R.A. Kosasih still an idol for cartoonists
<p>R.A. Kosasih still an idol for cartoonists</p><p>Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta</p><p> He looks like an ordinary grandfather, with white hair and
only a few teeth remaining. His hands tremble sometimes but,
overall, he appears healthy despite having reached 82 years of
age.</p><p>Dressed very modestly, with a black kopiah (rimless cap) and
sandals, no one would guess that the old man is an important
figure in Indonesia's pop culture history.</p><p>He is R.A. Kosasih.</p><p>If you haven't heard his name, think of him as Indonesia's
Jerry Seigel or Joe Shuster. Or the Bob Kane of the local comics
industry.</p><p>Kosasih is the most senior of Indonesia's comic artists. His
books span many genres, from children's, romance, martial arts
and superhero comics, to traditional Indonesian wooden puppets
(wayang golek).</p><p>His masterpieces belong to the latter genre, with stories
taken from the Mahabharata and Ramayana epics.</p><p>"I'm a big fan of wayang golek. I often see the shows and
collect the pictures. I know all of the characters by heart," he
said recently at an event held by the British Council.</p><p>His voice is still clear, although you have to speak a little
bit louder if you want him to hear you.</p><p>Kosasih sometimes forgets facts but don't let this fool you
into thinking he is senile. However, he was hard pressed to
answer some questions, like why local comics are now less popular
than during his era.</p><p>"I don't know. I don't know why it doesn't work out now."</p><p>Kosasih's first comic book was published in 1953, but he said
he had liked to draw since he was a child. Because at that time
paper and pencils were hard to find, he drew on the ground in the
front yard of his childhood home in Bogor, West Java, where he
was born.</p><p>Having graduated from high school, Kosasih began working as an
illustrator at the Ministry of Agriculture in 1939.</p><p>After the country achieved its independence in 1945, Kosasih
found inspiration in the comic strips being published in the
newspapers.</p><p>"I read many comic books back then. Mostly in English. I cut
them out and collected them," he said.</p><p>However, the comic that spurred him on to produce his own was
Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon.</p><p>So Kosasih applied to the Bandung-based daily Harian Pedoman
as a comic illustrator. His first stories were about female
superheroes called Sri Asih and Siti Gahara.</p><p>Both of them could fly like Superman, the difference being in
their costumes. Sri wore traditional clothes, while Siti had a
costume like those worn by the princesses in the 1,001 Nights
tale.</p><p>Kosasih's comics became so popular that he decided to quit his
job at the ministry.</p><p>"Comic strip artists received more money than civil servants.
Especially during the Orde Lama (Old Order) era when inflation
was not so high," he said, recalling the time when US$1 was worth
Rp 30 (compared to about Rp 11,000 now).</p><p>Other comic books followed and Kosasih created another female
superhero, Sri Dewi. Then came Panji Semirang, a protagonist
from folklore, and of course the Mahabharata and Ramayana series.</p><p>Kosasih was so productive that he claimed he could draw three
pages a day.</p><p>"I forgot everything when I drew. Sometimes I got bored, but
what can I say, I needed to earn money," he said.</p><p>But what kind of comic book was his favorite to draw?</p><p>"Any kind of comic book, because I'm a seller, I made comic
books that sold," he said laughing.</p><p>Kosasih has inspired younger artists like Jan Mintaraga to
produce comics. Author Seno Gumira Ajidarma is also a fan, which
is evident from the many illustrations he included in his latest
book, Kematian Donny Osmond (The Death of Donny Osmond).</p><p>"R.A. Kosasih is quite extraordinary. Nobody can beat him,"
Seno once said.</p><p>"His books are still being published today, even though local
comic books don't sell. But the cruel thing is, he only receives
a 5 percent royalty from the publisher," Seno said.</p><p>When this was put to Kosasih, he admitted that the amount of
money he received from royalties was very small. He said the sum
was equal to the amount his grandson got for pocket money.</p><p>"Well, it's not like in other countries where royalties can be
very large. That's why it's better for comic artists to publish
their own books," said Kosasih, who lives with his wife and his
only daughter's family in Rempoa, South Jakarta.</p><p>Rumor also has it that he no longer owns the copyright to some
of his books. But Kosasih only shrugged when asked about this.</p><p>During the interview, Kosasih also signed autographs for some
of his fans.</p><p>"Sorry, it's no good. See, my hands are trembling," he said.</p><p>It's because of his hands that Kosasih hasn't been able to
draw for the past 10 years.</p><p>"I heard that there's an American artist who is 90 years old
and can still draw. I don't know if that's true or not," he said.</p><p>A young comic artist from the Jakarta Arts Institute handed
Kosasih a tabloid that contained the creations of some young
artists.</p><p>Kosasih looked at the comics carefully, commented on how
different they were in terms of style and story from his day, but
praised them nevertheless.</p><p>"Ha! We weren't allowed to draw something like this back in
the 1950s and 1960s," he said, pointing to a woman in a swimsuit.</p><p>"We couldn't draw too much blood in the fight scenes either,"
he added.</p><p>A moment later, he ended the interview.</p><p>"Enough, OK? Now, where's my grandson? I'm going to go home,"
he said.</p><p>Before Kosasih left, several young comic artists asked to have
