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The End of the World
From the imagination of legendary animator and two-time Oscar nominee Don Hertzfeldt comes a hilarious fever-dream vision of the apocalypse, now available in wide release for the first time since the rare original edition sold out.
Created during sleepless nights while he worked on his animated films, The End of the World was illustrated entirely on Post-It notes over the course of several years, slowly taking shape from all the deleted scenes, bad dreams, and abandoned ideas that were too strange to make it to the big screen, including essential early material that was later developed into the animated classic World of Tomorrow .
Hertzfeldt's visually striking work transcends its unusual nature and taps into the deeply human, universal themes of mortality, identity, memory, loss, and parenthood . . . with the occasional monstrous biting eel descending from the sky.
Created during sleepless nights while he worked on his animated films, The End of the World was illustrated entirely on Post-It notes over the course of several years, slowly taking shape from all the deleted scenes, bad dreams, and abandoned ideas that were too strange to make it to the big screen, including essential early material that was later developed into the animated classic World of Tomorrow .
Hertzfeldt's visually striking work transcends its unusual nature and taps into the deeply human, universal themes of mortality, identity, memory, loss, and parenthood . . . with the occasional monstrous biting eel descending from the sky.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2013
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1634 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
November 8, 2019
"I wasn’t very concerned about making changes [from the original], because this isn’t exactly Shakespeare."
"To me, the book is dreamlike. There’s no logic to these events. [In the book], it’s like the world has been hit in the head and it’s hallucinating for 200 pages."
This hardcover re-release from 2013 is a gorgeously made black book with this bold and stark title. And inside? Post-it notes, magnified, smudgy, with stick figure characters living the absurd life, then facing the apocalypse. Taken, he tells us, from his dreams, over years, and kind of out-takes from his grim black humor animation work.
Amid Amidi's review where you can see the rushed scratchy style:
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/books/the...
I had the idea that the feel of it was what someone cruising around and viewing the end of the world might have time to draw, just ten-second drawings, random, surface, kind of rushed, not "artistic,"some of it depicting terrible events, of course, but he, they are stick figures. I picked it up because I am focusing on climate change in my course right now and am reading a number of grimly eloquent books about the crisis we are in right now. I thought the title seemed right. It is I guess about the end of the world, but not so disturbing, really.
"To me, the book is dreamlike. There’s no logic to these events. [In the book], it’s like the world has been hit in the head and it’s hallucinating for 200 pages."
This hardcover re-release from 2013 is a gorgeously made black book with this bold and stark title. And inside? Post-it notes, magnified, smudgy, with stick figure characters living the absurd life, then facing the apocalypse. Taken, he tells us, from his dreams, over years, and kind of out-takes from his grim black humor animation work.
Amid Amidi's review where you can see the rushed scratchy style:
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/books/the...
I had the idea that the feel of it was what someone cruising around and viewing the end of the world might have time to draw, just ten-second drawings, random, surface, kind of rushed, not "artistic,"some of it depicting terrible events, of course, but he, they are stick figures. I picked it up because I am focusing on climate change in my course right now and am reading a number of grimly eloquent books about the crisis we are in right now. I thought the title seemed right. It is I guess about the end of the world, but not so disturbing, really.
October 11, 2019
Who knew a book full of stick figures clinging to life in the aftermath of an apocalypse could be so beautiful and moving. The story sneaks up on your gradually and you don't quite realize how invested you are in the fates of tiny little doodles of people until its over. This strange little melancholy meditation on humanity authored and drawn by the quietly mad Don Hertzfeldt is definitely one to be savored and sat with for awhile. Highly recommended.
September 1, 2014
This is a beautiful book, the kind of tome that you love to run your hands over the cover, your finger down the spine, to turn the pages as delicately as possible. And that's just the manufacturing.
As for the book itself, it pretty much boils down to: Do you like Don Hertzfeldt? If you answered yes, then you will like this book. It's fragmented and jumbled and disjointed, but, hey, it's the end of the world, so what more do you want?
