A quintessentially millennial tale about friendship and the quest for self-actualization

This is going to be Frank's year. He's going to do it all: find love, become a famous comedian, and responsibly parent his plants. But then, Giorgio gets hit by a bus.

Self-assured and utterly entitled, Giorgio has always seemed like "Frank, but better." 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. Is Giorgio's penchant for overindulgence truly aspirational? Or is it ultimately a red flag? The further Frank is pulled into Giorgio's orbit, the quicker his existential dread blooms. Expectation and reality soon collide in a singular tale about trust and confidence.

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. 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. The Con Artists is a stylish character study that asks the question of who fools who once everyone is off-camera.

Author: Luke Healy
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
Published: 06/07/2022
Pages: 128
Weight: 1.22lbs
Size: 8.78h x 6.26w x 0.85d
ISBN: 9781770466234


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 06/01/2022 pg. 145
Booklist 06/01/2022 pg. 50
Publishers Weekly 06/20/2022
Shelf Awareness 07/20/2022

About the Author
Luke Healy was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, where he also received a BA in Journalism. He has an MFA from the Centre for Cartoon Studies in Vermont, USA. He has published four graphic novels: Americana (And the Act of Getting Over It), How to Survive in the North, Permanent Press, and The Con Artists (published by Drawn & Quarterly). Healy's work has been exhibited in the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art in Manhattan and his clients include The New Yorker, BBC, Vice, and Narratively.