Paty Cockrum Makes Joe Kubert Blush

Just found this piece from 12 years ago and thought I'd share it. --Cliff

I was privy to a few moments of sunshine last week when I introduced Paty Cockrum to Joe Kubert.

“Thrilled to meet you, sir,” said Paty in a voice I didn’t recognize as hers. Sir? Hell, this is the toughest old gal I’ve ever known, famous for dragging men out of burning buildings and pointing shotguns at strangers. The occasion was the initiation of The Dave and Paty Cockrum Scholarship Fund, which we’ve been planning for a number of months.

“You were one of the first comic artists that I was truly a fan of,” Paty said to the blushing legend. “You and Bill Everett were the only two who signed your work back then, but you were the only one who knew how draw horses. Everyone else bent the horse’s legs the wrong way.”

Joe, who always has an easy smile, had a good laugh from that. “I had great respect for your husband’s work,” he said. “I watched it very carefully.”

“Well, your Hawkman was formative in his design concepts,” said Paty. “He revered you as an inspiration.”

As for Mr. Meth, I’m proud to sit on the committee that will bestow the newly established scholarship. I’m not a big believer in ghosts. Paty is, but I’m not. Either way, I can’t help thinking that ole Dave would be very happy about this if his ether has any sense of happiness. Dave got his big break because Neal Adams had a generous spirit and sent Dave to Jim Warren with a note saying, “Give this boy work.” He spent his whole career paying that forward. I never saw anything other than a generous spirit on my friend?generous with his time, with his meager funds, and with his praise to burgeoning young artists who would come to him for advice.

But let’s not neglect Paty in this equation. As long as I’ve known the lady, she’s been going out of her way for anybody who needs a helping hand, giving away art, giving away art lessons, and now giving away cash.

A $1000.00 grant will be bestowed each year on a second- or third-year students at the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon Graphic Art, Inc. The school currently has about 120 students and has graduated more than 3,000 since its founding in 1976, including some of today’s leading artists and many of my pals.

The scholarship will be funded by the sale of Dave Cockrum’s personal comics collection, which you can see at my blog.

This article (c) 2004 by Clifford Meth first appeared at comicsbulletin.com

What Really Happened to Dave Cockrum and Gene Colan?

Colan kept dignity and high spirits in spite of dire circumstances.

If you've followed my blog, you know how I felt about my pals Dave Cockrum & Gene Colan. What you probably don't know is what went on behind the scenes of their struggles with Marvel. Perhaps you read between the lines. Maybe you missed the episodes entirely and are content collecting their comics and art. Fair enough.

But if you're interested in their real stories--and some of the other sordid happenstances in the world of four-color comics--you might want to check out this video.

Cockrum was cheated but never complained. 

Aardwolf Publishing has launched it's first Kickstarter project around my book Comic Book Babylon. With an introduction by Stan Lee and art by Michael Netzer, it's little wonder why the project funded in less than two days. But the Kickstarter is just the beginning. The book will be the real event. Come meet the real Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Joe Kubert, Walter Simonson, Bob Layton, Herb Trimpe and many other key creators of the comic book universe. Come read Harlan Ellison answer tough questions for tough Jews. Take a look at what I consider my most exciting project in more than a decade. Click here to start the journey.

Scholarships Are *NOT* Entitlements!

As a student at Rutgers and FDU in the U.S., and at Wroxton College in the U.K., I often competed for writing scholarships. The competition and awards proved invaluable on numerous levels:

1) As an amateur/student, I was forced to bring my writing to the highest possible level without assistance.
2) I learned to meet deadlines and follow word-count and guideline parameters.

3) Winning awards for my writing increased my confidence and allowed me to envision life as a professional.

4) Awards are solid resume material for as-yet unemployed wannabes.

5) Any monies I won were enormously helpful to my father, who earned a meager living but was otherwise happily burdened with my tuition and upkeep.

Needs-based awards have some value but, let's face it, everyone has needs.

Merit-based awards are far more valuable and character building.

After Dave Cockrum's passing, Paty Cockrum and I launched the Dave and Paty Cockrum Scholarship at the Joe Kubert School where we annually award a second-year student with some tuition assistance based on their ability to create seductive, sequential art. We designed the award for someone who has demonstrated a stick-to-itiveness by hanging in for that second term. The scholarship now enters its 6th year and is funded, in part, by sales of Dave Cockrum's personal comics collection.

After Gene Colan's passing, I began funding a second scholarship to a promising penciller at the school, also in his or her second year. I was pleased to be informed that these scholarships inspired the creation and private funding of other named scholarships, including one in Dave Stevens' memory.

