The co-founders of Bang Bang Zine – (from left) Wong, Teh and Leong – bring a shared vision to the GMBB shop, each contributing their unique perspectives and expertise to the vibrant world of zine culture. — Photos: FAIHAN GHANI/The Star
The Bang Bang Zine shop, situated on one of the trendy upper floors of the GMBB creative community mall in Kuala Lumpur, is a haven for zine enthusiasts.
One half of the shop’s unit is full of zines, prints, and bric-a-brac from artists local and abroad, while the other half is the risograph printing studio and workshop space.
There’s even a resident cat, Hei Dou (which means “black bean” in Mandarin), which is affectionately referred to as the “Big Boss” and has a photo book dedicated to her.
Hei Dou, Bang Bang Zine's resident cat.
Co-founders Wong Mun Yeong, Teh Chya Chyi, and Leong Shin Mun (Shermene), who first met while studying illustration at Dasein Academy of Art, created Bang Bang Zine in 2021, focusing on the art of storytelling with illustration in the medium of independent zine and print publication.
“Bang Bang Zine evolved from a personal zine project I started in 2017, called Sketzine. But after doing the first issue on my own, I decided to invite friends to join me. From this, it slowly grew into a small zine community telling stories and little ideas spun from yum cha sessions,” says Wong.
“We rebranded to Bang Bang Zine because we love how different ideas ‘bang’ with different sparks,” he adds.
A playground for creativity
While Bang Bang Zine started off as a zine project, it has since grown into a zine store, illustration studio, risograph press, and learning space.
“We want visitors to see Bang Bang Zine as a playground to discover stories and express the ones you want to tell through your own creativity,” says Teh.
In 2019, after the risograph studio they had been working with closed down, the Bang Bang Zine members decided to bite the bullet and invest in their own risograph machine, which they now use for their printing studio, InkInk Der.
Leong shows the risograph printer’s ink cartridge, with options including Fluorescent Orange, Blue, Fluorescent Pink, Green, Black, and Yellow at the studio.
Risograph – or “riso” for short – is a high-speed printer invented by Japan’s Riso Kagaku Corporation in 1986. Combining the process of screen printing and photocopying, the machine prints one colour at a time using rice-bran oil inks.
Originally designed for medium- to high-volume printing for schools and hospitals, risograph has become increasingly popular among zine-makers thanks to its affordability and vibrant results.
Each colour requires its own separate drum and cartridge – Bang Bang Zine currently offers fluorescent orange, fluorescent pink, blue, green, yellow, and black as its colour options.
“Besides the bright colours and textured effect that you can get in riso prints, riso is often a better and more affordable option for zines and artistic projects because you can print however many you want, compared to traditional offset printing, which requires a large print run. It’s also quite fast – the risograph can print out four to six pieces in one second,” explains Wong.
Wong demonstrates risograph printing by printing a few samples.
Another signature characteristic of riso is that each print is unique – you won’t get the exact same print every time, as the layer-by-layer process leads to minor variations.
“Some zine-makers actually want that slight misalignment in their prints, as it adds to the handmade feel of each copy,” says Teh.
Embracing imperfection
“While Malaysia’s zine scene is quite active, the riso community in Malaysia is still small and fairly young,” says Wong.
The trio have visited both Japan and Taiwan in recent years for publishing/design-related fairs and noticed how active the local riso communities were.
“In Taiwan, we saw customers simply coming into the studio and using the risograph machine themselves. Here in Malaysia, we’re in the early stages, so there’s still a lot of communication needed, especially in terms of getting more people to know about risograph and how to do it. Even for us, we had to learn by ourselves, which took a lot of trial and error,” he adds.
The printing studio and workshop space features examples of risograph prints on the wall.
In recent years, the emergence of annual events like the Kuala Lumpur Art Book Fair, Comic Art Festival Kuala Lumpur (CAFKL), and Comic Fiesta has played a crucial role in igniting local interest in riso printing. These platforms have provided creative communities with the space to showcase their work, fostering a greater appreciation for the unique, handmade aesthetic of riso while sparking curiosity and collaboration among local artists and designers.
To encourage more people to try their hand at riso, Bang Bang Zine began offering workshops, ranging from one for absolute beginners to a more advanced one for those experienced in digital illustration and design.
In the “Risograph Printing Experience,” a child-friendly workshop, you’ll spend 90 minutes exploring the possibilities of riso printing. You’ll create your own design, which will then be transformed into a two-colour riso print.
“Nowadays, people are too intimidated to try new things – they think they have to immediately be good at something and are scared to make mistakes. But the beauty of riso is that it pushes you to trust the process and embrace imperfections – appreciate them, even.
“We want people to come for our workshops with an open mind – don’t worry about the final product, just experiment and enjoy the experience of making art,” says Leong.
Teh flips through the first issue of the 'Jalan-Jalan Paper' by Bang Bang Zine, inspired by their trip to the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park.
So, where do they envision themselves five years from now?
“We’d like to see riso and zine-making becoming a more common hobby rather than this super niche thing, where everyone, even kids, will come to us to print things.
“Because of social media and AI, we risk losing the human touch; we see that in how content has become more repetitive. Through zines, however, you can discover the joy of expressing yourself by creating something. There’s a sincerity and simplicity in them that people will always appreciate and resonate with,” concludes Wong.
More info: bangbangzine.com Instagram: @bang_bang_zine
