The Appreciation of Comics as a Medium for the Recollection of Historical Events of the Past

Abstract

This article praises a particular style of comic illustration found in recent album format comic book publications in Indonesia. These comics feature fictional stories that stand alone and are completed in one or a short series. However, the backgrounds of the stories are inspired by past events. The aim is to revive the intricacies of historical events or capture the atmosphere of locations in the past. Two examples of such comics are mentioned: “Katumbiri Regenboog” by Yaya Riyadin, and “Laosam 1892” by Toni Masdiono. Both comics are based on the indirect recuperation of past events or places. The style is willing to evoke the nostalgia in reader’s mind through its predominantly black-and-white ink drawings and shading decoration techniques. The article suggests that the art of comics and esthetic appreciation can serve as a form of memory, allowing readers perception to experience past events through the medium of comics. The research method employed is art-based in nature, formalist involving qualitative observations akin to library research.

1. Introduction

Comics are a popular pictorial narrative medium and have various names or terms coined in different parts of the world. In Indonesia, there is a well-known term for the medium of comics, namely “Cergam.” This term was once a generalization to refer to the publishing of all kinds of comics in Indonesia, whilst it is also an inclusive term to identify Indonesian comics. For this chapter, the terms “cergam” and “comics” will be used interchangeably, where “cergam” will be an inclusive construct or concept to emphasize that “Cergam” is Indonesian comics. The term “Cergam” contains the duality of stories (cerita) and pictures (gambar), or illustrated stories (cerita bergambar), which can also be called picture stories (cerita gambar). The use of the term “cerita gambar” or abbreviated as “cergam,” was coined by cergamis, as the comic artist was called, known as Zam Nuldyen (1922 - 1988), intends to indicate the twofoldness of this medium of visual storytelling.

If we refer to the research of psychobiologist Roger W. Sperry (1913-1994), the initiator of the brain duality theory in the late 1960s, or later the works of neuropsychiatrist Boris Cyrulnik, that it is more impressed by images than by writing [1], then comics as a verbal-visual medium are a significant medium in our society’s culture. The reason to study visual images is because images are everywhere and we voluntarily encounter images everywhere without being forced to read them most of the time [2]. Comics, as a hybrid art form that combines text and images, provide artists with the opportunity to create new and meaningful narratives within stories. Text and image need not be considered as two distinct medium entities, but are instead viewed as two essential sides of a presentation where the interweaving of text and image contributes to the creation of a narrative in an entirely unique way.

Narratives in comics are created through the interaction between text and images. In the comics medium, text and image should be considered together, not as two separate entities. Just as the line is an ambiguous concept that can be read as both text and image, writing itself can be seen as a kind of image that is, in essence, made up of lines. It is the viewer who creates the narrative in the space between image and text in what is essentially the “gutter of the comics.” The human imagination that then reads two (or more) separate pictorial panels and turns them into one idea, cognitively connects the text and image (if both are juxtaposed or simultaneous) of one panel with the text and image in the next panel. The viewer in this specific and unique way creates an emotional and intellectual connection, through the imagination of the viewer who reads the comic image, the memory of the comic artist is reconstructed, and the image of an empathetic memorable atmosphere is re-presented in the midst of the story. Therefore, comics are essentially interactive-participatory in that the viewer’s involvement transforms the work into a coherent whole [3]. Comics employ a language that fosters reflective reading, prompting readers to concentrate on the graphic elements in order to fully comprehend the story [4].

The two book titles that we discuss here are first, titled Katumbiri Regenboog (2022) authored and illustrated by Yaya Riyadin, self-published under the publisher’s name Grafiti Indah Karya located in Tangerang Selatan (South Tangerang), Indonesia, and second titled Lao Sam 1892 (2022) authored and illustrated by Toni Masdiono published by PT Wira Cerita Nusantara (WiN Comics) located in Jakarta Timur (East Jakarta), Indonesia. Both comics depict fictional stories inspired by past events or places.

Yaya Riayadin’s Katumbiri (Figure 1) is set in both present-day Bandung and the early twentieth century. It tells the story of a character named Ganesha, a university graduate who is continuing his studies in the Netherlands. In there, Ganesha meets Amelia, who is also from Bandung. They are harassed by thugs while cycling with Amelia to visit the house of a professor who studies the history of Bandung. Ganesha was assigned to research the Cimalati bridge in Pasirmelati village, Ciburial area, which was built in the early twentieth century and technically ahead of its time. History records that the bridge was built by a young native named Putra Martanegara. The big question arises because at that time in the Indies, there were no technical schools, such schools were only inaugurated in 1920. When Ganesha returned to Bandung, he immediately searched for data about the Cimalati bridge, which is when he was suddenly thrown back in time, to the Dutch Colonial era in 1915, and became involved in conflict and romance with a local girl. This historically-set comic is very interesting, through its panels the reader is invited to travel from the atmosphere of the city of Delf, the Netherlands, and also from the northern Bandung area in 1915, which at that time was still a small village with lush forests [5].

