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'Methal Pertiwi' back with a human touch
Methal Pertiwi, the comedy action comic series, returns for its latest installment.
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Methal Pertiwi is based around the exploits of Jago Rockk, the rock music-obsessed hero whose comically macho exterior is a mix between 1980s action hero and generic heavy metal symbolism. (Sofyan/File)
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em>Methal Pertiwi is based around the exploits of Jago Rockk, the rock music-obsessed hero whose comically macho exterior is a mix between 1980s action hero (think Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger in their prime) and generic heavy metal symbolism (he has a skull-like face, after all).
As always, the new comic finds Jago traversing a universe filled with terrifying and odd creatures, some of whom he befriends and some of whom he brawls using his martial arts skills.
Officially the third installment in the series, Jago’s latest adventure has the unsubtle title of MasIIIh Methal Pertiwi (MPIII) and still finds him with his trusty companion Macan (tiger).
The series’ old school style of illustration mixes the modern flashiness of western comics with the rough, sketchy styling of cheap Indonesian comics from the 1980s and 1990s.
Combined with an at-times crude sense of humor, the series quickly became an underground sensation.
Its release was preceded earlier this year by a teaser in the form of an exclusive online comic strip called Cerdas Cermat (quiz), the title of which comes from a popular 1980s quiz show for children.
While Cerdas Cermat mostly kept things “clean,” explains comic creator Sofyan Syarief, Methal Pertiwi will keep Jago’s more mature sense of humor intact.
Cerdas Cermat will also start a planned series that will exclusively be published online. This is meant to satisfy fans’ demand between the publications of each official editions.
This one, after all, came two years after its preceding book — a relatively long time between comic series.
Instead of full-on fantasy battles, however, the new release finds Sofyan infusing a more serious tone and a more humane side to his protagonist.
This time, Jago’s main battle is with his heart, with the story getting into some romantic territory, which is handled with a surprising amount of restraint, though the usual humor is there.
“I wanted to put forth a ‘normal’ perspective with regards to Jago,” says Sofyan. “I wanted to show him as a person with simple goals in his life.”
Sofyan also wanted characters aside from Jago and Macan the opportunity to shine.
As such, he worked on the new comic with the mindset that Jago and Macan were, this time, secondary characters, such as the main antagonist, Big Boss.
The bad guys are this time even more “serious” in nature, says Sofyan, who purposely made them to contrast with Jago’s humorous tendencies.
This comic also introduces a group of as-yet unexplained enemies who Sofyan plans on being the key antagonists of the Methal Pertiwi comic series.
Sofyan also wanted to put focus on the dialog, as the root of the Methal Pertiwi series originated as a more
dialogue-driven story with some martial arts flavoring for color. However, the first two comics ended up putting those martial elements upfront, resulting in it being a more action-oriented comic.
The basic idea for this third edition came from Sofyan’s mother and her time being pregnant with the author while left alone at home as her husband had to work out of town.
“Of course, I wrap those inspirations with my silly ideas and crazy fantasies,” Sofyan says.