To me, it read like a documentary about the "after," where there are nothing but fragments left, half glimpses of a memory, the vivid smell that sends you elsewhere.
Like much of Hertzfeldt's recent work, it's beautiful and hilarious and heartbreaking all at once. I don't know how he manages to squeeze so much melancholy into his humor, but I'm glad he does. That way, I don't fully feel like shit after having finished it.
As for the book itself, it pretty much boils down to: Do you like Don Hertzfeldt? If you answered yes, then you will like this book. It's fragmented and jumbled and disjointed, but, hey, it's the end of the world, so what more do you want?
To me, it read like a documentary about the "after," where there are nothing but fragments left, half glimpses of a memory, the vivid smell that sends you elsewhere.
Like much of Hertzfeldt's recent work, it's beautiful and hilarious and heartbreaking all at once. I don't know how he manages to squeeze so much melancholy into his humor, but I'm glad he does. That way, I don't fully feel like shit after having finished it.
November 2, 2021
Any book that can make me laugh out loud automatically gets an extra star. In this book Hertzfeldt takes the backdrop of the end of the world and illustrates it with cartoon stick figures. Gruesomely and philosophically hilarious at times it read like a cross between David Lynch and Richard Brautigan with a dollop of Kirkman's "Walking Dead".
November 19, 2019
Apocalyptic (stick figure) Dada kōans - fantastic!
November 13, 2017
you won't rate this book high if you're not into Don's work.
I still don't know what to think of it. Its dark and chaotic, at the same time funny with moments.
I still don't know what to think of it. Its dark and chaotic, at the same time funny with moments.
October 19, 2019
A fascinating verso page quickly gives way to some stick figure cartoons with sloppy hand lettering and non-sequitur punchlines ("She gives birth to a table and it is stupid.") before morphing into some loosely related, rubbish strips about the end of the world (nuclear armageddon? alien invasion? does it matter?). Not funny. Not profound. Not needed? Not by me.
May 26, 2014
The first graphic novel by animator Don Hertzfeldt, best known for his Rejected and It's Such a Beautiful Day films, The End of the World is a brief read. What it lacks in quantity, however, it makes up for in atmosphere. Hertzfeldt's signature stick-figures and simplistic drawings, on stained, wrinkled paper, create a heavy, desperate, darkly funny tone poem about the novel's titular event. There is no narrative or dialogue, but rather brief moments in the events of survivors. From the mysterious trek of "princess and the fish-man", to a clone on display in a museum, to a mysterious zone that catapults those who step into it to space, to a very frustrating limb loss. The End of the World continues Hertzfeldt's ability to infuse surprising pathos and humor into grim and surreal situations. A set of storyboards for a beautiful mental film, The End of the World is a great work of art about the apocalypse. We know not how the world became this, we only know what we can do now that it is this.
July 27, 2019
I read The End of the World over two days although it could easily be read more quickly. It is a surreal ride into the unspeakable. Don Hertzfeldt blends the inevitable with the mystical, based on the world as we know it coming to an abrupt crash. The graphics are simplistic yet perfect for the story. Who messes around with details as the world ends? And where are we, anyway? In the most basic way the story could be told, this is breathtaking.
April 2, 2022
Stick figure drawings on yellow post it notes. Random surprise read. Found this on a table in the children’s room while working. The cover caught my attention and when I went to file it, I caught it wasn’t a children’s book. So I read it instead. I still am not sure what exactly I read, but I enjoyed it thoroughly.
April 25, 2024
I don’t know what the fuck I just read but I enjoyed it
May 29, 2025
Sometimes, I feel like the truth.
August 6, 2019
I didn't know what to expect with The End of the World by Don Hertzfeldt. However, I do like graphic novels, so I decided I'd give this one a try. When I won a copy of this book in Goodreads, I was over the moon!
First off, the illustrations are great. Don't go in expecting fantastic illustrations because these are not. They basic stick figure drawings...okay, maybe a tab better than just stick figures but not by much. I don't mean that in a bad way because I loved how simple the illustrations were. They fit the subject matter of this novel perfectly.
