The journey of Self Help has been one of hesitation (mine) met with a forceful response. Because as I entered issue #1, I wasn’t sure if writers Owen King and Jesse Kellerman could make meaningful satire — only for them to lambast the self-help movement with gusto and integrity. Then, in Self Help #2, the “formula” shifted once again, only for us to get some truly solid satire wrapped around a hearty frame of this deeply compelling crime story.
So, then, what’s going on with Self Help #3? Well, something altogether more unpredictable and just as wonderfully satisfying.
In Self Help #2, I mentioned a subplot of seemingly another Jerry Hauser/Darren Hart doppelganger (like it was Orphan Black up in here). But now I see what it might actually be as Self Help #3 delivers its greatest accomplishment: the backstory of Jerry himself. I don’t want to spoil what that is, but suffice to say this ain’t your case of “idiot bumbles into life-changing opportunity.” Jerry is far more layered (and with some important connections to boot), and this issue really changes the look and feel of Self Help as a whole. But for the better, of course, as Jerry’s whole effort to assume Darren’s life now carries with it bigger odds and more emotionally-resonant tidbits that make for a truly engaging story. It’s also a grander realization of this series’ initial “gimmick” and a way for this book to be all the more meaningful and capable of more storytelling wonder.
And it’s not just Jerry, either, as Cassandra (Darren’s “former” assistant) develops in a way that extends and complicates Jerry’s work, and I love how deeply alive this book is right now. It started as this really novel idea and quickly pivoted (through its own inventiveness and sense of playfulness) into this surprising but ultimately satisfying experience. It opened up the way all great stories should to challenge our assumptions, give characters this imperfect sense of momentum, and play around with its concepts in some novel ways. Self Help #3 really was this massive turning point for the story, and I find myself engaging and grappling with its ideas and meanings in some new light. It is more of this other thing (a proper crime caper) and it became that through this organic transformation that might just disarm readers.
Main cover by Marianna Ignazzi. Courtesy of Image Comics.
At the same time, this book seems to still be interested in the ideas/concepts about self-help (and it’s surrounding industry). Jerry only reaches this “new life” by applying the same ideas of self-actualization and all that jazz (albeit with a slightly darker purpose in mind). And that to me shows that shallow ideas of improving your life ring mostly empty if there’s not some arc to that decision — it has to be for a reason and not just for the sake of not being your old loser self.
Similarly, there’s some great comparisons made between Jerry and Darren, and how they both operate in the same kinds of roles (selling hope to people for money) even if one is more socially acceptable and/or legal. There’s even a part where Cassandra teaches Jerry the whole Darren shtick, and that’s such a hugely entertaining encapsulation of the whole self-help sector and its overt inauthenticity. Maybe the satire’s even more subtle now, but it stings with a precision and power that continues to assuage my hesitations and show the true power of Self Help to become this properly textured experience.
And speaking of the larger experience, we can’t forget about the art team (artist Marianna Ignazzi, colorist Fabian Mascolo, and letterer/designer Ian Chalgren). Across the first two issues of Self Help, they’ve kept the world looking equally glamourous and seedy, nailing that balance to further define their specifically SoCal-tinged noir. With issue #3, a lot of that still happens, which feels like a proper bit of solid ground and/or gravity to focus on as the book begins its mighty revelations of its true goals/purpose. But there were also some other key decisions visually across issue #3 that are worth mentioning.
Variant cover by Stephen Byrne. Courtesy of Image Comics.
Some of it was simple enough, like a moment where the self-help guru stuff was mirrored with some criminal activities. That may be an especially obvious metaphor or analogy, but having something so deliberate every once in a while reminds us of this book’s thematic interests even as it seems to grow and develop. There were also some visuals playing around with Hollywood tropes. The busted-up drive-in where Darren has an important “meeting” is another one of this “so obvious but damn is it satisfying” visual choices. Meanwhile, we also go to view one scene through the bottom of a really fancy pool, and that tiny decision just spoke volumes about this story’s take on perspectives and how we’re to view/interact with these people and places.
Even little touches — a snapshot of the L.A. freeway system, or some bearded hipster type at a coffee bar — remind us of the energies and ideas informing the city and what this place means to the story itself. It was all these little but hugely strategic moments that poked us when we needed it, extended the story’s parameters and abilities, and generally grounded and pushed forward our expectations as needed. In short, tinges of darkness and/or humor to support this story as it tried to cement itself through our own idea and hopes to become this weird but wonderful “third thing.” The story had the vision and dedication, but it was the art where a lot of that occurred in a way that still kept us fully locked in.
At this point, I don’t have any hesitation, misgivings, etc. about Self Help whatsoever. Nor do I even really have any idea of what comes next or how else this story may develop. And all of that’s totally groovy, as Self Help has made the decisions to allow us to take our hands off the wheel entirely and to let this bad boy drive where it needs to go. I may have a small inkling of that trajectory, but this book has proven itself inventive and daring enough to tell a great story that may lean into ideas and objectives still totally unexpected.
But however else Self Help decides to “shapeshift” next, I do feel confident that it’ll be a hilarious, heartfelt, and massively human process to watch unfold.
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