Figure 1.

Yaya Riyadin, 2022. Katumbiri Regenboog, published by Grafitti Indah Karya, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia. (Source copyright 2022 Yaya Riyadin).

Toni’s Laosam comics (Figure 2) are labeled as “silent comics” but this does not mean that they contain no written words, although there are no sound effects that are visualized through graphic iconic images. Laosam still has a slight reliance on text, though only on the introductory page of a chapter, and some text box captions that provide a brief explanation of the situation on the page being drawn. On some other pages, a minimum text also appears within the image such as in the announcement section of posters, banners, or the names of stalls and shops.

Figure 2.

Toni Masdiono, 2022. LAOSAM 1892, silent comics published by WiN comics, Jakarta, Indonesia. (Source copyright 2022 Toni Masdiono).

Laosam 1892 is the second in a series of silent comics by Toni Masdiono after the first debut Karimata 1890. Recalling historical events of the past is not entirely appropriate for Toni Masdiono’s comic which tells the story of a fictional pirate and Chinese traders, who may have existed and lived during the Dutch colonial era, but the time and atmosphere depicted with all the pirates props and locations are reminiscent of historical events. Toni’s Karimata and Laosam comics are historical fiction that tells the life of pirates in the Malacca Strait in the first part while the second part is about the life of trade with fictional characters and characters, yet the detailed depiction of Toni’s comics reminds us of history during the Dutch colonial period. The images are realistic and accurate to the places and atmosphere of the past. In comparison, Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s novel “Bumi Manusia” tells the life of Minke, an HBS student (Hogere Burgerschool - general secondary education in the Dutch East Indies era for Dutch, European, Chinese, and indigenous elites) and a descendant of Javanese priyayi or nobility during the Dutch East Indies colonial period. Like Toni Masdiono Karimata’s comics, the novel belongs to the historical fiction genre. However, Karimata’s comic depicts the life of a pirate with several silat scenes that use Kali silat during the Majapahit kingdom. Karimata also does not represent one of the ethnic groups in the archipelago and the costumes shown in the comic are a mixture of various ethnic groups in Indonesia [6]. In contrast, Lao Sam tells the story of Chinese culture and social and political life during the Dutch colonial period. The comic highlights the social, class, and political conflicts of the time.

Laosam comic tells the story of a small town on the coast of Java that is known as Little China and because the area is surrounded by many old teak forests, it gets the name Lao Sam. Another name for the area dates back to the Majapahit era, when it was ruled by Bhre Lasem and since the arrival of Admiral Zheng He, Lasem has become a major trade link with China. The life of the Lasem community, consisting of Javanese and Chinese, has been harmonious for hundreds of years. During the war against the Dutch colonizers in 1750, the Lasem community united against the invasion of the Dutch, under East India Company soldier, Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie a.k.a. VOC army. The war is known as the Yellow War. Aside from being a trade route for spices and batik since the British conquered Java, Lasem was also secretly the main location for opium traffic for the eastern region of the archipelago. The comic’s story takes place in early 1892, the year of the Water Dragon, when a young entrepreneur tries to seize the opium trade commodity from a senior businessman who has been a resident of Lao Sam for generations. This trade friction becomes a big wave that tends to become a bloody war, which disturbs the peaceful life of the city of Lasem which has long been well preserved [7].

2. Representation of visual memories and histories in comics

How history itself unfolds is gradually influenced by how history itself is revealed, and thus knowledge of history changes and advances. This changes the extent to which the stories of history are understood with varying degrees of “accuracy,” as we understand the human race itself in representing the past through stories that further shape our understanding of our history, whether it is remembered or perhaps forgotten as it unfolds. Here we agree that there is such a thing as events in the “past” that can be known through physical things that have been discovered or recently rediscovered. Therefore, various physical artifacts, including written or painted records can have the possibility of describing past events, an ever-changing entity we call “history,” which consists of various records of individual investigations and or experiences reflected by individuals, these can be fragments of a whole or different collective history [8].

