Woshibai 20 KM/H

From one of mainland China’s most prolific and recognizable—yet anonymous—new underground cartoonists of the current generation

How fast can you go in a buggy drawn by the flap of a butterfly’s wings? How do you measure the speed of waking from a dream? Such abstract inquiries into the unrelenting absurdity of contemporary life make up this omnibus of meditative vignettes.

Every story in 20 km/h toes the line between pun and poetry, and lands somewhere just short of a zen koan: come back to it as often as you like, it will never quite read the same way twice. A nondescript figure awakes from an assembly line of identically-fashioned companions and boards a rowboat destined for the unknown. A man holds the key to sleep in his hand and uses it to disappear into his mattress. The moon is plucked from the sky and fed into a vending machine for a can of soda.

Woshibai’s minimalist renderings are a startlingly delightful cocktail of existential dread and silent slapstick that arrest the mind’s eye with equal parts humor and grace.

Published by Drawn & Quarterly

Canada Import

Paperback

376 b/w pages

5.3” x 7.1”

• "This off-kilter collection from one of the rising stars of Chinese alternative comics is perfect to leaf through and ponder on a quiet afternoon. - Publishers Weekly

• "In this book of minimalist, wordless vignettes, the artist combines simple lines with complicated anxieties as characters navigate seemingly mundane situations, often with a surreal twist." - Winnipeg Free Press

• "If you need a break from endless verbiage and simply want to float through a series of sparely beautiful drawings that will effectively turn you on your head and flip your world inside and out, this is the book for you." - The Tyee

• "Woshibai’s work is poised to leave a lasting impression on both fans and newcomers to the world of surrealist comics." - China Underground