With Joe & Adam Kubert at 2012 Scholarship Ceremony

This year's award ceremony will take place next month and I plan to be on-hand once again to meet and congratulate winning students. This will be the first year my friend Joe Kubert is not there to emcee the event. But in contemplating that loss, I've decided to add a third scholarship (as yet unamed), which will be funded by selling signed comics. Today's collectors like their comics signed and, fortunately, I am able to pick up the phone and ask some old friends for signatures. Stan Lee, Walter Simonson and George Perez were among the first to offer help.

I invite your participation in this new scholarship, too. If you have any signed comics that you are willing to part with (even one), please send them to: Clifford Meth (attn: Kubert Scholarship), 179-9 Rt. 46 West, Rockaway, NJ 07866. Or email me at cliffmeth@aol.com  Donated items will be auctioned on Ebay under the account DaveCockrumEstate (which is currently in use to fund the Cockrum and Colan Awards).

Scholarships helped me and kept me going forward. I am delighted by the opportunity to maintain the circle of life.

Thank you in advance for your kind support.

DC Entertainment: You Should Be Ashamed

I've had multiple conversations today regarding the crass and thoroughly mercenary way an employee at DC was allowed to treat the passing of our friend Joe Kubert. As numerous individuals pointed out in posts to DC and elsewhere, the initial announcement of the death of an associate is hardly occasion to hype the company's products. At best, this hastily hacked out copy was the work of an immature, amateur, inexperienced copywriter who didn't know Joe Kubert from Joe the Plumber. At best.

I think it's fair to say that the legion of those who care--Joe Kubert's family, friends, fans, and indeed, the entire international body of gentlefolk who assemble as comics fandom who were sorely insulted by DC's insensitive treatment of this solemn moment--are owed an apology by whomever it is that now sits at the helm of DC Entertainment. The crass, classless, opportunistic "announcement" of Joe Kubert's death only added insult to those injured by Joe's passing. I dare say it's something that wouldn't have happened on Paul Levitz's watch.

Contrast the way DC announced Joe's death with the way the matter was handled by any of the industry's news sites. Scores of comics reporters and bloggers took time to offer tasteful words of tribute to Joe Kubert accompanied by carefully considered references to his historical significance. Tom Spurgeon--always a go-to source for accurate information, respect and style--offered a New York Times-worthy presentation of facts and analysis, dignifying Joe's more-than-impressive life and industry significance. Should DC have offered less?

Seriously: Someone at DC Entertainment owes us a huge apology.

Joe Kubert 1926-2012 RIP old friend

Update 3:10 pm: Adam and Andy Kubert have announced that Joe's funeral services will be tomorrow at Tuttle Funeral Home 272 Rt-10, Randolph, NJ 07869. This is where Muriel's service was held in 2008. The gathering is from 10 AM - 12 PM, and actual services will commence at noon. Internment will follow afterwards. It's believed that the procession of cars will pass by the Kubert School and then Joe's home before going to the cemetery. Donations can be made to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation in Joe's name, 383 Main Avenue, 5th floor, Norwalk CT 06851 - www.themmrf.org. Sympathy cards can be sent to the Kubert family c/o the Kubert School, 37 Myrtle Avenue, Dover, NJ 07801.

May the family have no more sorrow. - CM
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When someone advanced in years passes, people often toss the cliche, "They had a full life." With Joe Kubert, it was true.

Neal Adams once remarked to me that Joe had the three major pillars in place: He took care of his family, his business and his health.

I'll leave it for others to expound on Joe's pioneering art, his importance and longevity as comics royalty, his role as a the definitive comics-art instructor. Let me instead say this:

I knew Joe since I was a boy. We were neighbors and I didn't realize he was a legend until I got older. He didn't act like a legend -- not then, not ever. I'd run into him at my local supermarket. One time, shortly after ComicCon, Joe was on line with his shopping cart full of fruit and vegetables, waiting to pay for his groceries, so I snuck up behind him. "Isn't it strange," I said, "not having people waiting on line to see you?" Joe turned around and laughed.

By all accounts Joe was a regular guy, except he was better than everyone at most things and never let on. Joe was an exceptional family man, an exceptional artist and teacher, a keen businessman. His school in Dover, NJ, changed lives, provided careers for young artists for three decades and will continue to do so under the guidance of his sons, who he adored... Joe was still playing paddle-ball or handball into his mid-eighties, still creating exquisite art every day in his studio, grabbing your hand with that vice-like handshake of his when you entered, always a warm smile and a twinkle in his eye. I was so pleased to know him, to stop by the school whenever I was in the neighborhood, to be able to participate in the scholarship awards there each year, and to have Joe grace the charity projects I was running. He was just aces, this terrific guy who never seemed to age -- this big, wonderful, strong and excellent man. I was sure Joe Kubert would be around forever.

