"The Sensual Santa" is a one-page comic

Comics

Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...

 by Daniel Clowes

Daniel Clowes

Daniel Gillespie Clowes is an American author, screenwriter and cartoonist of alternative comic books....

. It originally appeared in Eightball

Eightball (comic book)

Eightball is an alternative comic book series written and drawn by Daniel Clowes. The first issue was published by Fantagraphics Books in 1989, soon after the end of Clowes's previous comic series, Lloyd Llewellyn...

#14 (published in October 1994) and was reprinted in the Clowes collections Orgy Bound and Twentieth Century Eightball

Twentieth Century Eightball

Twentieth Century Eightball is a book collection of comics by Daniel Clowes published by Fantagraphics Books in 2002. It consists of numerous short pieces originally published in Clowes's Eightball , and other venues...

.

The comic's titular character is a pudgy, blond, bearded middle-aged man wearing a pink

Pink

Pink is a mixture of red and white. Commonly used for Valentine's Day and Easter, pink is sometimes referred to as "the color of love." The use of the word for the color known today as pink was first recorded in the late 17th century....

 tank top

Tank top

Tank top may refer to:* a type of sleeveless shirt worn by men and women * a sleeveless sweater, also known as a sweater vest * the plating forming the inner bottom of a ship hull...

 and a lavender

Lavender (color)

Lavender is a pale tint of violet. It applies particularly to the color of the flower of the same name. The web color called lavender is displayed at right—it matches the color of the very palest part of the lavender flower; however, the more saturated color shown below as floral lavender more...

 cap

Cap

A cap is a form of headgear. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head and have no brim or only a visor. They are typically designed for warmth and, when including a visor, blocking sunlight from the eyes...

. He introduces himself in the story's first panel while perched at the top of a chimney

Chimney

A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...

 in the middle of the night, in the manner of Santa Claus

Santa Claus

Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...

:

"Why wait for a holiday? The spirit of giving sensuality is in season all year 'round! Come and join me on my rounds... maybe we can both learn something!"

In the ensuing panels The Sensual Santa invades several homes and administers hug

Hug

A hug is a form of physical intimacy, that usually involves closing or holding the arms around the neck, back, or waist of another person; if more than two persons are involved, this is referred to as a group hug. A hug, sometimes in association with a kiss, eye contact or other gestures, is a...

s, cuddling and backrubs

Massage

Massage is the manipulation of superficial and deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue to enhance function, aid in the healing process, and promote relaxation and well-being. The word comes from the French massage "friction of kneading", or from Arabic massa meaning "to touch, feel or handle"...

 with cinnamon

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...

 body oil to unsuspecting people, who react to his "gifts" variously with alarm, puzzlement or numbed resignation. All the while, and totally oblivious to his recipients' evident discomfort, he delivers a cheerful monologue

Monologue

In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...

 on the virtues of sharing

Sharing

Sharing the joint use of a resource or space. In its narrow sense, it refers to joint or alternating use of an inherently finite good, such as a common pasture or a shared residence. It is also the process of dividing and distributing. Apart from obvious instances, which we can observe in human...

 sensuality that parodies

Parody

A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...

 the sensibility and prose style of books such as The Joy of Sex

The Joy of Sex

The Joy of Sex is an illustrated sex manual by Alex Comfort, M.B., Ph.D., first published in 1972. An updated edition was released in September, 2008.-Overview:...

. The final panel shows The Sensual Santa holding a surprised-looking elderly woman in the middle of a bubble bath

Bubble bath

The term bubble bath can be used to describe aerated or carbonated baths, or to describe bathing with a layer of surfactant foam on the surface of the water and consequently also the surfactant product used to produce the foam....

 while exhorting his audience to "Be a Sensual Santa! It's contagious!"

The bottom of the panel contains a parting message from the author: "I hereby apologize to each and every reader. - D. Clowes."

Peter Bagge

Peter Bagge

Peter Bagge is an American cartoonist. He is the creator of Buddy Bradley, Hate, Neat Stuff, Martini Baton, and Sweatshop, Apocalypse Nerd and Other Lives. His stories often use black humor and exaggerated cartooning to dramatize the reduced expectations of middle-class American youth...

 alludes to "The Sensual Santa" in a comic he drew for Reason magazine

Reason (magazine)

Reason is a libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 60,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the Chicago Tribune.- History :...

.http://www.reason.com/news/show/29043.html?pg=4