On Tuesday, (12/2), the social media account of Indonesian entertainment company BumiLangit has announced that the silat (martial arts) comic Si Buta dari Gua Hantu: Mata Malaikat is now available in English. The comic was published digitally under the title “The Blind from Phantom Cavern: Mata Malaikat”. The English version is available on ComiXology website.
Created by Ganes Thiar Santosa, also known by his pen name Ganes TH, Si Buta dari Gua Hantu was originally serialized between 1967 to 1989. It tells the story of a blind warrior named Barda Mandrawata in his adventures in the world of silat. Silat, or Pencak Silat refers to a form of martial arts from South East Asia. Barda’s fate was set in motion when his father and fiance were murdered by a ruthless blind warrior named Mata Malaikat (lit. “Eye of Angel”), prompting Barda to seek revenge.
The comic, referred to as ‘the pioneer of silat comic’ has been collected into 21 books, made into seven film adaptions and two TV series. The first film adaption was made in 1970, starring Ratno Timoer as Barda. The most recent TV series adaption starred Hadi Leo as Barda in 1993.
The digital version of Si Buta dari Gua Hantu comic was a retelling of Barda’s origin story that was first launched on 3 May 2017 as one of the comics from BumiLangit [R]evolusi project. BumiLangit [R]evolusi is a project to ‘revive’ the legacy of old Indonesian comics. The project features eight heroes who represent eight elements. BumiLangit itself is an intellectual property-based company that manages the rights to classic Indonesian comic book characters.
Read more: Bringing Classic Heroes to Modern Times: BumiLangit [R]evolusi
Credits for Si Buta dari Gua Hantu: Mata Malaikat
– Original story by Ganes TH
– Written by Oyasujiwo Putranto
– Art by Iwan Nazif
– Colored by Doni Cahyono
– Cover by Ardian Syaf
– Lettered by Erwin Prima Arya
– Edited by Rizqi Rinaldy Mosmarth and Is Yuniarto
In July 2017, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Si Buta dari Gua Hantu comic, a limited print UN-CUT version with extra pages was sold excluxively at the PopCon Asia 2017 event. Later, in September 2018, BumiLangit collaborated with the KOLONI label of m&c! publisher to make the general print release of the comic titled Si Buta dari Gua Hantu: Mata Malaikat.
This year, a new film adaption project for Si Buta dari Gua Hantu, a collaboration between Screenplay Films x BumiLangit is currently underway. The film will be directed by Timo Tjahjanto, the director of Headshot (2016), Sebelum Iblis Menjemput (2018) and The Night Comes For Us (2018). There is no further information yet about the cast and release date.
Indonesian Anime Times
