20 Responses to “Philippine Daily Inquirer Review of Francisco V. Coching’s EL INDIO”

1. Reno on November 9th, 2009 12:31 pm

   I do hope they don’t make this into a teleserye. Local networks don’t do well with period pieces. Like that Zorro thing they did. blech.

   Although a new movie version could be done right with the right director and budget. :)

2. auggie on November 9th, 2009 1:35 pm

   Yes, a remake would help put FV COCHING’s name back on the nations collective consciousness. Still, I want Vibal Press to double time on more Coching Graphic Novels plus the magnum opuses of Redondo, Alcala, Yandoc,Rodriguez et.al

   Nice RAVE REVIEW….

3. Fermin Salvador on November 9th, 2009 10:09 pm

   Great review by RDV. Makes any sensible Filipino more convinced that Coching should have been awarded NA years ago. Instead CJC became the first awardee from the Philippine komiks sector. Only goes to show that the NA award, from years back, was/is run by half-elitists that are 100% tontos and estupidos. Now, Coching does not even need to be declared an NA. He’s certainly bigger than a “JOKE”.

4. Jose Mari Lee on November 10th, 2009 1:51 am

   Fermin:

   It’s funny how the judges of NA rejected and gave Caparas a FAILING mark and was eventually removed from the list.

   The country’s leader, for some brainless reason, went ahead with her favorite strategy of: DAGDAG-BAWAS, probably thinking that the NA award is like an election. All she has to do is phone Garci.

   Hello, Garci, go to hell!

   And what is even more ridiculous, the undeserving recipient of the award is so full of himself (but where’s the beef?), thinking he is “the king of the world.”

   Hence, 1+1 = 2 buffoons.

5. Gerry Alanguilan on November 10th, 2009 8:32 am

   I’m truly very happy that EL INDIO is so warmly received by today’s audiences. Vibal already wants it followed up with the prequel, Ang Barbaro. Unfortunately, there’s no way of fast tracking it, but I’m certain we’ll get it in far less time than we did El Indio. There might be something going on with the very first Darna story with Mars Ravelo and Nestor Redondo as well.

   Succinctly put JM. I Couldn’t agree more.

6. Fermin Salvador on November 10th, 2009 9:03 am

   Yup, JM, of course the president of the realm is part of the machinery (the most integral one, in fact) that ran/runs the NA award.

   Being cultured, in the physical sense, is shown by one’s commitment to take good care of the priceless legacies in art and history by our forebears. Or by one’s own artifacts. If only for the fact that FPJ took pains to preserve in the best condition possible his films is a clear indication that he was a “cultured man”, his lowly formal education nothwithstanding. I don’t know about CJC if he did/was doing the same as to his works. He boasts of about 800 novels (and I tend to believe this seeing his output during a period of less than 10 years) and if only he has kept a complete set of all his “opus” we are talking here of a major collection in this part of the komiksworld.

   Come to think of it, one of the factors why fellow-artists in other co-equal fields of arts look down on komiks and its artists is the way we treat our works, original and printed. They consider their output as pieces of gem which, historically and unfortunately, was not the case with regards komiks.

   But that’s another long story.

7. Gerry Alanguilan on November 10th, 2009 9:17 am

   “Come to think of it, one of the factors why fellow-artists in other co-equal fields of arts look down on komiks and its artists is the way we treat our works, original and printed.”

   This is true. I can speak in terms of how artists regard their own original artwork. For one, they’re sold so inexpensively locally. As someone who buys vintage artwork, it might be to my financial advantage to buy a Redondo for like 5 thousand per page, but let’s be honest, 5 thousand pesos for a Nestor Redondo original is absolutely INSANE in its cheapness. These are national treasures. They’re worth more, much more than that.

   Larry Alcala’s son selling Slice Of Life originals for 100K? Expensive? You bet! But that’s more like it! I’ve had someone try to sell me Kulafu originals from the 1930’s by Francisco Reyes for 40K each page. Expensive! But that’s how it SHOULD be.

   I’ve had someone approach me and tell me, “Ang mahal ng originals mo!” I almost said, “DAPAT LANG!”

   Too many artists are selling themselves and their work short, and their work, and themselves as artists are cheapened as a result. Sorry, but I just had to say it.

   Artists… your work IS WORTH SOMETHING! If someone says “Ang mahal!” when it comes to your work, “Dapat lang!” is the right answer! That is called pride in one’s work!

8. Jose Mari Lee on November 10th, 2009 10:15 am

   “Artists… your work IS WORTH SOMETHING! If someone says “Ang mahal!” when it comes to your work, “Dapat lang!” is the right answer! That is called pride in one’s work!”

   And to this, Tarantino will surely say:
   “CORRECTAMONDO!”
   :)

   Can you imagine if I kept all the Coching, Alcala, Redondo originals left by ACE publications in the building on Sheridan and Pioneer streets in Mandaluyong? Sampaguita starlet Nory Dalisay (who was Hans Kasten’s secreatry that time) just threw them all in the garbage. I was too young to understand the value of those original drawings and did not save them.

   Nowadays, people are more aware when it comes to preserving our heritage and/or artistic works.

   And I think it is appropriate to quote Supremong Kapre’s Socratic philosophy about the old komiks industry at this point:

   “Ang bayad ninyo sa drawing ko, pambili lang ng dilis, pero ang kalidad ng drawing na hinahanap ninyo, pang-LECHON?”

   Lo and behold, despite the pang-dilis drawing that he did, the result was still fabulous and ingenious. Ano pa kaya kung pang-lechon ang ibinayad noon sa kanila?

   Our komiks artists were snobbed, disregarded, and even mocked in the old days – but we should be glad that they are now being given the right recognition.

