There are no capes and no superhero powers. A new generation of Indonesian comic writers attempt to redefine nationalism in their comics.

Two new comics '€” Komando Rajawali (Eagle Commando) and Bagas from Gatra Pustaka publisher '€” try to redefine the spirit of nationalism for young readers.

Both comics are set back in the days when the country was still fighting the Dutch. Their main characters are young fighters struggling for the country'€™s independence.

These characters are far from the superheroes that readers are used to seeing in other comics '€” these ones do not wear costumes nor have any superpowers.

The two comics'€™ storylines are almost identical. They follow a group of friends that fight against colonialism.

Komando Rajawali follows the characters of Panji, Alit, Ahong and Jarwo, four friends striving for the country'€™s freedom.

The creators, Edna Caroline and Thomdean, put these fictional characters into a real Indonesian historical setting during the era of the struggle for independence in the 1940s.

Edna said it took them some time to research all the historical details to make sure that the story delivered the facts of what was really happening during that period.

Meanwhile, Bagas focuses on the main character of Bagas '€” a member of Indonesian student army. The comic tells the story how Bagas and his friends fight against the Dutch.

The difference between Bagas and Komando Rajawali is that the former also includes fictional elements like monstrous enemies, which according to the writer, Chris Lie, spices up the plot.

Old collections: Jampang and Si Buta dari Gua Hantu (The Blind Man from the Ghost Cave) are two old comics about Indonesian superheroes.

Chris said Bagas is less violent, since it targets a younger audience.

Despite the differences, both comics want to show that nationalism is not necessarily about superheroes wearing costumes.

'€œIt can simply mean defending friends from your own country,'€ Edna said during a recent discussion for the launch of Komando Rajawali'€™s latest edition.

Both Komando Rajawali and Bagas have been published regularly in the past two years. The discussion marked the launch of Komando Rajawali'€™s fifth edition The Final Battle and Bagas'€™ third edition Rahasia Serdadu Siluman (Secrets of Monster Soldiers).

The latest edition of Komando Rajawali tells the story of Panji and friends and their contribution to the Indonesian Army'€™s historical March 1 attack in Yogyakarta.

Edna said the comic was the final edition because the contract with the publisher was only for five comics.

'€œBut I hope we can get an extension,'€ she said.

This explains a transition at the end of the comic, which takes readers to the current era, where old Panji hands the mission over to his grandson.

'€œThe future conflicts are no longer with the colonials but come from technology or stock markets,'€ Edna added.

Aspiring writers: (From left to right) Edna Caroline, Chris Lie and moderator Beng Rahadian listen to questions from audience during the launch of their comics.

Meanwhile, Bagas'€™ third edition brings up the encounter of Bagas with monster soldiers '€” a creation of the colonial power to help win the war. In this comic, Bagas finally finds his long lost father.

Story-wise, Chris said he had asked for more room for creativity to create the storylines.

'€œIn the previous comic, I created a fictional plot in which Bagas and friends find a Nazi submarine. Later I found out from the newspaper that the discovery was real. This excited me'€, he said.

 From the stories, Chris hopes that he can relate the values of nationalism to young readers.

It is obvious that both comics try to capture the spirit of nationalism through their characters who are struggling for Indonesia'€™s independence.

Looking back at the history of Indonesian comics, the theme of nationalism has been vaguely represented as most of the characters refer to American or Indian superheroes.

Classic Indonesian comics like Gundala Putra Petir (Gundala, the Son of Lightning) and Godam were adaptations of American comic superheroes Flash and Superman, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Mahabharata and Ramayana comics were derived from ancient Indian tales.

The original Indonesian comic may be represented by characters like Si Buta dari Gua Hantu (the Blind Man from the Ghost Cave) or Jampang, but they do not touch on nationalism because Indonesia as a country did not exist during their period.

This explains why presenting nationalistic issues in comics was a huge challenge for both Edna and Chris.

'€œNationalism is the big thesis question in Komando Rajawali,'€ she said.

Both Edna and Chris said the greatest challenge was to make the theme, after it was developed into stories that took place during the struggle for independence, relevant to young readers.

The initiator of the comic project, Bob Hasan, said he wanted readers to ultimately feel proud to be Indonesian after reading the comics.

'€œSo far, the appreciation shown by the market,'€ explains Tigor M Tanjung, '€œhas pretty much been demonstrated by Gatra Pustaka. Some editions have been re-printed because they sold out.'€

However, Chris, who has an international reputation as a comic writer and whose clients come from around the globe, said he didn'€™t really care about the sales because the most important thing was to deliver the values of nationalism to the young generation.

'€” Photos by JP/Ika Krismantari