John Cassaday (; born 1971) is an American

comic book artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...

, writer, and television director. He is best known for his work on the critically acclaimed '' Planetary'' with writer

Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is a British comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including '' Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), '' Global Frequency'' ...

, '' Astonishing X-Men'' with

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television serie ...

, ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

'' with John Ney Rieber, and '' Star Wars'' with Jason Aaron. Both

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

and

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their ...

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 has received multiple

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

and Eisner Awards and nominations for his work.

Early career

A self-taught illustrator, Cassaday has listed his influences as, among others,

NC Wyeth Newell Convers Wyeth (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945), known as N. C. Wyeth, was an American painter and illustrator. He was the pupil of Howard Pyle and became one of America's most well-known illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 ...

, classic pulp magazine-culture iconography, and popular music. He first attended film school and directed television news for five years. He spent one summer working a construction job while working on his portfolio. Cassaday's first published work appeared in 1994–1995 in comics published by independent publishers Boneyard Press and

Caliber Comics Caliber Comics or Caliber Press is an American comic book publisher founded in 1989 by Gary Reed. Featuring primarily creator-owned comics, Caliber published over 1,300 comics in the decade following its inception and is ranked as one of America ...

. He showed his portfolio to popular comic book writer and editor

Mark Waid Mark Waid (; born March 21, 1962) is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles '' The Flash'', '' Kingdom Come'' and '' Superman: Birthright'' as well as his work on '' Captain America'', ''Fantastic Four'' and '' ...

San Diego Comic-Con International San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

1996. Soon after, Cassaday began receiving job offers from bigger publishers. He quit his construction job and left Texas for New York. In December

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...

he produced art for

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

' ''

Ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to r ...

''. Within a year, he was hired to be the regular artist on

Homage Comics Wildstorm Productions, (stylized as WildStorm), is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wildst ...

' '' Desperadoes''.

Comics

In late 1997 Cassay was hired by DC and Marvel as artist on the ''

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

'' and '' Flash'' annuals, ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...

/ Alpha Flight'', and ''

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the '' de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

''. His work on ''X-Men'' made him one of its most popular artists. Cassady quickly became an in-demand artist working on many top titles, including ''

Gen¹³ ''Gen¹³'' is a superhero team and comic book series originally written by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi and illustrated by J. Scott Campbell. It was published by WildStorm under the Image Comics banner, which went on to become an imprint for DC C ...

'', ''

Superman/Batman ''Superman/Batman'' is a monthly comic book series published by DC Comics that features the publisher's two most popular superheroes: Superman and Batman. ''Superman/Batman'' premiered in August 2003, an update of the previous series, ''World's ...

'', '' The Hulk'', and '' The Avengers''. Cassaday worked on multiple Captain America projects, including an issue of '' Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America'' written by

Jeph Loeb Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III () is an American film and television writer, producer and comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series ''Smallville'' and '' Lost'', writer for the films ''Commando'' and ''Teen Wolf'', and a writer and ...

, "Captain America Lives Again" and "Captain America: The New Deal". He based his cover art on World War II propaganda posters. The art was popular with fans and critics alike and Marvel released the works in a series of poster art books. He has also created covers for comic books featuring ''

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The cha ...

'', for US publisher

Moonstone Books Moonstone Books is an American comic book, graphic novel, and prose fiction publisher based in Chicago focused on pulp fiction comic books and prose anthologies as well as horror and western tales. The company began publishing creator-owned co ...

and the European Egmont, as well as covers for Joss Whedon's ''

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

'' spinoff comic '' Serenity: Those Left Behind'', and ''

Guy Ritchie's Gamekeeper Guy Ritchie's Gamekeeper is a comic book series from Virgin Comics and film director Guy Ritchie. Credits Guy Ritchie's Gamekeeper was created by Guy Ritchie, and the first volume was written by Andy Diggle, with art and color by Mukesh Singh, ...

''. He handled covers and art direction on Dynamite Entertainment's ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional Domino mask, masked former Texas Ranger Division, Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American frontier, American Old West with his Native Americans in the United States, Native American friend Tonto. The char ...

'' comic-book series. Books featuring his art include ''Wizard's PosterMania!'', ''Women of Marvel Poster Book'', ''Wolverine Poster Book'', ''New Avengers Poster Book'', three editions of the ''Captain America Poster Book'', and ''DC Comics Covergirls''. From 2004 to 2008, Cassaday illustrated the graphic novel trilogy '' Je suis légion'' by from Les Humanoïdes Associés. The English language edition was published as an eight issue comic series '' I Am Legion'' by

Devil's Due Publishing Devil's Due Publishing (often abbreviated as DDP) is an independent comic book publisher in the United States. Based in Chicago, Illinois, DDP is best known for its wide selection of genres, including licensed and original creator-owned proper ...