   Unfortunately, I know a charlatan who is not even a komiks artist, but hopped into the bandwagon anyway, and brazenly call himself an artist. Where was he when the honest-to-goodness artists were being paid PANG-DILIS? I know many writers who shared some of their talent fees to their artist teammates every time their stories are optioned for filming. I wonder if he did the same?

   Sheesh! Haven’t I promised Borgy it was the last time I’m going to blabber about this subject? I think I’m beginning to sound like a broken 45rpm record.

   :(

9. kc cordero on November 10th, 2009 10:18 am

   Nang mabasa ko ang synopsis ng El Indio ay na-compound ang analysis ko na dalawa (2) sa mga sinaunang nobelang pinoy komiks ay pinagkunan ng ideya ng isang nobelista.

10. Pinoy Comics USA on November 10th, 2009 11:12 am

    Gerry,
    Who owns the digital originals of the restored El Indio? Come to think of it, I like this cover that you’re showing here. Sana there’s an alternate cover. A friend has originals of a whole novel of Conan, pencilled by Buchema and inked by Alcala, about 70 or 80 pages of originals each page signed by Alfredo Alcala. Magkano na kaya?
    The price of art depends on the market. If there’s collectors willing to pay the price, then the price goes up. Problem is there must be thousands of Redondo originals out there, so does Alcala. Some dealer here in Long Beach had hundreds and hundreds of originals by Pinoy illustrators. This is a case of artists selling themselves short, apparently many of the 2nd invasion Pinoy artists were selling there work cheap to this dealer, but it was a chance to make more money, aside from the money paid by the publisher.
    Also one has to consider the archival quality of the art. Many artists of the golden age preferred to work on cheap cartolina, thus the work will probably disintegrate in the future, just like the cheap newsprint many old komiks are printed on.
    BTW, the Coching exhibit in New York are originals. A friend saw the exhibit.
    Rod

11. Gerry Alanguilan on November 10th, 2009 1:06 pm

    Rod, unfortunately, no El Indio originals exist anymore.

12. oscar on November 11th, 2009 3:19 am

    “Rod, unfortunately, no El Indio originals exist anymore.”

    WHAT?!! Mahabaging langit, and all this time what I know it was reprinted from the original works.

    Howcome they have originals of Coching’s work at New York exhibit?

    I think we need to make awareness campaign for original sequential arts, maybe somone in their closet has it, they just don’t know it.

13. Gerry Alanguilan on November 11th, 2009 7:07 am

    A few Coching originals have been saved, but most of them have been destroyed, mostly by publishers who believed the artwork belonged to them, and wanted to keep the art exclusive to their company.

14. Pinoy Comics USA on November 11th, 2009 11:22 am

    Oscar, Gerry,
    I saw some Dumagit in the New York exhibit from photos sent by a friend. He says they’re originals.
    I wonder who owns them and who organized that show?
    Rod

15. Gerry Alanguilan on November 11th, 2009 11:35 am

    Rod, the Coching family themselves provided material for the exhibit, in cooperation, I assume, with the Philippine embassy there. Thus the venue.

16. Gerry Alanguilan on November 11th, 2009 4:56 pm

    oo nga pala… about this cover…

    This was my proposed cover to the EL INDIO compilation. It was originally used as the cover to an issue of Pilipino Komiks in which El Indio was being serialized. It was restored, the original title, price, and other text were removed. I didn’t recolor this. This is the original colors albeit enhanced slightly in Photoshop.

    All the elements of the cover, including the Title and Coching’s name, were gathered from material Coching created himself.

17. Borgy on November 12th, 2009 12:36 am

    @JM As long as that aggression is directed to you-know-who I got no complaints :p

    I’m glad Cochings’ opus is getting much deserved (albeit very late) recognition… I still feel extremely disappointed that there are generations worth of stories and artwork lost to negligence or circumstances that could have been avoided. And not just the really old works from the golden age… I’m sure there are folks out there who would have loved to read about Dax, Mahimud and Darmo/Adarna from the Funny komiks of old or Devil Car from Holiday, Blusang Itim from Hiwaga, the list goes on… *sigh*

18. Gerry Alanguilan on November 12th, 2009 7:45 am

    The good news is, Borgy, it seemed to spark an interest in collecting even more classic stories. Another group, with the cooperation of the Coching family, is compiling and publishing other Coching masterpieces. Vibal themselves is preparing to restore Barbaro, and is looking for other classic stories from other creators to publish. Grace Jodloman, daughter of Jess Jodloman, is currently restoring her father’s masterpiece RAMIR. The thing is in full color so the restoration if rather painstaking. The Ravelo family also started the wheels turning on getting Darna compiled and published. Of course, I myself was inspired when Dennis Villegas did a reprint of the very first comics “book”, “Album ng Kabalbalan ni Kenkoy”, in 2004, which was first published in 1934. Of course there’s the awesome book “The First One Hundred Years of Philippine Comics and Cartoons” and the upcoming “Life and Art of Francisco Coching”. I think it’s an insanely optimistic time for the preservation of old komiks and I for one and I’m just ecstatic.

19. Pinoy Comics USA on November 12th, 2009 9:00 am

    The same thing happened in our films. Many classic movies are all gone with no copies to be restored. At least in komiks, collections and copies abound that can be digitally restored. Nobody in the Golden Age of Komiks and Film foresaw the coming of the Digital Age.

20. auggie on November 13th, 2009 12:31 pm

    Gerry,

    At last! eto na ba ang RENNAISANCE OF THE GOLDEN AGE? Sabi nga ni Chairman: ” LET A HUNDRED FLOWERS BLOOM,” sana lumabas ng lahat iyan. Mababasa ko na rin yung mga na-miss ko!