I loved how random this book was. I imagine it will leave some people confused because it seems a bit muddled and all over the place, but that's just the way it's meant to be, and it works. It made me appreciate this graphic novel that much more. It doesn't make sense, but yet, it does. You'll just have to read this graphic novel yourself to see what I'm getting out. It's hard to explain.
This is a very quick read since most of it is illustrations with a quick sentence. I think it took me all of about 15 minutes to read, give or take a few minutes.
I would definitely recommend The End of the World by Don Hertzfeldt. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but it was definitely my cup of hot cocoa!
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Thanks to the publisher for sending me a paperback ARC of The End of the World by Don Hertzfeldt. I won this title in a Goodreads giveaway and was not obligated to write a review.
First off, the illustrations are great. Don't go in expecting fantastic illustrations because these are not. They basic stick figure drawings...okay, maybe a tab better than just stick figures but not by much. I don't mean that in a bad way because I loved how simple the illustrations were. They fit the subject matter of this novel perfectly.
I loved how random this book was. I imagine it will leave some people confused because it seems a bit muddled and all over the place, but that's just the way it's meant to be, and it works. It made me appreciate this graphic novel that much more. It doesn't make sense, but yet, it does. You'll just have to read this graphic novel yourself to see what I'm getting out. It's hard to explain.
This is a very quick read since most of it is illustrations with a quick sentence. I think it took me all of about 15 minutes to read, give or take a few minutes.
I would definitely recommend The End of the World by Don Hertzfeldt. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but it was definitely my cup of hot cocoa!
--
Thanks to the publisher for sending me a paperback ARC of The End of the World by Don Hertzfeldt. I won this title in a Goodreads giveaway and was not obligated to write a review.
July 29, 2014
This was chilling and amazingly well done. The art is comical and the descriptions are humorous, yet we're watching people try to live in a hellish apocalyptic world. So every time you laugh, you're pained a little. More books, please, Mr. Hertzfeldt.
July 30, 2020
This has that high-quality glossy paper. Highly recommend
November 23, 2019
Full review here
I’d probably die straight away when the Apocalypse comes. I’d probably fall off a cliff, get sick to death or end up being bitten by a flying eel. The characters in The End of the World are also trying to survive the best they can, whether it’s during the end of times… or before.
The unexplained event that leads to the destruction of civilisation happens about 25 pages into the book, but you’d believe the Apocalypse had been already taking place right from the start, as the first set of scenes shows us a world where crustaceans commit mass suicides and mysterious corpses appear in orbit. Maybe the end of the world presents itself in different ways. We might not be living in a nuclear wasteland right now, Don Hertzfeldt states, but the days of wisdom and sanity are numbered indeed.
The End of the World is Don Hertzfeldt’s first incursion into the comic book world and is comprised out of discarded ideas that, for some reason, didn’t seem right for his short films. This shows what a brilliant and active mind the American animator has, but it’s depressing for failed authors like myself to see that even his abandoned ideas are still great ones.
The End of the World includes a series of loosely connected vignettes about a world plunged into chaos. With no linear plot line and just one recognisable character, only referred to as She, Hertzfeldt keeps questioning our place in the universe, like he previously did in The Meaning of Life and World of Tomorrow, by maintaining his signature stick figures and balancing his surreal, out-there sense of humour with great poignant and transcendental moments.
While most apocalyptic stories use this setting as a parable on how people turn into monsters as a mean for survival, The End of the World takes this subgenre to reveal how idiotic and ridiculous our existence has always been.
I’d probably die straight away when the Apocalypse comes. I’d probably fall off a cliff, get sick to death or end up being bitten by a flying eel. The characters in The End of the World are also trying to survive the best they can, whether it’s during the end of times… or before.
The unexplained event that leads to the destruction of civilisation happens about 25 pages into the book, but you’d believe the Apocalypse had been already taking place right from the start, as the first set of scenes shows us a world where crustaceans commit mass suicides and mysterious corpses appear in orbit. Maybe the end of the world presents itself in different ways. We might not be living in a nuclear wasteland right now, Don Hertzfeldt states, but the days of wisdom and sanity are numbered indeed.
