SMAP 15th Anniversary: A look back at my most beloved work

 

If you've been following me on Instagram or personally on Facebook, you would've aware that I'm in the middle of sharing a daily throwback on SMAP, a comic that I did in 2006 and has shaped how I draw up until now. So in this middle point, I want to talk a little bit more on this beloved work.

A bit of back story, SMAP was created in 2006 and it was a quasi followed up of Budak Kampung. If Budak Kampung was a story of high-schoolers, SMAP is a story of college kids. It goes on until 2009 with a total of 78 chapters before coming back in 2010 for another 36 chapters before officially concluding with the trilogy of Kasih Lebaran, Attack of Hantu Raya and The Promise. 

First cover of SMAP

If I'm being honest, SMAP would've been impossible to make now and it won't have, to me personally, a colorful cast as how it ended up now.

 Almost 95% of characters in SMAP are inspired by someone that I know at the time. Being 16, my view and perception to a person is a lot more simple and direct. I have people that I like, I dislike, people that I like to make fun of and all of that indirectly translated into the comic.

The cast of Musytopia. Sitting from Left: Ly Claz, Ash Claz and Su Claz. Standing from Left: Murabbik, Audi, Zero, and Deilailah

What I'm glad actually is that none of those inspiration ended up become demeaning or insulting to the character or the person that it was inspired. Even with Claz family that started as a joke, something I want to make fun of , it grown into its own and become such a crucial element in all my work moving forward. But of course, this is just my opinion. I hope it applies the same to everyone who read it. 

Reading back, there's just some story that I really failed to nail. The conclusion of SMAP season 2 was just bad, I really wish I could rewrite just about everything of them. 

The conclusion of Ika's storyline was the same. It was so bad, I just ignore it in season 4 onwards. But interestingly, there's some story choice that I used by only realized it well after I completed SMAP. Zero for example, I never felt it was so similar to Sherlock Holmes until like now. 

To me, there's a two distinct era of SMAP, the first three season where I wrote and drawn on instinct and season 4 as well as the spin off, miniseries that was written and drawn more consciously. I honestly think the first three season has more to look back but the next era were trying to thread more idea. 

Promo art for Lebaran Tanpamu

Season 4 tries to touch on trauma, as well as out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Lebaran Tanpamu focused on the art community and the characters was intentionally designed to show a bit more skin that usual. The Promise focused more on the soap-opera drama. Personally, going through from SMAP season 1 to The Promise, I can see who my writing changes. 

Overall, SMAP will remain as my beloved work as well as my proudest. I'm so glad it reaches to its 15th anniversary that I could all this throwback. And to those who manage to read SMAP that only in hardcopy, I hope you enjoy it and I can't thank you enough for be willing to read it. Do I still have more for SMAP? Well, we'll see. For now, I enjoy of doing other story. 

If you've read the continuation of SMAP online, what do you think of the story? Did you enjoy it? Please sound off your thought in the comment section. Don't forget to like or follow Comikrew Studio right here or on Facebook. Don't forget to subscribe to my comic on Tapas and finally be sure to follow and hit me up on Twitter.