The Winnipeg Free Press reviews 20 KM/H

A recurring character in 20KM/H, a new collection from Shanghai-based underground cartoonist Woshibai, best resembles a pictogram seen on a public restroom door, but the situations he finds himself in are all too human. 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.

The dreamlike atmosphere presented here extends to the reality in which the stories take place, and the physicality of its characters. The sphere-headed protagonist in many stories is given uncanny, expressive eyes, but possesses no other distinguishing features, perhaps as reflection of the artist himself.

“Woshibai” is a pseudonym, and the artist’s true identity has remained unknown throughout his career thus far, as though he were a Chinese comix Banksy armed with the same incisive wit and scathing social commentary. The story Carving in particular echoes the notorious British artist’s attitude towards art and labour — Woshibai’s stick-figure sculpts a clone of himself out of a marble block, only for the newly minted clone to repeat the process until a new one emerges, ad nauseum.

Read the complete review here