The Futurians by Jim Lee

As some of you may know, I'm a huge fan of Dave Cockrum's work and got to know him a little bit in the late 90's to early 2000's. In 2004, as his health was failing, Clifford Meth and Aardwolf publishing got together with some of Dave's friends and admirers to put together a benefit book and art auction. This was one of the pieces done for The Uncanny Dave Cockrum tribute book.

While there were some really nice drawings in the book (particularly Walt Simonson's contribution), I've always thought this Futurians piece was the highlight. Jim Lee really put his heart and soul into this art and you can see the love for Dave that went into it. I also loved the fact that he drew Dave's characters, the Futurians, as opposed to the X-Men, who he would obviously have been more familiar with. This art features Avatar, Blackmane, Silkie and Terrayne.

In addition to the original 2004 book, this was also featured in an expanded 2007 hardcover edition (well worth seeking out if you don't have it). Aardwolf also included the art again in The Futurians Return book published in 2016 as well as using it as the back cover, in color for the first time, colored by artist Ray Lago. I've included a scan of the color version.

I actually bid on this in the auction back in 2004, but not high enough, and it's been haunting me ever since. Big thanks to Albert for selling it to me now.