X-Men artist, writer Dave Cockrum dead at 63

Posted:
Nov 27, 2006

Dave Cockrum, longtime comics artist for The Legion of Superheroes, The Uncanny X-Men and more, died in his sleep early Sunday morning after a long battle with diabetes and its varied complications. He was 63.

Cockrum was a writer for Saban Entertainment's 1992-97 animated series X-Men, which aired on Fox. Though uncredited, he was responsible for the comic book and (in part) the characters behind the Marvel-Sunbow special Pryde of the X-Men, which appeared on NBC in 1997.

"Dave's many creations -- including some of the X-Men's staple characters -- brought tremendous joy to his legion of fans," family friend Clifford Meth wrote on the Nightscrawlers chat site. "For three decades, he was a beloved fixture at comics conventions across the country where he would sketch for a pittance and encourage would-be creators.

"Those of us who knew Dave personally will remember him as one of the sweetest, jovial, most generous individuals in the comics industry. I'll miss my friend very much."

Cockrum created the looks for such characters as Storm, Nightcrawler and Colossus. He also designed Phoenix, Thunderbird, Mystique, The Black Cat, The Starjammers, The Imperial Guard and The Brood.

Born on November 11, 1943 in Pendleton, Oregon, he grew up in a military family. "My father was a career Air Force officer, and so we moved around a lot," he said in a 2004 interview with Top Two Three Films.

Cockrum took art as his major in school. After a six-year stint in the United States Navy, he worked in New York at Warren Publishing, responsible for Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella magazines.

He then became a background inker for Murphy Anderson, who was then inking Superman and Superboy for DC Comics. The following year, he got his first major break doing artwork for The Legion of Superheroes.

Cockrum joined Marvel and did several odd jobs, including penciling two issues of Giant-Size Avengers and inking six issues of the regular Avengers book. He was then offered the opportunity to help revive the X-Men.

Following two stints on the book, he left X-Men after two stints on the book, to create his own group, The Futurians. Cockrum produced a Futurians graphic novel for Marvel and later did several issues for Lodestone, an independent publisher.

After Lodestone folded, Cockrum handled various jobs for several companies, including DC Comics, Valiant, Defiant and Broadway. For three or four years, he did a book called Soulsearchers and Company for Claypool Comics.

He had been hospitalized at the Veterans' Administration Hospital in the Bronx since December 2003 with complications from pneumonia, diabetes and a possible stroke.

In 2004, Cockrum and Marvel Comics reached an out-of-court agreement on a contract allowing Marvel to continue to fully own the many characters that he created for the company, while compensating him for his years of service and the seminal characters he created.

Afterward, Cockrum spent his last three years in South Carolina. He and his wife Paty -- a former Marvel staffer -- moved there from upstate New York to get away from the cold.

There are no details of services at this time. Cockrum asked to be cremated.

Well-wishers have been asked not to call Paty, who is burdened with the news.

Cockrum is also survived by a son. E-mail can be sent to magnetrorampant-yahoo.com.