TOP 13 LISTS | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture

Nov12

PAUL KUPPERBERG: My 13 Favorite Projects Working With DON NEWTON

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Nov 12, 2026

PAUL KUPPERBERG: My 13 Favorite Projects Working With DON NEWTON

A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE: The celebrated Mr. K honors his sometime Bronze Age collaborator… — UPDATED 11/12/26: The late Don Newton was born 92 years ago, on Nov. 12, 1934. Perfect time to reprint this piece from his birthdate in 2021! Dig it. — Dan — By PAUL KUPPERBERG The only thing that could have made it easier selecting my 13 favorite stories drawn by Don Newton (November 12, 1934 — August 19, 1984) that I scripted or dialogued would have been if Don had actually done 13 of my stories instead of a mere 12. Missed it by that much! Still, since I loved just about anything Don drew, it wasn’t difficult to find a stray 13th tale for this birthday salute. I’ve always felt fortunate that Don drew as many of my stories at DC Comics as he did, beginning with Aquaman in 1978 and ending with a Tales of the Green Lantern Corps back-up in 1984, Don’s final story and, coincidentally, the only story at DC he got to both pencil and ink. It was a not-much-of-anything-happens kind of script, but Don transformed the six-page incident into a stunning, atmospheric set piece that went light years beyond my expectations when I wrote it. It was a little masterpiece, a fact recognized by no less an authority than Dick Giordano, who wrote in his obituary of the artist, “To my mind, Don’s final statement was the Green Lantern Corps story he penciled and inked that appeared in Green Lantern #181. He showed us how to do it right.” (Click here for the late Giordano’s full tribute.) I was aware of the Virginia-born Newton’s work long before he turned pro for Charlton Comics in 1974, about a year ahead of me. Don had been a mainstay of comics fanzines since the mid-1960s when his earliest work was first published by G.B. Love in a fanzine called The Golden Age. His painted covers and interior line art were soon making eyes pop all over fandom; it’s estimated his art graced more than 100 fanzines. Now living in Arizona, Don found it difficult to make any headway with the East Coast-based Marvel and DC Comics. These were the pre-internet, pre-FedEx days of publishing, when the U.S. Postal Service was the only alternative to hand delivery if an artist lived out of...

Nov11

13 Fabulous DAVE COCKRUM Marvel Character Designs

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Nov 11, 2026

13 Fabulous DAVE COCKRUM Marvel Character Designs

A BIRTHDAY SALUTE: Jim Beard pays homage to the late creator, who was born 83 years ago… — UPDATED 11/11/26: The late Dave Cockrum was born 83 years ago! Perfect time to reprint this piece from his birthday in 2021! Dig it. — Dan — By JIM BEARD The late, great Dave Cockrum was an all-around comics creator, being both an artist and writer, but when I think back on his legacy in the industry, my mind’s eye goes zooming to his character designs. To that end, I’ve cobbled together 13 FABULOUS DAVE COCKRUM MARVEL CHARACTER DESIGNS to celebrate the man’s birthday. (He was born Nov. 11, 1943.) NOTE: You may be saying, “Oh, same-old, same-old, we all know Dave was a fantastic designer,” but just to shake things up a bit, I’ve seeded this list with some off-the-beaten-path favorites of mine… and you won’t know what they are unless you take a leap of faith with me, True Believer! In no specific order… — Phoenix. Let’s start with greatness, shall we? Dave’s costume for the transformed Jean Grey in X-Men #101 is a stunner, plain and simple. It has his requisite sash, sure, but I love that black wedge-shape with the abstract avian symbol, and the colors combined with Jean’s red hair make for a splash in X-Men history that will never be forgotten. — Smasher. Ah-ha! Yes, I’m going places no Cockrum Costumes list has never gone! First appearing in X-Men #107, the dashing dude designated as Smasher made a smashing impact on my eyeballs with that get-up. I really dig the simplicity of the suit, as well as, again, the color combination. Extra points for a cool chest symbol that may or may not have anything to do with “smashing.” — Nightcrawler. Legend has it that Nightcrawler was brought over from DC to Marvel when Dave jumped ships, and in doing so made mutant memories at the House of Ideas. This is one of those times when it’s not just a costume design, but an overall character visual for the win. Kurt Wagner’s Giant-Size X-Men #1 look just screams “swashbuckler” while his physical form screams “demon from Hell.” This has to be one of Cockrum’s best. — Ch’od. Who doesn’t love the Starjammers, right? X-Men #104 introduced Dave’s space-faring squadron to an unsuspecting readership,...

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