Dave Cockrum

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Dave Cockrum was an American comics artist famed for helping create several famous X‑Men characters—Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Mystique—as well as the antiheroine Black Cat. He also updated the costumes for the Legion of Super-Heroes and the X‑Men in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Born on November 11, 1943, in Pendleton, Oregon, Cockrum grew up loving comics. He became a prolific “letterhack,” with his letters printed in several titles. He served six years in the U.S. Navy, during which he still drew fanzines. After leaving the military, he worked for Warren Publishing and Neal Adams’ Continuity Associates, and he began inking for Murphy Anderson on Superman/Superboy titles. He then drew for DC, where his work on the Legion of Super-Heroes began with a backup story in Superboy and soon defined a new look for the team. He created the character Wildfire and drew stories that helped reshape the Legion’s costumes.

Cockrum moved to Marvel, where he and Len Wein created the new X‑Men. Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus debuted in Giant-Size X‑Men #1 (1975), followed by a relaunch in Uncanny X‑Men. Cockrum’s art gave the X‑Men a lush, cinematic feel that set the series apart. He remained the main artist on the early issues and helped introduce the Starjammers. He also designed Black Cat for writer Marv Wolfman in 1979 and, after leaving Marvel’s staff, continued to work as a freelancer, occasionally redesigning costumes such as Ms. Marvel’s.

In the 1980s and beyond, Cockrum returned to the X‑Uiverse for a Nightcrawler miniseries (1985), a Starjammers miniseries (1990), and an X‑Men short story for Marvel Holiday Special (1991). He later worked on The Futurians (beginning as a graphic novel in 1983) and contributed to Claypool Comics’ Elvira series, Soulsearchers and Company, and Deadbeats. Two unfinished X‑Men/Nightcrawler pages were released posthumously in X‑Men: Odd Men Out (2008).

Cockrum became seriously ill in 2004, and a large fundraising effort organized by fellow creators helped support him. He died on November 26, 2006, in Belton, South Carolina, leaving his wife Paty, a son, and two stepchildren. The Joe Kubert School started the Dave & Paty Cockrum Scholarship in 2008 to honor his legacy. His awards included the Eagle Award for Favourite Colour Comic (1977) and an Inkpot Award (1982).