Joe was 85. Rest in peace old friend. You were sensational.


update (9:40 a.m. 8/13):

As always, Tom Spurgeon offers insightful, detailed coverage of those friends we have lost. Tom's article on Joe can be read here.

xxx

Gene Colan, Dave & Paty Cockrum Continue to Enrich

Joe Kubert (center, top) and his students with Adam Kubert (bottom right)

This afternoon, I was honored to participate again in the Scholarship Ceremony at the Joe Kubert School. Joe and his son, artist Adam Kubert, were both on hand to present students with cash awards for outstanding work--monies that we hope will help them in their training before they head off to work in the very competitive field of comic art.


From Joe Kubert:

"THE GENE COLAN SCHOLARSHIP was established by writer Clifford Meth in memory of his friend Gene Colan, who passed away last June. Gene is regarded as one of the most influential and beloved artists of Marvel's Silver Age. He worked for Marvel for 64 years--longer than anyone else to date--touching nearly every major Marvel character and defining many including Daredevil, Iron Man, Tomb of Dracula and Howard the Duck. In the last decade of his career, Marvel and Dark Horse stopped assigning inkers to Gene's work--his pencils were regarded as too perfect to cover up. This is the first time the GENE COLAN SCHOLARSHIP has been awarded and the award is presented for outstanding craftsmanship with a pencil."

"THE DAVE and PATY COCKRUM SCHOLARSHIP was established by Dave's widow Paty and their friend and collaborator Clifford Meth. Paty was a production artist at Marvel during the last years of the famed Marvel Bullpen, where she also did occasional pencils on Marvel's British magazines and such U.S. books as Amazing Spider-Man and Claws of the Cat. Her husband Dave Cockrum, who passed away in 2006, was considered by many the the greatest character designer Marvel had after Jack Kirby and John Romita. Cockrum's designs and creations for Marvel included Nightcrawler, Storm, Colossus, Mystique, Thunderbird, Ms. Marvel, the Black Cat, Starjammers and the Futurians among others. Having trained under Murphy Anderson at DC, Dave spent most of his career at Marvel. The annual DAVE and PATY COCKRUM SCHOLARSHIP is awarded for creativity and outstanding story-telling ability."

The Dave & Paty Cockrum Scholarship

New pics just in from Carol Thomas at The Kubert School (thanks Carol!)
As noted, the Kubert School in Dover, NJ, produces tomorrow's best and brightest comic artists. I had the pleasure of presenting this year's Dave & Paty Cockrum Scholarship to Brigid Allanson, one of the promising young talents at this extraordinary academy. Spider-Man artist Adam Kubert and his legendary dad are also pictured.

Note: When you purchase comics from the Estate of Dave Cockrum (Dave's personal comics), the proceeds benefit this annual scholarship.

Kubert's World

The Kubert School in Dover, New Jersey continues to turn out tomorrow's most promising new comic artists, and I had the pleasure today of presenting the Dave & Paty Cockrum Scholarship to Brigid Allanson, one of the promising young talents at this extraordinary academy. There were also new scholarships memorializing Dave Simons and Al Williamson (Al's son was on hand to award this one).

There's much better photos, I'm sure, including some with Adam Kubert and Joe actually smiling, but this was the only one that found it's way to my cellphone.

Note: When you purchase comics from the Estate of Dave Cockrum (Dave's personal comics), the proceeds benefit this annual scholarship.

Signed Comics - No Small Fad

I have a lot to say about this and all of it is good. The generation of Silver Age legends will not be around to sign their books forever and it only increases the value of the collectibles they created when the comics are signed and authenicated. And it allows the artists to put a little money (and it's very little) in their pockets during their twilight years. So I am all for it and investing my time to make this happen.

I will be the CGC witness for upcoming signings with Joe Kubert, Gene Colan, Rich Buckler (who created Deathlok), Herb Trimpe, Michael Netzer, and Russ Heath. If I were you, I'd get in on these.

The Value of a Good Name

I spent some time with Joe Kubert at his studio last week. It’s always good to see Joe, a mutant of incredible health (b’li eyin hora), the Randy Coulture of comics—or perhaps Randy is the Joe Kubert of MMA. Joe was signing comics for an upcoming auction that will be used to support the annual Dave & Paty Cockrum Scholarship that Paty and I give at his school each year. He’s also been signing comics at the occasional comics conventions for free. But that’s about to change. And it’s not about the money, as anyone who knows Joe will attest to.

