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