Oct

16

Francisco V. Coching’s EL INDIO Launches at Komikon 2009

Filed Under Filipino Artists, Philippine Comics | 10 Comments

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From Vibal Foundation:

Half-century old masterpiece to be launched at Komikon

More than half a century after it was first serialized in Pilipino Komiks, Francisco V. Coching’s masterpiece El Indio comes back to life in all its black-and-white glory.

Restored by Gerry Alanguilan and Zara Macandili from newsprint, the sequel to Francisco V. Coching’s Sabas, Ang Barbaro (1952) will be launched on October 18, 2009, 2:00 p.m.at the Fifth Annual Filipino Komiks Convention (Komikon), which will, for the first time, be held outside the University of the Philippines at SM Megamall’s Megatrade Hall 1.

El Indio will, for the first time, be released as a full-length graphic novel. The book features new material including a foreword by the artist’s widow Filomena N. Coching, never-before-reprinted silent art pages, an expanded character list and the vivid recoloring of the original series cover art, making it the ultimate collector’s item.

“The field of vision within every frame is deep, and the line is charged. The life force and confidence of form do not wane, the Tagalog is lofty, and the intricacy of cultural furniture very adept,” art critic Patrick Flores praised what has been said to be among Coching’s best work.

Artist Leinil Yu agrees, saying “One only needs to study Coching’s work in El Indio to fully grasp realistic yet dynamic figure drawing and layout.” The novel, Yu added, is “One of komik’s best, ever.”

The graphic novel will be launched to great fanfare. The book’s publisher Gaspar A. Vibal, Executive Director of the Vibal Foundation, will make an appearance at the event, as will members of the Coching family. Comics virtuoso Gerry Alanguilan will detail the painstaking process that he and Zara Macandili went through in restoring Francisco V. Coching’s sinuous lines and dramatic shading from decades-old newsprint.

“This [book] is merely a glimpse of what we have had in our history,” Alanguilan wrote in the novel’s introduction. “There is so much more that many of us have yet to see. I hope this is the start of our recovery of an art form that has too long been left by the wayside.”

The book was published by Vibal Foundation, Inc. with permission from the Francisco V. Coching Foundation. For more information about the book, VFI may be reached at 712-2722 or 712-9156. For more titles, visit http://vibalpress.com.

Comments

10 Responses to “Francisco V. Coching’s EL INDIO Launches at Komikon 2009”

  1. jerome dizon on October 16th, 2009 2:47 am

    Gerry , will you be selling this?? If not, saang booth sya makikita?? Thanks

  2. Borgy on October 16th, 2009 8:05 am

    (In James T. Kirk voice AND DICTION) “I.MUST.HAVE.THIS!”

  3. Gerry Alanguilan on October 16th, 2009 11:23 am

    Jerome, it’s going to be sold at the Vibal Foundation table.

  4. Carver on October 16th, 2009 2:11 pm

    Sana marami silang na-print. :)

  5. Gerry Alanguilan on October 16th, 2009 2:31 pm

    Hey Carlo… in case maubos, they fully intend on printing more. They’ve already asked me to fix a few things for the 2nd printing.

  6. Mel Casipit on October 18th, 2009 12:52 am

    as a new artist, I would like to expose myself to classic Philippine comics masters. I am going to get a copy. And I really hope that, the re-printing of this Masterpieces will continue for us to experience once more.

  7. Kevin Parker on December 2nd, 2009 7:05 am

    I’m an American who was introduced to Filipino comic art through the work of Alex Nino, Alfredo Alcala and many others in U.S. comics in the 1970s. Been trying to find something on Coching for several years! Amazon.com has “El Indio” listed as “unavailable.” Any suggestion as to where a U.S. reader might hunt for this and other books by Coching?

  8. Gerry Alanguilan on December 2nd, 2009 7:34 am

    Hello Kevin! Yeah! I saw that El Indio listing on Amazon as well. I asked the publishers if they had anything to do with it, and I’m just waiting for their reply. It’s a new listing so El Indio may well be available on that site soon.

    If you scroll down a bit on this blog, you will see that a whole book dedicated to Coching alone is about to be launched this month. It is published by the same company that published El Indio.

  9. allan y. flores on December 4th, 2009 6:21 pm

    sir, saan nabibili ang komiks ni mang coching?
    kolektor din ako ng pilipinong komiks, sana meron pa, maraming salamat…matutuwa tatay ko pag nakakuha ako nito,maraming salamat ulit…

  10. Gerry Alanguilan on December 4th, 2009 6:53 pm

    Allan, balita ko meron daw sa branches ng Powerbooks. :)