Star Wars comics published in Indonesia are as disjointed as this archipelagic state of 17,508 islands. It boasts the 4th largest population in the world and there have been several publishers of Star Wars comics. The full picture of all the Star Wars comics published in Indonesia is not completely understood yet, so I am starting a series of blogs that will attempt to examine what is known and hopefully over time a complete picture will emerge.
This Indonesian Star Wars comic was published by Cypress in the capital of Jarkata on the fifth largest Indonesian island called Java. It is a treasury-sized black and white comic which has the same cover used on Marvel Special Edition Star Wars #2. Despite the cover, the interior contains a full 72 page adaptation of the Star Wars movie... mostly.
Star Wars a - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978)
This comic contains a mixture of new art and redrawn art from the Marvel Star Wars adaptation. Based on what I have seen from other Indonesian Star Wars comics, I believe the art was provided by a local Indonesian artist who went by the initials of RAF. The first 21 pages contain original art not redrawn from the Marvel adaptation and the final 51 pages contain the art from Marvel Star Wars #4 - 6 redrawn. The artist is extremely competent and here are the first 21 pages:
Star Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 1 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 2 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 3 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 4 original art (Does Darth Vader have a mouth in panel 3?)Star Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 5 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 6 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 7 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 8 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 9 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 10 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 11 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 12 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 13 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 14 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 15 original art (Darth is drawn with a mouth again in panel 2)Star Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 16 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 17 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 18 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 19 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 20 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 21 original art
Without actually translating these pages, it is clear that Darth Vader's role has been enhanced. Additionally, the first half of the movie has been abbreviated with Princess Leia being captured by Vader and brought aboard the Death Star. Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2 are also introduced into the story already aboard the Millennium Falcon. In what I believe to be a flashback, Luke and Ben recount the story of Leia's familiar plea for help. The Millennium Falcon encounters the Death Star and is captured. Ben goes off to disable the tractor beam while Han, Luke, Chewbacca, and the droids encounter Stormtroopers and Han and Luke don Stormtrooper armor. They find the prison cell holding Leia and we are current with the story at the end of Star Wars #3. Overall, the comic does a good job of summarizing the first half of the story and ending where Marvel Star Wars #4 picks up.
Starting on page 22, the art from the Marvel adaptation is redrawn. In some places, the art is more detailed than the original art. I cannot imagine the time that must have been spent redrawing a comic almost exactly like the original, but with subtle differences. Below are some examples of the redrawn pages along with the original pages:
Star Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 22 redrawn artStar Wars #4 - Marvel Comics, U.S. (October 1977) page 1Star Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 23 redrawn artStar Wars #4 - Marvel Comics, U.S. (October 1977) page 2Star Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 24 redrawn artStar Wars #4 - Marvel Comics, U.S. (October 1977) page 3Star Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 36 redrawn artStar Wars #4 - Marvel Comics, U.S. (October 1977) page 15Star Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 72 redrawn artStar Wars #6 - Marvel Comics, U.S. (December 1977) page 17
Some of the panels are very similar to the original panels, whereas other panels are clearly different. The characters have a little bit of a manga feel to them in the redrawn pages. I have a hard time believing this was an officially licensed adaptation of Star Wars and it probably is not. We've seen foreign publishers take liberties with covers and the packaging of the Marvel adaptation, but this comic takes these liberties to an entirely different level.
Star Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) back cover
What is fascinating is this is not the only Indonesian adaptation of Star Wars. Additionally, there are other original material Star Wars comics from this country.
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