Reviews

Notable for: complex meta-narrative, stories within stories, delightful all fucking around

Another W for Luke Healy, who's so quickly become a fave comic artist of mine. This has all his hallmarks, but I adore the particulars here: the frame story is really fun, and I adore the stories within the narrative and the experimental format-- that combined with the meta self-critique and lampshading going on... this book is just up my alley all around.

whatisjordyreading's review against another edition

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i like the different media used-- it wasn't just drawings but there were (pieces of) photographs used too and i thought that was cool.
for some reason i kept picking this one up and putting it down. maybe i was bored. maybe i was living out the saying "life is too short to read a bad book" but in this case, it wasn't bad. it just wasn't holding my interest as much as other books on my shelf.

otterno11's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An introspective and also very funny comic that folds in a couple of other funny, introspective comics inside it. Despite a terminal case of metaphoritis leading to his transformation into a cartoon mouse, Irish cartoonist Luke Healy writes with relatable, empathic strength, and his expressive drawings complement the subject matter beautifully. Feeling uninspired after having been nominated for a comics award, Healy writes the dramedy The Unofficial Cuckoo's Nest Study Companion, a comedy of errors involving a formerly award-winning playwright attempting a stage adaptation of an inaccessible, obscure literary novel while struggling with her relationship to her daughter. Unsure if the successful completion of the comic fulfills his desires, the increasingly rodent like Healy wrestles with self expression and an alienating world, and even pops in another fun comic involving eccentric flat neighbors getting to know each other. I am definitely checking out more of Healy’s work.

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