Super Sentai stuff

Weird, even though Super Sentai has been a part of pop culture for a lot longer, some of its shows are not yet suitable for the anglophone audience. Power Rangers is mainly different from super sentai due to its more culturally diverse characters and its use of Anglophone references. 
Galaxy Star Knights 
Ironically the first ones to appear in Super Sentai history, the Galaxy Star Knights are going to be set fifteen years after MegaForce.
LoveHeart Jackers 
Among the most interestingly costumed Power Rangers, LoveHeart Jackers are the only ones not to fight giant monsters. Funnily enough, their time was thirty years before the Mighty Morphs appeared, therefore they’d be among the originals. 
Battle Fever
Along with Electric Fighters and Sun Vulcan, Battle Fever will be first in the Marvel-Toei trilogy to get adapted into a video game. Unlike almost all power rangers, the Battle Fever team consists of multicultural people, 4 of whom are males but not Americans, except for Miss America. The costumes are also among the most humanised in history.
Electric Rangers 
One of the Ishinomori-Marvel gems, Electric Rangers would be set four years after Power Rangers SPD.  Sun Vulcan 
Being the second upcoming Power Ranger show in history to retain a Super Sentai name, Sun Vulcan is both a sequel to and a continuation of Electric Rangers. 
Hexagon 
The first Power Rangers show to feature two teams, one of delinquents and the other of police trainees. 
Goggle Rangers 
Set sixteen years before SPD and four after Hexagon, the Goggle Rangers are inventive young policemen who would save their world from the net’s most nefarious attacks. 
Techno Academy
Even though Maskman is its super Sentai counterpart, the Techno Academy is set fifteen years before the Mighty Morphs. 
BioMorphers 
Funnily enough, in super Sentai it’s long before Go Busters, but in Power Rangers it’s a few years after Beast Morphers! 
Geo Changelings
Consisting of stranded young soldiers, the Geo force finds solace in the magic of morphing into and communicating with creatures.  Train Jackers 
Children of LoveHeart Jackers, these guys have strong interest in trains and would like to fight against Wild West monsters in a time of public transport recession. 
Electric Flashers 
The first Power Rangers team in history to permanently have a double life inside and outside their birth world, they were kidnapped by the Mess Organisation for research, but got saved and then raised by some Flash aliens. 
Liveman Heroes 
One of the few in history to combine a super sentai name with another, the team consists of five members, two of whom are children of the Techno Academy’s power couple. 
Jet Force 
Two years before the ZooMan Camp, the Jet Force team consists of five bickering but mostly funny friends, who join forces together in order to save their world with avian magic from habitat loss exacerbated by an illegal logging company in the Andes. They are also the first bilingual team. Turbo Junior
Set two decades after Power Rangers Turbo, the team consists of the Blue Turbo Ranger’s protégés. They are all high school students like their super sentai counterparts. 
Five Force
Five siblings from the Talley family have had their parents killed by monsters invading the Californian heat, but got rescued by and then grew up with aliens in another world called Sidon. 
ZooMan Camp 
The ZooMan Camp consists of anthropomorphic animals in a preteen book coming to life (with human disguises), in order to surprise a birthday boy whose grandma got killed by the same logging company from Jet Force. 
Constellation Knights
The constellation Knights have nine members whose shared motif is Greek mythology. 
Fossil Force
A sequel to Dino Charge, Fossil Force’s motif is dinosaurs, even though they are also good archaeologists. 

Nice tidbits

Once upon a time in a far, far away land, Emma Lazarus made poetry within the worthy flowery tongue of light. 

Her poems were pretty of values dissonant. They’re wonderfully lippy and crackly. 

Cast of Argentine telenovela Teach Me to Live

Clodine / Asai (Violeta Urtizberea): She is the daughter of the Fernández Salguero couple and the true granddaughter of Amanda. She was raised by monkeys in the jungle and is a natural, fresh, tender and wild young woman unaware of evil. Since she cannot speak, she repeats everything she hears.

Lucas Linares (Pablo Rago): He is a young and handsome teacher. While he is responsible and gentleman, he is fun and informal. He only fell in love once and suffered. The arrival of Asai, whom he must teach to behave like a person, will be his second chance in love.

Lorena Beatriz Benítez / Clodine (Julieta Zylverberg): she is the true daughter of Benítez and Emilia, but after the accident they made Amanda believe that she was her granddaughter. It is whimsical, frivolous and superficial. She strives to be the leader of her group and her friends idolize her. She is attracted to Lucas Linares and will do her best to grab her attention.

Amanda (Adela Gleijer): She is Clodine's tender and kind grandmother. After the accident, the Benítez family make her believe her granddaughter is Lorena. Seeing on the news that a girl was found in the jungle, he decides to bring her to the mansion, since he believes she is the daughter of the servants.

Benítez (Jorge Suárez): He is the cruel butler of the Fernández Salguero family mansion, and the true father of the false Clodine. All his life he envied Agustín's economic well-being, but that, he exchanged with the babies after the accident that killed him. When the fake Clodine turns 21 and becomes the heir to the fortune, she plans to reveal her true identity and live like a king. He is Emilia's husband, the maid, and he stays by her side only to prevent her from revealing the whole truth.

