John Cassaday X-Men Cover: A Look Back at His Best Pieces

Well, let me tell ya ’bout this John Cassaday fella and them X-Men covers he did. I ain’t no fancy art critic or nothin’, but I know what I like when I see it, ya know?

John Cassaday and the X-Men: A Plain Look

So, back in 2004, Marvel, they started this new Astonishing X-Men comic book. A fella named Joss Whedon, he wrote the stories, and this John Cassaday, he drew the pictures. Now, I ain’t read much of them comics myself, too busy with the chickens and all, but I seen some of them covers. And let me tell ya, they’re somethin’ else.

They say John, he didn’t draw a whole heap of the insides, just a few issues here and there. But the covers? He did a bunch of them. More than twenty, I heard. And other folks, they did some covers too. Names I can’t even pronounce, like Silly-vestry and Koo-bert. But John’s, they stick out, ya know? They’re real… clean. And dramatic, like them city folks say. Just plain good lookin’, even if you don’t know a superhero from a scarecrow.

• Clean and Dramatic Covers: Not a bunch of clutter and mess, just good, clear pictures. You know right away who’s who and what’s what.
• Lots of Covers: This fella did a whole bunch of covers, not just for X-Men, but for other stuff too. Phantoms and such.
• Other Artists Too: He weren’t the only one drawin’ covers, but his are the ones people seem to remember.

Marvel, they even put out books with just the covers in ’em. Like picture books, but for grown-ups, I guess. John, he done good work. Folks all over the world, in Europe and such, they seen his pictures. He was a real popular fella for a while there.

Now, I heard tell that John, he ain’t with us no more. Passed away, they say. Too young, if you ask me. Fifty-two ain’t no age to go. But he left behind them pictures, them covers. And that’s somethin’, ain’t it?

X-Men Covers: More Than Just Pictures

You know, them covers, they ain’t just pretty pictures. They tell a story too. You look at one, and you get an idea of what’s inside that book. Who’s fightin’ who, what kinda trouble they’re in. It’s like a window into another world. A world with folks flyin’ around and shootin’ lasers outta their eyes. Not like my world, that’s for sure. But it’s fun to look at, ain’t it?

And John, he was good at tellin’ them stories with his pictures. He made them X-Men look… well, astonishing. Like they could really do all that crazy stuff. He made you want to pick up that comic and see what happens next.

Other Artists and More X-Men Covers

Now, John weren’t the only fella drawin’ X-Men covers. There’s a whole mess of ’em. Folks with names like Campbell and Adams and Ross and even that fella Liefeld, with all them pouches he likes to draw. They all did their own thing, made them X-Men look different ways.

But John, he had his own style. Like I said, clean and dramatic. And folks liked it. They still do. You go online, and you can find all sorts of pictures of them covers. Hundreds of ’em, I heard. You can click on ’em and see ’em big as your barn door.

Remembering John Cassaday

So, that’s the story of John Cassaday and them X-Men covers, as best as I can tell it. He was a talented fella, that John. He made some purdy pictures, and he made a lot of folks happy. And even though he’s gone, them pictures, they’re still here. For us to look at and enjoy. And that’s a good thing, ain’t it? It surely is. We all want to leave somethin’ behind, somethin’ good, and seems to me like he did just that.

And that’s all I gotta say about that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I gotta go feed them chickens.

Tags: [John Cassaday, X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, Comic Book Covers, Marvel Comics, Cover Art, Comic Art, Joss Whedon, Illustration]