Comic figures now on unique postage stamps

By Yuli Tri Suwarni

BANDUNG (JP): The launch of a new series of stamps featuring five comic strip characters from national and local newspapers is sure to put a smile on the face of every stamp collector.

Having printed hundreds of thousands of stamps, PT Pos Indonesia for the first time launched comic-themed stamps -- a milestone in Indonesia's philatelic world -- on March 13.

The five comics are Panji Koming of Jakarta-based Kompas daily, Pak Tuntung of Medan-based Harian Analisa, Pak Bei of Semarang-based Suara Merdeka, I Brewok of Denpasar-based Bali Post and Mang Ohle of Bandung-based Pikiran Rakyat.

Pos Indonesia public relations officer Golom Pandiangan said the five comic strips were selected for their uniqueness.

Mang Ohle, for instance, was chosen because of its longtime presence in Pikiran Rakyat.

Since it was first created by PR Sutedjo in 1955, the comic has had up to four different illustrators.

"The choice of Mang Ohle makes sense because he is the oldest among existing comic characters in the newspapers. He is a figure who is able to solve problems, even the most difficult ones," Didin Basoeni, Mang Ohle's illustrator since 1993, wrote in the paper.

Dwi Koendoro Brotoatmojo's Panji Koming, which first appeared on Oct. 14, 1979, was selected due to his criticisms and anecdotes based on realities within society.

The honest and simple figure of Panji Koming, set against the Majapahit era, describes, according to Pandiangan, the submission of a servant to a hypocritical, authoritarian and corrupt ruler. "Exactly like our society in general," he said.

Panji Koming's fame has also brought him to an English-version comic strip called Plucky Koming.

Pak Tuntung, which appears in Harian Analisa daily, was described by Basuki, its creator, as a character who loves the environment and is against crime.

Two other comic strip characters created in the 1980s, Pak Bei and I Brewok, are no less interesting.

Pak Bei, Central Java's favorite and most well-known comic character, always encounters bad luck. He is drawn by Masdi Soenardi and appears in the Sunday edition of Suara Merdeka daily.

I Brewok is a different sort of character. He always wears a hat and loves to grow his beard and mustache. Shaving is not in his habit, so his beard and mustache cover nearly half of his face.

Created by Gungun in 1981, I Brewok is a comic character who can always see other people's mistakes but not his own.

"Yes, he's strange. It is like the saying that one does not see an elephant close by but clearly sees an ant across the sea," said Pandiangan of I Brewok.

Unique

Through the uniqueness of the stamps, Pos Indonesia is hoping to encourage the community to learn more about the nature and attitude of each character, thus enabling them to learn something about themselves.

"People should not only learn from big things but also from small things, like stamps," Pandiangan said.

Pos Indonesia, which sees stamps as one of its more profitable divisions, has launched a variety of stamps, including whale- themed stamps and stamps featuring triangular shapes.

The launch of the comic-themed stamps in Bandung was warmly welcomed by philatelists.

Only four hours after the launch, Pos Indonesia's philatelic division in Bandung sold 350 first-day covers from the stock of 500. Of the 30,000 available stamps, 4,000, the equal of 800 sets, also were sold.

A Pos Indonesia employee in the philatelic division, Abdulsyukur, was surprised by the response.

More than 500,000 sets of the comic-themed stamps were printed using the rotogravure technique. "We usually print 500,000 stamps in five-page sheets, with each sheet containing 20 stamps," Syukur said.

Designed by Tata Sugiarta, the stamp series was produced in two other forms: 18,000 fist-day covers and 5,000 philatelic documents.

The normal stamps are priced at Rp 500 each, while first-day covers are sold at Rp 3,500 each and philatelic documents go for Rp 6,000.

All of the comic-themed stamps come in black-and-white.

At the launching, Mang Ohle's current illustrator, Didin Basoeni, was surrounded by fans, philatelists and Pos Indonesia employees, all asking for his autograph.

"Maybe Dwi Koen's fans will do the same. If the comic-themed stamps are signed by the (comic strip) creators, they might fetch high prices later," Pandiangan said.