Francisco Vicente Coching (January 29, 1919
lambiek.net – September 1, 1998) was a Filipino comic book illustrator and writer during the Golden Age of Philippine comics."Francisco V. Coching"
. ''alanguilan.com''. He is regarded as one of the "pillars of the Philippine

Komiks Komiks (Polish and Tagalog, 'comics') may refer to: * ''Komiks'' (TV series), Philippine television series * Polish comics * Philippine comics Philippine Comics () have been popular throughout Philippines, the nation from the 1920s to the p ...

Industry", the "King of Komiks", and the "Dean of Philippine Comics". He created the iconic characters

Pedro Penduko Pedro Penduko is a Filipino fictional comic book character created by National Artist for Literature Francisco V. Coching. The character, who is styled as a folk hero, debuted in the magazine ''Liwayway'' in 1954. In his numerous incarnations, ...

, Hagibis, and Sabas, ang barbaro. In 2014, he was posthumously conferred as a National Artist for Visual Arts, the highest honor for artists in the Philippines.

Biography

Coching was born in Buting,

Pasig Pasig, officially the City of Pasig (), is a highly-urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 803,159 people. It is located along the eastern border of Metro Mani ...

Rizal province Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal (), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Antipolo. It is about east of Manila. The province is named after José Rizal, one of the main na ...

in the Philippines.''A History of Komiks in the Philippines and Other Countries'' (1985)''Komiks, Katha at Guhit ni Francisco V. Coching'' omics, Works, and Drawings of Francisco V. Coching(2001) He was the son of Gregorio Coching, a Filipino novelist in the Tagalog-language magazine ''

Liwayway ''Liwayway''''Liwayway''
Komiklopedia, The Philippine Komiks Encyclopedia, Komiklopedia.w ...

''. Coching was unable to finish his studies in order to be an illustrator for ''Liwayway'' under the apprenticeship of

Tony Velasquez Antonio "Tony" Velasquez (29 October 1910 – 1997) was a Filipino illustrator regarded as the Father of Tagalog comics and as the pioneer and founding father of the Philippine comics industry. He was the co-creator of ''Kenkoy'', an “iconic P ...

. In 1934, at the age of fifteen, Coching created ''Bing Bigotilyo'' (Silahis Magazine). Coching had been influenced by Francisco Reyes, another pioneer in the Filipino comic book industry. In 1935, he created ''Marabini'' (an amazon warrior in Bahaghari Magazine).

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

interrupted Coching’s career in comics. He became a guerrillero (guerilla) for the Kamagong Unit of the Hunters-ROTC resistance organization. After the Second World War, Coching created '' Hagibis'', a Tarzan-like and Kulafu-like character in Liwayway Magazine. Other creations by Coching were '' Sabas, ang Barbaro'' (Sabas, the Barbarian, wherein the storyline was set during the Filipino revolution against Spain), ''

'', ''El Indio'', ''Bertong Balutan'', ''Don Cobarde'', ''Ang Kaluluwa ni Dante'' (Dante's Soul), ''Pagano'' (Pagan), ''Haring Ulupong'', ''Dumagit'', ''Lapu-Lapu'', ''Bulalakaw'', ''Waldas'', ''Talipandas'', ''Palasig'', ''Movie Fan'', ''Anak ni Hagibis'' (a sequel to ''Hagibis''), ''Gat Sibasib'' (another sequel to ''Hagibis''), ''Satur'', ''Dimasalang'', ''Bella Bandida'', ''El Vibora'', ''Sa Ngalan ng Batas'', and ''El Negro''. ''El Negro'' (1974) was his last komiks novel."Featuring Great Achievers in Philippine Art (comics)"
. ''philippine-trivia.com''. After 39 years in the komiks industry, Coching retired in 1973 at the age of 54. Coching was able to produce 53 komiks novels overall. He died at age 78 on September 1, 1998.

Influence

Coching influenced many other Filipino illustrators. Among them were Noly Panaligan, Federico C. Javinal, Carlos Lemos,

Celso Trinidad Celso L. "Sonny" Trinidad (died November 23, 2009) was a Filipino comics artist who worked in the Filipino and American comic book industries. In the U.S., he is mostly known for his work for Marvel Comics in the mid–1970s. Career Trinidad beg ...

