Q&A with Thom Nguyen

Thom Nguyen is a Vietnamese-Australian comic artist, illustrator and zinester based in Melbourne. She has started doing comics again and doesn’t want to stop. She is also really into risography. You can find more of her work on Instagram at @bakathom

When and why did you start making zines?

I started making zines in 2018 because I want to tell stories and I also want to be more visible as a queer creative of colour. I was never sure about what I wanted to be growing up and I would have liked to see that being creative is an option and not just a hobby.

What is your favourite thing about zines?

I love that zines can be about anything. I love that you can always count on there being a lot of passion and interest that goes into the making of the zine, no matter the subject. I’m mostly interested in comic zines, particularly risograph printed zines. The imperfect registration of risography suits zinemaking to a T.

Do you have a favourite zine (aside from your own!)? What is it and why do you like it?

I like Meg O’shea’s work. She has made some A+ comics over the years but I’ll always think back on the first minicomic I’ve found of hers called Some Girls. I just found it to be very relatable.

You can view Thom’s zine Afloat here