Editing Dave Cockrum (section)

==Career==
Despite serving during the [[Vietnam War]], Cockrum found time to contribute artwork to comics [[fanzine]]s such as ''[[Star-Studded Comics]]'' and ''Fantastic Fanzine''.<ref name="ComicsReporter" />

After leaving the military, Cockrum found employment with [[Warren Publishing]],<ref name="TyphoonDave"/> as well as with [[Neal Adams]]' [[Continuity Associates]] as a member of the "[[Crusty Bunkers]]".<ref name=bails>[[Greg Theakston|Theakston, Greg]] and [[Kevin Nowlan|Nowlan, Kevin]], et al., at {{cite book | author-link = Jerry Bails | last1 = Bails | first1 = Jerry | first2 = Hames | last2 = Ware | url = http://www.bailsprojects.com/(S(4qhorsuuofjdqark01hdflq2))/bio.aspx?Name=CRUSTY+BUNKERS | title = Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 | chapter = Crusty Bunkers | access-date = June 16, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070511052403/http://www.bailsprojects.com/%28S%284fltw0ymnr4dmf45dkrq1eao%29%29/bio.aspx?Name=CRUSTY+BUNKERS | archive-date = May 11, 2007 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

He was then hired as an assistant inker to [[Murphy Anderson]],<ref name="CBA" /> who was inking various titles featuring [[Superman]] and [[Superboy]] for [[DC 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.<ref name="GCD">{{gcdb|type=credit|search= Dave+Cockrum|title= Dave Cockrum}}</ref> Cockrum's work on the feature, beginning with a backup story in ''Superboy'' #184 (April 1972) and recurring in several following issues "established an exciting new vibe".<ref>{{cite book|last1=McAvennie|first1= Michael|editor=Hannah Dolan|chapter= 1970s|title = DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]]|year=2010|location= London, United Kingdom|isbn= 978-0-7566-6742-9 |page=151 |quote =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.}}</ref> He remained the artist on the ''Superboy'' 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 artist [[Keith Giffen]] did a similar revamp in the 1980s. Cockrum is credited with creating team member [[Wildfire (Drake Burroughs)|Wildfire]]. Cockrum drew the story wherein the characters [[Bouncing Boy]] and [[Luornu Durgo|Duo Damsel]] were married in ''Superboy Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes'' #200 (Feb. 1974).<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 159: "Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel became the first Legionnaires to tie the knot. The wedding planners were writer Cary Bates and artist Dave Cockrum."</ref> Cockrum eventually left DC and the ''Legion'' in a dispute involving the return of his original artwork from that issue.<ref name="CBA" /><ref name="ComicsReporter">{{cite web |url= http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/resources/longbox/6958/|title= Dave Cockrum, 1943-2006|first= Tom|last= Spurgeon|date= December 1, 2006|publisher= The Comics Reporter|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130810150615/http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/resources/longbox/6958/|archive-date= August 10, 2013|url-status= live|df=mdy-all|access-date= April 25, 2009}}</ref>

Prior to his departure, Cockrum had been preparing to be the regular artist on an ongoing [[Captain Marvel Jr.]] back-up strip in the ''[[Captain Marvel (DC Comics)|Shazam!]]'' series for DC.<ref name="CBA" />

===Marvel and the X-Men===
Moving over to a staff position at Marvel, Cockrum and [[Len Wein]] under the direction of editor [[Roy Thomas]] created the new [[X-Men]], co-creating such characters as [[Storm (Marvel Comics)|Storm]], [[Nightcrawler (character)|Nightcrawler]], and [[Colossus (character)|Colossus]]. 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.<ref name="Larsen">{{cite web |url= http://www.comicbookresources.com/?id=15431&page=article|title= One Fan's Opinion: Issue #65|first= Erik|last= Larsen|date= December 1, 2006|website= [[Comic Book Resources]]|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121107152521/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=15431|archive-date= November 7, 2012|url-status= live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> These characters made their debut in ''[[Giant-Size X-Men]]'' #1 ([July] 1975),<ref>{{cite book|last1 = Sanderson|first1 = Peter|author-link = Peter Sanderson|editor= Laura Gilbert|chapter= 1970s|title = Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History|publisher = [[Dorling Kindersley]]|year = 2008|location= London, United Kingdom|page = 169|isbn =978-0756641238|quote= [Editor Roy] Thomas realized that if ''X-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 was ''Giant-Size X-Men'' #1.}}</ref> and then in a relaunched ''[[Uncanny X-Men]]'' (beginning with issue #94).<ref>Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 170: "The 'new' X-Men team...moved into this thirty-two-page bimonthly comic."</ref>

