was threatened by various Western cultural influences considered as Neo-colonialism and Neoimperialism. In the process, wayang comics became characteristic of Indonesian comics and were
highly promoted for their contribution in introducing traditional culture to young urban people
(Gunawan 2018). The notable wayang comic artists were John Lo, Ardisoma, and R.A. Kosasih.
R.A. Kosasih is legendary and is referred to in many wayang comics afterward.
After R.A. Kosasih, there was Teguh Santosa who was the second person to successfully adapt
the Mahabharata story into comic form completely and also had a significant impact in introducing
wayang stories to younger generations. Teguh was born and raised in Malang, in the family of a
ketoprak (Javanese traditional theater) director. So, he understood very well the nuances of Javanese
customs in the wayang that also applied in ketoprak. From the early 1980s until the late 1990s,
he created a lot of wayang comics, starting with bonus series on Ananda children’s magazines,
colored comic series published by Misurind and finally several comic strips in local newspapers
(Koesoemadinata 2018).
Lately, Teguh’s works have been reprinted by Galang Press publisher in Yogyakarta, including
the Mahabharata and Bharatayudha series compilation from Ananda magazine (1983–1984) in
2015, and even made into an English version. In 2015, his biography was published in the form of
an anthology written by several academics and comic practitioners, entitled Maestro of Darkness:
Teguh Santosa, 1942–2000 published by Media Nusa Creative in Malang, which published its
second printing in 2016. Various scholarly publications discussed his works from the perspective
of humanism and pluralism, specific to the comic Sandhora by Aditya Nirwana and later developed
into the book Menimbang Sandhora (Nirwana & Ginting 2017; Nirwana 2018). Others specifically
discussed his wayang comic, comparing his visual style with the latest wayang comic. Some
discussed how Teguh adapted the Surakarta wayang kulit image as a reference (Koesoemadinata &
Aditya 2016; Koesoemadinata 2018). A Facebook group called Pustaka Teguh Santosa was created,
dedicated to appreciate him and as a gathering place for his fans. All of these proved that Teguh
has a significant role in the development of Indonesian comics.
Before the wayang genre, Teguh worked on a lot of comics. One distinctive feature of his comics,
besides the dominance of his black blockings, is the graceful, sensual, and “submissive” portrayal
of beautiful women. This can be seen from his legendary comic Sandhora, where the female
protagonist was displayed in sensual poses. In general, all women in his comics were portrayed as
beautiul and ideal stereotypes. The female figure was drawn with circular and pointed eyebrows,
curved eyelashes, and a slightly square jaw. They are seen with closed eyelids, giving the impression
of being “submissive” and sensual, referring to the female models of the 1960s or 1970s. This was
not surprising because Teguh himself was said to be a fan of James Bond films that were a trend
the time (Valiandra 2016).
The questions are as follows. How did Teguh Santosa describe the image of women in wayang
genre comics? How did the portrayal of these female figures represent elements of Javanese culture?
How did he translate and integrate these elements with his own distinctive visual style? What are
the opportunities to be developed in digital media? The assumption is that Teguh comics certainly
reflects a bit of Javanese culture, but how and to what extent?
2 METHODS
This paper is a study of art and culture, in the scope of visual arts, based on qualitative-descriptive
research that contains interpretations. The object of research was visual artifacts and design works,
namely wayang comics created by Teguh, specifically on the visual portrayals of female characters
in general, which include several figures, such as Drupadi, Sumbadra, Srikandi, Banowati, and
Arimbi. The discussion was not specifically on the visualization of one character by character,
because the portrayal is relatively similar for all, except for the Arimbi figure. The adaptation
and visual portrayal of female wayang characters in the Teguh puppet comic are the focus of the
discussion, compared to the image of Javanese shadow puppets and the wayang wong costume
assumed to be the main reference. The element analyzed was the visual style in the comic, which
294
highly promoted for their contribution in introducing traditional culture to young urban people
(Gunawan 2018). The notable wayang comic artists were John Lo, Ardisoma, and R.A. Kosasih.
R.A. Kosasih is legendary and is referred to in many wayang comics afterward.
After R.A. Kosasih, there was Teguh Santosa who was the second person to successfully adapt
the Mahabharata story into comic form completely and also had a significant impact in introducing
wayang stories to younger generations. Teguh was born and raised in Malang, in the family of a
ketoprak (Javanese traditional theater) director. So, he understood very well the nuances of Javanese
customs in the wayang that also applied in ketoprak. From the early 1980s until the late 1990s,
he created a lot of wayang comics, starting with bonus series on Ananda children’s magazines,
colored comic series published by Misurind and finally several comic strips in local newspapers
(Koesoemadinata 2018).
Lately, Teguh’s works have been reprinted by Galang Press publisher in Yogyakarta, including
the Mahabharata and Bharatayudha series compilation from Ananda magazine (1983–1984) in
2015, and even made into an English version. In 2015, his biography was published in the form of
an anthology written by several academics and comic practitioners, entitled Maestro of Darkness:
Teguh Santosa, 1942–2000 published by Media Nusa Creative in Malang, which published its
second printing in 2016. Various scholarly publications discussed his works from the perspective
of humanism and pluralism, specific to the comic Sandhora by Aditya Nirwana and later developed
into the book Menimbang Sandhora (Nirwana & Ginting 2017; Nirwana 2018). Others specifically
discussed his wayang comic, comparing his visual style with the latest wayang comic. Some
discussed how Teguh adapted the Surakarta wayang kulit image as a reference (Koesoemadinata &
Aditya 2016; Koesoemadinata 2018). A Facebook group called Pustaka Teguh Santosa was created,
dedicated to appreciate him and as a gathering place for his fans. All of these proved that Teguh
has a significant role in the development of Indonesian comics.
Before the wayang genre, Teguh worked on a lot of comics. One distinctive feature of his comics,
besides the dominance of his black blockings, is the graceful, sensual, and “submissive” portrayal
of beautiful women. This can be seen from his legendary comic Sandhora, where the female
protagonist was displayed in sensual poses. In general, all women in his comics were portrayed as
beautiul and ideal stereotypes. The female figure was drawn with circular and pointed eyebrows,
curved eyelashes, and a slightly square jaw. They are seen with closed eyelids, giving the impression
of being “submissive” and sensual, referring to the female models of the 1960s or 1970s. This was
not surprising because Teguh himself was said to be a fan of James Bond films that were a trend
the time (Valiandra 2016).
The questions are as follows. How did Teguh Santosa describe the image of women in wayang
genre comics? How did the portrayal of these female figures represent elements of Javanese culture?
How did he translate and integrate these elements with his own distinctive visual style? What are
the opportunities to be developed in digital media? The assumption is that Teguh comics certainly
reflects a bit of Javanese culture, but how and to what extent?
2 METHODS
This paper is a study of art and culture, in the scope of visual arts, based on qualitative-descriptive
research that contains interpretations. The object of research was visual artifacts and design works,
namely wayang comics created by Teguh, specifically on the visual portrayals of female characters
in general, which include several figures, such as Drupadi, Sumbadra, Srikandi, Banowati, and
Arimbi. The discussion was not specifically on the visualization of one character by character,
because the portrayal is relatively similar for all, except for the Arimbi figure. The adaptation
and visual portrayal of female wayang characters in the Teguh puppet comic are the focus of the
discussion, compared to the image of Javanese shadow puppets and the wayang wong costume
assumed to be the main reference. The element analyzed was the visual style in the comic, which
294