| John Cassaday | |
|---|---|
 Cassaday in 2015 | |
| Born | (1971-12-14)December 14, 1971 Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | September 9, 2024(2024-09-09) (aged 52) New York City, U.S. |
| Area(s) | Artist, writer, television director |
Notable works | |
| Awards | Eisner Award (2005, 2006),Scream Award (2007) |
Johnny Mac Cassaday (/ˈkæsədeɪ/;[1] December 14, 1971 – September 9, 2024) was an Americancomic book artist, writer, and television director.[2] He was best known for his work on the critically acclaimedPlanetary with writerWarren Ellis,[3] where his art style conveyed a sense of realism despite that book's fantastical settings.[4] His later works includedAstonishing X-Men withJoss Whedon,Captain America withJohn Ney Rieber, andStar Wars withJason Aaron.
BothMarvel Comics andDC Comics include many of Cassaday's iconic images in their marketing, and in their art and poster book collections. Marvel Comics-based animated films have made extensive use of his art. He received multipleEagle andEisner Awards and nominations for his work.
Johnny Mac Cassaday was born on December 14, 1971, in Fort Worth, Texas.[4] A self-taught illustrator, Cassaday listed his influences as, among others,NC Wyeth,[5][6] classicpulp magazine-culture iconography, and popular music.[7] Cassaday studied film in school, calling it "an equal passion to comics."[4]
Cassaday directedtelevision news in Texas for five years before moving to New York. He spent one summer working a construction job while working on his portfolio in preparation forSan Diego Comic-Con.[8][9]
In 1994 Cassaday broke into the comic book industry with a one-page illustration and a short story forBoneyard Press.[4]
In 1996, at San Diego Comic-Con, Cassaday showed his portfolio to popular comic book writer and editorMark Waid, who recommended him to writerJeff Mariotte, with whom Cassaday would create the seriesDesperadoes, aWeird West series that was published from 1997 - 2002. Waid recalled, "I refuse to take any real credit for 'discovering' John Cassaday. I can't take credit for having functioning eyeballs."[4] Soon after, Cassaday began receiving job offers from bigger publishers. He quit his construction job and left Texas for New York.[4][10]
In December1996 he produced art forDark Horse Comics'Ghost. Within a year, he was hired to be the regular artist onHomage Comics'Desperadoes.
In late 1997 Cassaday was hired byDC andMarvel as artist on theTeen Titans andFlash annuals,X-Men/Alpha Flight, andUnion Jack. His work onX-Men made him one of the title's most popular artists.[11]
In 1999, Cassaday and writerWarren Ellis createdPlanetary forWildStorm Productions. Relating the manner in which the episodic series would feature different settings in each issue, Ellis, recalled in 2024, "John said he'd love to try a monthly series, but hated the idea of having to draw the same thing every issue." To this end, the stories revolved around concepts as diverse asDoc Savage analogues, an island of monsters reminiscent of Japanesekaiju films, the ghost of a murdered Chinese police officer, and a doppelgänger ofMarilyn Monroe who was subjected to scientific experiments by the government. Cassaday's covers for the series were designed like movie posters, with the book's logo reimaginzed for each issue. He also modeled the character Drummer after himself.[4]
Cassaday subsequently worked on other titles for various publishers, includingGen13,Superman/Batman,The Hulk, andThe Avengers. He worked on multipleCaptain America projects, including an issue ofFallen Son: The Death of Captain America written byJeph Loeb.
He based his cover art onWorld War II propaganda posters. Marvel released the covers in a series of poster art books. He has also created covers for comic books featuringThe Phantom, for US publisherMoonstone Books and the EuropeanEgmont, as well as covers for Joss Whedon'sFirefly spinoff comicSerenity: Those Left Behind, andGuy Ritchie's Gamekeeper. He handled covers and art direction onDynamite Entertainment'sThe Lone Ranger comic-book series. Books featuring his art includeWizard's PosterMania!,Women of Marvel Poster Book,Wolverine Poster Book,New Avengers Poster Book, three editions of theCaptain America Poster Book, andDC Comics Covergirls. In 1999, he provided black-and-white interior illustrations for the novelGen13:Netherwar, byChristopher Golden andJeff Mariotte, published byAce Books.
From 2004 to 2008, Cassaday illustrated the graphic novel trilogyJe suis légion by Fabien Nury fromLes Humanoïdes Associés. The English language edition was published as an eight issue comic seriesI Am Legion byDevil's Due Publishing.[12] In July 2006, Humanoïdes announced a co-production deal withPierre Spengler for a screen adaptation of the work.[13] At the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, it was announced that the three picture series would be directed byNacho Cerda with a screenplay by Richard Stanley.[14]
Cassaday wrote stories forHellboy: Weird Tales,Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream,Rocketeer Adventures,X-Men: Alpha Flight,Bela Lugosi: Takes from the Grave, andUnion Jack. He also wrote drawing instruction articles forWizard Magazine'sWizard: How to Draw.
John Cassaday appeared in theCaptain America 75th Anniversary television special on ABC in January 2016.[15] That same year he provided the art on theCaptain America special anniversary issue.[16] and re-teamed with Joss Whedon on a story featuringSam Wilson inCaptain America: Sam Wilson #7.[17]
Cassaday headlined the highly successful 2015Star Wars revival at Marvel Comics.[18] The book became the #1 selling comic for 2015. According toForbes magazine, it was the top-selling comic of the last 20 years,[19] having sold approximately one million copies.[4][20]
Cassaday's art appeared in an episode ofHBO First Look, a 2003 documentary about the making of theDaredevil film.[21]
He worked as aconcept artist on thefilm adaptation ofAlan Moore andDave Gibbons' classic graphic novelWatchmen.[22]
In 2009, theAstonishing X-Men animated DVD series was adapted as amotion comic from Cassaday's art for the comic book series written by Joss Whedon.[23]
Cassaday directed "The Attic", the December 18, 2009 episode of the television seriesDollhouse, which aired as the tenth episode of that series' second season.[24][25]
Cassaday's art was used extensively in the Futureal Studio documentaryAdventures into Digital Comics (2010).
Cassaday himself appeared in aWizard World-sponsored documentary in 2002. He also appeared inGeneration X: The Comic Book History of the X-Men, a 2006 DVD documentary about theX-Men franchise.
As an actor, Cassaday appeared in small roles in the 2012 horror filmHouse on the Hill[26] andITV Playhouse.
In addition to penciling and inking his interior comics pages, Cassaday did his cover work in ink and charcoal, working with frequent collaborator Laura Martin, who digitally colored most of his covers. He credited the challenges of working on complicated books likePlanetary with making him a better artist.[27]
Cassaday's partner was Tara A. Martinez.[4]
Cassaday died fromcardiac arrest in a Manhattan hospital on September 9, 2024, at the age of 52.[4][2] He was survived by his mother and a sister, Robin Cassaday, his father having died of cancer in 1990.[4]
Interviews
