| Dave Cockrum | |
|---|---|
 Dave Cockrum byMichael Netzer | |
| Born | David Emmett Cockrum (1943-11-11)November 11, 1943 Pendleton, Oregon, U.S. |
| Died | November 26, 2006(2006-11-26) (aged 63) Belton, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Area | Writer,Penciller,Inker |
Notable works | Legion of Super-Heroes Uncanny X-Men |
| Awards | Inkpot Award (1982) |
David Emmett Cockrum (/ˈkɒkrəm/; November 11, 1943 – November 26, 2006)[1] was an Americancomics artist known for his co-creation of the newX-Men charactersNightcrawler,Storm,Colossus, andMystique, as well as the antiheroineBlack Cat. Cockrum was a prolific and inventive costume designer who updated the uniforms of theLegion of Super-Heroes and the X-Men in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Cockrum was born on November 11, 1943, inPendleton, Oregon. His father was alieutenant colonel of theUnited 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 wasFawcett'sCaptain Marvel, especiallyMac Raboy'sCaptain Marvel Jr.[2] Other artists whose work the young Cockrum admired wereWally Wood,Gil Kane,Murphy Anderson, andJoe Kubert.[2]
As a young man, Cockrum was a dedicated "letterhack," who had many letters printed incomic book letter columns[3] such asFantastic Four #22 (Jan. 1964),The Amazing Spider-Man #12 (May 1964),The Atom #1 (June 1962), andFantastic Four #36 (March 1965) (return address "YN 'A' School, USNTC"). A letter from Cockrum inFantastic Four #34 (Jan. 1965) led to a correspondence with Andrea Kline, who later became his first wife.[2][4]
Cockrum's ambition was to become a comic-book creator himself. After attending but not graduating fromSouthern Illinois University,[5] Cockrum joined theUnited States Navy for six years.[6] During this time, he created the characterNightcrawler, though the character would not be used until years later.[7]
Despite serving during theVietnam War, Cockrum found time to contribute artwork to comicsfanzines such asStar-Studded Comics andFantastic Fanzine.[8]
After leaving the military, Cockrum found employment withWarren Publishing,[7] as well as withNeal Adams'Continuity Associates as a member of the "Crusty Bunkers".[9]
He was then hired as an assistant inker toMurphy Anderson,[2] who was inking various titles featuringSuperman andSuperboy forDC Comics. At the time,Superboy featured a "Legion of Super-Heroes" backup strip. 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 feature.[10] Cockrum's work on the feature, beginning with a backup story inSuperboy #184 (April 1972) and recurring in several following issues "established an exciting new vibe".[11] He remained the artist on theSuperboy series after the Legion of Super-Heroes became the main feature of the book with #197 and his art redefined the look of the Legion, creating new costumes and designs that would last until artistKeith Giffen did a similar revamp in the 1980s. Cockrum is credited with creating team memberWildfire. Cockrum drew the story wherein the charactersBouncing Boy andDuo Damsel were married inSuperboy Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes #200 (Feb. 1974).[12] Cockrum eventually left DC and theLegion in a dispute involving the return of his original artwork from that issue.[2][8]
Prior to his departure, Cockrum had been preparing to be the regular artist on an ongoingCaptain Marvel Jr. back-up strip in theShazam! series for DC.[2]
Moving over to a staff position at Marvel, Cockrum andLen Wein under the direction of editorRoy Thomas created the newX-Men, co-creating such characters asStorm,Nightcrawler, andColossus. Storm and Nightcrawler were directly based on characters which Cockrum had intended to introduce into the Legion of Super-Heroes storyline had he remained on the title.[13] These characters made their debut inGiant-Size X-Men #1 ([July] 1975),[14] and then in a relaunchedUncanny X-Men (beginning with issue #94).[15]
Cockrum stayed with the title until 1977 (as main penciler on issues #94–105 and 107), when he was succeeded by pencilerJohn Byrne with issue #108.[16] The final issue of his original, regular run introduced theStarjammers, a spacefaring superhero team he had originally intended to debut in their own series.[7] Issue #110, which Cockrum co-pencilled withTony DeZuniga, was an inventory issue.[17] He continued to contribute covers for the series untilUncanny X-Men #126.[10]
As journalistTom Spurgeon wrote about Cockrum's X-Men,
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 ofX-Men a sumptuous, late-'70s cinema style that separated the book from the rest of Marvel's line, and superhero comics in general. Reading thoseX-Men comics felt like sneaking into a movie starringSean Connery orSigourney 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.[5]