The term “accuracy” in the case of comics should not be understood in the sense of exactitude, but rather in terms of how well the comic succeeds in creating an imaginative moment in the present that symbolizes or represents an event in the past. Indeed, how well a comic recreates a representation of the past can be seen in the way it allows us to “see” and “sense” things that cannot be seen in real-time. The text and images serve the story where the comic artist attempts to express the qualities of past events in pictures and words to present to the reader memories and some of their personal experiences, but he does not over-dramatize them. Comics can serve as therapy in a sense; where it can serve as a mindful release of memories. Visualizing memory repositions the past in a new, modern context, and comics allow it to remain present. Documentary comics illustrate a new way of presenting historical narratives. It provides the reader with as much accurate information as possible. Even if it is not based on first-hand experience, but on historical accounts, the past and the present coexist through comics [9]. Below is an example of the Indonesian people’s struggle against the Dutch who wanted to take away their independence. Figure 3, comic book titled “Seizing the City of Struggle,” a full-color comic in oil painting style, which at that time was the city of Yogyakarta in Central Java, where it tells the story of a general attack on 1 March 1949 to show the existence of the Indonesian Republic Army which was ready to defend the independence of the Indonesian nation that had been proclaimed in 1945.

Figure 3.

Marsoedi, and Wid NS, 1985. Merebut Kota Perjuangan (Serangan Umum 1 Maret 1949) seizing the City of struggle (general offensive 1 march 1949), published by Sinar Asih Mataram, Jakarta.

Through its plasticity, the comics form supports narratives of remembrance that do not conform to rigid discourses around frameworks of historical study, instead showing evidence of consistency, gaps, and repetition that help to explore the complexity of narratives of memory and experience. Remembrance is reconstructed to help shape memory, where memory and narrative in comic books share a fluidity of form that contrasts with more rigid discourses around the past ([10], p. 138).

Incomplete documentary photography is usually seen in war photos or transition of power conditions such as the documentary photos of the Mendur brothers, which captured many of President Soekarno’s activities including photos of Soekarno reading the independence speech and Soekarno’s daily life. Only the photos are not made with photo storytelling techniques or photo essays. Similar to war photographer Robert Capa, whose photographs depict the tragic nature of war and the atmosphere of war, but different from photo essay specialists such as Eugene Smith who recorded fishermen affected by mercury poisoning in Minamata. Eugene Smith’s photo essays will depict a sequence of stories protesting against environmental destruction and the resulting deaths of many fishermen. In The Photographer’scomics, the incompleteness or inability to build a complete story from the photo collection files alone also occurred in the limited collection of photos taken by Levefre in Afghanistan, which ultimately required illustrator Guilbert to work by combining photos with illustrations to build a documentary story in Afghanistan. Guilbert’s illustrations were made to fill in the gaps between the photographs, thus creating the comic sequences.

Nabizadeh cites Lustiger-Thaler’s view emphasizes the significance of a critical interlocutor in shaping the meaning of the past in the present. An example of this is in the esthetic style of the comic “The Photographer,” where Guibert’s illustrations mimic the harsh environment in which the story takes place and in photographer Lefevre’s reconstructed memories of his time in Northern Afghanistan ([10], p. 139). The comic’s color scheme employs a muted ligne claire, a style commonly used in Franco-Belgian comics. However, the bold lines in the artwork effectively convey the urgency of the depicted danger. Guibert asserts that the story accurately portrays the harsh environment of life in a difficult country. The closely tied images effectively convey a sense of urgency to the mission while also being sensitive to the narrative ([10], p. 141). The use of mixed media and multimodal storytelling, such as the juxtaposition of photographic contact sheets with drawn panels, raises thought-provoking questions about the narrative of testimony and the transmission of memory in comic journalism. The story combines photography and illustration in a documentary framework, inviting readers to reflect on the relationship between the representation of memory in documentary comics and how testimony occurs in graphic reportage (Figure 4).

Figure 4.

Guibert, Lefevre, Lemercier, 2009 the photographer: Into war-torn Afghanistan with doctor without Borders. Published by first second, New York.

A unique feature of The Photographer is the use of contact sheets and drawn panels as elements that complement the narrative. A sense of time in progress, a lasting trace of movement through space, a clear authentication of photography’s claim to transparent representation of reality ([10], p. 142). The term “contact sheet” itself suggests an animate - a point where material recorded images in time come to life as they meet their first expression. Furthermore, the use of photography alongside hand-drawn illustrations is also known as plurimedial, as suggested by Bettina Egger called The Photographer as a plurimedial comics, which means through comics drawings and photographs represent the photojournalist Didier Lefevres memories of his journey in Afghanistan team up with doctors without borders in 1986. Otherwise with some comics generally redrawing from photographs or referencing and modifying from photographs. Phillipe Marion asserts that Roland Barthes’ concept of complementarity between image and text applies to comics. In this concept, images, photographs, and texts complement each other on a diegetic level or the story-world ([10], p. 66). It asserts that the embodied essence of the hand-drawn and hand-written comic is distinct from the photographic image. Comics provide a unique way of accessing documentary material through deliberate, old-school techniques that inscribe the creator’s body into the image ([11], p. 68). This feature is attributed to the ability of comics to offer a different perspective on the material, showcasing the creator’s expertise and authority. The archiving mode in this plurimedial form confidently challenges the conflicting relationship between the comic’s drawing, or illustrated, and the photograph, and their respective truth claims ([11], p. 75).