. In July 2006, Humanoïdes announced a co-production deal with Pierre Spengler for a screen adaptation of the work. At the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, it was announced that the three picture series would be directed by Nacho Cerda with a screenplay by Richard Stanley. Cassaday has written stories for ''Hellboy: Weird Tales'', ''Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream'', ''Rocketeer Adventures'', ''X-Men: Alpha Flight'', ''Bela Lugosi: Takes from the Grave'', and ''Union Jack''. He also wrote drawing instruction articles for ''Wizard Magazines ''Wizard: How to Draw''. John Cassaday appeared in the ''Captain America 75th Anniversary'' television special on ABC in 2016. He is also the artist of the upcoming ''Captain America'' comics special anniversary issue. Cassaday and Joss Whedon will team up on a new story featuring Sam Wilson. Cassaday headlined the highly successful 2015 '' Star Wars'' revival at Marvel Comics. The book became the #1 selling comic for 2015. According to ''Forbes'' magazine, it was the top-selling comic of the last 20 years. It sold approximately one million copies.

Film and television

Work

Cassaday's art appeared in an episode of '' HBO First Look'', a 2003 documentary about the making of the '' Daredevil'' film. He worked as a

concept art Concept art is a form of visual art used to convey an idea for use in films, video games, animation, comic books, or other media before it is put into the final product. Concept art usually refers to world-building artwork used to inspire the de ...

ist on the

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', '' V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...

and

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story "For the Man ...

' classic graphic novel ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987 before being collected in a single-volu ...

''. In 2009, the ''Astonishing X-Men'' animated DVD series was adapted as a

motion comic A motion comic (or animated comic) is a form of animation combining elements of print comic books and animation. Individual panels are expanded into a full shot while sound effects, voice acting, and animation are added to the original artwork. Tex ...

from Cassaday's art for the comic book series written by Joss Whedon. Cassaday directed "The Attic", the December 18, 2009, episode of the TV show ''

Dollhouse A dollhouse or doll's house is a toy home made in miniature. Since the early 20th century dollhouses have primarily been the domain of children, but their collection and crafting is also a hobby for many adults. English-speakers in North America ...

'', which aired as the tenth episode of that series' second season. Cassaday's art was used extensively in the Futureal Studio documentary '' Adventures into Digital Comics'' (2010).

Onscreen appearances

Cassaday himself appeared in a

Wizard World Wizard, the wizard, or wizards may refer to: * Wizard (fantasy), a fictional practitioner of magic * Wizard (supernatural), a practitioner of magic Art, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Wizard (Archie Comics), a comic book supe ...

-sponsored documentary in 2002. He also appeared in ''Generation X: The Comic Book History of the X-Men'', a 2006 DVD documentary about the ''X-Men'' franchise. As an actor, Cassaday appeared in small roles in the 2012 horror film ''House on the Hill'' and '' ITV Playhouse''.

Technique and materials

In addition to penciling and inking his interior comics pages, Cassaday does his cover work in ink and charcoal, and digitally colors most of his covers. He credits the challenges of working on complicated books like ''Planetary'' with making him a better artist.

Awards

Wins

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered ...

Eisner Award for Best Penciller/Inker for ''Astonishing X-Men'', ''Planetary'', and ''I Am Legion: The Dancing Faun'' (tied with illustrator Frank Quitely) *

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Eisner Award for Best Penciller/Inker for ''Astonishing X-Men'' and ''Planetary'' *2006 Eisner Award for Best Ongoing Series for ''Astonishing X-Men'' (with Joss Whedon) *2006 Eagle Award for Favourite Comics Artist: Pencils *

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhut ...

Spike TV Scream Award for Best Comic-Book Artist

Nominations

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen fro ...

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

Best Cover Artist for ''Planetary'' * 2002

Best Penciler/Inker for ''Planetary'' *2004 Eagle Award Favourite Comics Artist: Pencils *

Best Cover Artist ''Astonishing X-Men'' and ''Lone Ranger'' *

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Eisner Award for Best Cover Artist ''Astonishing X-Men'' and ''Lone Ranger'' * 2010 Eisner Award for Best Cover Artist ''Irredeemable'' and ''Lone Ranger''

Spurgeon, Tom Thomas Martin Spurgeon (December 16, 1968 – November 13, 2019) was an American writer, historian, critic, and editor in the field of comics, notable for his five-year run as editor of ''The Comics Journal'' and his blog ''The Comics Reporter''. ...

