Alum Husein Panju is returning to York after 17 years to celebrate the physical launch of his comic collection, High Comedic Value. Panju, a full-time lawyer by day and comedian and artist by night, will be hosting a book launch and stand-up comedy performance on Thursday, Feb. 12 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the York University Bookstore.
For the past 12 years, Panju has been making a comic each week, and this collection includes some of his all-time favourites. Split between two books, First Semester and Higher Education, are over 200 sketch comics that present everyday life in a textbook-esque format. The content, as well as Panju’s ties to York, stood out to York University Bookstore manager Sasa Nestorovic during a chance meeting between the two in the summer of 2025.
In his time as a York student, Panju found joy in expressing himself and his ideas through his comics, submitting his work to Excalibur Publications each week. When he went to law school, his artistic work took a pause, until he realized the importance of having a creative outlet and returned to it upon entering the workforce.
“I’ve been doing one comic a week, so, inevitably, a lot of the comics end up being about personal topics that were going on in my life,” he explains. “I find drawing these helps me to process and find the light in some really deep topics…it’s been both a creative outlet and a kind of therapeutic outlet as well.”
Panju points out the overlap between his work as a lawyer and his creative endeavours. “In law, a lot of what we’re doing is conveying complex ideas in ways that can be understood by different parties, whether it’s judges, or victims, or the general public, or even our clients as well. And I find that whether it’s comics or comedy, I’m often doing the same thing. You know, I’ve got a funny idea in my head, but I’ve got to translate it in a way that will really resonate with people…I find that my legal training has helped the comics as much as vice versa.”
The event will begin with an introduction to the book as well as Panju himself and his journey. Four other York-alumni comedians — Arsy (‘11), Pooja Joshi (‘10), Trevin David (‘11), and Ben Davies (‘26) — will be performing a short stand-up performance, followed by Panju’s own. This selection of comedians, Panju says, represents the “different paths that come out of York to showcase that there’s a lot of diversity within this space.”
He also hopes that the lineup will show students that “you are more than just your job title, and that your creative interests really matter, and can bring a lot of joy to a lot of people if you…have the discipline to make it something really meaningful.”
The event is free and open to all, including non-York students and community members. Signed copies of Husein Panju’s book will be available for purchase at the event.
Learn more about Panju on his website and his Instagram page @highcomedicvalue.
