Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, Image, Marvel Comics, X-Men | Tagged: john cassaday, planetary

Comics Artist John Cassaday, Planetary Co-Creator, Has Died Aged 52

Comics Artist John Cassaday, co-creator of Planetary and Astonishing X-Men, has died at the tragically young age of 52.

John Cassaday died this evening at the age of 52. He was admitted to the ICU at Mount Sinai West Hospital in New York, last week. His sister Robin wrote "My little bro John passed away at 6:51pm Texas time. Please keep me and my mom in your prayers."

Co-creator of Planetary with Warren Ellis, Desperadoes with Jeff Mariotte and  I Am Legion with Fabien Nury, he was the artist on Astonishing X-Men with Joss Whedon, Captain America with John Ney Rieber and Jeph Loeb,, and Star Wars with Jason Aaron, John Cassaday was a very popular, incredibly detailed, diverse and design-focused comic book artist with multiple Eisner Award wins to his name for Astonishing X-Men, Planetary, and I Am Legion. He began his career directing television news after attending film school, pivoting into comics while working in construction and, after some success for independent publishers, was initially championed by Mark Waid. 

Today, Waid recalled that first meeting in the mid nineties at Big Apple Comic Con. "John was pleasant, he was polite and well-mannered, and when he showed me his portfolio, I also knew he was tremendously talented for a newcomer. The next morning, I was having breakfast with writer Jeff Mariotte, who mentioned he was looking for an illustrator for his next series, Desperados. Boy, did he say that to the right guy, because I had just the artist in mind."

Cassaday followed Desperadoes from WildStorm with Ghost from Dark Horse, before working on Teen Titans, Flash, X-Men, Gen13, Superman/Batman, Hulk, and The Avengers for Marvel and DC.

1999 saw him co-create Planetary with Warren Ellis for Wildstorm/DC, telling the story of architects of superhero and pulp fiction history, which became part of the Wildstorm revival of the late nineties. It remains one of the most critically acclaimed superhero comics of all time. Subsequently he relauunched X-Men with Joss Whedon as Astonishing X-Men, which remains one of the most popular and reprinted runs on the title.

His redesign of Captain America became incredibly influential and heavily informed the Marvel Cinematic Universe portrayal of the character. He also found success in the larger French comics market, drawing Je suis légion by Fabien Nury from Les Humanoïdes Associés, that brought him a new "high art" appreciation. Cassaday also wrote comics such as Hellboy: Weird Tales, Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream, Rocketeer Adventures, X-Men: Alpha Flight, Bela Lugosi: Takes from the Grave, and Union Jack.

Cassaday also headlined the 2015 Marvel Comics relaunch of Star Wars with Jason Aaron, that saw his first issue sell a million copies, and was the best selling American comic of that year. John Cassaday became Chief Creative Officer for Humanioids in 2018.

He also returned to working on the screen as a concept artist on the Watchmen movie, director of an episode of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse TV series, and an actor in House on the Hill. He also made and appeared in a number of documentaries on comics.

Mark Waid added, "as his publisher for a brief time at Humanoids, I had the great and now melancholy pleasure of watching magnificent pages, his best ever, come in slowly on his dream project, an unannounced creator-owned multimedia series that will now be his unfinished symphony." And he shared an observation and anecdote. "Men in comics, as a general rule, are not exactly blessed with leading-man looks, but John was. Ask anyone. Between his handsome appearance, his charming manner, and his perfect blend of confidence and humility, he was quite the favorite of many, many ladies in his youth. Many. Effortlessly. To walk into a room of women with John was a reminder that the rest of us really, truly needed to work on our game. My single favorite memory with John was when he and I and a bunch of other comics dudes were standing around a big convention bar-party when actor Michael Rosenbaum walked in. Every woman's head turned, instantly, every eye upon Rosenbaum. It was like throwing a magnet into a box of iron filings. Conversely, every man in the bar who'd been there with a date was suddenly holding two drinks. In the tumult, I had the presence of mind to look at John and say, "Now you know how WE feel."

Christopher Golden wrote "Truly shocked and so deeply sad tonight to learn of the passing of John Cassaday. My old friend Jeff Mariotte introduced us decades ago, and during the years when I regularly attended SDCC and other big comic cons, we hung out often. I don't know what it's like now, but in those days, comics had a savage, high school level of hierarchal clique culture, yet no matter how successful he became, John didn't play that game. Laconic, dryly funny, smart as hell, and one of the best artists in the business, he was always kind. Young John was not only lean and handsome like a cinematic cowboy, he had an easy charm that put everyone at ease. I don't think I'd spoken to him more than a few times in the past ten years, but I always thought of him as a friend. I'd like to think he thought the same. What a huge, huge loss to comics, and to anyone who knew him. My condolences to his family and loved ones. It's just unthinkable that this guy is gone."

Jeff Mariotte wrote "My friend John Cassaday and I were important parts of our respective careers in comics. Desperadoes was my first creator-owned title. It allowed me to work with a number of stellar talents. It sold well, and it helped ignite a boom in weird-western comics that's still ongoing. It made a name for me as a comics writer.
John was the first artist on the series. He developed the visual appearance of the characters. He wasn't yet well known, but over the course of his run he became well known. I showed early pages to Warren Ellis, who tapped John for Planetary, which made him a superstar. Once I tried to introduce Joss Whedon to John, because Joss loved Desperadoes. Joss declined the offer at that moment, but later worked extensively with John, even hiring him to direct an episode of his TV show Dollhouse.
Now John is gone, way too young. I haven't seen him in 5 or 6 years, and now I won't see him again. Happy trails, partner, and thanks for riding with me."

Heather Antos, who edited him on Star Wars, wrote "Oh gosh, this one is hitting hard. You welcomed me into comics when I was a nobody and new. You mentored me when I was learning to draw. You inspired a generation. May the Force be with you. Always."

My own experiences of the man were gentle, kind, occasional bemused amusement, but also he made you feel cooler than you had any right to be. An extraordinary artistic talent but also a genuinely decent human being behind it all. We all send our condolences to his friends, colleagues and family especially his sister and his mother.

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