Did you know that thousands of years ago, people communicated through comics? In the ancient Incan Empire (1000 AD), hieroglyphs (or panels of sequential pictures) were the symbols used to describe many things people did and saw. We can see these pics on the walls of the Pyramids in Peru. So, comics are not a modern invention.

Comics, or sequential arts, came to prominence in the form of comic strips in the late 19^th century. Before that time, people were used to enjoying single illustrations. But in the 1890s, New York newspaper began putting in ‘series of illustrations to convey a single message’ (or sequence). Some of the most famous comic strips at that time were Yellow Kid, drawn by Richard Felton Outcalt (NY World, 1895), and Little Nemo in Slumberland, a story about a little boy who travels in dreams. The comic captured children’s as well as adults’ hearts because of the imaginative and surrealistic drawings.

USA

As the printing process improved, publication were popular, and so did comics. In the 1930s, some comic companies emerged in USA. One of them was DC Comics. They created Superman, one of the most memorable comics superheroes, in 1938. A year after, Batman was born from the same company. Unlike Superman’s creator Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Batman’s creator, Bob Kane, was also a sharp businessman. He managed to get profits from all Batman comics, films, and merchandise, so he became very rich. On the other hand, Superman’s creator died in poverty.

Marvel Company was the main competitor of DC. In this company, characterlike Spiderman, X-Men, Daredevil, Hulk, and Iron Man were born. The most imprtant person at Marvel was Stan Lee, who has written hundreds of comics in the Marvel universe. Another creator, Will Eisner, was even dubbed ‘the Godfather of Comics’, because of his tremendeous contributions. He produced new kind of comics: graphic novels, and influential ‘how-to-draw’ books.

JAPAN

The word ‘manga’ for Japanese comics is actually derivedfrom drawing style of an 18^th century artist, Katsusshika Hokusai. In 1814, he called his illustrations ‘manga’, meaning ‘silly or comical illustration’. After WorldWar II, comics bloomed in Japan. To cut the expensive cost, the publisher mae comics in black and white and on cheap paper. One manga-ka (illustrator) named Ozamu Tesuka started a unique style that became the trademark of the Japanese manga we know today: Colorful cover with black and white content, big-eyed characters, speedy lines to convey movement, cinematic pace. Tezuka made Astro Boy, which is still famous. There are two distinctions of manga: shounen (boys’ comics) and shoujo (girls’ comics). Shounen consist of action, adventures, and sports stories, while shoujo deals with drama and romance stories. Shoujo became popular in the 60s. The manga-kas were mostly female teenagers.

The popularity of manga, along with anime (animated manga) has grown so strong in the following decades. Manga came to the US in the late 1980s. One title called Akira, made by Katsuhiro Otomo, captured the hearts of millions of American fans and inspired many comic artists. Another one, Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow, was also very big in the US. It inspired filmmakers the Wachowskis Brothers to make the Matrix movies. Don’t forget the spiky hero Son-Goku from Dragonball, created by Akira Torayama. This is allegedly the best selling manga around the world. In Japan, Dragonball is read by one-third of the total population.

EUROPE

Not many English references can be found about European comics, mainly because of the language. Each country in Europe produces its own comics to be sold locally. Only a few cross

boundaries. The history of European comics is pretty much the same as that of the US. Comics started blooming in the 1930s. Tintin was the pioneer after it appeared in the weekly Petit Viengtieme in Belgium. Created by Herge, Tintin is a journalist who embarks upon exciting and dangerous adventures around the world.The European comic style was established: sophisticated stories, realistic figures and background, full colour, big sized

comics between 48 to 64 pages. Asterix from France was another success. It began in 1959 by Goscinny. Asterix and Tintin achieved worlwide success, having been reprinted many times and translated into over dozens of languages, and made into films.

Some major European comics publishers include Dargaud, Castermann, and Dupuis. Only a few of their publications are sold in USA or Asian countries. It’s too bad, since the quality of European comics are far above the generic manga or superhero comics.

INDONESIAN

Indonesian comics established itself in the 1950s, following the Western trend of comic strips in newspapers. In 1953 Kwik Ing Hoo created Anak Rimba, with obviously influenced by Tarzan. But the most popular genre were the ‘Wayang’ stories, adapted freely from ancient epics. In 1995 R.A. Kosasih made the longlasting comic Mahabharata, while in 1956 Ardisoma made Wajang Purwa. Humourous comic strips were also popular. In 1951 Inri S. made Dagelan Petruk-Gareng, about the silly chronicles of the wayang royal guards in the modern world. Its popularity still continued untill the 1980s. Other notable creators were Kho Wan Gie and Gwei Kwat Siong. They made regular cimic strips about the daily life of average people.

People said the golden era of Indonesian comics was in the 1960s and 70s. in the 1960s, Indonesian comics found its ardent audience with the appearance of the now-legendary creators such as Teguh Santosa, Hans Djaladara, Oerip, Hasmi, etc. They made mostly martial arts, or ‘silat’ comics, the most popular genre at that time. Hans made Panji Tegkorakin 1968, and later it was turned into a movie. Ganes TH created Si Buta dari Gua Hantu in 1970, and it was also turned into a series of very successful films. Other than silat comics, new genres became popular, such as romance (Jan Mintaraga with Tinggalkan Adikku, 1975), fairy tales (Hadrian with Puteri Murung, 1972), and most notably, Superhero comics (Wid NS with Godam). Although the Indonesian superheroes were mostly copied from Americancunterparts, they were memorable because of the quality illustrations and exciting stories. Godam was modeled after Superman. Gundala was influenced by the Flash. Laba2 Merah was inspired by Spiderman.

When the Japanese manga trend exploded in Indonesia in the 1990s, Indonesian comics were nowhere to be found. This trend has continued until today. Go to the bookstores, and you'll see shelves after shelves of Japanese comics with their thick and black and white comics in small sized binding. Do you know that, hidden among them, are Indonesian comics masquerading as manga? Yes, now, many Indonesian illutrators use Japanese aliases and draw comics in a 100% manga style, in the hope that people who buy the books will think they are genuinely imported from Japan. How pathetic is that? Not all hope is lost, though. Nowadays, some independent publishers are determined to bring back the glory of Indonesian comics. They publish comics in various sizes and genres. However, it’s sn uphill struggle.To be continued........