Comics offer a unique and engaging way to experience stories that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and backgrounds. Comics, and more recently graphic novels, are increasingly recognized as cultural artifacts that open a unique window not only on mass or popular culture but also on social, cultural, and political processes. The industry has a rich history globally, with some regions having a more established presence than others. Some regions have developed more advanced comic industries that reflect the particular historical processes of their respective national experiences ([12], pp. 3-4).

3. Comics storytelling memory and nostalgia as cultural artefacts

Comics are a unique cultural form that combines text with graphics in distinctive and sophisticated ways. Through this combination, comics have enabled the development of visual techniques that present memory and reminiscence in engaging and impactful ways. This interaction between memory and comics is significant in engaging with both the past and present. Indeed, comics are a powerful tool for storytelling and cultural expression. Comics provide a unique platform for visually connecting memories across time and space. Such as Figure 5, we witness a place with a building and local people’s activity on their market and a praying temple, which is drawn carefully by the comics artist. Comics and graphic novels are powerful memory devices, distinct from other media such as photographs, memorials, or museums. They uniquely engage readers, eliciting and mobilizing memories that differ from those evoked by film or battle reenactments. By providing a personal and immersive experience, comics and graphic novels offer a friendly and confident approach to exploring the past ([12], p. 5). Comics are an incredibly valuable tool for teaching and explaining historical events, especially in cases where there is a lack of collective responsibility to remember.

Figure 5.

Toni Masdiono, 2022. LAOSAM 1892, silent comics published by WiN comics, Jakarta, Indonesia. (p. 35, p. 49) (Source copyright 2022 Toni Masdiono).

They provide a medium for expressing experiences that might otherwise be forgotten or remain isolated memories. It is important to remember that comics can offer unique perspectives and insights into history that may not be found in traditional academic sources. Since comics do not necessarily use rigorous research methods grounded in historical scholarship, they can communicate alternative versions of factual events. ([13], pp. 188-189). Comics create a space through the graphic trace that is both intersubjective and memorializing. Memory in comics fluctuates between the material and immaterial or psychological spaces, echoing the dynamics of the medium. Additionally, comics artists propose multifaceted, interlinked approaches for apprehending comics memory through styles and archives ([14], p. 281).

In accordance with Smolderen, style embodies idiosyncrasy, tapping into the memories of the artist and reader while conveying specific mnemonic information. The text simultaneously draws on the reader’s memories of comics, the artist’s memories, and individual memories, while also conveying specific mnemonic information. Comics drawing brings together aspects of both oral and print culture, making drawing an embodied practice that also participates in the performative logic of the repertoire, while at the same time engaging with the archive of existing graphic culture ([14], p. 283). Memory is “stylized” in comics in particular ways, ranging from stylization through drawing and narrative styles such as nostalgic or retro, to how memory is stylized through reprints, databases, and other archival practices ([14], p. 284).

The comic books discuss in this article incorporate historical backgrounds into their stories. Through combining text and image – story and pictorial images both artists create a narrative that brings to life memories of the past. Although the stories are fictional, they are based on factual events that have happened somewhere. The distinctive linework of the comic illustrations in Figures 6 and 7 shows Yaya’s comic expertise in recreating the situations and nuances of the past that are visible in the present. The realistic and naturalistic approach seems to be the illustration style of choice to create an atmosphere of reminiscence.

Figure 6.

Yaya Riyadin, 2022. Katumbiri Regenboog, published by Grafitti Indah Karya, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia. (p. 8, p. 23) (Source copyright 2022 Yaya Riyadin).

Figure 7.

Yaya Riyadin, 2022. Katumbiri Regenboog, published by Grafitti Indah Karya, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia. (p. 41, p. 49) (Source copyright 2022 Yaya Riyadin).

The authors and comic artists in both comics use some of the names of real historical figures for their characters, but the stories and roles are changed to be fictional. This kind of narrative strategy is often used by comic storytellers so that when a comic artist conducts a study of an event location, the main goal is just to strengthen the impression of that place so that comic readers can feel more realistic. From photography that records events, recorded images of events can evoke nostalgia and capture memories more powerfully than text or pictorial imagination. When it is applied as a reference for drawing comics, it could help to retain the memory of reading them while retracing the scenes depicted in the pages of the comics, which become uniquely recreated as a kind of nostalgia. Nostalgia is a common condition that can be said to have been felt by most people. Nostalgia has more to do with time and space, which are powerful phenomena that are completely irreversible. Complicating the contemporary notion of nostalgia, a little is the notion of spatiotemporal distance, or one’s temporal distance, from something - a place, a moment, a condition, and an experience - that may be difficult to recall or repeat. There is sometimes a transition of feelings and thoughts from the pleasurable sensation of reminiscence to the rather sad realization of an unbridgeable distance from the past and it comes in a variety of shades ([15], p. 18).

