Pesta Komik Bandung (Peskom) has returned! In 2025, this annual Indonesian comic event was held on 5-6 July at Istana BEC, Bandung. Bringing “Istirahat Sejenak” (or “A Short Break” in English) as the theme, Peskom Bandung showcased 56 creator booths along with a variety of activities at the venue.
This year, Pesta Komik collaborated with the Baca Komik Indonesia community, JagoLogi, KOMIQUS, and various Indonesian comic publishers to participate in the event. While the Baca Komik Indonesia community focuses on reading Indonesian comics, JagoLogi focuses on reviewing them. KOMIQUS provided an on-site comic catalogue, and there was a bazaar from the publishers.
The existence of an on-site catalogue from KOMIQUS helped the visitors to locate which booth had each comic, creating an effective information retrieval system. The catalogue can also be accessed online at the KOMIQUS website.
Despite the tenants being a mix of new participants and last year’s participants, a lot of them came from the Jabodetabek area. Some of the new tenants stated that they were the previous Peskom visitors who finally made it to Peskom 2025 as a booth tenant; they expressed their excitement for being the ones behind the table this time. The new tenants bring new colours and perspective into the Indonesian comic scene portrayed in Peskom 2025.
As for last year’s participants, seeing their works as an IP grow in a span of one year brings enjoyment in itself. One notable thing about the tenants was a divide in where they participated before Peskom; some of them said they participated in Comic Paradise (Comipara), and the others said they participated in Comic Frontier (Comifuro).
In addition to the mix of new and old tenants, the age range for both the tenants and visitors has widened as well. From children meeting their favourite artists to energetic adults past their productive age meeting fellow artists. With each uniqueness the artists brought to the event, the visitors experienced different engagement in each booth. For example, some booths introduced the historical practice of writing on palm leaves (daun lontar).
In one of the booths, visitors can also meet the awardee of Kusala Sastra Khatulistiwa in 2014 and 2019, one of the most prestigious Indonesian literary awards, Iksaka Banu. Together with Pipin Tobing, they adapted a short story titled Film Noir in an anthology titled Ratu Sekop into a comic.
In addition to comics, visitors can also purchase trinkets such as photo cards, keychains, and apparel items. Not only did some artists create a mixtape playlist, but one of the artists even made a whole new single to enhance the reading experience.
Pesta Komik also has started a podcast series named Komik Siniar on YouTube at the start of the year. The podcast discusses various topics regarding Indonesian comic scenes.
After various complementary activities held by the organizers, Peskom Bandung 2024 closed their event with the Pesta Komik Bandung Award, an awarding event for all comic artists who attended the Peskom event. Here are the winners of the Pesta Komik Bandung Award:
- Best Story: Hati Nammo by Bryan Arifiandy
- Best Original Comic: 250125 Khatulistiwa by Kantya Birama
- Best Art: Tiroku Dino Samurai by Oos Production
- Best Unique Comic: Biro Perikanan by Popiumworks
- Best Children’s Comic: Nawa The Cloud: Cerita Kota Kelabu by Khayalan Arts
- Best Comic Strip: Sampahisasi
- Best Comic Artist: Hati Nammo by Bryan Arifiandy
- Best Newcomer: Tenggara: Manusia Melawan Manusia by Wendra Wirata
- Best Anthology: Motherhood by Aisahpl, Gambarnana, Maghfirare, Yachi-chan, Yupit
- Best Cover: Emotion by A.CHI.E
There are also special awards, which are awarded to:
- Best Merchandise: Arteko Studio (booth D13)
- Best Booth: Khayalan Arts
- Best Official Digital Comic: Good/Bad Fortune by Ariel Duyung
- Best Comic of 2024/2025: Sinawang Halimun by Dedy Koerniawan
- Best Peskom Comic of 2025: Rinso by Lazy Sunday
Pesta Komik has always been more crowded than ever. It is a place where creators and collectors gather and thrive. Pesta Komik is a place to celebrate the creative continuum.
See you next year!
The Indonesian Anime Times | Event report by Vina Nurziani | Photo by Vina Nurziani & Tanto Dhaneswara
