13 COVERS: A DAVE COCKRUM Birthday Celebration

Dave Cockrum was born Nov. 11, 1943. He would have been 73.

UPDATED 11/11/16: It’s a year later. Please enjoy.

One of the best things about reading old comics is checking out the letters pages. Not just for the letters themselves, but for those who sent them in. There were a lot of regulars back then but it’s especially fun to see the names of people who later became major players in the field. Dave Cockrum is one of those people.

That’s just an aside, really. Because Dave Cockrum is far, far better known for being one of the most important artists in comics history, as one of the people who revitalized the X-Men, helping to turn them into the juggernaut — pun intended — they would become.

Cockrum died inĀ  2006, but we’re left with his stellar art. Here are 13 COVERS focused on his time with the X-Men — the team with which he would be most closely identified.

Cockrum and Gil Kane

Cockrum and Gil Kane

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Terry Austin inks

Terry Austin inks

Austin inks

Austin inks

789158

Austin inks

Austin inks

Austin inks

Austin inks

Joe Rubinstein inks

Joe Rubinstein inks

Austin inks

Austin inks

Rubinstein inks

Rubinstein inks

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Rubinstein inks

Rubinstein inks

Austin inks

Austin inks

As usual, all images and credits from the awesome Grand Comics Database.

Author: Dan Greenfield

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1 Comment

  1. Glad to see this tribute to Dave Cockrum. I’ve always been a fan since his days drawing the Legion of Super-Heroes. His art was a huge reason the group was able to eventually commandeer Superboy’s title. Only a week or two ago, I searched for Dave on the net and one result was his obituary. I was absolutely stunned to learn from the piece that he had attended Southern Illinois University! SIU is a pretty big deal here in the lower section of the state, and I couldn’t believe that one of comics greats actually attended before he entered the military. Another reason for me to admire him.

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