John Cassaday, the artist who co-created the influential turn-of-the-century comic Planetary and then drew an award-winning X-Men comic written by Joss Whedon for Marvel, has died. He was 52.
His sister Robin Cassaday announced his death Monday on Facebook. She previously wrote that he had been admitted to the intensive care unit of Mount Sinai West in New York on Sept. 3. The cause of death was not revealed.
Cassaday also drew the relaunch of Star Wars that became the best-selling comic of 2015.
“Like [fellow artists] 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,” comics writer and editor Mark Waid said. “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.”
Born in 1971, Cassaday was a self-taught artist and film school graduate who plugged away at his craft while working in construction and as a director of local TV news in Texas. In the mid-1990s, he showed his portfolio to Waid at a comic convention.
Waid then referred the artist to author and editor Jeff Mariotte, and that opened the door to Cassaday getting hired for illustration gigs that paid well enough for him to quit his day job and draw full time.
In the late 1990s, he teamed with author Warren Ellis for Planetary, an exploration of the superhero and pulp hero genres that centered on a trio of adventurer-archeologists who were part of an organization that attempted to keep track of global superpowered activity.
The comic initially published on a bimonthly schedule before Ellis’ health complications — and Cassaday’s propensity for exactness — caused multiple delays. However, its 27-issue run, published by Image imprint Wildstorm, would explore comics tropes before such a thing was popular and gain a cult following. It also earned several Eisner Award nominations.
Cassaday found breakthrough commercial success with Astonishing X-Men, a 25-issue run in the mid-aughts that helped restore the mutant group to prominence among Marvel titles. His cinematic style proved to be a perfect complement to the stories by Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly. Critics loved it, with the series winning the Eisner for best comic in 2005 and 2006 and Cassaday taking the best artist prize in 2005. One of the storylines also influenced Brett Ratner’s X-Men: The Last Stand (2006).
The artist worked on titles for several publishers, including I Am Legion for French-based Humanoids, and continued to draw for Marvel, where he also worked on a Captain America comic. He also dipped his toe in Hollywood, acting as a concept artist for Zack Snyder’s 2009 adaptation of Watchmen, among other gigs.
When Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012 and then Marvel a year later, the license for Star Wars comics returned to the latter. Marvel relaunched the title in 2015, marking the first time a Star Wars comic was published by the company since the 1980s.
Cassaday was chosen to draw the first story arc of the book, propelling sales into hyperspace. The title became the high-selling comic of that year, and the first issue sold more than a million copies.
“We’re devastated by the loss of our dear friend, artist and comic book legend John Cassaday,” Marvel said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “His art was a master class in emotion, action and storytelling, and he captured the essence of every character he drew. John was one the best, and he will always be part of our Marvel family.”