Emilia (Patricia Etchegoyen): She is the wife of Benítez and mother of the false Clodine. Although she agreed to the exchange of the babies, she thought that the true heiress had died in the accident. She is very afraid and wants to tell the truth, but her husband does not allow it. Day by day she endures the mistreatment of her daughter, who despises her without knowing that she is actually her mother.

Minerva (Ana María Picchio): She is Amanda's lady-in-waiting, for whom she left her life in the background. She is reckless and does not express herself very well, but she is the only one in the house who dares to face Clodine. Although she closed her heart, she does not know that love will soon come again into her life.

Goyena (Germán Kraus): Correct and always very willing to solve any family issue, he is the attorney for Amanda. Although he is married, he will fall in love with Minerva, and next to her he will be in charge of unmasking Benítez.

Farsa (Pepe Monje): He is a corrupt lawyer who knows the secret of Emilia and Benítez, and is allied with him because he hopes to obtain an economic return when Clodine inherits the fortune.

Cristóbal Linares (Felipe Colombo): He is Lucas's younger brother, with whom he lives. He promised to mature and help with spending, but he can't handle his instincts. He escapes commitments and his weakness is women, until he meets Ro and falls hopelessly in love. Since she constantly ignores him, she resorts to the false Clodine to help him conquer her, promising to intervene so that her older brother can notice her.

Macu (Fernando Dente): He is a handsome young man and in a good position who is hopelessly in love with the false Clodine, but the appearance of Lucas makes the picture more complicated.

Ro (Laura Cymer): She is the best friend of the false Clodine. Although she is not very graceful, she has a very high ego. Together with Clodine, she will make life impossible for Asaí.

Ana (Valeria Lorca): She is the doctor who took care of Asaí when she was brought to Buenos Aires. By a request she is fired from the hospital, and will be in charge of warning Lucas about the dangers Asai is running in the City.

Marcela (Laura Azcurra): She is a teacher and is Lucas's girlfriend. Asaí's appearance will put her relationship at risk, so she will carry out all sorts of macabre plans to keep her at all costs.

How to soup up your style

How to soup up your style

Jessica of the schoolyard: Kiwi comics have gained an international audience in recent years. JOTSY has had been my fist major comic subject 3 years back. Surprisingly, I didn't know that IT IS partly INSPIRED by the Sukeban trend of 1970s Japan until now! JOTSY also unknowingly inspired Hollywood's Mean Girls.

Names

Beasts

Once Upon A Time, A Bunch of Beasts went into the park. But one day, a bunch of exterminators are going nuts. 

Saleh Ardisoma

Translated From Jual Komik Lama. 

In the world of comics, he is better known as just Ardisoma, even though it is his father's name. His real first name is Saleh, which in his comic works is written as Saleh Ardisoma, S. Ardisoma, S.A. Soma, or S.A.S. This name was inscribed on comic panels which later became a milestone in the history of comic books in the 1950s-1960s, accompanying RA Kosasih's phenomenal wayang adaptations of Ramayana and Mahabharata. There are three prominent titles of Saleh Ardisoma's comics, namely Jakawana, Ulamsari, and Wayang Purwa. Most of his publishing is under Melody. Melody Publishers was known to often innovate themes in comic publishing in the 1950s. Melody pioneered the publication of comic books in the form of graphic novels, as well as pioneering the creation of local superhero figures such as Sri Asih, Putri Bintang and others. Melody also pioneered the publication of comics with “local” themes such as folk tales and wayang.

Tarzan was a fictional character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912. Tarzan was transferred to the comic strip format in 1929 by Hal Foster. The plunge of a muscular male figure who was raised by apes, but who was good-looking and smart had caused a huge outbreak of comic artists in Indonesia. That outbreak was in the form of inspiration to create new comic figures. Tarzanesque Figures were created by Indonesian artists. RA Kosasih created Tjempaka (Cempaka), a once popular female Tarzanid character. John Lo also created a female Tarzanid named Nina of Kalimantan. Bahzar, a Medan based North Sumatran artist, created Mala, Eng created the Zanga character, the Javan-born Chinese Indonesian (convert to Islam) Kwik Ing Hoo created the Wiro character, and many other figures including Jakawana (Djakawana) by Saleh Ardisoma. The story is very similar to the story of the "creation" of the original Tarzan. A child named Kohar was abandoned in the forest and then raised by a great ape (who’s perhaps a matronly Central Bornean orangutan) so that he becomes Jakawana, a wild man who befriends other animals. Kohar wears a pair of leopardskin trunks connected to the upper body, exactly like Tarzan in early Hal Foster comics. Jakawana as a character began to popularise Saleh Ardisoma to the Indonesian masses. In my childhood, in the 1960s, the name’s old spelling (Djakawana) was mentioned quite often. In my sister's reading garden in the past (1967-1969), there were many who borrowed its two volumes. 

