Planetary #22 page #7 by John Cassaday! The Torture of William Leather! If they wanted the silver, They were going to get it.
Artists: John Cassaday (All) , Warren Ellis (Writer)
17 Comments - 361 Views - 23 Likes
Artwork Details
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Description"If they wanted the Silver, they were going to get it." This book, this issue, lead Dynamite to get the Lone Ranger license, which John was part of editorial and art direction. It's one of the best books we ever published, but that's a story for another day. This Planetary page was given to me as a gift from John because we were able to get the Lone Ranger license, and it was a dream of John's to be involved. I'm extremely fortunate, as it's gorgeous.John Cassaday is one of the greatest creators who ever lived, and his work will live on beyond all of us. I was very fortunate that he was my friend. "It took me more than forty years to realize it wasn't about us becoming great, the four of us. Oh, no. it was about him becoming great. Or he and Kim. And Jakey and me, we were the packhorses and foot soldiers." — William Leather Synopsis for "The Torture of William Leather" William Leather's Texas Ranger grandfather had inherited, along with his brother, a silver mine, a fact that got the both of them kidnapped and tortured by the villainous Dowling gang. His brother died, but John escaped into the wilderness, there to be found by a renegade Indian from the renegade Potawatomi Indian tribe. To find out what Leather was made of, he drugged him, perhaps driving him insane in the process (if the torture didn't already have him walking that path). Leather survived, returned to his silver mine, and spent eight days casting silver bullets tipped with mercury. Donning a black eye-mask, the lone ranger's first mission was revenge on the Dowling gang, and he got it. He became a legend for his criminal-fighting activities in Texas, and sometime later fathered a son - born on January 1, 1900. His birth date wasn't the only thing special about Bret Leather, who used the silver mine to build a fortune and then fight a war on crime in the guise of a terrifying underground hero - The Spider. So busy was the man dealing death - and then one day joining a team of heroes with similar birth dates and similar goals - he wasn't even around to father William Leather; his wife did that with one of his assistants. Sometime after 1945, when Bret Leather and his associates met their fate in the Adirondacks, Leather would learn all this in a meeting with Randall Dowling, a distant relative of the Dowling who fought the Dead Ranger. Leather felt he was robbed from inheriting Bret's superhuman abilities and functional immortality, and was convinced to join Dowling's quest for power and greatness: "We will punish them all by becoming great." Forty years later, Leather - who has been talking to Elijah Snow the whole time, while bolted onto a table in a blue-lit room - realized Dowling had merely used him. Leather wouldn't stand for it ("I was supposed to be great") and planned to become greater than Dowling on his own. But, he acknowledges, "Now I'm here." Snow shares his lack of sympathy, tells Leather that Greene is exiled from the Solar System and Leather is in Snow's custody. While he has been advised restraint, Snow plans to ignore it, as he now remembers their history, remembers the Nautilus, and remembers who Leather killed. Snow then takes a pair of needle-lined goggles and presses them down into Leather's eyes. Blood begins to pour out from beneath the goggles, as Snow demands Leather to tell him where Dowling and Süskind are. Social/Sharing |
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Comicart Boston 
Member Since 2010
Posted on 9/14/2024
My deepest condolences, Nick. Losing a friend as close as this is heartrending. However, his legacy lives on not only in the fantastic as well as creative artwork he blessed us with but also in the deep legacy he left with friends such as you and which continues as you pay in forward in your kindness to others. Many thanks also for this wonderful write-up.
Marvelman Excelsior
Member Since 2011
Posted on 9/14/2024
One of the all-time great comics runs. John was a remarkable illustrator and storyteller. He's left one hell of a legacy.
Michael Reyes
Member Since 2014
Posted on 9/14/2024
Nick sorry I missed your tribute show yesterday. I'll catch it on rewind.
He was so young, but at least he is with the angels above.
Miki Annamanthadoo
Member Since 2003
Posted on 9/14/2024
Lovely page! And thanks for the tribute to John!
Paul P Spiderversity
Member Since 2011
Posted on 9/14/2024
Oh man, this is my first time hearing John Cassaday has passed. That is so sad, given what the comic book & art community has lost, but also because of your personal connection to him. And I didn't know you were doing a tribute show last night. I will definitely watch it on rewind. Thank you for posting this beautiful page.
Ruben DaCollector
Member Since 2008
Posted on 9/14/2024
A wonderful, meaningful page whose attached sentiment is far greater than even the art itself.
Marcus Wai
Member Since 2005
Posted on 9/14/2024
The dedication is everything. There are examples of Cassaday art out these, but none will have as much meaning as this one.
CommanderInBeef
Member Since 2024
Posted on 9/16/2024
Nick, great page and wonderful tribute show you had for your friend...his art will live on forever.
Simon Ma
Member Since 2013
Posted on 9/17/2024
There were “flashier” John Cassaday pages that you showed on last Friday’s Original Art Experience but the special associations with and personalisation on this page puts it in a class of its own. We can identify as many of us have pages whose value is not measured
in dollars and cents/pounds and pence – for personal reasons they are priceless. Thank you for a heartfelt and gently touching tribute in the progamme last Friday, with notable contributions from Bill, Albert and Alberto. We all knew John Cassaday was a consummate comic artist/cover designer but it sounds like he was also a lovely guy who it would have been terrific to have as a friend, or even just meet at a convention. So sorry, Nick, for the sad loss of your friend.
Alberto Gonzalez
Member Since 2005
Posted on 9/17/2024
Classic, beautiful Cassaday page! It's such a tragedy that he left us so soon, but his memory will live forever thanks to his incredible body of work!
David Kwock
Member Since 2012
Posted on 9/18/2024
Amazing page by an amazing artist! Planetary is among the best stories Ive read. Deepest condolences sir, and beautiful story behind the meaning of this page.
Kavi H
Member Since 2018
Posted on 9/18/2024
Beautiful tribute to your friend, Nick. Thanks for sharing
K Gearon
Member Since 2011
Posted on 9/20/2024
Straight outstanding storytelling from JC...great pure illustration paired with a cinematic feel with those equally sized horizontal panels as you move down. So good. Congrats, and RIP JC.
Michael Sullivan
Member Since 2021
Posted on 10/12/2024
When you showed this page and talked about John on The EXP, it set something off in me and decided to pick up a page from this issue - this sequence myself. He will be missed.
Bill J
Member Since 2009
Posted on 12/10/2024
Hey Nick, I didn't know you and John were such friends. I'm so sorry for your loss. John Cassaday was one the best artists of the modern age. His work on Planetary alone would make him a legend. That he went on to do some much other work, on Captain America and Astonishing X-Men and others, just confirms what a lot of us always knew--That he was one of best ever. He will be missed.
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