'A Buen Pagador...' (El Mundo Cómico #22, (30 March 1873).
Francisco Cubas was a 19th-century Spanish illustrator and comic pioneer. In 1873, he drew the picture story 'A Buen Pagador...', which is one of the earliest known Spanish language comics. The caricaturist Francisco Cubas should not be confused with Spanish architect Francisco de Cubas (1826-1899).
Life and career
Not much is known about Francisco Cubas. He was one of several artists contributing to the satirical magazine El Mundo Cómico, which circulated in Madrid between October 1872 and 1876. Among the artists that made picture stories for the title were Francisco Cubas and the magazine's editor, José Luis Pellicer. In issue #22 (30 March 1873) Cubas wrote and drew the humorous comic strip 'A Buen Pagador...' ("To the One Who Pays Well..."). It has three panels, with the dialogue in captions underneath each image, making it a text comic. The gag revolves around a cook and a restaurant guest. The guest asks the cook what he would do if someone would dine in this inn and be unable to pay. The cook answers that he would kick him. Whereupon the guest shows his behind and suggests: "Can I pay then?". On 2 November 1885, a single-panel cartoon by Cubas appeared in the magazine La Caricatura.
Drawing by Cubas in La Caricatura (2 November 1885).