Local superhero Gundala makes a nostalgic comeback

Local superhero Gundala makes a nostalgic comeback

Evi Mariani
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

It's always a tremendous moment for people when they see their
long gone loved ones come back in better shape than ever to live
up the good old times.

Responding to the nostalgia of the heyday of Indonesian comics
in the 1970s and 1980s, a Jakarta publishing company has breathed
new life into the popular local superhero Gundala Putra Petir,
reprinting the original books for staunch fans.

The publisher, BumiLangit, has reprinted the first and second
titles of the original Gundala Putra Petir (Gundala the
Lightning's Son), publishing 7,500 copies for each title.

The reprinted editions of Asal Usul Gundala (Gundala
Beginnings) and Perhitungan di Planet Covox (Revenge on Planet
Covox) have shiny covers with new drawings by Gundala's creator,
Yogyakartan Hasmi, whose real name is Harya Suraminata.

The Gundala reprint is heavily supported by the community of
Indonesian comic fans, who are in the main active in the mailing
list group komik_indonesia@yahoogroups.com and who run the
website www.komikindonesia.com.

Polls on the website indeed reveal that among other local
superheroes like Godam and Laba-laba Merah, Gundala is the most
popular. Another poll about favorite comic creator also votes
Hasmi as number one before Ganes TH and Jan Mintaraga, who were
both martial arts comic creators.

"What distinguishes Gundala from other local superheroes is
the humor," a fan of Indonesian comics, Hartono Soenarto, 43,
said at the gathering.

Another diehard fan, Andy Wijaya, owner of Toko Komik
Indonesia in ITC Kuningan and a moderator of komik_indonesia e-
group, said that the jokes were often local in nature.

"I remember one episode where the characters had a meeting
that resulted in disaster. Later one of the characters said: I
told you not to have meeting on Kamis Wage night," Andy, who has
an extensive knowledge and memory about Indonesian comics, said,
laughing.

Kamis Wage, or Thursday Wage, is the day before Jumat Kliwon
(Friday Kliwon), which is a day like Friday the 13th in the West,
a bad luck day for some Javanese as they believe it is the time
when supernatural creatures wander into the human world.

The balloon texts inside the comic books or the dialogues
between the characters are all edited and have been adjusted to
current Bahasa Indonesia usage. In the old version, the superhero
and other characters still used a Dutch-influenced style of
language.

"Our next project, after the reprinting of the original, is a
'Gundala reborn project'. With Pak Hasmi we will discuss the new
Gundala concept, to adapt his character to the tastes of the
younger generation," BumiLangit managing director Faustinus
Gandia Kurniandri, said at the press gathering on Tuesday night.

Hasmi himself said that he would first gather input from his
fans before creating a new Gundala.

Gundala, name derived from a Javanese word for lightning,
first appeared in Indonesia in 1969 and survived until 1982 with
23 titles. Many assume Gundala is a local imitation of the
American Flash Gordon, an opinion Hasmi himself never completely
denies.

"Gundala is inspired by Flash, indeed. But I don't think I
completely copied Flash because Gundala has different features
and characteristics," said Hasmi, 58, who came to know American
superheroes through movies and comics since 1950s.

"Gundala wears a black costume, while Flash wears red. Flash
moves as fast as lightning while Gundala is only as fast as a
typhoon, but he can fire lightning while Flash cannot," Hasmi
added.

During 1960s through to the late 1970s, Indonesian comics
experienced their heyday with many comic creators coming up with
a wide array of characters, including superheroes, martial arts
heroes, romantic characters, to Mahabharata and Ramayana epics.

The vigorous marketing of more attractive comic books from
France, Belgium, the U.S. and most recently Japan and South Korea
caused a decline in the popularity of local characters like
Gundala and many others.

As a consequence, the nation's comic book lovers have also
seen a decline in the number of local artists producing comic
books. It is hoped that what has been done by the Gundala
publisher and the fans of Gundala might encourage comic makers
and publishers to again turn their heads to locally-made
superheroes.

More information:

www.komikindonesia.com
www.bumilangit.net