Toy OTD: Diamond Select Silver Age X-Men Statue: The Angel (2003), Marvel Girl (2002)

I'm generally not a fan of Diamond Select products, but I think this line of statues is quite good! The sculpts have a slightly rough-hewn quality that evokes Kirby's early drawing style (at least, to me). They're posed well, and the bases are nice and simple (completists will be encouraged to get the whole team, as all the bases include lettering that together spell out "X-Men"). The paint work is tight, and the colors are on-model. The only real minus of the line is Marvel Girl's face, which could use a little more delicacy (easier said than done, I know).

These statues sold for about ninety dollars each when they were first released, but it is possible to find them for considerably less now. I bought most of them for about forty to fifty dollars each (sometimes the boxes were damaged or the logo lettering was missing, but the statues themselves were fine). Mile High Comics has an Angel available for $100 + shipping, and I can't find a Marvel Girl statue online anywhere. I think if you keep your eye on eBay, though, you can get better prices with some patience.

The Obituary You Pray Not To Get

CNN: X-Men illustrator dies in Superman pajamas
POSTED: 7:37 p.m. EST, November 28, 2006

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP) -- Wearing Superman pajamas and covered with his Batman blanket, comic book illustrator Dave Cockrum died Sunday.

The 63-year-old overhauled the X-Men comic and helped popularize the relatively obscure Marvel Comics in the 1970s. He helped turn the title into a publishing sensation and major film franchise.

Cockrum died in his favorite chair at his home in Belton, South Carolina, after a long battle with diabetes and related complications, his wife Paty Cockrum said Tuesday.

At Cockrum's request, there will be no public services and his body will be cremated, according to Cox Funeral Home. His ashes will be spread on his property. A family friend said he will be cremated in a Green Lantern shirt.

At Marvel Comics, Cockrum and writer Len Wein were handed the X-Men. The comic had been created in 1963 as a group of young outcasts enrolled in an academy for mutants. The premise had failed to capture fans.

Cockrum and Wein added their own heroes to the comic and published "Giant-Size X-Men No. 1" in 1975. Many signature characters Cockrum designed and co-created -- such as Storm, Mystique, Nightcrawler and Colossus -- went on to become part of the "X-Men" films starring Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry.

Cockrum received no movie royalties, said family friend Clifford Meth, who organized efforts to help Cockrum and his family during his protracted medical care.

"Dave saw the movie and he cried -- not because he was bitter," Meth said. "He cried because his characters were on screen and they were living."

Cockrum was born in Pendleton, Oregon, the son of an Air Force officer. He set aside his interest in art while serving in Vietnam for the U.S. Navy.

He moved to New York after leaving the service and got his big break in the early 1970s, drawing the Legion of Super-Heroes for DC Comics before moving to Marvel.

In January 2004, Cockrum moved to South Carolina after being hospitalized for bacterial pneumonia. As his diabetes progressed, his drawings became limited.

His last drawing was a sketch for a fan, who attended a small comic book convention in Greenville, Paty Cockrum said.

Meth said Cockrum will be remembered as "a comic incarnate."

"He had a genuine love for comics and for science fiction and for fantasy, and he lived in it," Meth said. "He loved his work."

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I guess he was probably was a big comic nerd (like many of us), but I can't help but be rankled by the fact that his life's work was mentioned after his pajamas. Kooky!