Fans of progressive Indonesian comedy won'€™t want to miss picking up a copy of the newly released sequel to 2011's hit comic Methal Pertiwi.

Methal Pertiwi '€”the tale of a heavy-metal obsessed action hero doing his best to do good in a universe filled with bizarre characters and happenings '€”

'€” is exactly the kind of comic book that the country needs.

Its irreverent humor and absurdity bends the hackneyed approach that plagues the majority of locally produced superhero comics.

Instead of going for the expected, not to mention archaic, clichés of those tales, the comic mixes its classically Indonesian visual style with niche humor and off-kilter action.

Like its predecessor, the sequel, entitled Methal Pertiwi: Wisata Kanuragan, was written by underground metal-head Sofyan Syarief.

However, original collaborator Aditya Saputra, who co-wrote the original comic under the name Adit Bujbunen Al Buse, did not take part, a parting of the ways somewhat glossed over by author and publishers alike.

Influenced by overtly dramatic metal acts from decades ago, such as Manowar, King Diamond, Alcatrazz and Accept, Sofyan describes the series as a personal project stemmed from his '€” and Aditya'€™s '€” love of cheesy-metal apparatus like leather pants and vests.

Sofyan took inspiration from the rock '€œgangs'€ he formed back in high school, before he went on to work at international comic company Cyber Optics. He is currently an art teacher.

Influenced by weighty names of the comic world, including Ganesh T.H., Djair and Judah Noor, as well as globally praised names of the entertainment and comic industry like Walt Disney, John Buscema and Frank Cho, Sofyan's black-and-white creation stars unlikely-looking hero Jago Rockk '€” whose name is a play on the Indonesian for '€œChampion rocker'€ '€” and his tiger sidekick.

This sequel finds Jago Rockk adventuring around the city, on the way to marry the love of his rather quirky life. The previous adventure had him roaming around more traditional landscapes.

Sofyan said he chose the city setting this time as a way to challenge himself.

'€œIt also opened up the opportunity to write more characters in. I wanted the readers to be transported somewhere else besides mountain and jungles. I hope the setting of this book becomes a source of escapism for readers to momentarily forget where they actually are,'€ explained Sofyan.

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According to the author, the humor that exists in the comic was not something he had to manufacture; his recounting of what an exciting superhero should do drew from his own experience.

'€œI am only presenting my point of view about things that have happened to me, such as being stopped by a preman [thug], or the first few times I went to cities outside of Jakarta and Java, or those times I saw a pretty lady who caught my eye. I just wrap all those experiences into a fantasy world,'€ Sofyan said.

Those reading the comic for the first time may find the black-and-white illustration '€” reminiscent of old Indonesian movie posters '€” challenging to wade through. But after a while, the hopping rhythm and constant quips '€” a very Indonesian trait '€” will start to make sense, at least within the book's absurd universe.

'€œIn comparison to the first one, this one took more brain-tinkering,'€ said Sofyan. '€œThe focus is divided between different characters in the story, and I cut down on pop-culture references. Instead I inserted more action sequences.'€

Sofyan can't help himself though. '€œI also inserted some personal music quips in there, to set the mood. I am probably the only one who gets them,'€ he laughed.

'€” Photos Courtesy of Sofyan Syarief

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