RI comic strips a stranger in their own country
RI comic strips a stranger in their own country
Kuss Indarto, Contributor, Yogyakarta
The wild boar, in a frenzy, scrambles headlong behind a bush. Its
fur is stained with blood and its movements noticeably erratic.
Its eyes are wide open, reflecting a mixture of fear, pain and
helplessness.
A teenager nearby holds a dagger in his right hand, ready to
thrust it into the boar. The boar knows he is breathing his last
few breaths.
That narration is found on the cover of Asal-Asulnja Wiro Anak
Rimba (The Origins of Wiro the Jungle Boy), an Indonesian comic
strip written in the 1970s.
It was one of the numerous locally published comic strips from
that era on show at the exhibition "Komik.Komik.Komik Indonesia"
at Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta, and will run through Saturday.
Other comic strip covers on display included Put On by
Sopoiku, whose real name is Kho Wang Gie, Mahabarata by RA
Kosasih, Si Buta dari Gua Hantu (The Blind Man of the Haunted
Cave) by Ganes Th, Dolores by Taguan Hardjo, Godam by Wid NS,
Gundala by Hasmi, and Teguh Santosa's Mat Pelor.
All of them were considered the torchbearers of the Indonesian
comic strip world during the 1960s and 1970s.
The exhibition also featured excerpts of comic stories taken
from the original comic strips of the same period.
A new version of the popular comic strip about the Blind Hero
from the Haunted Cave (Si Buta dari Gua Hantu) by Ganes Th was
launched on Friday.
According to Agus Leonardus, the initiator of the exhibition,
the idea of exhibiting Indonesian comic strips of the past was
not just for recalling the nostalgia of comic's golden age here.
But it was also meant to remind people of the prominence of
Indonesian comic strip writers, the pioneers of the Indonesian
comic world.
"Even with all the technological limitations at the time, they
still succeeded in creating good work. People really had respect
for Indonesian comics at that time. Why can't they now?" Agus
asked.
Agus, who is a noted professional photographer and collector
of most of the comic strips on exhibit, also expressed concern
that after the 1980s, local comic strips started to disappear and
were gradually replaced by imported comic books which flooded the
country.
"Indonesian comics are no longer welcome in their own
country," he said.
In fact, if we look back at the past, some of the older
Indonesian comic strips were an inspiration to readers of all
ages.
Godam of Wid NS, for example, which tells the adventure of
Godam -- a superhero akin to an Indonesian version of America's
comic superhero Superman -- first published in the 1970s. Godam
was one of the most popular comic strips of the era and had
people anxiously waiting for each new edition.
Wid NS, who passed away in December, was indeed one of the
strongest comic strip writers of the era who succeeded in making
his superhero character -- even though it was the result of an
adoption of a Western superhero character -- popular and was
idolized in the '70s.
Through the story, the readers were taken into the superhero
world of Godam, who, on his mortal side was actually a truck
driver, a very ordinary figure that was very familiar to the
readers' daily lives.
He was not journalist like Clark Kent, or a billionaire, like
Batman mortal persona, but a truck driver! This might be the
strength of the attraction of Godam.
Another popular comic strip writer of the era was Jan
Mintaraga with his masterpiece comic strip Sebuah Noda Hitam (A
Black Stain) about a teenagers' life, particularly the romantic
side.
Jan's strength laid in the Western images he portrayed in
almost every character he created. The image of an ideal girl
according to Jan's view at that time was someone with a European-
like nose, a slim body, small lips and big, round eyes.
Similar physical attributes were also seen in most of the
Indonesian film stars of the '70s and early '80s, all of whom
were of Indo-European descent like Roy Marten, Robby Sugara and
Doris Calebaut.
Another exhibit is from the 1950s, with Kosasih's Mahabarata
and Teguh Santosa's Sandhora comic strip series highlighting that
section.
In Mahabarata, Kosasih, whom French researcher Marcel Bonneff
referred to as the pioneers of the Indonesian comic world
together with Ardisoma, adapted the Indian epic of the same title
for his comic strip.
Also noteworthy from the exhibition is that most of them were
not based in Java. Medan, North Sumatra, for example, produced a
number of comic strip artists, who produced high quality comics
with a relatively good standard of printing. The works of Taguan
Harjo are a prime example.
It does not seem that financial, social or political
limitations were a constraint for comic strip writers of the era.
The crucial question is, with all the technological support
available these days, why do Indonesian comic lovers become the
consumers of the Western and Japanese comics?
Is it due to decreasing nationalism among the people? Or is it
just that we have become extremely detached from our own daily
lives, and Indonesian culture as a result of oppression or stress
that political and social upheaval have caused?