Another concept of nostalgia centers on the opposition between personal experience and collective experience, ranging from minimal recollections originating at least from intimate childhood memories to ubiquitous references to media present in the cultural milieu in which one lives. Widespread exposure to mass media implies that each individual’s memories will more or less carry with them elements that are closely related to memories held by other people as well. Nostalgia can be felt in moments experienced individually and/or together which then remain and are embedded in collective memory in the act of thinking about the past. Nostalgia is the longing for an idealized past, whether positive or negative, associated with a particular place, object, person, or event, that may not be experienced in person ([15], p. 19). In this case, comics are collaborative texts between the author/artist’s imagination and the reader, who recreates or imagines the feelings or memories that the artist wants to evoke (Figure 8) ([15], pp. 21-22).

Figure 8.

Toni Masdiono, 2022. LAOSAM 1892, silent comics published by WiN comics, Jakarta, Indonesia. (pp. 84-85) (Source copyright 2022 Toni Masdiono).

4. Appreciation through the analysis of formal aspects

From an esthetic perspective, there is a plausible phenomenological view that no form of perception can fully capture the content of an object, because the object is only partially represented and its meaning goes beyond what is perceived. Nonetheless, it could be argued that a single visual perception cannot fully grasp an object completely, since everything is present through “adumbrates” (foreshadowing) and its meaning extends in the “horizon” of vision far beyond what is seen ([16], p. 564). By this type of Husserlian phenomenological insight, we further articulate it with the terms “lack” and “excess” that characterize all intuitive readings of visually perceived things, by a “ack” we mean what entirely depends on the giving side (givenness) of the perceiver and an “excess” is on the intentional side of the perceiver ([16], p. 565). Since the lack is on the side of the perceiver and abundance is on the side of the phenomena that arise from visible things, the reader is required to notice the intentional correlation between things in the way they appear to us and the way we perceive these appearances. This interplay between lack and excess that characterizes the intentional correlation between the perceiver (the reader) and the perceived (the comics storytelling). This is to emphasize that we can comprehend more than what is initially shown to us, by paying close attention to the abundance of matter. By paying attention to the beauty that radiates from the appearance of the images and paying attention to the details of what they can tell us about the true nature of things. It is not just the same as pretending to see things individually ([16], p. 567). In short, the perceiver might lack the ability to perceive, while the appearing phenomena are excessively rich. To improve perception, pay attention to the intentional correlation between the way things appear and the way they are apprehended. The intentional correlation between a perceiver and a thing perceived involves an interplay of lack and excess. It is important to notice the excess in what is given and perceive more than what is actually given. We should also attend to the shining beauty of appearances and what they can tell us about the true nature of things. It is not the same as perceiving the nature of things.

Discussing comics is certainly inseparable from seeing the important role of the form of the comic itself. The form is not a neutral container for the content of the medium. The form shapes the content and conveys interpretation and feeling. The form of a comic is made up of material such as subject matter and theme, which are shaped and transformed by the overall composition, including plot structure and stylistic patterns ([17], p. 71). We will focus more or less on formal aspects of the sample foremost on the relation between mise en scène (or staging) and the formal analysis of pictures.

The terms mise en scène and framing come from other art forms such as theater, photography, and cinema. Mise en scène is a term for the displays illustrated in the text of a play for example, and looking for the best way to portray this material for the audience to see, how best to stage it, such as what backgrounds to use, where to place actors, what props to use, and so on ([18], p. 19). Mise en scène and framing are also very important to the reading experience, and in comics, there is no actual scene being recorded by the camera. There are no actors or objects placed in front of the camera lens. There is no camera at all, just a comic artist suggesting with dots, lines, shapes, and figures drawn or painted in context and placed in panel-to-panel framing on the pages of comics. What we mean by mise en scène in comics here concerns the representation of a scene by a specific organization of its virtual but figurative elements such as decoration, properties, and characters ([18], p. 25). Mise en scène and shooting angles can greatly influence the way viewers perceive a scene. The only way to read the diegetic world or story world for a comic reader is none other than observing the pictorial world presented by the artist. Readers have no other choice but to rely solely on the information presented by the comic pages depicted by comic artists.

