Colonel William A. Phillips

Trung Le Nguyen (born June 2, 1990), also known as Trungles, is a Vietnamese-American cartoonist. He is best known as the author of the graphic novel The Magic Fish, published by Random House Graphic in 2020.

Biography

Early life and career

Trung Le Nguyen was born in a Vietnamese refugee camp in the Philippines and moved to the United States as a child in 1992.[1] He began drawing comics in middle school but gave up the pastime in college, stating, "I never really thought to make it a career. It always seemed like this fluffy way for me to pass the time."[2] He graduated from Hamline University with a bachelor's degree in studio art with a minor in art history in 2012. Originally planning to pursue a career in arts administration, he instead chose to pursue a career in comics.[2] Nguyen's art is noted for its use of traditional inking and penciling[3] and references to Vietnamese imagery, shōjo manga, and classic children's literature.[4] He cites Rose O'Neill, Heinrich Lefler, and Harry Clarke among his influences.[2]

In 2017, Nguyen was a jurist for the Ignatz Awards.[5] Also in 2017 his coloring book Fauns & Fairies was published by Oni Press under their erotic comics imprint Limerence Press.[6] In 2018, he was an artist on the Image Comics romance comics anthology Twisted Romance, written by Alex de Campi.[7] In October 2020, Random House Graphic published Nguyen's debut graphic novel The Magic Fish.[8] The book, which follows a young Vietnamese gay immigrant and his parents who bond and learn English through fairy tale books, was inspired by Nguyen's upbringing.[4][8]

Personal life

Nguyen is gay,[1] non-binary,[9] and uses pronouns he/they. He resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[10]

Selected bibliography

Accolades

Nguyen was nominated for a 2021 Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist.[13] The Magic Fish won two 2021 Harvey Awards for Book of the Year and Best Children or Young Adult Book.[14] It was also named a top book on the American Library Association's Rainbow List in 2021,[15] and was selected as one of the best books of 2020 by The Globe and Mail,[16] the New York Public Library,[17] and Nerdist.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b Gandhi, Lakshmi (October 10, 2020). "In many Asian languages, 'LGBTQ' doesn't translate. Here's how some fill the gaps". NBC News. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Snow, Cassandra (September 12, 2017). "Spotlight on the Arts: Trung Le Nguyen (or Trungles)". The Column. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  3. ^ Whtibrook, James (October 12, 2020). "A Young Boy Dreams of Fantastical Loves in This Gorgeous Look Inside The Magic Fish". Gizmodo. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Wang, Jen (November 4, 2020). "Watery Fairy Tales". The New York Times. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  5. ^ "Ignatz Award Nominations". Small Press Expo. August 17, 2017. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Houxbois, Véronique (July 18, 2017). "Queer Visibility Interview: Trungles Brings FAUNS AND FAIRIES to Life". Comicosity. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Sava, Oliver (January 29, 2018). "A princess flees her life of captivity in this Twisted Romance #4 exclusive". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  8. ^ a b McMillan, Graeme (March 6, 2020). "How a Cartoonist Found Inspiration for 'The Magic Fish'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  9. ^ Trung Lê Capecchi-Nguyễn [@Trungles] (January 23, 2022). "I'm non-binary. I don't really feel the need to explain it" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Balbastro, Jackie (December 4, 2020). "Interview with Trung Le Nguyen". Pine Reads Review. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  11. ^ Hampton, Jameson (July 6, 2020). "REVIEW: A Gorgeous Take on Fairytales: Trungles' Star Spinner Tarot". Women Write About Comics. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  12. ^ Sagers, Aaron (May 3, 2017). "Exclusive: S.M. Vidaurri's Adventure Time: Marshall Lee Spectacular Spotify playlist". SyFy. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  13. ^ "2021 Eisner Awards Nominations". June 8, 2021.
  14. ^ "Harvey Awards Reveal 2021 Winners". October 8, 2021.
  15. ^ "The 2021 Rainbow Book List". Rainbow Book List. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  16. ^ Cannon, Margaret; Canton, Jeffrey; Pereira, Judith; Rogers, Sean; Scott, Alec; Colbert, Jade (December 4, 2020). "The Globe 100: Our favourite books of 2020". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  17. ^ Pullen, Emily (November 24, 2020). "Introducing NYPL's Best Books of 2020". New York Public Library. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  18. ^ Knight, Rosie (December 7, 2020). "The Best Comics of 2020". Nerdist. Retrieved December 7, 2020.

External links

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trung_Le_Nguyen