Today in Comics History, November 11: Happy birthday, Dave Cockrum!

Born on this day in 1943: one of the truly great comics artists, Dave Cockrum! Co-creator of the All New, All-Different X-Men and many of their supporting characters: Nightcrawler, Storm, Colossus, Thunderbird, Black Tom, Lilandra...


from Mighty Marvel Calendar 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979 (Marvel, 1975-1978)



...the Starjammers, the Imperial Guard, Krakoa, Black Tom Cassidy, Mystique, Amanda Sefton, Lilandra, the Shi'ar, Caliban, the Brood, and many more, plus the graphic novel The Futurians!


from Marvel Age #59 and 95 (Marvel, February 1988 and December 1990); text by Mike Carlin (#59) and Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter (#95); pencils and inks by Ron Zalme; colors by Paul Becton (#59) and Renee Witterstaetter (#95)
Away from Marvel, Dave racked up an impressive bibliography with work on Legion of Super-Heroes, Batman, Elvira, Soulsearchers and Company, and more!


from (left) The Savage Sword of Conan (1974 series) #23 (Marvel, October 1977);
(bottom) 1975 Mighty Marvel Convention Program Book (Marvel, 1975), photograph by Michele Wolfman
Judging from Dave's early days as a fan letter writer, his love for comic books is evident!


from letter columns in The Atom #1 (DC, June 1962), Fantastic Four #22 (Marvel, January 1964), Amazing Spider-Man #12 (Marvel, May 1964), and Fantastic Four #36 (Marvel, March 1965)
In addition to drawing great stories, Cockrum also appears in comic books (like most people spotlight in this feature, natch!)! Here's a self-portrait (with Chris Claremont, Paty Cockrum, and...is that Shooter behind them?) in an early X-Men.



from [Uncanny] X-Men #105 (Marvel, June 1977), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Dave Cockrum, inks by Bob Layton, colors by Andy Yanchus, letters by Tom Orzechowski
Check out (from far left) Paty and Dave, Claremont, Bonnie Wilford, and John Byrne hangin' at a party with the X-Men!


from Iron Fist (1975 series) #15 (Marvel, September 1977), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by John Byrne, inks by Dan Green, colors by Bruce Patterson
Chris Claremont, Len Wein, and Dave get a warm reception from the fans when they reinvented the X-Men. Oh yeah, like you were buying the low-selling bimonthly reprint version.


from FOOM #10 (Marvel, June 1975), by Marie Severin
One way you don't want to appear in comics: Dave's actual resignation letter to Marvel is reprinted (with some slight story editing) as Jarvis's. Marvel did this without Cockrum's permission, of course. Boo!


from Iron Man (1968 series) #127 (Marvel, October 1979), co-plot and script by David Michelinie, layouts by John Romita, Jr., co-plot and finishes by Bob Layton, colors by Barry Grossman, letters by Jim Novak
Marvel's official take was that it was a production error. See below, and the (blurry) lorem ipsum letter that was statted into later reprints of #127.



(top) letter column note from David Michelinie in Iron Man #130 (Marvel, January 1980)
Here's somethin' more fun. Ron Wilson and Dave argue about whose original Marvel Graphic Novel will be a bigger hit:


"The Super Boxers Meet the Futurians" in Marvel Fumetti Book (April 1984), script by Mike Carlin, photos by Vince Colletta, special effects by Bill Sienkiewicz, letters by Michael Higgins
Spot Dave among the mutants (and Doctor Doom!) at Christmastime in New York City! He's in the black jacket and black hat at the lower right. Just in front of Nick Furry Fury!


from [Uncanny] X-Men #98 (Marvel, April 1976), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Dave Cockrum, inks by Sam Grainger, colors by Janice Cohen, letters by Joe Rosen
And he's homaged in this same scene retold by Busiek and Ross! (Many thanks to Kurt Buseik for correcting my character IDs on a previous version of this post on Twitter.)


from Marvels Epilogue (Marvel, September 2019), script by Kurt Busiek, painted art by Alex Ross, letters by John Roshell
Dave passed away in 2006 after complications from diabetes and pneumonia. He was helped during his illness by fundraising projects and auctions set up by friends, and by a settlement agreement with Marvel Comics.


from Marvel Comics cover-dated March 2007
But most comics artists don't have these financial aids, so please support comic creators in their union-organizing efforts, and support and contribute to The Hero Initiative, a benefit non-profit that helps fund comic book creators in need.


One of the fondest portrayals of and homages to Dave Cockrum was by his friend and collaborator Chris Claremont, who put Dave and his wife Paty into his Exiles and X-Men storylines as a benevolent watcher and overseer to all the action.



from X-Men: Die by the Sword #3-4 (Marvel, January-February 2008); script by Chris Claremont; pencils by Juan Santacruz and Cafu; inks by Raúl Fernández, Andrew Pepoy, and Norberto Fernandez; colors by Robert Ro and Wil Quintana; letters by Simon Bowland
Is it dry in here? There must be something in my eye, as Dave and Paty "move on" at the end of the story.




from X-Men: Die by the Sword #5 (Marvel, March 2008), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Juan Santacruz, inks by Raúl Fernández, colors by Robert Ro, letters by Simon Bowland
Happy birthday, Dave Cockrum! We miss you very much — but through your stories, you're always still with us.


variant cover of Giant Size X-Men: Tribute to Len Wein and Dave Cockrum #1 one-shot (Marvel, November 2020), pencils and inks by Dave Cockrum, colors by Jason Keith