The nature of images in comics is distinct from that of photo-realistic images in live-action films. Comic images are static, two-dimensional, and highly stylized, which draws attention to their handmade quality. Unlike real-life or photographic images, lines are very prominent in comic images. A common habit of hand-drawn pictures will leave out unnecessary details and pronounce telling characteristics by means of perceptual factors such as simplicity of shape, orderly grouping, clear overlapping, distinction of figure and ground, and deformation. Distilled images, or stylized drawings are indeed less visually analogous to the reality we perceive out there, but thousands of years of human experience - art have proven that it can be very effective in capturing the essence of an object or person, their characteristics simplified to be quickly understood by the viewer, a drawing that is literally and figuratively “signed” ([17], p. 72). The counter-lines clearly fix the main characters and objects, in addition to extensively nervous hatching and cross-hatching which make the images vibrate with movement. Furthermore, the graphic styles as depicted in Figure 9, suggest experiences and feelings through their nonverbal qualities. It can be a tiresome task for a cartoonist to draw the same scene from the same perspective panel after panel, this is why in comics rather simplified images are quite common and why the background can disappear for several panels. The staging of elements from the written scene, from a single scene, scene changes, and scenes details the various decisions and artistic choices of the comic artist involved in realizing the scene for reading. The situation can be complicated when the comic artist is choosing whether to take the embodiment in an increasingly realistic direction from realism or in a symbolic and figurative direction ([18], p. 19). And the choices made by the comic artist in terms of costume, setting, and character expression are entirely controlled and deliberate. Where the image is displayed in various aspects depending on how the comic artist sees it, it only displayed through stylistic choices and framing an opportunity to share the artist’s mode of seeing ([18], p. 25).

Figure 9.

Yaya Riyadin, 2022. Katumbiri Regenboog, published by Grafitti Indah Karya, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia. (p. 48, p. 53) (Source copyright 2022 Yaya Riyadin).

By using formal analysis describes not only the various techniques but also understands their role in the visual narrative and how they attempt to communicate information. One thing comics cannot have in common with film or animation, that film can easily do but comics cannot, is getting the words in comics to sound and be heard, the reader never knows exactly what the characters sound like, and comics reader has to pretend to pronounce and make a sound play by themselves. That is why the sound visualizes into text such as DEZ! and BYUR! likewise designed in Figure 10, for the reader to imagine a hitting/kicking sound alike, and water splashes. Comics compositions are not shown only in a single frame or square screen such as film or animation movies. Comics need sequences in order to have a narrative, sequences that organize spatial and temporal relationships within a narrative. Their placement on the page is based on the arrangement of multiple panels in a systemic grid layout, referred to as tabular organization. This is very important in comics, because with organized panels, it allow the comic artist to manipulate the storyline of the illustrated narrative. In some cases, there are comics that are primarily a verbal content delivery system with less lengthy images [19].

Figure 10.

Yaya Riyadin, 2022. Katumbiri Regenboog, published by Grafitti Indah Karya, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia (p. 54, p. 55) (Source copyright 2022 Yaya Riyadin).

As far as the visual arts covered by the term “realism” are concerned, this term restrictively denotes the nineteenth century artistic style, which was called realistic for the first time in art history, and this was done in order to draw a line between itself and its idealistic opposite ([20], p. 6). The term is synonymous with naturalism to refer to the endeavor of reproducing perceived external reality. The so-called realist tendency has existed throughout the history of art since ancient times. By realism in this art-world sense, we understand any attempt at a precise depiction of visible reality in painting, sculpture, and graphic arts. Furthermore, realism is not about what real things look like, but what the reality of things is, whereas the art presents not reality but truth. It is the pursuit of reality. The interest is not in representing the complete reality (depiction of reality) in all its details, but the “essential” representation, the “truth” about reality where concrete reality must always be taken as the point of departure ([20], p. 11). As photorealist painters play with reality, it is reflected in their works where the point of departure is not reality itself, but the indirect reality of the photograph used as reference. Comics artists copy the photographs not to be claimed representing an objective truth, but as deliberate starting points in the sense of dealing with reality for depicting the situation of a historical event in their comics story world.

The story world of comics often recognized as a narrative world or diegetic world. Narratives (diegesis) in comic visualizations are copies of natural objects, which they also use varying degrees of imitation in telling, it moves away from copies and proximity to natural objects toward mimesis or visuality. The contemporary usage defines mimesis as “showing” and diegesis as “telling”. Diegesis is not just narration, but also the comprehension of the world being narrated. Nonetheless, mimesis is not just a visual imitation, but also encompasses the style, mode, and degree of imitation being portrayed. In comics, however, more contemporary definitions must be used. Diegesis is the narrative world established by the comic text in accordance with ideas set forth in ([18], p. 77). In comics characters seem to do both mimetic gestures and act in service of the narrative simultaneously, and depiction of a character trying to do the thing within their world. Mimesis in comics has come to mean “showing” rather than “telling.” Comics characters are therefore a mise en scène paradox, they are the staging and the staged, we can understand comics as a translucent form, they show and tell and perform the same function in the system of representation as a realization of intersubjects ([18], p. 78). Comic artists may have full control over the images they create, which may have a certain set of intended meanings. However, they cannot control readers’ intertextual experiences or the inferences they bring to the reading ([18], p. 29).

