Comics Community Mourns X-Force Artist Joshua Cassara

The comics community is mourning Joshua Cassara, the artist behind some of the most talked-about issues of X-Force and X-Men during the Krakoa era, who died September 22, 2026, at age 46 from heart complications.

Cassara broke out at Titan Comics on titles like The Troop and Doctor Who before moving to Marvel, where he became a mainstay artist on books including Falcon, Venom, Secret Empire, and a long run on X-Force alongside writer Benjamin Percy — a partnership that produced the now-iconic "Green Lagoon" spread, later referenced in video games and at San Diego Comic-Con. He was tapped for Marvel's Stormbreakers spotlight program and continued working through X-Lives of Wolverine, X-Men, and 2025's Deadpool/Wolverine.

Tributes have poured in from across the industry, including from Percy, who called him "a good dude...kind, joyful," and from Marvel itself, which praised the "energy, detail and emotion" he brought to two decades of work.

Original reporting: Bleeding Cool.