The serious side to RI comics

Komik Indonesia (Indonesian Comics); By Marcel Bonneff; Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia in cooperation with Forum Jakarta- Paris, Jakarta 1998; 226 + x pp

JAKARTA (JP): Comics can be claimed as the most widely consumed form of reading. Think about it -- have you ever met a literate person who has never read a comic strip? Some newspapers print them daily, and they are hard to miss.

Ironically, as far as reading goes, comics in Indonesia are usually dismissed as having the lowest quality among reading materials.

Parents would not usually agree to their children reading comic books, which they consider "not educational".

Children would devour comics as the "forbidden fruit" and would take pains of hiding the fact from their parents by all means possible, including replacing the cover with a more "educational" title, such as that of a history book.

Yet, what is taken for granted here is viewed quite seriously in several other countries, including France.

It even warrants its own research; Marcel Bonneff's study of comics brings us the book Komik Indonesia (Indonesian Comics).

From the original French, it is based on research carried out by Bonneff for his thesis back in 1972. Two years later, the thesis was published in Paris.

More than two decades later, it has been translated into Indonesian by Rahayu S. Hidayat and published by Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia.

Bonneff covers many areas. He describes the history, production and distribution of Indonesian comics, and the grounds and messages conveyed behind them. Examples from numerous comics fittingly complement his description.

The history of comics here is surprisingly traced all the way to the images on the Borobudur temple as a prehistoric comic. This may come as a surprise to some. The history continues from the prehistoric stone comics to another form of storytelling through images, the wayang kulit (leather puppets). These, Bonneff writes, are the ancestors of comics in Indonesia.

These primitive comics evolved and were later affected by mass media influences, including those from the West and Orient.

Through this evolution, many genres of comics appeared, such as silat (a form of martial art), adolescent romance, science fiction, tales and legends, cowboys and detectives.

The first two can be considered the major genre, since these seem to be the readers' favorite. Among the comics published between April and July of 1971, Bonneff found 48.75 percent were silat comics, 36.75 percent romance comics, and the other genres only reached 6.40 percent at the highest.

These two genres are completely different from one another, yet they complement each other. Silat comics triggers the imagination. They invite the readers to break all limits and barriers, and be free.

On the other hand, adolescent romance comics are down to earth. They portray problems of everyday life (mainly in terms of relationships). To avoid these problems and to live safely and peacefully, certain limitations are set (don't drink or do drugs; don't have sex before marriage). Between these two, the readers may choose whether they want to explore their imaginations or keep their feet solidly on the ground.

Bonneff points out that comics are rich resources in the study of the society during a certain period. For example, from the language point of view, we can return to the jargon of the day.

From a sociological point of view, we can see the role of a father in a family, where he usually stays detached. The father is usually depicted sitting in a chair, reading a newspaper, wearing glasses and with a mustache.

Komik Indonesia is a relatively comprehensive account of the development of comics in the country. Unfortunately, since the book was written in 1972, that is where the story stops. No doubt comics have developed even further over the years.

There is still 26 years worth of comic development hidden in the minds of a handful of comic experts here in Indonesia. It is time we gave comics a better place among literary works because they are not simply a series of drawings. They are, in a way, evidence of history.

-- Laila Faisal

The writer teaches English at the University of Indonesia