Pop! Goes the Icon

Comic book artist Dave Cockrum — co-creator of the modern-day X-Men — died on Nov. 26, 2006. While this is obviously not news, I was recently reminded by long-time Cockrum friend and collaborator Clifford Meth that the sale of Cockrum’s personal comic book collection is still going on.

The sale is to raise money for Cockrum’s widow, Paty, which Meth is donating his time and effort to coordinating. Many of these comics in Cockrum’s collection are file copies he received from the publishers — many weren’t even stapled before landing in his hands. There are hundreds of classic Marvel and DC titles, including Cockrum’s only file copy of X-Men No. 94 — the first appearance of the “new” team in its regular book (after Giant Sized X-Men No. 1).

I’ve already reserved the copy of Uncanny X-Men No. 150 (note to self: send check to Clifford tomorrow). All the comics come bagged and boarded with a “Dave Cockrum Estate” seal of authenticity. If you’re looking to fill holes in your collection and fill hearts with generosity at the same time, click here to peruse the goods at Meth’s website.

On a related note, after an intense last-minute bidding war, I won one of the comic book blocks being auctioned on eBay by Roger Stern today (as I mentioned previously). It’s Avengers No. 288-350, and I won with a top bid of $30. With shipping, that’s about 40 cents per book. Not too shabby for a 63-issue run of the title, even if I do have about a dozen issues sprinkled throughout already. I mean, they belonged to Roger Stern, one of the most solid writers of the ’80s. And I paid for half of it with eBay earnings from my own comic sales, so in the end, a good investment all around. And more importantly — good reading. Thanks, Uncle Rog!