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Shaping global superheroes from Malang
Ink-stained hero: Admira (above) holds one of his works
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Ink-stained hero: Admira (above) holds one of his works. (Courtesy of Admira Wijaya) (above) holds one of his works. (Courtesy of Admira Wijaya)
Ink-stained hero: Admira (above) holds one of his works. (Courtesy of Admira Wijaya)
Hercules, a hero of Greek mythology, is portrayed in the comic strip series Hercules: The Thracian Wars, produced by US-based Radical Comics and written by Steve Moore. The books also turn out to have involved Admira Wijaya, an Indonesian artist from Malang, East Java.
'As a penciler, I drew the comics in 2006 in five editions comprising about 150 pages for five months in Singapore,' said Admira at his studio in Malang in mid-September. A penciler is also a comic creator, but in the comic industry the artist is in charge of translating stories into visual comic works.
Admira feels proud of his books because several characters in the movie Hercules, starring among others Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, are based on the strips he made while under contract with Imaginary Friends Studio in Singapore.
However, he was disappointed to note that the storyline and intrigue in the film are different from those he portrayed in the comic books. 'Some people say my comics are easily translatable into motion pictures,' added the former storyboard artist for this advertising agency.
He has even handled orders from the other major US publishing firms, DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Admira is one of very few Indonesians who have proved capable of penetrating DC Comics.
'I'm now drawing several character guide poses of Superman against Batman,' revealed the Jakarta Arts Institute alumnus. The film Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice is due for release in 2016.
Previously, the artist, who was born in 1977, made illustrations for several Hollywood box office movies such as Transformers, The Dark Knight and Man of Steel. 'Character guides are illustrated concepts for actors' movements or style in their movies or for posters,' he said.
DC Comics has since 2010 been processing the comic New 52 by resetting all its super heroes in age and costume to suit the present generation and attract new readers. 'Such guides will be used for the new superhero pictures,' he explained.
Admira has recently also finished some turnarounds, which are design pictures of the front, rear and side views of several characters, mostly villains, including Lex Luthor, Harley Quinn and Joker. 'They're meant for use by other artists to create comics, action figures and toys,' he said.
He claims to enjoy his job very much because of the freedom given to him for his creations. DC Comics and Marvel Comics only provide general directives, leaving the rest of the work to the artist. He has given Captain America a one-star and striped costume with a belt. 'They were pleased and there was no problem,' he noted.
According to Admira, it's difficult to add to certain figures, like Thor, although he has handled DC characters including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Cat Woman, Iron Man and Black Widow.
With his increasing knowledge and experience, besides his skill as a penciler, Admira has also mastered coloring techniques as well as anatomical and body gesture concepts for comic characters. This has earned the father of two the position of art advisor to Tantra Komik in Bali, which is ready to go international.
'Some of those with limited technology have finally shown the courage to explore their local creativity, customs, arts and cultures and present them in attractive packages, because packaging is an important factor besides marketing,' he said of Bali's local initiative.
Yet he regrets that Indonesia's superheroes such as Gundala and Godam, respectively created by Hasmi and Wid NS, have failed to appear on the international scene.
'One of the reasons is that the owners of the figures aren't bold enough to introduce globally styled packages, as they remain stuck to original outlines in story and costume,' said the movie fan and film collector.
In addition, Admira referred to the difficulty for Indonesian comic illustrators to meet in a forum, another constraint to the efforts to popularize Indonesian comics abroad.
Admira's penciling fees range from US$25-50 for the low budget and $50-75 for the medium budget to more than $100 for the high budget per illustration. DC comics once paid him $1,200 for one character without any background.
'Fortunately we're now aided by computers, with the Internet and Skype technology, making the work easier and more efficient,' said the science-fiction buff, who works alongside four artists under the age of 30 at his studio, Royal Flush, in Malang.
At the studio measuring 2.5 square meters in a corner of his house, Admira is working to meet various orders including comics, illustrations and game cards, along with his four peers, Sedhayu Ardian, Denny Andrian, Daniel Franicolas and Pradipta Chandra.
Admira became interested in comics as a primary school student, when his father worked with a shipping firm and brought home comic books for him from abroad. He later learned to draw without formal instruction, inspired by the pictures in TV shows and movies such as Star Trek and Star Wars.
As a graduate in cinematography from the Jakarta Arts Institute in 1998, he joined several superhero design illustration competitions. The bespectacled man once emerged as champion in a contest for the character called Zenith, based on the story by Imansyah Lubis.
Entering the digital era, Admira's creative capability was further honed through practice with a computer mouse. At present he benefits from the Wacom Tablet, while making the most of online media via two fora, the Deviantart online portfolio and Facebook.
His offline seminars both at home and overseas made him known to Imaginary Friends Studio, Singapore. Later on he introduced his works to DC Comics in 2005 and Marvel Comics in 2010, leading to his current achievements.
