Imagine sitting inside a towering redwood tree hollowed out by lightning, and realizing this would be the perfect shelter for a forest spirit with long leafy hair.
Or again, imagine chasing a mischievous pet dog down a creekbank near Sabercat Trail and getting the odd feeling that this creature is trying to lead you into a different world.
These moments inspired Newark resident Mai K. Nguyen to write and illustrate her two professionally published comic books: Pilu of the Woods and Anzu and the Realm of Darkness. On Tuesday, Feb. 4, she spoke to about 20 students from Harvey Green Elementary in Fremont, sharing her journey as an artist and the themes she works into her stories.
Nguyen jokes that when she says she is half Japanese, half Vietnamese, people imagine an epic international romance. In fact, her parents met in San Jose. “I’m sure a lot of you are familiar,” she said, “but I grew up in a multicultural household, so it can get pretty wild. There’s multiple languages and traditions and holidays being thrown around.” One plus was always getting two sets of New Year’s red envelopes: on Jan. 1 from her Japanese side, and on Lunar New Year from her Vietnamese side.
Nguyen’s grandmother—Obaachan in Japanese—helped her develop a connection to Japanese culture and interest in reading. “My grandma was really passionate about making sure…me and my older sisters were immersed in as much Japanese culture and language as possible.”
When visiting, her grandmother would always bring suitcases stuffed with Japanese books—fiction, nonfiction, comic books and even dictionaries. “She was a really small lady. She was like 4’11” or something. I have no idea how she lugged that but she did it for us and I’ll always be grateful.”
Additionally, Nguyen’s grandmother taught her the Shinto belief that “Everything has a heart,” a lesson the granddaughter took a bit too literally at first, looking at objects like the leaves on a tree and imagining faces, personalities, hopes and dreams for them. As an adult, Nguyen knows it’s about being curious and having empathy. If others have a heart too, then it’s possible to understand them and their feelings.
At the presentation, Nguyen encouraged the kids to think about characters’ emotional lives while pursuing their own creative writing projects, as the characters draw in a reader as much as an exciting plot. The two books she discussed involve children going on a journey and learning how to process complex emotions.
Through her school years, Nguyen enjoyed any kind of creative project and after graduation she worked as a graphic designer at tech companies in the Bay Area. But at the same time, she self-published several comics, with titles such as Coral and the King and Little Ghost. An agent reached out to Nguyen, and she published her next two projects traditionally.
She shared over email, “Self-publishing was great in that I got to own everything from ideation to typography to printing. However, traditional publishing has really allowed me to focus on my craft as a storyteller and artist. Without my team of agents, editors, colorists and designers, I simply wouldn’t have enough time in the world to create lengthier works and get them in the hands of readers around the world. It’s really pushed me to understand the industry and think of myself as an actual professional artist instead of just ‘oh, I like to draw in my free time.’”
According to Harvey Green librarian Junichi Kakutani, Pilu and Anzu are two of the most popular books at the school. After the presentation, kids lined up to get their books signed and take photos with Nguyen. All were thrilled to hear an Anzu sequel is in the works.
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