The Rise of Comic Book Enthusiasts in Malang

Comics have always been playing a major part in the entertainment and culture departments
in Indonesia. Now with the existence of the internet, people can easily share their comic artworks
and connect with fellow comic artists and artists alike. Some dedicated comic artists also formed a
small community for fellow comic artists and comic book enthusiasts alike to join in and discuss
topics about comic books or any other forms of art. Some of these small communities can be seen in
the city of Malang such as Perakit Komik and MICA (Malang Illustrators & Comic Artists). These
communities often organize art discussions, events, and any other similar activities to celebrate
comic artists, illustrators, and any other kind of artists in Malang.

With some coordination and teamwork, some of these communities began collaborating
with each other to hold a comic exhibition. This exhibition was called “Kera Komik Ngalam” and was held on 25-27 October 2024, in an art exhibit called Artenspace, Malang. Prior to the exhibition, a comic competition themed “Local Heroes” was also arranged for students within Malang city to participate in which the top ten comic artworks will be put on display alongside other artworks in the exhibition. They also had invited four legendary figures in the comic communities to participate as judges for the competition and do talk shows. They are known as Agus Wiyono, Bambang P Eroest, Kriswanto, and Aji Prasetyo. All of them have tons of experiences in the comic book world in Indonesia. Some experienced comic book creators from Perakit Komik were also participating to do a live comic drawing. Onthe first day of the exhibition in which the opening of the exhibition had started, the exhibition was organized inside the basement of the Artenspace. Artenspace was known and still is a perfect place for art communities to gather. Because of that, this place had been structured to make it easy for such exhibitions to be organized. In the afternoon, a group of experienced comic artists from Perakit Komik began preparing to do live comic drawing on the second floor, on the balcony The comic was going to be drawn on a huge canvas. The very process of the live drawing was also intriguing as it perfectly showed how comic books are usually made.

Onthe second day of the exhibition, in the afternoon, a group of people from MICA were
doing a live comic drawing together with other people who were willing to participate. It was not a
complete drawing of a comic, but instead they were just instructed to draw a storyboard of a comic
about their mothers. Following that activity, a well-known comic artist, Aji Prasetyo, began sharing
his insight on his experiences in the comic book world in Indonesia.

Onthe third day, Bambang P Eorest visited the exhibition to share his insights on his
experiences followed by competition award and closing of the exhibition.

Overall, this exhibition was held to celebrate and show appreciation towards the comic
creator communities in Malang. The competition was beneficial as a means to motivate the comic
artists in Malang to share their ideas and make comics especially when there were many sentiments
that making comics cost too much time and resources that can be used for other more profitable
activities. But, since this exhibition had brought a lot of insight to its participants about the comic
industry in Indonesia, it would be helping the growth of comic book creators in Indonesia, especially city of Malang.

By Muhammad Robin Al Ubaidah Arsya – 2440102173