Dave Cockrum died :(
This makes me melancholy for a variety of reason. He's just one of those people whose names dwells in my head. I appreciate his art.
Former X-Men illustrator dies
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 29, 2006 | 12:22 PM ET
CBC Arts
Comic book illustrator Dave Cockrum, who in the 1970s helped revamp the then-obscure X-Men title and turn it into a wildly popular franchise for Marvel Comics, has died from complications of diabetes. He was 63.
Wearing his Superman pyjamas and with his Batman blanket, Cockrum died Sunday at his home in Belton, S.C., his wife, Paty, said on Tuesday.
Hugh Jackman starred as Wolverine, pictured here in a scene from X2, in all three X-Men films, which were based on characters created by illustrator Dave Cockrum.Hugh Jackman starred as Wolverine, pictured here in a scene from X2, in all three X-Men films, which were based on characters created by illustrator Dave Cockrum.
(Associated Press)
As Cockrum requested, there will be no public services. His body will be cremated in a Green Lantern shirt and his ashes spread on his property, said author and family friend Clifford Meth.
"He had a genuine love for comics and for science fiction and for fantasy, and he lived in it," Meth said. "He loved his work."
The son of a U.S. Air Force officer, Cockrum was a fan of comics from an early age, especially of Captain Marvel by Fawcett Comics and Quality Comics' Blackhawk.
Following a stint in Vietnam with the U.S. Navy, Cockrum became an assistant inker at DC Comics, where he got his big break, taking over The Legion of Super-Heroes in the early 1970s and giving the title a more modern look.
Continue Article
'Dave saw the movie and cried'
Upon leaving DC for Marvel, Cockrum was teamed with writer Len Wein and handed the struggling X-Men title, created in 1963 as a group of young outcasts enrolled in an academy for mutants - a premise that failed to attract many fans.
Cockrum and Wein re-imagined existing characters, added new ones to the mix and published Giant-Size X-Men No. 1 in 1975.
Many characters Cockrum designed and co-created - such as Storm, Mystique, Nightcrawler and Colossus - were part of the X-Men film trilogy starring Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry, which brought in a combined $600-million US at box offices in North America between 2000 and 2006.
After Cockrum fell ill in 2004 due to complications from diabetes, Marvel, which owns the rights to X-Men, agreed to compensate Cockrum for his efforts in building the franchise. But he received no royalties from the films, according to Meth, who organized efforts to financially assist the ailing Cockrum and his family.
"Dave saw the movie and he cried - not because he was bitter," Meth said. "He cried because his characters were on screen and they were living."
Cockrum moved to South Carolina in January 2004 after being hospitalized with pneumonia.
He did fewer drawings as his health declined. According to his wife, Cockrum's final illustration was a sketch at a small comic book convention in Greenville, S.C., for a fan.