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.

Dave Cockrum & Gene Colan Updates

Many of you have noticed that more comics from the Estate of Dave Cockrum, as well as some of Gene Colan's file copies, are now being sold on Ebay. And if you haven't noticed, come take a look. There's some terrific collectibles at great values, and proceeds help finance the Dave and Paty Cockrum Scholarship, as well as the newly established Gene Colan Scholarship, at the Joe Kubert School for Graphic Art. I miss Dave and Gene and Joe very much. Harlan Ellison (he should live and be well) warned me that having older pals would be painful one day. It's painful now. I've lost too many.

I will be creating a NEW LIST of available items (books, comics, original comic art) and posting it here soon. These items will be available before going up for bid on Ebay or ComicLink or one of the other auction sites. These days, my charity work is limited to these scholarships. Wish I could do more for others but I am limited in resources.

Even if you are no longer a collector or comics or comic art, please share this blog with others on FaceBook or wherever you virtually hang out. Paty Cockrum sends her love to everyone. Gene's son Erik says hello. I say hello. And Saints Dave, Gene and Joe are looking down or sideways and giggling  at how much fuss we continue to make about them.

bruchas,

Cliff

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."

For Gene Colan's Memory (in lieu of flowers)

Following my earlier discussions with Gene, and one this morning with his daughter Nanci, I am setting up the Gene Colan Scholarship at the Joe Kubert School.

In lieu of flowers and such, if you would like to contribute to this scholarship in Gene’s memory, please make your check payable to “Joe Kubert School” and mail it to my attention:

Gene Colan Scholarship
c/o Clifford Meth
179-9 Rt. 46 West
Rockaway, NJ 07866

All checks will be delivered to Mike Chen, the school’s coordinator.