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Any day of the week, teenagers can be found crowding the comics aisles of bookstores across the country, burrowing their way through hot-selling Japanese mangas like Naruto or Bleach. These pocket-size books contain hundreds of storylines. But here’s the problem: Very few of them are written and drawn by Indonesians — but it’s not for lack of effort or talent.

MNC!, a publishing house that specializes in comic books, is well aware of the depth of talent available in the country.

In April, the publisher, which is part of the Kompas Gramedia Group, sent invitations to about 20 Indonesian comic-book creators to solicit submissions. It signed 10 of them and set a three-month deadline for each to draw and write a graphic novel, which it would publish under its new brand: Koloni.

Gupta Mahendra, the head of Koloni, said he tried to instill a “Japanese comics work ethic” among the 10 creators, requiring them to produce between 40 and 60 pages a month. Two of the artists backed out, but eight rose to the challenge.

The first batch of Koloni comics consists of eight black-and-white titles in genres including action, mystery and romance.

Surjorimba Suroto, an Indonesian comics expert, said Indonesians in general didn’t appreciate their own culture, but the launch of Koloni was a step in the right direction.

Koloni shows that “more publishers are interested and motivated to publish local comics,” he said.

Surjorimba is the founder of Komikindonesia.com, a Web site that specializes in Indonesian comics. He said he has already read most of Koloni’s titles.

He said two of their comics stand out: Azisa Noor’s “ Satu Atap ” (“One Roof”) and Is Yuniarto’s “Garudayana.”

“Satu Atap” follows the ups and downs of Putri, a teenager who is fond of riding angkot (public minvans), eating in warteg (local food stalls) and Facebooking. “Garudayana” is about a Garuda, the mythical bird that features in Hindu and other mythologies.

“These two deserve a mention because there are many developments in their storylines,” Surjorimba said.

Koloni’s latest publication is an anthology of five short comics on the theme of fighting temptation during Ramadan. The anthology is titled “ Ngabuburit ” — a Sundanese term for whiling away the time before breaking the fast at dusk during the holy month.

Gupta said Koloni aimed to publish stories Indonesian teenagers could relate to. “We want readers to feel like ‘This comic understands me, I’ve experienced that before,’ ” he said.

But regardless of the storylines, Gupta said many Indonesians harbor an inferiority complex about local products, which made it difficult for artists and writers to make a living.

“In America or Japan, people can make a career out of comics,” he said. “In Indonesia, being a comics artist is usually a second job.”

“We’re trying to change that,” he said. “The quality of Indonesian comic-book artists are not inferior.”

American comic book giants such as Marvel and DC Comics appear to agree, and have been outsourcing their hand-drawn illustrations to Indonesia.

“The fact that Indonesian comics artists are drawing for these companies show that some of our artists have” met international standards, Gupta said.

During a recent trip to Singapore for a book festival, Gupta said, noted British comics artist Brian Bolland complimented Aryo Anindito’s work “Nadya and the Painkillers,” saying the drawings were of good quality.

“The skills of our local artists are not second-class. They can compete with Japanese and American authors,” he said.

And talent in the domestic comics industry is not confined to Java. Koloni has recently received submissions from Medan, Jambi and Palu.

“The artists outside Java have great drawings,” Gupta said. “What they need is the opportunity to channel their skills.” One of Gupta’s main duties as an editor for MNC! is to travel to countries including Japan, Hong Kong and Korea, hunting for comics that could possibly thrive in the Indonesian market.

“Our goal is to stop being a mere buyer, and become a seller,” he said.

Gupta said his counterparts often asked “where are your comics?” to which he could only reply with embarrassment and silence. Soon, thanks to Koloni, Gupta hopes to provide an optimistic answer.

Surjorimba, the comics expert, agrees. “We as a country should be proud of our own comics.”

“If we don’t appreciate them, then who will?”