“I need to help raise the bar for other creators,” said Joe, an active participant in the Hero Initiative. “What I do impacts others.”

Joe is right, of course, and he is about to become the second highest paid signer in the business. Stan Lee, the highest, is now getting $50-90/signature, with proceeds donated to the new Stan Lee Literacy Foundation. Gene Colan, who I have represented for a year now, has upped his price to $20/signature. There’s no reason for comics industry elders to take less than their fair share of books that are set to be graded, slabbed and put on the market for much higher prices than their unsigned/ungraded counterparts. This is where the market has gone and rightly so; the elders and founders and pioneers of comics have made a fraction of what their creations continue to bring as rare, prized collectibles.

I will be the CGC "witness" at the first CGC signing for Joe Kubert. I am also coordinating signings for Rich Buckler and Gene Colan.

For more information on the Joe Kubert signing contact Chris Seminara at cseminara@akibia.com

Bru-Hed on Meth

I ran into my neighbor Joe Kubert today at the local supermarket. We shook hands, exchanged pleasantries, asked about each other's families. He also wanted to know why I was wearing a t-shirt with Jay Leno on it.

Who Wants To Be A Comic Book Artist?

Courtesy of Adam Kubert, here's some photos from last year's (May '08) scholarship presentations at The Joe Kubert School for Cartoon & Graphic Art. I was honored with awarding the Dave & Paty Cockrum Scholarship to second-year student Ian Ayala and am pictured here with living legend Joe Kubert who thanks me for wearing a blue shirt.

The scholarship is funded by sales from Dave Cockrum's personal comics collection.

Cockrum Scholarship at the Joe Kubert School

Neglected to mention several weeks ago that I was honored, again, to present the Dave & Paty Cockrum Annual Scholarship Award to a promising artist at the Joe Kubert School for Graphic Design. That scholarship continues to be funded by the generous Paty Cockrum via sales from Dave's personal collection, including his file copies. Comics are frequently added to the list of what's available check it from time to time. To see the list of what's available, click here.

Seven Thin Cows. And Getting Thinner.

If you're a reader of mine and plan to purchase my new book, please order it directly from me (cliffmeth@aol.com). IDW Publishing plans to release BILLBOARDS, my first hardcover collection in nearly six years, by the end of the month. BILLBOARDS features cover and interior art by Dave Gutierrez, along with an introduction by legendary science-fiction author Robert Silverberg. You can purchase the book signed or personalized for $14.99 plus $3.50 shipping. There are also 26 signed/lettered copies available for $40.00 each plus $3.50 shipping.

While you're at it, if there's any of my other books you can't live without, get those from me, too, and save on the combined shipping. As always, my books come with full money-back guarantees.

Please visit the blog post below re: comics from Dave Cockrum's personal collection. Dave, the co-creator of the X-Men, left a wealth of file copies which we sell to fund the annual Dave & Paty Cockrum Scholarship. I'll be presenting the award on May 14 at the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon Art & Graphic Design.

And now…The Dave & Paty Cockrum Scholarship

I was privy to a few moments of sunshine last week when I introduced Paty Cockrum to Joe Kubert.

“Thrilled to meet you, sir,” said Paty in a voice I didn’t recognize as hers. Sir? Hell, this is the toughest old gal I’ve ever known, famous for dragging men out of burning buildings and pointing shotguns at strangers. The occasion was the initiation of The Dave & Paty Cockrum Scholarship Fund, which I’ve been planning for a number of months.

“You were one of the first comic artists that I was truly a fan of,” Paty said to the blushing legend. “You and Bill Everett were the only two who signed your work back then, but you were the only one who knew how draw horses. Everyone else bent their legs the wrong way.”

Joe, who always has an easy smile, had a good laugh. “I had great respect for your husband’s work,” he said. “I watched it very carefully.”

“Well, your Hawkman was formative in his design concepts,” said Paty. “He revered you as an inspiration.”

I’m proud to sit on the committee that will give the newly established scholarship each year to a student at the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon Graphic Art, Inc. The school currently has about 120 students and has graduated more than 3,000 since its founding in 1976, including some of today’s leading artists and many of my pals.

The scholarship will be funded by the sale of Dave Cockrum’s personal comics collection, which you can see here.

Application deadline is April 30. The winner will be announced at HeroesCon in South Carolina in June. For more information, contact Mike Chen at mchen@kubertsworld.com.