, Emil Quizon-Cruz,

Nestor Redondo Nestor P. Redondo (May 4, 1928 – December 30, 1995)Nestor P. Redondo
at the

Alfredo Alcala Alfredo P. Alcala (August 23, 1925 – April 8, 2000) was a Filipinos, Filipino comics artist, born in Talisay, Negros Occidental, in the Philippines. Alcala was an established illustrator whose works appeared in the ''Alcala Komix Magazine''. ...

, and Emil Rodriguez. Many Filipino comic book artists who gained international recognition were also influenced by Coching;

Tony DeZuniga Antony de Zuñiga (November 8, 1932 – May 11, 2012) who worked primarily under the name Tony DeZuniga, was a Filipinos, Filipino comics artist and illustrator best known for his works for DC Comics. He co-created the fictional characters Jonah ...

, an artist and co-creator of

Jonah Hex Jonah Woodson Hex is a fictional antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is scarred on the r ...

and Black Orchid for

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, read Coching's work as a teen, while

Steve Gan Steve Gan (born May 22, 1945) is a Chinese-born Filipino comics artist. He is best known for co-creating Panday with Carlo J. Caparas and Marvel Comics' Star-Lord and Skull the Slayer. Biography Steve Gan was born as Santos S. Gan but changed ...

, artist and co-creator of

Star-Lord Star-Lord (Peter Jason Quill) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan, the character first appeared in '' Marvel Preview'' #4 (January 1976). The son of human Mered ...

for

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

, collected Coching's comics and artwork.

Kajo Baldisimo Kajo Baldisimo is a Filipino comic book artist best known for illustrating the horror/crime komiks series ''Trese'', co-creating it with writer Budjette Tan. His work ''Trese'' has won the Philippine National Book Award for Best Graphic L ...

, artist and co-creator of the supernatural series ''

Trese ''Trese'' () is a Filipino komik series written by Budjette Tan and illustrated by Kajo Baldisimo. It tells the story of Alexandra Trese, a detective who deals with crimes of supernatural origin. Its first issue was published on October 22, ...

'', was also inspired by the artist. His 1973 illustration of

Lapu-Lapu Lapulapu (fl. 1521) or Lapu-Lapu, whose name was first recorded as Çilapulapu, was a datu (chief) of Mactan, an island now part of the Philippines. Lapulapu is known for the 1521 Battle of Mactan, where he and his men defeated Spanish forc ...

was among the series of national postage stamps based on Philippine comics released on November 15, 2004 by

PhilPost The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost; ), also known as the Philippine Post Office, is a government-owned and controlled corporation under the Office of the President, responsible for providing postal services in the Philippines. PHLPost ...

. On Coching's 100th birth anniversary,

Ayala Museum The Ayala Museum is a museum in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is run privately by the Ayala Foundation and houses archaeological, ethnographic, historical, fine arts, numismatics, and ecclesiastical exhibits. Since its establishment in ...

held an exhibition titled ''Images of Nation: F.V. Coching, Komiks at Kultura'', which ran from October 30 to February 3, 2019.

Film adaptations

Almost all of Coching’s komiks novels were adapted into films, with the exception of three titles. Among those that were made into a film was ''El Negro'' in 1974. One of his most famous works is

, which has 6 film adaptations (and counting), 2 small screen adaptations and a couple of cameos.

Awards

In 1981, Coching obtained the Makasining na Komiks Award in the Tanging Parangal for Comics Art from the Manila Commission of Arts and Culture. In 1984, Coching received the Komiks Operation Brotherhood Inc. (KOMOPEB) Life Achievement Award. In 1998, he received the Award of Excellence from the government of

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Philippine census, 2020 census, it has a ...

. Coching received the nomination as a National Artist of the Philippines for the Visual Arts in 1999 and in 2001. On June 20, 2014, Coching was posthumously named as a National Artist for the Visual Arts by virtue of Proclamation No. 808, series of 2014.

References

External links