So starting something slightly different from the norm. I've recently started to reread the Essential X-Men volumes that I have. For those unfamiliar, Marvel's Essentials lines are chronological reprintings of old Marvel comic books, printed on cheap news print in black and white to keep the cost down. They offer an incredible value really, especially for anyone who wants to read it "from the beginning."
The X-Men volumes, however, are somewhat confusing in their labeling. The Essential X-men collection actually starts at Giant-Sized X-Men, where the second generation of characters were introduced, including the first appearance of Storm, Nightcrawler and Colossus (as well as Thunderbird; he didn't fare so well comparatively.) Of course, the problem is that it skips nearly a decade of X-Men stories before that, including the earliest stuff by Lee and Kirby. So those have also been printed under the title Classic X-Men. The problem with that, being, there actually was a book already called Classic X-Men: a plus-sized book that was half reprints of old adventures, and half behind the scenes moments not original presented in the book. It is probably a better name than the confusing Essential Uncanny X-Men, seeing how the book Uncanny X-Men didn't get the adjective until after Giant Sized.
But I digress. I've decided, reading these old stories, to go through the history of Uncanny X-Men and look at each of the artists who have worked on the book, and specifically discuss the work they did in X-Men. This includes long runs (think Byrne or, in this very article, Cockrum) as well as guest-spots and annuals. Anything and everything that was published under the Uncanny banner.
So lets get started, shall we?
Dave Cockrum: Giant Sized X-Men 1, Uncanny 94-107; No Guest Spots, though Bob Brown finished his work on 106.
Dave Cockrum is the first artist to draw the X-Men after the relaunch of the title, designing the majority of the team that came on in Giant Sized X-Men. After working from a pair of scripts from Len Wein, Cockrum started a year-long run with Wein's assistant, some guy named Claremont, that lasted from issue 95 to 107. Claremont has said in various interviews that early on, he and Cockrum weren't sure what the book was going to be and so they felt a bit more freedom to experiment and see what worked. And it doesn't take much reading to see that they took that freedom to heart.
Giant Sized X-Men, despite introducing some of the most beloved and long-standing X-Men characters, is extremely odd for an x-book. The first half starts familiar enough: Professor X searches for new students for his school (though that plot point is very quickly forgotten) that shall double as new X-Men to help rescue the originals. Lead by Cyclops, naturally, the X-Men head into danger, unsure what they'll find. This where things take a decided left turn, as they battle the Living Island Krakoa, who has vines for veins and tree limbs for...well, limbs.
It is clear that it is these moments that Cockrum is really enjoying himself. There is a dynamic, frantic quality to it. When Cockrum's heroes scream, it is not a righteous battle cry, but a face contorted in horror. They are panicked, unsure and scared for their lives. Cockrum loves drawing monsters and aliens; the more exotic the locale the better. Cockrum always stated a fondness for Kirby's work, and it certainly shows. He relishes in the same excesses and strange perspective of reality that marked Kirby's career.
Even in the quiet, before-the-storm moments of Cockrum's work, there is a very palpable sense of dread and weight. Any time he does a close-up of anyone, it is a treat. Cockrum's human being is sweaty, pourous and quite often anxious. One of the core rules of horror is that terror can strike at any moment, and Cockrum makes it very clear that his heroes are very aware of this inescapable fact. They understand that the calm of their existence is only a brief vacation from the danger of their lives.
Of course, this danger doesn't just come across in the (oddly numerous) monster sequences: the Sentinels are treated as being just as horrific, and a battle with Magneto near the end of this early run is fairly unsettling, with loose debris flying through. During the great moments of horror, panel angels become more jutting and seemingly random. The chaos seeps beyond just the expression of the characters, but into the very page layout itself. Nothing is safe; in the final panel of 97, a double tiered window shot brings this point home very strongly: the X-Men are being observed and tortured, for our amusement. Are you amused?
This all somewhat undercuts the fact that Cockrum is a pretty daring superhero artist, especially for the era these books are being published (1975!). It is easy to see why with Cockrum's dynamic, film-like eye that the book quickly became Marvel's leader, along with Claremont's verbose but addictive writing style. (This isn't a series about Uncanny's writing, mainly because Claremont takes up so much of it, but it interesting to note that Claremont is also much more experimental in his writing style in these early issues. One of his most interesting devices is to have one moment where the unseen narrator actually eggs Scott Summers on to release his frustration.)
When early post-relaunch X-Men books are considered, the Byrne work is often considered the pinnacle, mostly because he did the bulk of the Phoenix cycle. But the tone is set by Cockrum, who immediately establishes that X-Men is a book unlike our superhero tales, where the bets are off and danger is very palpable. Part of the reason his X-Men are so human is that overriding sense of fear, and it sets the stage for the work that Byrne and all following artists do.
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