transitions, no announcements, so it moves along in a kind of dream, surreally at times. The contradictions in the book remind me of The Con Artists, where he is conned by a friend but still is friends with him.

But I like the sweet artwork. I like Healy. I like comedians such as Stephen Wright. I like Noan Van Sciver's comics. I like Laurel and Hardy, making fun during a depression. MIsery loves company, and needs laughs.

[Julia Lama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tercera lectura de Luke Healy y confirmo mi pasión por este hombre. Aunque justo como sospechaba, la ironía se ha encargado de que su cómic con el tema que más me interesa sea el que menos me haya gustado hasta la fecha. Me ha encantado, eso sí. Pero aquí estoy, alucinando con que su libro sobre senderismo y sobre la exploración del ártico me hayan impresionado más.

En cualquier caso, Self-Esteem and the End of the World es una inteligente exploración personal del autor, sus relaciones familiares y laborales y su faceta como creador de cómics. Merece relectura pausada.