1943 - 2006
To many comic book fans the artist Dave Cockrum will be remembered for his contribution to re-launching the X-Men franchise. His work created a huge amount of fan interest in what was a C-grade effort of old reprints and carried Marvel and the X-Men title back to the top long before that other artist took over the book.
But for me Dave will always be remembered for his definitive run on the Legion of Super-Heroes. The image of the Legionaires vainly attempting to hog-tie an ornery Cayuseasaurus for the cover of Amazing World of DC Comics #9 was always a favorite of mine due to the subtle mix of genres in the art, that of Science Fiction, Western and Pulp.
Another fav image is the wedding scene of Duo Damsel and Bouncing Boy from Superboy #200 (which also sports an awesome Nick Cardy cover). Back in the day this must have been a time-consuming carpal tunnel-inducing layout. Mike Grell later used the wedding scene as inspiration when he depicted the wedding of two other Legionaires.
And since no mention of Dave's work would be complete without a representation of something from Marvel, his homage to Star Trek from X-Men #105.
Tags: Dave Cockrum, Mark Evanier on Dave , Dave Cockrum credits via the GCD
I remember reading Cockrum's Legion series and being dazzled by the wild gear worn by the average "man on the street." Even as a little kid, I wondered, "Will people ever really dress like that? Will women really roam the streets in such tightfitting clothes -- wearing bikini tops as shirts?!?" I was certain that it was pure fantasy.
ReplyDeleteBut just take a summer walk through a major city or page through a magazine and you will see that Dave Cockrum was a freaking prophet.
I woke up to this news today and was really saddened by it. I'm really only familiar with Cockrum's Marvel work and would encourage any fan of his to pick up the Uncanny X-Men Omnibus that came out about 3-4 months ago. Great stuff.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, have you noticed: On page 17, bottom left panel. Isn't that Cockrum and Claremont? ;-)
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