In 1979, Dave Cockrum designedBlack Cat for writerMarv Wolfman.[18][19] Cockrum quit his staff job at Marvel in 1979 and his angry resignation letter was printed without his permission inIron Man #127 (October 1979)[20] but he continued to work for Marvel as a freelancer. Cockrum was Marvel's primary cover artist during this period,[13] and also penciled or inked a number of other titles for DC during this time. Although not a regular artist on the series, he re-designed the costume forMs. Marvel.[21] When John Byrne left theX-Men in 1981, Cockrum returned to the title with issue #145 but left again with issue #164 (Dec. 1982) to work onThe Futurians.[2]
He returned to the X-Universe in 1985 with a four-partNightcrawler limited series that he wrote as well, a two-partStarjammers limited series in 1990 and an X-Men short story forMarvel Holiday Special #1 in 1991. Two unpublished fill-in issues that Cockrum pencilled in the early 1990s forX-Men andNew Mutants respectively were released together posthumously as the one-shotX-Men: Odd Men Out in 2008.[22]
In 1983, Cockrum producedThe Futurians, first as agraphic novel (Marvel Graphic Novel #9), and then as an ongoing series published byLodestone Comics.[23] Though it did not last past issue #3, a collected edition was published byEternity Comics in 1987 that included the "missing" issue #4. In 1995,Aardwolf Publishing printed the "missing" issue asFuturians #0, with a new five-page story by Cockrum and authorClifford Meth.[24]
In 1993, Cockrum was recruited byClaypool Comics to produce work for them, resulting in several stories for Claypool'sElvira, Mistress of the Dark series beginning with #7. Cockrum was put into rotation onPeter David'sSoulsearchers and Company, beginning with issue #13, becoming the series' penciler with #17 and penciling most issues through #44, published in 2000. Cockrum contributed a short feature toRichard Howell'sDeadbeats #18.[10]
While serving in the Navy in the late 1960s, Cockrum married Andrea Kline[5] and had a child with her, Ivan Sean.[5][25]
Dave and Paty Greer Cockrum were married on April 28, 1978.[26]
In later years, Cockrum worked less frequently in comics. In 2004, he became seriously ill due to complications fromdiabetes andpneumonia,[27] and a number of fellow artists and writers led byClifford Meth andNeal Adams organized a fundraising project. The auction, run byHeritage Auctions at theWizardWorld Chicago show in August, raised over $25,000.[8] Marvel eventually provided an undisclosed amount of financial support in exchange for Cockrum agreeing to terms protected by anondisclosure agreement. Cockrum said publicly he was "very happy that so many people cared about my work and about me. ... I'm enormously grateful to Clifford Meth and Neal Adams for having moved this forward. ... I'm very happy with what everyone has done, including Marvel."[27]
Cockrum was due to draw an eight-page story inGiant Size X-Men #3 (2005), but a recurrence of his health problems prevented this. Adams filled in.[28]
Cockrum died at his home inBelton, South Carolina,[5] on the morning of November 26, 2006, due to complications from diabetes. He was survived by his longtime wife, Paty Cockrum, and by his son and two stepchildren.[8]
TheJoe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art bestowed the first annual Dave & Paty Cockrum Scholarship to a promising artist in 2008. The scholarship, which was organized by Clifford Meth, continues each year and is funded by sales of comics from Cockrum's personal collection.[29]
In the novelization ofX-Men: The Last Stand, written by Cockrum's longtime associateChris Claremont (published in 2006), thePresident is named "David Cockrum". Claremont also created a character in homage to Cockrum inNew Exiles who eventually "moved on" at the end ofX-Men: Die by the Sword (2007), which ended with a full-page tribute to Cockrum.[30]
Cockrum's work on theX-Men earned the creative team anEagle Award for Favourite (Colour) Comic in 1977.[31] Cockrum received an individualInkpot Award in 1982.[32]
Comics work (interior pencil art unless noted) includes:
After more than a year as Murphy Anderson's background inker, Dave Cockrum landed his big DC break as the 'Legion of Super-Heroes' artist." "Cockrum's debut story, which was written by Cary Bates, quickly established an exciting new vibe for the super-team.
[Editor Roy] Thomas realized that ifX-Men was to be successfully revived, it needed an exciting new concept. Thomas came up with just such an idea: the X-Men would become an international team, with members from other countries as well as the United States. Writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum were assigned to the new project and the result wasGiant-Size X-Men #1.
| Preceded by | Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes artist 1972–1974 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Sal Buscema (in 1970) | Uncanny X-Men artist 1975–1977 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by John Byrne | Uncanny X-Men artist 1981–1982 | Succeeded by |
