We’re sorry to report the passing of multiple Eisner Award-winning American comic and concept artist, and writer John Cassaday, who died yesterday, aged just 52.
We understand John had been suffering from ill health for some time. Our sympathies to family and friends at this difficult time.
“John Cassaday, I will say without hesitation and with very little fear of disagreement, was one of the very best illustrators and storytellers to ever work in the comics medium” writer Mark Waid said on social media. “Like Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, or Michael Golden, he is a touchstone, a reference point to the dozens and dozens of artists whose work was influenced by his. Most people are lucky if more than a dozen people are still talking about them a month after they pass. My friend John will be talked about and remembered by an entire industry for ages. And rightfully so.”
“It’s always awful when we lose one of our own, but to lose someone so gifted at a such a young age just feels absolutely wrong,” fellow artist Bill Sienkiewicz has commented. “Deepest condolences to his family.”
Bleeding Cool reports he was admitted to the ICU at Mount Sinai West Hospital in New York, last week. His sister, Robin, announced his death yesterday. “My little bro John passed away at 6.51pm Texas time. Please keep me and my mom in your prayers.”
The co-creator of Planetary with Warren Ellis, Desperadoes with Jeff Mariotte and I Am Legion with Fabien Nury, John Cassaday, a popular, design-focused comic book artist, 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. He won Eisner Awards for his work on Astonishing X-Men, Planetary, and I Am Legion.
John was also a Member of the Society of Illustrators and the Directors Guild of America.
Although his working life began with directing television news after attending film school, he moved into comics while working in construction his work for various independent comics (Dark Angel with Boneyard Press and Negative Burn with Caliber Comics) attracting the attention of writer and editor Mark Waid, who actively promoted his work.
In his tribute, Mark recalled his first meeting with John in the mid 1990s, 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,” he noted on Facebook. “The next morning, I was having breakfast with writer Jeff Mariotte, who mentioned he was looking for an illustrator for his next series, Desperadoes. Boy, did he say that to the right guy, because I had just the artist in mind.”
“My friend John Cassaday and I were important parts of our respective careers in comics,” Jeff notes in his Facebook tribute. “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 five or six years, and now I won’t see him again. Happy trails, partner, and thanks for riding with me.”
After Desperadoes, published by WildStorm, John drew Ghost for Dark Horse, and his credits quickly mounted up on a huge amount of books – The Avengers, Flash, Gen 13, Teen Titans, Superman/Batman and X-Men among them.
1999 saw him co-create Planetary with Warren Ellis for Wildstorm/DC, one of the most critically acclaimed superhero comics of all time. He moved on to relaunch X-Men with Joss Whedon as Astonishing X-Men, redesigned Captain America, and enjoyed success in France, drawing Je suis légion (“I Am Legion”) by Fabien Nury from Les Humanoïdes Associés, also published in English.
His standout cover work includes Lone Ranger for Dynamite Entertainment, reflecting his love of classic pulp characters.
“I’ve lost a piece of my heart today. I can’t believe I’m saying this,” commented Dynamite Entertainment publisher Nick Barrucci, in an extensive tribute, recalling many of his encounters with the artist over 25 years. “John Cassaday has passed away and is riding into the sunset. I guess God needed to balance Heaven and have another great person there.
“John was not only one of the most talented person that I know, but he was one of the nicest people that I’ve ever known … He was more than a friend. He was a brother.
“I only got to see John about six to eight times a year whether at shows, or dinner or drinks in New York or his coming down to Philly a few times, but each time, it was like we never missed a beat.
“… We loved a lot of the same pulp characters,” he continues. “John was very happy when he got to draw The Green Hornet, Shadow, The Spider, Sherlock Holmes, and so many other great characters he grew up on. The one that made me the happiest, was his love for The Lone Ranger, and when we got that license, he not only did covers, but was part of the editorial, helping to work with Brett, and overseeing the art with Sergio and Dean’s colours.”
John also wrote for comics providing stories for, for example, Bela Lugosi: Takes from the Grave, Hellboy: Weird Tales, Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream, Rocketeer Adventures, Union Jack and X-Men: Alpha Flight.
In 2019, he became the Chief Creative Officer of Humanoids, a position he held for several years, including the launch of Humanoids’ superhero shared universe Ignition (H1), alongside his friend and then Humanoids Publisher, Mark Waid.