Comics include narrative and pictorial properties. The narrative properties are connected to the stories that comics tell, while the pictorial properties are connected to the visual and graphical elements ([19], p. 140). A scene includes more than just panels. While a panel has the potential to be the smallest component of a scene, it can also extend to an entire unit of dramatic action or establish a setting. The page, as seen in Figure 11, like the panel is only part of the overall story. It is important to consider all the other panels, their position on the page, and their place as part of a larger artifact. There is a sense that each panel encapsulates a narrated world that persists beyond its boundaries ([18], p. 27). The resulting effect of reality is one of a general scenic setting punctuated by close-up shots that are particularly detailed. The sequence of images drawn creates meaning and impression by connecting images that have similar depictions of movement, mass, and size. This can be recognized by the viewer as connected. Images can be understood even if background details and marks indicating objects in the composition are left unclear or incomplete. However, it is important to note that it is the act of looking at the rest of the image and the obvious parts that makes this understanding possible; as shown in Figure 12 readers can establish a sense of space by recognizing linear perspective depth cues, being aware of the virtual space beyond the panel boundaries, and looking for overlaps to connect the fragments. Contiguous spaces can be constructed even without possessing all the necessary visual information ([18], pp. 33-34).

Figure 11.

Yaya Riyadin, 2022. Katumbiri Regenboog, published by Grafitti Indah Karya, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia. [p. 82, p. 83] (Source copyright 2022 Yaya Riyadin).

Figure 12.

Yaya Riyadin, 2022. Katumbiri Regenboog, published by Grafitti Indah Karya, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia (p. 90, p. 83) (Source copyright 2022 Yaya Riyadin).

The comics field is entirely additive, starting from nothing and then adding graphical elements that become signs conveying meaning. The images depicted are often imaginative, varying between descriptive and photographic, and may be based on reference material, but are always rooted in the imagination. Decorations may always be perceptually visible, but they do not have to be narratively visible. Décor in comics mise en scène scene are elements that emerge and fade away without affecting the flow of the narrative and it is not a necessity for them to be part of the narrative. It is a matter of stylistic convenience of the image caused by the artist rendering and re-rendering the drawn background. As mentioned previously, comics do not always depict spatio-temporal story worlds that are analogous to our world or similar to cinematic representations of it. Faced with the physical flatness of comics, the artist endeavors to find a way of depicting space that has depth, and the way in which this is presented is due to the fact that comics are a two-dimensional medium. Comic artists use abstraction techniques creatively to present diegetic space and location, which can signal important information to the reader/viewer. This can range from unmarked paper to photorealism in terms of detail, indicating the depth of the narrative in the comic world ([18], p. 37).

In comics, there exists a diegetic world that is perceived by the characters, however, not all aspects of this world can be conveyed to the reader/viewer. Whereas there is a graphic world experienced by the reader/viewer that is intentionally by the artist and seen by us, the reader. Such ambiguity “designates” an esthetic practice of expressing a textual disclosure onto the “stage” of the comic page, and in this way establishes itself at the intersection of the interpretation of a text (the narrated story) and its artistic realization (the visual narrative). The artistic realization built into the comics page provides an important amount of information, which the reader then compiles with other images across the page in what is ultimately referred to as “reading comics.” Every detail that gives us an understanding of the world and presents us with action is a cumulative system of visual staging that we construct through the experience of reading comics. Comics oscillate from panel to panel (or even page to page) and can be read at any speed, as shown by the fighting scene above in Figure 13. Every aspect of the fighting scene can be understood through a visual breakdown that takes into account all the elements that are presented in detail. Readers can choose to pause to look at the details of the fight, or quickly turn the page to see who wins the fight.

Figure 13.

Toni Masdiono, 2022. LAOSAM 1892, silent comics published by WiN comics, Jakarta, Indonesia. (pp. 102-103) (Source copyright 2022 Toni Masdiono).

Illustrations in comics are often seen as amazing when readers find that the images are detailed close to the actual object. What is often of concern is the illustration of the background and scenery of the “scene” that takes place in the story. Whether it is a panoramic view of a place to the details of a historical room from a certain era. Although in the process of reading comics, comic readers tend not to pay attention for a long time at the time of reading/reading for the first time, people generally tend to ignore the background. However, to be able to evoke an atmosphere or mood, to feel the atmosphere of the place, the depiction or illustration of the background and the objects in it becomes very important to pay close attention to. Feeling the atmosphere of the place is related to how to feel in a place or feel the presence/feel in the location where the events are being told or the narrative is being told through the guidance of words and images in comics. The challenge for a comic illustrator is to depict the atmosphere of the situation of the scene scheme that is being narrated or told/whose storytelling is taking place. In comics, the biggest elements are the story and the illustrations, the story that is poured into pictures, or also the story that is narrated through drawings, some parts use pictorial narration, pictorial narration that moves the reader’s mind.

