Rampokan 1: Java by Peter Van Dongen

Europe Comics

Comics & Graphic Novels | Historical Fiction
Pub Date 17 Jun 2020   |   

Description
1946: The Dutch have been driven out of Indonesia by the Japanese invasion, but they refuse to recognize the country’s declaration of independence. In an attempt to regain their former colony, the government mobilizes the Royal Dutch Indian Army. When they fail to take control, an unofficial force is sent to subdue the “terrorists.” Among the volunteers is Johan Knevel, who has personal reasons for joining: he wants to find out what happened to his Indonesian nurse. But far from rediscovering the lost idyll of his youth, he is confronted by the complex realities of a country in turmoil.

Review

I have been reading a lot of biographical or historical fiction graphic novels recently. When done well, they can be both entertaining and a fantastic way of learning about the past. They can be universal stories that remind us of what went before and how we must strive to be better today and tomorrow.

I wanted to like this book much more than I did. The history of the Dutch empire and its relationship with Indonesia is something I knew nothing about, and it seems to be potentially fertile ground for an engaging story. There is some good stuff here. The story explores how imperial ideals often produce hypocrites who commit barbaric, inhumane acts in the name of civilisation. It is its own way also explores what happens to generations of occupiers who love the country they live in being potentially forced back to a homeland that they have never lived in. Racism, corruption, incompetence are all themes that run through the story.

BUT, I felt it was all rather messy. For someone with no knowledge of this historical context, I felt that I was lost at the purpose of the political machinations of some of the characters. I struggled to read some of the pages due to the panel layout, which seemed to rely on the same structure repeatedly, which was rather frustrating. The pace of the story seemed odd; it never fell into a rhythm.

The art was serviceable. Van Dongen does a masterful job of creating a sense of place, that characters melt under the heat of the sun and colour palette sublime. That said he does things better than people. I genuinely struggled to tell some of the characters apart. There is a case of mistaken identity that occurs over in the story that did not work for me. Our protagonist Johan Knevel is a character I struggled to care about. I neither wanted him to succeed or fail. Which I think is where the book floundered. It is pleasant enough to look at, and action was good enough for me to keep turning the pages. However, without a character or set of characters that you can engage with I didn’t finish the book with much enthusiasm. There is some interesting stuff here, but it wasn’t as engrossing as it should have been.

There is a good story to be told about colonial powers seeking to hold onto their lands in Asia. This is average stuff that doesn’t do enough with historical material. One to borrow from your local library if they have it.