 

The creation of the genre "Tarzanide" or "Jungle Adventure" does require a good mastery in creating images of human anatomy because the characters in it often do not wear much clothes. Comedy artists of this genre will be increasingly trained in drawing human body movements and muscles more closely. In addition, good mastery in creating images of animal anatomy is also needed because usually a jungle adventurer will meet various types of animals. Scenes outside the room - especially the forest - also dominate the picture on the panels. Even though the story is not special, it is the trusty Jakawana story that makes Saleh Ardisoma more proficient in drawing the anatomy and motion of humans, animals, and depicting panoramic scenes of Indonesia's natural scenery, also building storylines. The skills gained from making Jakawana comics were very supportive in innovating the puppet drama genre which he worked on later.

Ulamsari is one of the comic book titles by Saleh Ardisoma which is also quite "sought after" at the time, also "highly collectable" by current comic collectors. Ulamsari is an excerpt from the background of the Mahabharata monkey story. In contrast to RA Kosasih who worked on Mahabharata by trying to be obedient to the Indian standard (although in the end there were still some adjustments), generally the wayang comedy that Saleh Ardisoma worked on took more from the narrative of puppeteer puppet show. Ulamsari tells the story of Raden Abhimanyu who turns into a beautiful fish named Ulamsari. The fish made Duryodhana Prabu’s daughter fall in love.

From the comics produced by S. Ardisoma, in this genre of "wayang", Saleh Ardisoma received a position that was quite appropriate and accepted by the community. Amongst all his works, it can be said that his own take on Purwa, featuring comic book variants of Wayang Puppets adapted from the characters themselves, is the peak. S. Ardisoma's Wayang Purwa, published in 1956, is one of the cornerstones of comic history, especially in the wayang genre.

The term "Purwa" in the performing arts (wayang golek or kulit), by some experts, is interpreted as "the past". Some other scholars say that the word "purwa" comes from "parwa" (parva), namely episodes or chapters in the Mahabharata story. In fact, the Indian version of Mahabharata consists of 18 parwa, which starts from Adi Parva who tells about the origin of the Bharata dynasty, and ends with Swargarohana Parva about the final journey of the Pandavas to ascend to nirvana. Whereas the word Wayang itself actually refers to a form of performance art. So what is often referred to as "wayang stories" actually does not exist. What is there is a "story" that is usually sung in a puppet show and the story is usually a series of stories around the great story of Ramayana and Mahabharata.

The comic version of Wayang Purwa does not tell episodes in the parva from India but rather stories before the Ramayana and Mahabharata periods. RA Kosasih in the late 1970s, under the publisher Maranatha also made a comic with the title Wayang Purwa and with more or less the same content structure. Likewise with Oerip S. So, the term "Wayang Purwa" in cergam finally refers to the meaning of "stories that occurred before the Ramayana and Mahabharata".

 

In the Wayang Purwa poem, there is an episode about Manikmaya, which is a story about how the Sanghyang Tunggal passed on his blessings to the children of the gods. Then there is the story of the original origins of the archipelago such as Semar and his family. After that, there is a story about Dewi Sri and Batara Kala. The Arjuna Sasrabahu episode in India itself was not too prominent, in Wayang Purwa it was enough to get a large portion. The story is combined with the story of Somantri and Sukrasana. After that, there were also episodes about Subali, Sugriwa, Ravana and the birth of Hanuman. Only in the last part of the episode was the abduction of Sprott by Ravana the mighty. The chorus stops at the time of Rama's attack on Alengka and the publisher is welcome to continue it in RA Kosasih's comic, Ramayana. The stories are indeed colossal. In it many scenes of war between gods and giants. The creatures that appear are also fantastic, there are giants, gods, monsters, animal-headed humans, and others. Saleh Ardisoma is able to describe it with beautiful and dramatic perspectives. His depiction of the palace and heaven also feels magnificent. In a long volume range, it can be seen that Saleh Ardisoma's skill in making comics is increasing. The pages in the final episode are much better than the pages in the first volume.

Wayang Purwanya Saleh Ardisoma, Ramayana - Mahabharatanya RA Kosasih (including Bharatayuda and Pandawa Seda) have represented the main outline of the main puppets. When we finish reading the three titles, it will be easier for us to follow and understand other wayang plays in the form of story excerpts such as Ulamsari. Until now, comic is the most up-to-date medium of wayang story that can be said to be successful because based on direct recognition from many people, they recognise the "puppet" stories for the first time from reading comic.

The comic book Wayang Purwa by Saleh Ardisoma apparently also attracted the attention of the French publisher, Trismégiste. In 1982, one episode of Wayang Purwa, Manikmaya, was published in English and French. In 2002, Wayang Purwa was completely reprinted in a smaller format by PT Elex Media Komputindo. In 2010, Saleh Ardisoma's best work was re-published in a large size. It seems that the Plus + publisher really understands the importance of the Wayang Purwa by Saleh Ardisoma so that it is immortalized in a luxurious format and is very worthy of being collected.

The best known Indonesian versions of Mahabharata and Ramayana are indeed "owned" by RA Kosasih, but S. Ardisoma truly and surely was the first designer of the "Wayang Purwa" universe in comic books.

By Iwan Gunawan