Francisco V. Coching (January 29, 1919 lambiek.net – September 1, 1998) was a Filipino comic books illustrator and writer and is regarded as one of the “pillars of the Philippine Komiks Industry”. He served as both illustrator and writer for his comic book stories,"Francisco V. Coching" . ''alanguilan.com''. Coching is referred to as the "King of Komiks", and as the "Dean of Philippine Comics". 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 ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasig), is a 1st class 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 t ...
,
Rizal Province
Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal ( fil, Lalawigan ng 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 R ...
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.wor ...
''.
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) is 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 creator of '' Kenkoy'', an “iconic Phil ...
. 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
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), '' Pedro Penduko'', ''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.
Death
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, Emil Quizon-Cruz,
Alfredo Alcala, and Emil Rodriguez.
His 1973 illustration of
Lapu-Lapu
Lapulapu or Lapu-Lapu (ᜎᜉ̰-ᜎᜉ̰), whose name was first recorded as Çilapulapu, was a datu (chief) of Mactan in the Visayas in the Philippines. He is best known for the Battle of Mactan that happened at dawn on April 27, 1521, wher ...
was among the series of national postage stamps based on Philippine comics released on November 15, 2004 by PhilPost.
On Coching's 100th birth anniversary, Ayala Museum 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 Pedro Penduko, 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.
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.