P-Project take their humor to comic books<\/p>\n
By Hera Diani<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): People who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s
\nundoubtedly have fond memories of the local comic books that
\ncolored these years.<\/p>\n
Titles like Gundala Putra Petir (Gundala, Son of Thunder)
\nGodam and Panji Tengkorak were eagerly purchased and read, passed
\naround among children and teenagers enthralled by the adventures
\nthat jumped out from the pages.<\/p>\n
Comic books written by artists like Jan Mintaraga and Teguh
\nSantosa, which were based on classic wayang (traditional puppet)
\nstories such as Mahabharata and Ramayana, were also big sellers.<\/p>\n
But today, in much the same fashion as Indonesian films, local
\ncomic books have been overshadowed by Japanese and U.S. titles.<\/p>\n
\"That's why we wanted to make our own comic book. There are
\nhardly any, if any at all, local comic books right now,\" said
\nIszur Muchtar, a member of comedy group P-Project.<\/p>\n
Iszur was speaking on Monday during the launch of the group's
\ncomic book Si Lender, a 121-page black-and-white book about a
\nhero by the same name.<\/p>\n
\"I grew up reading local comic books like Gundala. It's too
\nbad that children now grow up with imported comic books. Not that
\nall of those books are bad, but it would good if there were local
\nones as well,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to Iszur, since the Bandung-based group was
\nestablished five years ago they had been discussing the idea of
\nproducing a comic book. But the idea was kept on the shelf
\nbecause the group was busy with other projects.<\/p>\n
That all changed when they met artist Pidi Baiq, a graduate of
\nthe Bandung Institute of Technology's School of Art and Design.<\/p>\n
Iszur's fellow P-Project member Daan Aria said they chose Pidi
\nto draw the book because he had the same vision and sense of
\nhumor as the group.<\/p>\n
\"It took us a long time to collect ideas, the kind of story,
\nthe hero and everything,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The result was Si Lender, whose storyline was written by P-
\nProject.<\/p>\n
\"We then contacted the publisher Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia.
\nThey accepted our ideas and here it is now,\" Daan said, adding
\nthat the comic book was targeted at teenagers and adults.<\/p>\n
The book is set in the 13th century, during West Java's
\nPadjadjaran Kingdom. The basic story is that the villain
\nKartasinga steals King Wastakencana's magical belt.<\/p>\n
The king sends Sutawangsa to retrieve the belt from
\nKartasinga, who apparently has traveled through a time tunnel to
\nthe year 2010.<\/p>\n
As one expects from P-Project, the book is funny. The dialog
\nis humorous, peppered with Sundanese, and the illustrations are
\nimaginative. At one point, the angry king spits and Pidi draws
\nthe saliva traveling in a curve and inserts a physics formula for
\nparabolic force.<\/p>\n
The font, however, is a little too stiff and not an ideal fit
\nfor the illustrations, and sometimes there is a lot of blank
\nspace in the panels.<\/p>\n
According to Pidi, it took him six month to draw the book.
\n\"The group gave me the story and then I matched it to my style.
\nBefore that I also did a survey of the comic book community to
\nsee what they wanted to see. I'm not just drawing, you know,\"
\nsaid the artist, who once published the comic book Kapten
\nBandung.<\/p>\n
As for the Sundanese words, Pidi said that since he and P-
\nProject are from Bandung they are familiar with the language.<\/p>\n
According to Denny from P-Project, beside promoting culture,
\nthey also want to revive the Sundanese language with the book.<\/p>\n
\"Even in Bandung, young people no longer speak it,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ten thousand copies of the first edition were printed, with a
\nprice of Rp 12,000 (US$1.40).<\/p>\n
Daan said the group originally wanted the book to be in color.
\n\"But if it was in color the price would have been Rp 48,000.
\nThat's too expensive, so we left it black and white,\" he said,
\nadding that the book could be found at Gramedia bookstores around
\nthe country.<\/p>\n
The group plans to release a total of 13 books in the Si
\nLender series.<\/p>\n
\"The next book will be released in October,\" Daan said, adding
\nthat P-Project had invested some Rp 15 million ($1,765) in the
\nproject.<\/p>\n
The group said they were optimistic the comic book would prove
\na success.<\/p>\n
As for Pidi, he hopes Si Lender will inspire other comic
\nartists to publish books.<\/p>\n
\"Even P-Project, who are not supposed to or obliged to make
\ncomic books, were able to do it,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/p-project-take-their-humor-to-comic-books-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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