Comic figures now on unique postage stamps

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.