“Creating worlds and breathing life into characters as John Cassaday knew how to do is a very rare gift (and the fruit of immense labour),” notes Fabrice Giger, the head of Humanoids, who worked closely with the artist for over twenty years. “My friend John was a soul of infinite gentleness, with a heart as vast as his talent.”
At the time of his death John was working, slowly, on Madshadows, his dream project for Humanoids, “an unannounced creator-owned multimedia series that will now be his unfinished symphony,” Waid notes. Sadly, the project remains incomplete in the wake of his passing.
Editor and publisher Paul Levitz has also mentioned John’s unfinished project in his tribute.
“Too stunned by the death of John Cassaday at way too young an age to know what to say. Besides being a creative talent with a distinctive style, he was a charming guy, full of energy and seeming younger than his years. One of his ideas that we explored at Boom was among the most ambitious and original I heard in my career, and I’m sad that now it can never come to pass. His untold tales are a loss to us all. My sympathy to his family, loved ones and his many, many fans. What the hell?”
“This is pretty hard to take,” says artist and editor Kerry Gammill. John was incredibly talented and successful and a really good guy. I’d known John since he was about 15. I called him Johnny back then. He lived in Texas not too far from Dallas and Fort Worth and we met at a comic convention I was appearing at. We had a lot of likes in common and we hit it off right away. We were fans of the same artists and genres. For a teenager he was surprisingly aware of great stuff from many years ago like Republic serials… I looked forward to seeing John at the shows and talking about our mutual interests.
“The funny thing is, I don’t remember him ever showing me his art or even telling me he had any aspirations to work in comics. But several years later, suddenly he was a big name comics artist. I was so proud of him.
“When I started my own horror comics publishing venture in 2009, I asked John if he might be able to draw a short story for the first issue of our first comic, Bela Lugosi’s Tales from the Grave. Even though we had no money to offer up front, he was more than eager to do what he could to help us get started. He wrote and drew a story called “The Good Doctor” and also drew an alternative cover for the issue. I’ll always be grateful to him for that.”
“Gutted to hear about the death of our friend, John Cassaday,” commnented artist and writer Liam Sharp. “We met him at the Bristol Comic Con on the brink of his deserved stardom, and immediately hit it off. He looked like a surfer, or rock star, but he had a very gentle manner. And he never forgot that Christina and I took him under our wings back then, and he would always bring it up when we saw him – and whenever our paths crossed at conventions he made sure to grab a drink with us.
“In recent times we had felt concerned at his growing frailty, but he would brush any worries aside with a smile. Whatever he was going through was, it was clear, a private matter. You had to respect that.
“We’ll miss you, John! You staggering talent, and delightful man. The world feels a little darker today.”
“We’re devastated by the loss of our dear friend, artist and comic book legend John Cassaday,” US publisher Marvel commented on X. “His art was a master class in emotion, action, and storytelling, and he captured the essence of every character he drew. John was one of the best. He will always be part of our Marvel family.”
Also paying tribute, comic artist and friend Richard Friend, who first met John Cassaday around 2005, recalls: “Occasionally artists would come to Wildstorm to visit. But would also work for a day or two at the studio. It was really exciting knowing he was coming… John reminded me of the most popular guy you’d meet in high school. Talented, popular, good looking, he just had that quality. But he was also incredibly humble and nice. Years later when I’d see him at shows, he always had time to talk to me and it always felt real. He listened. Cared about what you were up to and just was a genuinely nice guy. Man. So sad I won’t get to see him again. I was always happy for all his success and his style was such a cool mix of influences.
“Rest in peace John. You were a great person. Thank you for your friendship and kindness.”
“… While Planetary was a watershed comic with incredible critical acclaim, John had even more commercial success with Captain America, then Astonishing X-Men, and then relaunched Star Wars with Jason Aaron at Marvel,” Nick Barrucci notes. “And regardless of the success John had, he never changed. He was still the awesome person he always was.”
• John Cassaday’s Official Facebook Page | Instagram
John Cassaday, 14th December 1971 – 9th September 2024
Web Links
• Wikipedia: John Cassaday Profile
• Albert Moy: The Art of John Cassaday
• Comic Art Fans: John Cassaday Art
Tributes
• AIPT: Comic book artist John Cassaday passes away at 52
• ComicsBeat: Artist John Cassaday has passed away at age 52
• ComicBook.com – John Cassaday, Astonishing X-Men and Planetary Artist, Dies at 52
This feature was last updated on Wednesday 11th September 2024 to add further tributes from John’s co-workers, fellow creators, and publishers
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Comic Art, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Features, Obituaries
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