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How GHOSTY'S COMIC went from adolescent doodles to viral satire phenomenon
With more than 88 million online views and 316,000 followers across social media platforms, GHOSTY'S COMIC is the little satirical engine that could.
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More than satire: Thanks to its online popularity, 'GHOSTY'S COMIC' has been developed into merchandise and brand partnerships over the years. (Courtesy of GHOSTY'S COMIC) (Courtesy of GHOSTY'S COMIC/Courtesy of GHOSTY'S COMIC)
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ith more than 88 million online views and 316,000 followers across social media platforms, GHOSTY'S COMIC is the little satirical engine that could.
Raden Fajar Hadria Putra, the comic book artist behind GHOSTY'S COMIC, knows a thing or two about how to turn life's realities – either the humdrum or the more pressing ones – into laughable satire. For instance, he learned that hilarity lies in humility, not in humiliation.
"One thing is for sure: Do not punch down on people," the 27-year-old comic book artist told The Jakarta Post.
"Never mock anyone and put their weakness on display in a frontal manner. For instance, there is satire out there where the artist ends up shaming their subject. That's the stuff that I always avoid."
Fajar’s crafted GHOSTY'S COMIC seems to have pulled off the nearly impossible feat. Thanks to his self-deprecating humor and his astute observation of life's realities, millions of followers and readers of GHOSTY'S COMIC have gotten to laugh with his off-the-wall characters as opposed to laughing at their absurdities – especially in a country where any form of satire can easily be mistaken for an offense.
Halcyon adolescence and quarter-life crisis
A Bandung native, the younger Fajar had been interested in all things comic books, the most memorable example being Japanese comic legend Fujiko F. Fujio's Doraemon. That said, it was another comic book that eventually threw him into the deep end of the comic-verse: Kazuki Takahashi-penned fantasy manga series, Yu-Gi-Oh!
