The author of The Best We Could Do will talk about her process for making nonfiction comics on Tuesday, April 28th, from 5-6pm PST/8-9pm EST.

In this one-hour talk, author and artist Thi Bui will talk about her approach to making emotionally rich nonfiction comics. Thi is the author of the groundbreaking graphic memoir The Best We Could Do and is currently working on a book about immigrant detention and deportation.

Thi Bui is a writer and artist from Việt Nam, California, and New York, now planting roots in New Orleans.  Best known for her graphic memoir, The Best We Could Do, which tells the story of her family amidst Việt Nam’s struggles for independence, she has also been a longtime educator in public high schools. She was a founding teacher at Oakland International High School, California’s first public high school for recent immigrants and English learners. She is a professor of comics, a public speaker, an organizer and artist-activist, an ambivalent sculptor and puppeteer, a fledgling screenwriter, and an award-winning illustrator of children’s books and comics journalism. She is currently working on a graphic nonfiction book called NOWHERELAND, which connects anti-deportation and prisoner support work in different cities with a national movement to abolish ICE.

Date: 
This is an online talk that lasts for an hour on Tuesday, April 28th, from 5-6pm PST/8-9pm EST. It is free to attend but donations to Crucial are welcome to support our work. RSVP for the free Zoom link. Everyone who registers will receive a recording of the talk and be invited to join our Discord, where people can share their own comics and connect with community.

About the Artist Talk series: 
In 2026, Crucial Comix is hosting a series of talks by cartoonists about their art-making process. These one-hour sessions are open to the public and all sliding scale.