Cockrum stayed with the title until 1977 (as main penciler on issues #94–105 and 107), when he was succeeded by penciler [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]] with issue #108.<ref>Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 181: "When 'new' ''X-Men'' co-creator Dave Cockrum left the series, John Byrne took over as penciler and co-plotter. In his first issue, Byrne and writer Chris Claremont wound up the Shi'ar story arc."</ref> The final issue of his original, regular run introduced the [[Starjammers]], a spacefaring superhero team he had originally intended to debut in their own series.<ref name="TyphoonDave"/> Issue #110, which Cockrum co-pencilled with [[Tony DeZuniga]], was an inventory issue.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Nickerson|first=Al |title=Claremont and Byrne: The Team that Made the X-Men Uncanny|journal=[[Back Issue!]]|issue=29 |page=4|publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing|date=August 2008|location=Raleigh, North Carolina}}</ref> He continued to contribute covers for the series until ''Uncanny X-Men'' #126.<ref name="GCD" />

As journalist [[Tom Spurgeon]] wrote about Cockrum's X-Men,
{{quote|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 of ''X-Men'' a sumptuous, late-'70s cinema style that separated the book from the rest of Marvel's line, and superhero comics in general. Reading those ''X-Men'' comics felt like sneaking into a movie starring [[Sean Connery]] or [[Sigourney 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.<ref name="NYTimes" />}}

In 1979, Dave Cockrum designed [[Black Cat (Marvel Comics)|Black Cat]] for writer [[Marv Wolfman]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/wizard/002527565.cfm |title=Saying Goodbye to Dave Cockrum |access-date=June 21, 2007 |author=Matt Powell |date=November 27, 2006 |publisher=Wizard.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070228085620/http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/wizard/002527565.cfm |archive-date=February 28, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Dan |date=August 2006 |title=Marvel's Dark Angel: ''Back Issue'' Gets Caught in Spider-Woman's Web |journal=Back Issue! |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |issue=17 |pages=57–63}}</ref> Cockrum quit his staff job at Marvel in 1979 and his angry resignation letter was printed without his permission in ''[[Iron Man]]'' #127 (October 1979)<ref>{{cite web |url= http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2006/04/13/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-46/|title= Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #46!|first= Brian|last= Cronin|date= April 13, 2006|website= Comic Book Resources|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130731225753/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2006/04/13/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-46/|archive-date= July 31, 2013|url-status= dead|df=mdy-all|access-date= May 2, 2009}}</ref> but he continued to work for Marvel as a freelancer. Cockrum was Marvel's primary cover artist during this period,<ref name="Larsen" /> 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 for [[Carol Danvers|Ms. Marvel]].<ref>Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 186: "Ms. Marvel's...series was in the hands of Chris Claremont... and Dave Cockrum, a master of imaginative costume design. In this issue [#20], Claremont and Cockrum unveiled the latter's new stylish black costume for Ms. Marvel."</ref> When John Byrne left the ''X-Men'' in 1981, Cockrum returned to the title with issue #145 but left again with issue #164 (Dec. 1982) to work on ''[[The Futurians]]''.<ref name="CBA" />

He returned to the X-Universe in 1985 with a four-part ''[[Nightcrawler (character)|Nightcrawler]]'' limited series that he wrote as well, a two-part ''[[Starjammers]]'' limited series in 1990 and an X-Men short story for ''Marvel Holiday Special'' #1 in 1991. Two unpublished fill-in issues that Cockrum pencilled in the early 1990s for ''X-Men'' and ''[[The New Mutants (comic book)|New Mutants]]'' respectively were released together posthumously as the one-shot ''X-Men: Odd Men Out'' in 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.newsarama.com/207-roger-stern-working-with-dave-cockrum-one-last-time.html|title= Roger Stern - Working with Dave Cockrum, One Last Time|first= Steve|last= Ekstrom|date= June 20, 2008|work= Newsarama|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190414161933/https://www.newsarama.com/207-roger-stern-working-with-dave-cockrum-one-last-time.html|archive-date= April 14, 2019|url-status= live|df= mdy-all}}</ref>

===The Futurians===
{{main|Futurians (comics)}}
In 1983, Cockrum produced ''The Futurians'', first as a [[graphic novel]] (''[[Marvel Graphic Novel]]'' #9), and then as an ongoing series published by [[Deluxe Comics#Lodestone Comics|Lodestone Comics]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Heintjes |first1=Tom |last2=Thompson |first2=Kim |title=Deluxe Comics adds two titles |date=February 1985 |magazine=The Comics Journal |publisher=Fantagraphics Books |department=Newswatch |issue=95 |page=21 |issn=0194-7869}}</ref> Though it did not last past issue #3, a collected edition was published by [[Eternity Comics]] in 1987 that included the "missing" issue #4. In 1995, [[Aardwolf Publishing]] printed the "missing" issue as ''Futurians'' #0, with a new five-page story by Cockrum and author [[Clifford Meth]].<ref>Cockrum, Dave. ''The Futurians'' #0, Aardwolf (Aug. 1995).</ref>

===Claypool Comics===
In 1993, Cockrum was recruited by [[Claypool Comics]] to produce work for them, resulting in several stories for Claypool's ''[[Cassandra Peterson#Comic books|Elvira, Mistress of the Dark]]'' series beginning with #7. Cockrum was put into rotation on [[Peter David]]'s ''Soulsearchers 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 to [[Richard Howell (comics)|Richard Howell]]'s ''Deadbeats'' #18.<ref name="GCD" />