The Pleasure of the Text

In The Pleasure of the Text, Sami Alwani weaves together themes of art induced dissociation, queer intergenerational polyamory, racial capitalism and esoteric mystical experiences into 20 slice of life comic stories that are equal parts comedy and tragedy. These stories question society and individual identity. A talking baby philosophizes away his own emotions. A half-man, half-dog cartoonist’s spirit burns too bright when he alienates the entire alternative comics industry, drunk on his own power. A friendly ghost survives COVID quarantine with the help of CBD pot cookies and essential oil diffusers. There’s something for everyone in this cheerful volume collecting all of award-winning Alwani’s previous work to date (Vice, Now) with plenty of never-before-seen material.

Sami Alwani is a cartoonist and illustrator based in Toronto. His comics have appeared in Best American Comics, on Vice and he received a Doug Wright Award in 2018 for his story The Dead Father. His work was exhibited in the Canadian alternative comics survey exhibition ＂This is Serious＂ at the Hamilton Art Gallery in 2019. His first collection of stories, The Pleasure of the Text, will be published with Conundrum Press in May 2021.