The Hospital Suite

The Hospital Suite is a landmark work by celebrated cartoonist and small-press legend John Porcellino - an autobiographical collection detailing his struggles with illness in the 1990s and 2000s.

In 1997, John began to have severe stomach pain. He soon found out he needed emergency surgery to remove a benign tumour from his small intestine. In the wake of the surgery, John had numerous health complications that led to a flare-up of his pre-existing tendencies toward anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The Hospital Suite is Porcellino’s response to these expe–riences, simply told stories drawn in the honest, heart-wrenching style of his much-loved King-Cat mini-comics. Porcellino’s gift for spare yet eloquent candour makes The Hospital Suite an intimate portrayal of one person’s experiences that is also intensely relatable.

Porcellino’s work is lauded for its universality and quiet, clear-eyed contemplation of everyday life. The Hospital Suite is a testimony to this subtle strength, making his struggles with the medical system and its consequences on his mental health accessible and engaging.