The End of the World is Don Hertzfeldt’s first incursion into the comic book world and is comprised out of discarded ideas that, for some reason, didn’t seem right for his short films. This shows what a brilliant and active mind the American animator has, but it’s depressing for failed authors like myself to see that even his abandoned ideas are still great ones.
The End of the World includes a series of loosely connected vignettes about a world plunged into chaos. With no linear plot line and just one recognisable character, only referred to as She, Hertzfeldt keeps questioning our place in the universe, like he previously did in The Meaning of Life and World of Tomorrow, by maintaining his signature stick figures and balancing his surreal, out-there sense of humour with great poignant and transcendental moments.
While most apocalyptic stories use this setting as a parable on how people turn into monsters as a mean for survival, The End of the World takes this subgenre to reveal how idiotic and ridiculous our existence has always been.
December 30, 2019
I was in the middle of a book I wasn't enjoying and decided to open up this baby again (2019 version tho) to finish off the year/decade strong. Don Hertzfeldt is one of our greatest living storytellers and his placements on all the top animations of the decade is richly deserved. I love artists who can make me laugh and cry in the same minute but there's not many with that gift.
On a personal note, I got my 52 for the year, which I didn't think I'd ever be able to do again. Very pleased with the dedication and hope to get it done again next year :)
On a personal note, I got my 52 for the year, which I didn't think I'd ever be able to do again. Very pleased with the dedication and hope to get it done again next year :)
December 1, 2019
Surreal and absurdist, yet somehow ringing of truth.
September 25, 2020
Pretty unnerving
Read
May 30, 2021Left me wanting to know more about Fishman!
July 4, 2021
Bleak & (sort of) humorous surrealist comic narrative of the end of the world by the animator behind such hits as Rejected (which had it’s own sort of end of the world narrative) & Billy’s Balloon. Feels very relevant to 2021, even though it’s from 2013 (although I don’t think you had to be a prophet to have had some idea where we’re heading now). Uses simple drawings on paper, which is sometimes torn or crumpled to create interesting effects. Makes me want to seek out more of Hertzfeldt’s books, and also go back and watch some Happy Tree Friends, Bill Plympton, & the other Spike and Mike’s & Animation Show faves. Perhaps the most appropriate read on the 4th of July?
April 22, 2022
If Covid 19 and the War in the Ukraine weren't enough to curb your enthusiasm for life then have I got the book for you. THE END OF THE WORLD is exactly as meaningless as it sounds.
April 28, 2022
Weird and dark and hilarious and sometimes horrifying, just like his animation.
November 16, 2019
Wow, ok. Well done
September 24, 2022
Don’t overlook the hilarious “also by” titles— I need those to be real! And the copyright page is a total treat as well— “printed in hell on horrible acid-soaked paper” is a pretty apt metaphor for these times.
November 13, 2019
Strange
This is very strange, which makes sense for the creator.
The art is what I expected, but I was expecting more of a story.
As it is it's less of a clear story and more of a series of possibly related sketches.
I also feel that this might benefit from the print version rather than the digital one where you can more easily flip through the pages and figure out what's going on.
This is very strange, which makes sense for the creator.
The art is what I expected, but I was expecting more of a story.
As it is it's less of a clear story and more of a series of possibly related sketches.
I also feel that this might benefit from the print version rather than the digital one where you can more easily flip through the pages and figure out what's going on.
January 13, 2020
Not sure what I just read. Trippy stick figures.
October 28, 2019
Impressionistic account of life after an apocalypse. Also funny. My favorite observation: the non sequitur that balloons are the offspring of tires and ghosts.
I know not everybody cares about this aspect of reading, but this is a beautifully made hardcover with a solid binding and fingerprint-resistant pages. It is a pleasure to hold.
I know not everybody cares about this aspect of reading, but this is a beautifully made hardcover with a solid binding and fingerprint-resistant pages. It is a pleasure to hold.
October 28, 2019
very goofy, weird and funny as to be expected from Hertzfeldt
Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews