The Con Artists is a short story focused on a friendship between Frank, a comedian, and his friend, Giorgio. When Giorgio is struck by a car, Frank takes on a caregiver role and unearths hidden truths the more time he spends with his previously-estranged friend. Healy strikes a fine balance between genuineness and a biting sense of humour. I really enjoyed this.

I was puzzled by this one. I thought the artistic aspect was great and I loved the topic of mental health awareness, especially with codependency (which is a hot topic lately)! But the plot really confused me. I couldn't quite describe the middle or end, and only vaguely where we started in this friendship. Was there a romantic aspect assumed from the friend? Maybe it was only me but the book didn't give a direction which left me feeling it lacked meaning to read. Thank you for sharing!

A funny, bittersweet story about Frank, a stand-up comedian with anxiety, who gets caught up in taking care of an estranged friend, Giorgio, while he recovers after being hit by a bus. On the surface, Giorgio seems to have a perfect life, at least that's what his social media shows. But the longer Frank is around Giorgio, the more cracks in the facade start to show - excessive spending, excessive drinking, obvious lies - which eventually leads Frank to discover some fairly serious criminal behavior going on. A lot of the story made me feel uncomfortable, which isn't a bad thing in a story about a toxic relationship and dealing with mental health issues. The spare art style suited the story well, and while this wasn't as hilarious as I was expecting, it was a good character study with some pretty funny moments.

#TheConArtists #NetGalley

I enjoyed this graphic novel and will look for more titles by the author. The artwork was engaging and the story line was entertaining. A nice touch was the way the author occasionally checked in with the reader.

There's something very real about The Con Artists that makes it feel nuanced while also being a bit unsatisfyng in places. That's not a criticism, as a contemporary novel I think that's a real point in its favor. Healy's depiction of toxic and manipulative relationships and how those relationships end is familiar and as we know relationships even mostly onesided ones often don't end in a way we find satisfying.

When it comes to the portrayl of mental illness you can tell it's something the author has experience with, though I didn't love the somewhat dissmissive epilogue.

The simple art style really helps to ground what could easily otherwise become a pretty heavy story. It was a nice read but nice is about as far as I'd go.

This was an interesting concept and the simple art style was nice, but it just didn’t quite do it for me. I think this was a really great portrayal of mental illness, and hard or toxic relationships, but that’s about it. It was slow and I felt like it could have been condensed, or done better. I felt like the story was incomplete, and the end was odd and abrupt. Not a lot of questions we’re actually answered. I didn’t hate it, it was just sort of so-so.

*a copy of this book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

The concept of this title was intriguing, a story featuring mental health issue with a main character who is a standup comedian. The artwork was very simple, but left me feeling a little disconnected from the story. The use of repeated images without dialogue to move the story along was interesting. I did enjoy the 'appearances' by the author throughout the book to check in with the reader or remind the reader to take a moment.

The Con Artists is a graphic novel exploring themes relating to mental illness, strained relationships, and artists using stories from their lives as part of their art.

Frank and Giorgio are friends. Giorgio gets hit by a bus. Frank takes on a caretaker role. Stuff happens.

There. That's the plot out of the way. The meat of the graphic novel revolves around Frank's anxiety and Girogio's low-level sociopathy. The interplay between the characters reveals their personality issues and paints a portrait of a very dysfunctional relationship.

I enjoyed this. I will freely admit that it gets an extra half-star for having gay characters. The story is slight, but the characters are interesting. I enjoyed the spare art style a lot. This isn't a comic for the ages, but it is certainly an interesting read.

Not entirely sure what to think about this one. It’s definitely an interesting exploration of fraught interpersonal relationships complicated by anxiety. I found the art style slightly simplistic and a little hard to connect with, but I liked the glimpses we got to see into Frank’s mind, the pressure to turn all his experience into content in order to process it, and the hanging of his self-worth on the external approval of strangers. I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about the ending…it was a little open ended for me and I also wasn’t sure I agreed with what was being said about anxiety disorders and therapy.

While this graphic novel will not be everyone's cup of tea, I liked it. I found the dark and self-deprecating humor relatable. I enjoyed the way the author interspersed snippets from standup comedy routines and therapy sessions throughout the chapters. And ultimately, there is something to be said about the juxtaposition of the (more blatant) ways others deceive us and the (more subtle) ways we deceive ourselves.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC!

The Con Artists is a graphic novel about mental health and friendship, with the backdrop of a comedy club - literally. Healy gives the characters space to breathe, to allow the reader the space to sit and think with them. The art style works well for the story being told, and Healy's pacing moves things along without making things feel rushed. A great read for those looking for a very real graphic novel.

Thank you to Drawn & Quarterly and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.

This was just alright. 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. I liked the art and the main character a lot and felt like they were able to stand up for themselves in the end. I greatly disliked the character of Giorgio and wished there was more closure for the reader on their relationship.

A great look at a singular friendship. Told from the point of view of a stand up show, with a deep dive into mental health, the truth, and what matters between friends. A book I'll come back to.

This one was a bit hard to get through for me. I wasn't a huge fan of the drawing style and typeface, and i also just didn't think the story was super well done. I wished for more substance with the characters, and the plot felt a bit clinical to me because of this. There was something under the surface that just made this super hard to connect with, and therefore care about.

It was only okay. I didn’t get attached to either character and it was a really sad plot. The drawings were nice but didn’t make up for the lack of story substance.