As far as we know, photography is the most recognizable medium in historical graphic memoirs, and surpasses painting in stature. This prominence of photography can be explained by its capacity as a medium that has long been trusted to prove and recall facts [20]. The success of comics in recreating historical stories lies in how much the reader believes the storytelling to be close to the truth, or how precisely one can place oneself when the events take place in the past. All of this effort by portraying the methods of collecting data such as photographs and other visual matter, as evidence, through the mind of the artist(s) who presents it to us now with paper and ink. Recreating the experience of a place that may no longer exist is achievable through the narrative of the image and the details of the redrawing of photography into illustrative images. This immerses the reader, evoking nostalgia for a place they may have never visited or that may have changed significantly [21]. The narrative is built upon important historical events rather than excessively specific ones. The emergence of this type of narrative is associated with a growing interest in memory in general. Since the late 1990s a separate genre has emerged that is increasingly “memory-focused” and of course the little-studied memory comic. It became a global phenomenon, with authors in Europe, the United States, and Japan. Henry Rousso, a contemporary historian who specializes in memory issues, refers to the “globalization of memory” [22]. Elsewhere, we have argued that in the world of comics, it is not the accurate or precise objective description that makes them alive and real. Instead, it is in the inaccuracies, incompleteness, distortions, and simplifications of form that the reader’s mind takes part to complete, or reassemble the missing parts. Although the world depicted in the illustrations is never visited directly by the reader, the way it is portrayed using certain techniques done very well by the illustrator or comic artist makes the comics communicative and provides an artistic experience to the reader. Thus, it builds an image in the reader’s memory of a historical event, or the location of a historical event that still exists today or maybe no longer exists [23].

5. Conclusions

This article gives the reason that comics with a fictional background based on a historical event may help to preserve a remembrance of a true event for the younger reader. Although the artist who illustrated it, never attended the actual event, since it happened in the past long time ago. The capabilities of both comics artists to capture and draw in detail the background of the comics can give a sense of presence. With a drawing style that tries to be as realistic as possible, and traditional techniques that still rely on ink and pen, the lines drawing of the two comic artists that we discussing here, their images on each page encourage contemplation in the reader’s mind, who must be patient enough to explore every corner of the story and image. Apart from the fact that this traditional comic technique is one of the earliest used in old Indonesian comics, the effect of drawing details in such a way also makes a deep impression on the mind and, of course, the memory. Pages with scenes and situations from the past provoke the reader to try to remember places or events, or even to give a place to memories of places or events that they know well from reading the visuals of these comics.

By combining texts and images – the story and pictorial images, both comics artists enable a narrative that brings to life memories about a past event. Toni’s comics differ from Yaya’s in their approaches to time. The narrative of Toni’s Laosam progresses according to a general plot linearity, although the story takes place in the past time. Meanwhile, Yaya’s Katumbiri is a comic with a storyline that moves back and forth in time. Its main character exists both in the present and in the past. They both write stories not based on first-hand experiences, but on historical accounts, especially focusing on the setting of the place told in the comics. Toni’s comics are more likely telling as a historical narrative which is truly an event happening in the past, yet the story itself is fictionized. While Yaya’s comics are fully fictionalized events but refer to some places that still existed from the past to the present day.

Both artists wish to provide their readers with as many precise stages as possible that were redrawn from photographs or pictures taken from authentic places. The historical memorials they tried to portray were seen through the way they illustrated the background and the properties of the “stages” in the comics’ panels. Their chosen format in printed comics as an album book size, not the small standard one seems to give a sense of looking and invitation to the reader to explore the details in their drawings. Both artists show their expertise and skill in rendering the comics with cross-hatching and pointillist techniques by using pen and ink throughout the whole pages of the comics book. It seems to be an exhaustive method, yet it consistently shows persistence on every page. Look like the artist wants to catch the reader’s attention to every detail they have illustrated with those techniques. Their attention to the details in the background is comparable to the depiction of characters in action which elevates the mood to the environment atmosphere. By creating a comic world based on a factual historical situation, wrapped in a fictional story with different themes, comics can be a vehicle to stimulate interest and recall in the collective memory of the community for historical places and events that may be slowly disappearing and being forgotten. With historical themes, backgrounds, or figures, comics can be a creative way of preserving part of the history of a community or nation. However, the question of factual truth between fact and fiction is still debatable and should be discussed elsewhere.