their photograph taken with him. After posing for the photo, the
old man walked away with his only grandson.</p>
only a few teeth remaining. His hands tremble sometimes but,
overall, he appears healthy despite having reached 82 years of
age.</p><p>Dressed very modestly, with a black kopiah (rimless cap) and
sandals, no one would guess that the old man is an important
figure in Indonesia's pop culture history.</p><p>He is R.A. Kosasih.</p><p>If you haven't heard his name, think of him as Indonesia's
Jerry Seigel or Joe Shuster. Or the Bob Kane of the local comics
industry.</p><p>Kosasih is the most senior of Indonesia's comic artists. His
books span many genres, from children's, romance, martial arts
and superhero comics, to traditional Indonesian wooden puppets
(wayang golek).</p><p>His masterpieces belong to the latter genre, with stories
taken from the Mahabharata and Ramayana epics.</p><p>"I'm a big fan of wayang golek. I often see the shows and
collect the pictures. I know all of the characters by heart," he
said recently at an event held by the British Council.</p><p>His voice is still clear, although you have to speak a little
bit louder if you want him to hear you.</p><p>Kosasih sometimes forgets facts but don't let this fool you
into thinking he is senile. However, he was hard pressed to
answer some questions, like why local comics are now less popular
than during his era.</p><p>"I don't know. I don't know why it doesn't work out now."</p><p>Kosasih's first comic book was published in 1953, but he said
he had liked to draw since he was a child. Because at that time
paper and pencils were hard to find, he drew on the ground in the
front yard of his childhood home in Bogor, West Java, where he
was born.</p><p>Having graduated from high school, Kosasih began working as an
illustrator at the Ministry of Agriculture in 1939.</p><p>After the country achieved its independence in 1945, Kosasih
found inspiration in the comic strips being published in the
newspapers.</p><p>"I read many comic books back then. Mostly in English. I cut
them out and collected them," he said.</p><p>However, the comic that spurred him on to produce his own was
Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon.</p><p>So Kosasih applied to the Bandung-based daily Harian Pedoman
as a comic illustrator. His first stories were about female
superheroes called Sri Asih and Siti Gahara.</p><p>Both of them could fly like Superman, the difference being in
their costumes. Sri wore traditional clothes, while Siti had a
costume like those worn by the princesses in the 1,001 Nights
tale.</p><p>Kosasih's comics became so popular that he decided to quit his
job at the ministry.</p><p>"Comic strip artists received more money than civil servants.
Especially during the Orde Lama (Old Order) era when inflation
was not so high," he said, recalling the time when US$1 was worth
Rp 30 (compared to about Rp 11,000 now).</p><p>Other comic books followed and Kosasih created another female
superhero, Sri Dewi. Then came Panji Semirang, a protagonist
from folklore, and of course the Mahabharata and Ramayana series.</p><p>Kosasih was so productive that he claimed he could draw three
pages a day.</p><p>"I forgot everything when I drew. Sometimes I got bored, but
what can I say, I needed to earn money," he said.</p><p>But what kind of comic book was his favorite to draw?</p><p>"Any kind of comic book, because I'm a seller, I made comic
books that sold," he said laughing.</p><p>Kosasih has inspired younger artists like Jan Mintaraga to
produce comics. Author Seno Gumira Ajidarma is also a fan, which
is evident from the many illustrations he included in his latest
book, Kematian Donny Osmond (The Death of Donny Osmond).</p><p>"R.A. Kosasih is quite extraordinary. Nobody can beat him,"
Seno once said.</p><p>"His books are still being published today, even though local
comic books don't sell. But the cruel thing is, he only receives
a 5 percent royalty from the publisher," Seno said.</p><p>When this was put to Kosasih, he admitted that the amount of
money he received from royalties was very small. He said the sum
was equal to the amount his grandson got for pocket money.</p><p>"Well, it's not like in other countries where royalties can be
very large. That's why it's better for comic artists to publish
their own books," said Kosasih, who lives with his wife and his
only daughter's family in Rempoa, South Jakarta.</p><p>Rumor also has it that he no longer owns the copyright to some
of his books. But Kosasih only shrugged when asked about this.</p><p>During the interview, Kosasih also signed autographs for some
of his fans.</p><p>"Sorry, it's no good. See, my hands are trembling," he said.</p><p>It's because of his hands that Kosasih hasn't been able to
draw for the past 10 years.</p><p>"I heard that there's an American artist who is 90 years old
and can still draw. I don't know if that's true or not," he said.</p><p>A young comic artist from the Jakarta Arts Institute handed
Kosasih a tabloid that contained the creations of some young
artists.</p><p>Kosasih looked at the comics carefully, commented on how
different they were in terms of style and story from his day, but
praised them nevertheless.</p><p>"Ha! We weren't allowed to draw something like this back in
the 1950s and 1960s," he said, pointing to a woman in a swimsuit.</p><p>"We couldn't draw too much blood in the fight scenes either,"
he added.</p><p>A moment later, he ended the interview.</p><p>"Enough, OK? Now, where's my grandson? I'm going to go home,"
he said.</p><p>Before Kosasih left, several young comic artists asked to have
their photograph taken with him. After posing for the photo, the
old man walked away with his only grandson.</p>