Dave Cockrum
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| Dave Cockrum | |
|---|---|
| Born | David Emmett Cockrum November 11, 1943 Pendleton, Oregon |
| Died | November 26, 2006 (aged 63) Belton, South Carolina |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Writer, Penciller, Inker |
| Notable works | Legion of Super-Heroes The X-Men |
David Emmett Cockrum (November 11, 1943[1] – November 26, 2006) was an American comic book artist known for his co-creation of the new X-Men characters Nightcrawler, Storm, and Colossus. Cockrum was also a prolific and inventive costume designer, who updated the uniforms of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and did the same for the new X-Men and many of their antagonists, in the 1970s and early 1980s.
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[edit] Biography
Cockrum was born on November 11, 1943, in Pendleton, Oregon. His father was a lieutenant colonel of the United States Air Force, resulting in the Cockrums frequently transporting their household from one city to another for years.
Cockrum discovered comic books at a young age; an early favorite was Fawcett's Captain Marvel, especially Mac Raboy's Captain Marvel Jr.[2] Other artists whose work the young Cockrum admired were Wally Wood, Gil Kane, Murphy Anderson, and Joe Kubert.[2]
As a young man, Cockrum was a dedicated "letterhack," who had many letters printed in comic book letter columns.[3] (A letter from Cockrum in Fantastic Four #34 [January 1965] led to a correspondence with Andrea Kline, who later became his first wife.)[2]
[edit] Education and early career
Cockrum's ambition was to become a comic book creator himself. Following his school graduation, however, Cockrum joined the United States Navy for six years. During this time, Cockrum married his first wife[4] and had a child with her, Ivan Sean.[4][5] And despite serving during the Vietnam War, Cockrum found time to contribute artwork to comics fanzines like Star-Studded Comics and Fantastic Fanzine.[6]
After leaving the military, Cockrum managed to find employment with Warren Publishing. He was then hired as an assistant inker to Murphy Anderson,[2] who was inking various titles featuring Superman and Superboy for DC Comics. At the time (1973) Superboy featured a backup strip by the name of The Legion of Super-Heroes.
[edit] Legion of Super-Heroes
When the position of artist for The Legion of Super-Heroes was left vacant, Cockrum sought the job and was rewarded with his first assignment drawing a series. Cockrum's work on The Legion (beginning in the early 1970s) is generally seen as redefining the team.[citation needed] Certainly he redefined the look of the Legion, creating new costumes and designs that would last until artist Keith Giffen did a similar revamp in the 1980s. Cockrum eventually left DC and the Legion in a dispute involving the return of his original artwork from Superboy #200.[2][6]
Prior to his departure, Cockrum had been preparing to be the regular artist on an ongoing Captain Marvel, Jr. back-up strip in the Shazam! series for DC.[2]
[edit] Marvel and the X-Men
Moving over to a staff position at Marvel, Cockrum and Len Wein (under the direction of editor Roy Thomas) created the new X-Men, co-creating such characters as Storm, Nightcrawler and Colossus (Storm and Nightcrawler having been directly based on characters which Cockrum had intended to introduce into the Legion of Super-Heroes storyline had he remained on the title).[7] These characters made their debut in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (Summer 1975), and then in a relaunched Uncanny X-Men (beginning with issue #94). Wein left after an issue and a half, succeeded by Chris Claremont, the team's primary writer from then on. Cockrum stayed with the title until 1977 (as main penciller on issues #94-105 and 107), when he was replaced by penciller John Byrne with issue #108. Cockrum quit his staff job at Marvel in 1979 (his angry resignation letter was infamously printed in Iron Man #127 [October 1979]),[8] but he continued to work for Marvel as a freelancer. Cockrum was Marvel's primary cover artist during this period, and also penciled and/or inked a number of other titles for DC during this time. Although not a regular artist on the book, he re-designed the costume for Ms. Marvel. When artist Byrne left the X-Men in 1981, Cockrum returned to the title with issue #145 but left again with issue #164 in 1983 to work on The Futurians.[2]
[edit] The Futurians
In 1983, Cockrum produced The Futurians, first as a graphic novel (Marvel Graphic Novel #9), and then as an ongoing series published by Lodestone Comics. Though it did not last past issue #3, a collected edition was published by Eternity Comics in 1987 that included the "missing" issue 4. In 1995, Aardwolf Publishing also printed the "missing" issue as Futurians #0, with a new five-page story by Cockrum and author Clifford Meth. Futurians has recently been reprinted in France by Semic Comics. At the time of Cockrum's death, there were plans for a movie and a new series;[citation needed] how these plans will be affected by his death is not known.
