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The Life And Legacy Of Dave Cockrum
A.k.a. “Blacky” Lagoon Dave loved the Universal monster who starred in three 1950s movies, starting with the 3-D Creature from the Black Lagoon. (Above:) A 1974 Cockrum sketch of same, done for an Aurora model kit, sent by Anthony Taylor. (Right:) “Manphibian” splash from Marvel’s black-&-white mag The Legion of Monsters #1 (Sept. 1975). Dave conceived and named the character, whose concept sketch was seen in A/E #24—and, more recently, with other Cockrum art in Bob McLeod & TwoMorrows’ Rough Stuff #6. [Creature art ©2008 Universal Pictures; Manphibian art ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.]
figures. I did a Phantom kit... and Dick Giordano designed a Flash Gordon and Ming kit.... I did the box art for the Superboy model, and instructions for five or six of the kits. In a way, I was involved in all of the kits.”36
About the venture, the artist told Taylor, “We hired Dick Giordano, Neal Adams, Gil Kane, and others to illustrate the boxes and instructions. Unfortunately, we couldn’t agree on projects and the company folded.”
The instructions mentioned by the artist consisted of two pages at the back of a comic book which was unique to each kit. The comic book itself featured a story based upon the design of the model to be built, and when completed, the model was supposed to be displayed in front of the center spread of the comic book, which featured a scene that did not include the character featured in the model kit itself. The end result of placing the model in front of the comic book was supposed to produce “an outstanding 3-D effect!”
Before the demise of the venture, a lasting impression was made upon at least one model recipient. “I remember a Christmas present that he gave me one year,” recalled Ivan Cockrum in 2007. “I would’ve been five or six, I suppose. He used to design model kits for the Aurora model company, and he did a Superboy kit, and for Christmas one year he gave me one that he had built already and painted.... [He] just left [it] unwrapped under the Christmas tree. I still think of that fondly.”
Smallville, Schmallville!
Enter The X-Men
Superboy and Krypto in space never looked better than in this Cockrum art done for an Aurora model kit from the mid-1970s. From a scan of the original art in the Heritage Comics Archives, trolled for us by Glen Cadigan. [©2008 DC Comics.]
In 1974, Cockrum became involved with a project which proved to have longlasting effects on both his own career and on the entire comic book industry. It was during a meeting of Marvel Comics editor-