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Dave Cockrum's First Nightcrawler X-Men Original Artwork, At Auction

Published Fri, 26 Mar 2021 08:00:10 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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The late Dave Cockrum is the co-creator of the All-New X-Men, Nightcrawler, Storm, Colossus, Thunderbird, and Sunfire, but the one closest to his heart was Nightcrawler. And it is the original artwork of the first story appearance of Nightcrawler from Giant Size-X-Men #1, which is going to be getting the biggest bucks at Heritage Auctions as part of their Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction – Dallas #7242. But it's not alone; there's lots more X-Men Cockrum artwork below, including the young backstory of Storm from X-Men #103 and a back-of-the-page note to Chris Claremont over where Corsair keeps his guns when he's not holding them.

Dave Cockrum Giant-Size X-Men #1 Story Page 2 Nightcrawler Original Art (Marvel, 1975). Not only a key page from X-Men but a key page in Marvel history! This is the first story page from the first appearance of the new X-Men! The page gives readers their first look at Nightcrawler and his struggles in his native Germany, just before Professor Xavier arrives to offer him a spot at his "School for Gifted Youngsters." It is both pencilled and inked by Cockrum. Ink over graphite on Bristol board with an image area of 10" x 15". Slight toning, discoloured tape on the top and bottom edges, production oil staining along the left edge, spot staining on the bottom left corner, with whiteout corrections, and text paste-ups in the bottom margin. In Very Good condition. $40,000 at the time of writing, ends at 12:00 PM Central Time, Thursday, April 1, 2021.

Dave Cockrum and Frank Chiaramonte X-Men #99 Story Page 16 Original Art (Marvel, 1976). The penultimate page for this issue features an outstanding image of the "All-New/All-Different" X-Men charging into battle in Panel 5! Jean Grey (pre-Phoenix) and Cyclops are on the top section of the page. It was signed by writer Chris Claremont and penciler Dave Cockrum in the top edge as well. Ink over graphite on Bristol board with an image area of 10" x 15". There is production tape residue in the top and bottom margins. The caption boxes in Panel 5 are paste-ups, which has left them slightly discoloured, with a bit of glue residue near them, in Very Good condition. $20,000 bid at the time of writing, it ends at 1:30 PM Central Time, Friday, April 2, 2021.

Dave Cockrum and Sam Grainger X-Men #102 Story Page 7 Original Art (Marvel, 1977). This iconic and highly influential page gives part of the backstory for the "All-New/All-Different" X-Men member Storm! Her childhood trauma and the resultant claustrophobia would come up several times to haunt her in the future. The page was created in ink over graphite on Bristol board with an image area of 10" x 15". There is production tape on the marginal edges. Panel 5 is a stripped-in original art correction taped in from the reverse side, in Very Good condition. $2,200 bid at the time of writing, ends at 1:30 PM Central Time, Friday, April 2, 2021.

Dave Cockrum, Bob Wiacek, and Josef Rubinstein X-Men #154 Story Page 13 Original Art (Marvel, 1982). Corsair protests leaving Storm behind to fight the Sidri as he and Cyclops escape to the Blackbird. Cyclops settles the brief debate with a punch to the face, getting their father-son "Reunion" off to a rocky start, on this page from the post-Byrne era drafted by Dave Cockrum, the man responsible for launching the new generation of X-Men back in Giant-Size X-Men #1. The back of the page includes a lengthy message from Cockrum to X-Men scribe Chris Claremont about Corsair's weapons placement. Ink and Zipatone over graphite on Bristol board with an image size of 10" x 15". The right corners are trimmed, and there is a whiteout text correction in Panel 3. In Excellent condition. $6,750 bid at the time of writing, ends at 1:30 PM Central Time, Friday, April 2, 2021.