On Instagram, Joshua Cassara‘s wife Martha Cassara has announced the artist died of a result of heart complications on Tuesday, September 22. He was 46 years old. Cassara was best-known for his work at Marvel, penciling titles like the Krakoa era X-Force run penned by Benjamin Percy, and the main X-Men series itself. He was named a Stormbreaker by the company, as part of the program recognizing their best new artists, in 2020.
A self-taught artist, Cassara attended La Mirada High School in California, where he played football and volleyball, and worked on the newspaper staff, before graduating in 1998. In a 2020 Marvel feature, he listed some of his favorite comics from the company as including Barry Windsor-Smith‘s “Weapon X,” The ‘Nam (1986), Astonishing X-Men (2004-08), and “Old Man Logan” (2008).
Some of his early work included Titan’s The Troop (2015), and Mycroft Holmes and the Apocalypse Handbook (co-written by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 2016). He made his Marvel debut with 2016’s New Avengers #7 (written by Al Ewing), and subsequently penciled Rodney Barnes‘s 2017 Falcon run, in addition to contributing to Jeff Lemire & Kim Jacinto‘s Sentry miniseries, Donny Cates & Ryan Stegman‘s Venom run and 2019’s landmark Marvel Comics #1000.
His X-Force run kicked off as part of the X-Men’s Krakoa era in 2019. After issue #21, he took on Percy’s 2022 crossover series X Lives of Wolverine, and then became part of the rotating team of artists on Gerry Duggan‘s X-Men run, which ended with issue #700 in 2024. He would continue to contribute covers to X-Force, and reunite with Percy on 2025’s Deadpool/Wolverine series. He also created covers for Marvel’s 2023 Planet of the Apes series, interiors for Marvel 85th Anniversary Special in 2024, and more.
Cassara is survived by his wife and children. Martha writes, “If you knew Josh, you know that he approached the world with humor, sweetness, and kindness. He would not have wanted your condolences. He would have wanted your laughter and toasts. I would love it if you shared something below. Not your sadness, please, but any sort of happiness he brought you through his art, his friendship, or even a brief encounter.”
Russell Dauterman was among those who responded, saying, “Josh was THE artist of the Krakoa era for me, his work is incredible. His big headdress Havok will always make me smile.” Tini Howard said, “Martha, you and Josh were a highlight of every convention we shared. Giggling on the Dragon Con couches is how I’ll always remember him. He was Krakoa family and that might sound silly, but it meant so much to me.”
Marvel said in a statement they were “saddened by the passing of Joshua Cassara. A gifted artist, he brought energy, detail and emotion to his work on X-Force, X-Men, and many more. Beyond the page, Joshua was a wonderful friend and collaborator with a kind heart, and he will be deeply missed.”
