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

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."

A Little Help for Paty Cockrum, Please

Paty Cockrum's shattered leg has kept her hospitalized since Sunday. She will be released tomorrow but forced to spend several weeks in rehab. This ain't cheap. Her health insurance covers the lion's share of these costs, but her out-of-pocket is high.

If you're still a collector of back issues, now is the PERFECT time to buy some comics from the Dave Cockrum Estate. These were Dave's personal comics and file copies. Prices are already fair but click here, pick a handful and make me an offer I can't refuse. After all, it's the giving season. As every season should be.

Paty Cockrum is Down But Not Out

Paty Cockrum—the artist, widow of Dave Cockrum, and my dear friend of several decades—took a serious fall yesterday outside of her home in South Carolina that resulted in a shattered femur and an emergency operation that lasted several hours into the evening. I received the phone call regarding the incident from our mutual friend Richard O’Hara while I was visiting Gene Colan and, oddly enough, Gene and I were sitting back admiring original illustrations of Dave’s and Paty’s. The timing of that call was movie stuff.

Paty will be released from the hospital day after tomorrow and spend several weeks in a therapy center, learning to walk again. We spoke this afternoon and, as always, she was in the highest spirits. “I was taking the dogs out when one of them tugged and I must have been on an icy patch,” she reports. “So I went down and my leg was behind me and it broke. Then I dragged myself twenty feet or so back into the house and dialed 9-1-1. ‘I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!’ I told them.”

Always the joker, that Paty.

The Future of Dave Cockrum's Futurians

A number of you have written and even more have hit this blog via keyword searches (yes--we can see you; Google cuts both ways).

The wheels on the FUTURIANS move slowly. There's 20 unpublished, tightly pencilled pages of The Futurians by Dave Cockrum sitting on my desk and inquiries and interest from a number of major comics' publishers to roll-up existing (previously published Futurians' stories) into one BIG book. And there's still the half-interest of occasional Hollywood vecks. Paty Cockrum owns all of the originals and rights to everything so it's not complicated legally, just a question of what we want to do, and with who. Or is it whom?

Dave Cockrum Estate Offers 35% off DC Comics

Thanks to some (ahem) small efforts on my part, Paty Cockrum finally received her Marvel royalty check (it comes twice/year for Dave Cockrum's share in Nightcrawler) but I am still raising money to help her defray an unexpected tax bill. So today only we are offering DC Comics from The Estate of Dave Cockrum for 35% off. Click here.

CGC'd Silver Age Comics Added to Cockrum Estate Sale

CGC created the "Dave Cockrum Estate" pedigree specifically for this collection. Take a look here. And please contact me if you want three or more books--we are ready to deal. Paty Cockrum needs the money now. Let's help her.

The Cockrum / Claremont Reunion

Chris Claremont pictured with Paty Cockrum at Heroescon yesterday. Dave Cockrum was there in spirit (photo courtesy of Richard O'Hara).

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.

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.

Paty Cockrum on Grabbing Dave’s Ass

Beginning a tell-all interview with Paty Cockrum (a.k.a. Paty Greer), who worked in Marvel’s legendary bullpen, penciled, inked and colored a number of Marvel’s comics (including Claws of the Cat #3 and Amazing Spider-Man #247), and is notorious for saying whatever’s on her mind...

Cliff: It's been slightly more than a year since Dave passed. Does he still visit?

Paty: Yes. He often comes visiting both in the studio and in the house. I am sure he roams the grounds too... He loved the pond area so I am sure he is out there. He has been with Boo and I on several trips, too. When something interesting comes on the TV, like recent discoveries in dinosaurs, I cannot help but say to the ether, “You listening to this, furface?” And I have the distinct impression he is.

Cliff: Tell me again how you and Dave met. I seem to recall that you pinched his ass.

Paty: (laughing) Not quite. The bullpen at Marvel, at that time, was a wide open large room with two half-walls that drawing boards butted up against. You had the window wall with Danny Crespi, head letterer, and Morrie Kuramoto, his erstwhile second in command, and they faced away from the windows. On the other side of their wall were three drawing boards butted up against the half-wall—those were usually reserved for freelancers to come in and have a place to do corrections or finish off something. Across from them were three more boards up againstthe second half-wall—mine and two others. Across from all that was a Xerox machine and a long table for people using the Xerox machine to lay out stuff they were doing, and another drawing board at the end. At either end there was an aisle and at the far end of the room was a long office that was the domain at the time of JJ (John) Verpoorten, the Production Manager. On my end of the room Johnny Romita Sr. had his office and there was an alcove with two desks where Mike Esposito and Frank Giacoia, both inkers, usually hung out. The door to the hallway that led to editorial offices.

Now I was correcting some art on a couple of pages or doing paste-ups of indicias and such, and Duffy Vohland was on the board next to me doing whatever Duffy did. There were people in and out of the room with all kinds of pages so when I heard the copier operating I looked up and saw this guy Xeroxing pages. Nice looking guy with a beard. I asked Duffy who that was and he said, “Oh, that's Dave Cockrum. He’s doing the new revival of the X-Men book.” I picked up the pages I had finished and walked the long way around, towards JJ's office, to get a better look at this guy. I knew his art from Fantastic Fanzine as well as some good work he had done over at DC on the Legion of Superheroes where he had redesigned the costumes of the characters (thank goodness! the 1950’s uniforms were awful and lacked any kind of style and pizzazz). So I was impressed with his art. Dave was busily Xeroxing and Duffy noticed that I took the long way around so he stood up to get a look at what I was up to because ordinarily I would have just walked out my side of the half-walls and gone out the door. As I walked leisurely from JJ's end of the room, I looked Dave up and down, liked what I saw, and, as I passed behind him, I patted him on the fanny and said, “Nice ass,” and then I was through the door.

Duffy later regaled me with what happened after I exited the bullpen. Dave looked up, his big blue eyes wide, looked both ways and asked wildly, “Uh...Who-waz-that? What? Who?” Duffy is, by this time howling and nearly falling down. Duffy was the human embodiment of Volstagg from the Thor series, with girth and flaming red hair and beard to match, so when he laughed, it was rolling. “Oh,” sez he to a totally startled and befuddled Dave, “that's just Paty. She's harmless.”

That's how much Duffy knew! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!