Francisco Coching

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

• Birth Name — Francisco Vicente Coching • Born — 29 January 1919 • Birthplace — Pasig, Rizal, Philippine Islands • Died — 1 September 1998 • Nationality — Filipino • Cartoonist — y • Notable Works — Pedro Penduko Hagibis • Spouse — Filomena Navales • Children — 5, including Lulu Coching Rodriguez • Awards — Order of National Artists of the Philippines (2014, posthumous) other awards

Coching was born in Buting, Pasig, Rizal province in the Philippines. He was the son of Gregorio Coching, a Filipino novelist in the Tagalog-language magazine Liwayway.

Coching was unable to finish his studies in order to be an illustrator for Liwayway under the apprenticeship of Tony Velasquez. 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 ("Fierce Maiden", an amazon warrior) in Bahaghari Magazine. World War II interrupted Coching's career in comics. He became a guerrillero (guerilla) for the Kamagong Unit of the Hunters-ROTC resistance organization.

After the war, Coching created Hagibis, a character influenced by Reyes's Tarzan-like Kulafu, and achieved fame as a popular komiks artist. Hagibis ran for 15 years in Liwayway magazine and inspired eight film adaptations starting with the first in 1947. During the 1950s and 1960s, Coching was a leading figure of the "Golden Age of Philippine komiks" and is regarded as having helped shape the national consciousness of the post-colonial Philippines. Many of Coching's works depicted social struggles during the Spanish colonial period, such as Sabas, ang Barbaro ("Sabas, the Barbarian") and Sagisag ng Lahing Pilipino ("Symbol of the Filipino people"). His 1952 work El Indio ("The Indian"), featuring a mestizo protagonist, has been described by Gerry Alanguilan as a work from Coching's mature period. His oeuvre also spanned diverse genres including comedy, adventure, history, romance, mythology, sex, and horror. Among his best-known works is Pedro Penduko (1954), a story about a folk hero who battles mythical creatures from Philippine folklore. Other notable titles include 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.

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.

In 2004, architect and comic book creator Gerry Alanguilan began the task of digitally restoring Coching's 1952 work "El Indio" after visiting Coching's family and convincing them to allow him to undertake the restoration. This led to the 2009 publication of a digitally restored edition El Indio by the Vibal Foundation, which later also published restored editions of other Coching works. This renaissance of Coching's works preserved the artworks and also made them available to a new generation of Komiks readers, contributing significantly to Coching's recognition as a National Artist of the Philippines in 2014.

Coching was among the few Filipino comics artists who also served as the writer of his own stories, and he is credited with pioneering the visual narrative style of Philippine komiks. Soledad Reyes observed that each panel in Coching's work was skillfully composed with meticulous detail, building up gradually to unfold the narrative with care and deliberation. The artwork of traditional Philippine komiks, including Coching's, have been described as characterized by a "Baroque" aesthetic, with bold lines and densely detailed backgrounds. The Encyclopedia of Philippine Art published by the Cultural Center of the Philippines notes that Coching's style adhered to the romantic tradition of Philippine komiks, characterized by "dynamic curvilinear lines and tonal modeling, with a fluid undulating effect." Comics historian and artist Gerry Alanguilan wrote that "His brushwork was bold and frenetic; he sculpted figures that seemed to move even when they were standing still." Art critic Alice Guillermo remarked that Coching's "the acute characterization, the interrelationship of the figures, the general composition, the use of color and tones, as well as the feeling for the natural setting" reveal the influence of 1930s American comic strips artist Hal Foster.