(April 8, 2010)
"Your 2010 Eisner Award Nominees"

The Comics Reporter Thomas Martin Spurgeon (December 16, 1968 – November 13, 2019) was an American writer, historian, critic, and editor in the field of comics, notable for his five-year run as editor of '' The Comics Journal'' and his blog ''The Comics Reporter'' ...

Bibliography

Boneyard Press

* ''Bill the Bull: One Shot, One Bourbon, One Beer'' #1 ("Justin") ( Boneyard Press, 1994) * ''Flowers on the Razorwire'' #5–6 (Boneyard Press, 1995)

Caliber Comics

* Negative Burn #28 ("Juju Eyes") (

, 1995)

CFD Productions

* ''No Profit for the Wise'' #5–6 ( CFD Productions, 1996)

Dark Horse

*''

'' #27 (June 1997) **''Ghost: Black October'', Dark Horse, 1999, *'' Hellboy: Weird Tales'', miniseries, #1-8 (among other artists) (2003–04) **''Hellboy Weird Tales'' volumes 1 and 2, Dark Horse, 2003, , 2004,

DC

*'' Just Imagine Stan Lee with John Cassaday creating Crisis'' (2002) *'' Flash'', vol. 2, Annual #10 (1997) *'' I Am Legion: The Dancing Faun'' (2004) *'' Planetary'' #1-27 (1999–2009) *''Planetary'', vol. 2, #1-4 (2001–10) *''Planetary/

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. ...

: Night on Earth'' (2003) *''

'' #26 (among other artists) (2006) *''

'' Annual #1 (1997) *''

Transmetropolitan ''Transmetropolitan'' is a cyberpunk transhumanist comic book series written by Warren Ellis and co-created and designed by Darick Robertson; it was published by the American company DC Comics in 1997–2002. The series was originally part of t ...

: I Hate It Here'' (among other artists) (2000) *''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics ...

#1000: Faster Than A Speeding Bullet'' (2018)

Image

*''C-23'' #6 (1998) *'' Desperadoes: A Moment's Sunlight''. miniseries #1–5 (

WildStorm Wildstorm Productions, (stylized as WildStorm), is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wildst ...

, 1997–1998) ** ''Desperadoes: A Moment's Sunlight'' tpb, 104 pages, Homage Comics/WildStorm, 1998, *''Desperadoes: Epidemic!''. One-shot, Homage Comics/WildStorm, 1999 — artwork laid out by Cassady, drawn by John Lucas *'' Gen13'' #33 (1998)

Marvel

*'' Astonishing X-Men'' #1-24, Giant-Sized #1 (2004–2008) **''Astonishing X-Men Omnibus'' (2009) **''Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday Ultimate Collection'' (2012) **''Astonishing X-Men Ultimate Collection Book 2''(2012) *''

'', #1-6 (2002) *''Captain America: Marvel Knights Volume I'' (2016) *''Captain America: The New Deal'' (2010) **'' Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America'' (

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charac ...

) #5 (2007) *'' Ka-Zar: Flashback'' #1 (1997) * '' Miracleman Variant cover art Issue #1 (March 2014) *'' Secret War from the Files of

Nick Fury Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in '' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Command ...

'' (2005) * '' Star Wars'' #1-6 (2015) **''Star Wars Volume I: Skywalker Strikes'' (2015) *''

Uncanny Avengers ''Uncanny Avengers'' is a comic book series first appearing in the October 2012 debut of Marvel NOW!, published by Marvel Comics. The series follows an interconnected fictional superhero team, featuring members from the Marvel Universe (specific ...

'' #1-4 (2012-2013) **''Uncanny Avengers Omnibus'' (2015) * ''

Uncanny X-Men ''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of superheroes called the X- ...

'' #352 (1998) * ''

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

'', miniseries, #1-3 (1998–99) **''Union Jack'', tpb, 96 pages, Marvel, 2002, * ''

/ Alpha Flight'', miniseries, #1-2 (1998)

Notes

References

*
John Cassaday on Marvel.com

Collectors' galleries of Cassaday's original artwork

External links

* *
John Cassady Commissions
at Cityinabag * *

Interviews

John Cassaday Interview
at Comic Book Resources, October 28, 2001
An Interview With John Cassaday
at CollectorTimes.com, 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cassaday, John 1971 births Living people American comics artists Eisner Award winners for Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team People from Fort Worth, Texas American television directors Artists from Texas