[edit] Illness and death
In later years, Cockrum worked less frequently in comics. In 2004, he became seriously ill due to complications from diabetes and pneumonia; a number of fellow artists and writers led by Clifford Meth and Neal Adams organized a fundraising project. The auction, run by Heritage Comics at the WizardWorld Chicago show in August, raised over $25,000.[6] Due to pressure from Meth, Marvel also announced it would compensate Cockrum for his work in co-creating the enormously successful X-Men.[6]
Cockrum was due to draw an eight-page story in Giant Size X-Men #3 (2005), but a recurrence of his health problems prevented this.[9]
Cockrum died at his home in Belton, South Carolina,[4] on the morning of November 26, 2006, due to complications from diabetes. He was survived by his wife of many years Paty Cockrum (a long-time member of Marvel's 1970s production staff), his son, and two step-children.[6]
[edit] Annual Cockrum Scholarship
To honor Cockrum's memory, the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art bestowed the first annual Dave & Paty Cockrum Scholarship to a promising artist in 2008. The scholarship continues each year and is funded by sales of comics from Cockrum's personal collection.[10]
[edit] In popular culture
- In the novelization of X-Men: The Last Stand, the President is named "David Cockrum."
- Cockrum's longtime associate Chris Claremont created a homage character in Exiles who eventually "moved on" at the end of X-Men: Die by the Sword, which ended with a full page tribute to Cockrum.[11]
[edit] Quotes
Journalist Tom Spurgeon:
| “ | Cockrum's penciled interiors on those first few issues of the "new" X-Men were dark and appealingly dramatic . . . . Cockrum gave those first few issues of X-Men a sumptuous, late-'70s cinema style that separated the book from the rest of Marvel's line, and superhero comics in general. Reading those X-Men comics felt like sneaking into a movie starring Sean Connery or Sigourney Weaver, not simply like flipping on the television. Uncanny X-Men really felt new and different, almost right away, and Cockrum's art was a tremendous part of that.[4] | ” |
[edit] Notes
- ^ Comics Buyers Guide #1636 (December 2007); Page 135
- ^ a b c d e f g Cooke, Jon B. "Dave 'Blackhawk' Cockrum: The Marvel Days of the Co-Creator of the New X-Men," Comic Book Artist #6 (1998).
- ^ Smith, Stephen Scott Beau. "The LOCsmiths," Amazing Heroes #23 (May 15, 1983).
- ^ a b c d Martin, Douglas. "Dave Cockrum, 63, Comic Book Artist, Dies," New York Times (November 29, 2006). Accessed April 25, 2009.
- ^ Cockrum, Dave (writing as "Dark Bamf"). "Nightcrawler FAQ: How Did Nightcrawler Come to be Created?" Nightcrawlers v2.0 (September 10, 2002). Accessed April 25, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Spurgeon, Tom. "Dave Cockrum, 1943-2006," The Comics Reporter (December 1, 2006). Accessed April 25, 2009.
- ^ Larsen, Erik. "One Fan's Opinion" #65, Comic Book Resources (December 1, 2006).
- ^ Cronin, Brian. "Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #46!" Comic Book Resources (April 13, 2006). Accessed May 2, 2009.
- ^ Nightscrawlers - Dave on the X-men Again? - Powered by XMB
- ^ Clifford Meth personal blog.
- ^ X-Men: Die by the Sword #5 (Marvel Comics, December 12, 2007).
[edit] References
- Dave Cockrum at the Comic Book DB
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Neal Adams |
Uncanny X-Men artist 1975–1977 |
Succeeded by John Byrne |
| Preceded by John Byrne |
Uncanny X-Men artist 1981–1982 |
Succeeded by Paul Smith |
