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Brian Bolland

August 21, 2023

Brian Bolland (/ˈbɒlənd/; born 26 March 1951)[1] is a British comics artist. Best known in the United Kingdom as one of the Judge Dredd artists for British comics anthology 2000 AD, he spearheaded the 'British Invasion' of the American comics industry, and in 1982 produced the artwork alongside author Mike W. Barr on Camelot 3000, which was DC Comics' first 12-issue comicbook maxiseries created for the direct market.

Brian Bolland
Bolland at the New York Comic Con in Manhattan, 9 October 2010
Born (1951-03-26) 26 March 1951 (age 72)
Butterwick, Lincolnshire, England
Area(s)Writer, Penciller, Inker
Notable works
Judge Dredd vs. Judge Death
Batman: The Killing Joke
Camelot 3000

Bolland illustrated the critically acclaimed 1988 graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke, an origin story for Batman supervillain the Joker, with writer Alan Moore. He gradually shifted to working primarily as a cover artist, producing the majority of his work for DC Comics. Bolland created cover artwork for the Animal Man, Wonder Woman, and Batman: Gotham Knights superhero comic book series. In 1996, he drew and self-penned a Batman: Black and White story, "An Innocent Guy". For DC's Vertigo imprint, Bolland has done covers for The Invisibles, Jack of Fables, and a number of one-shots and miniseries.

In addition to interior and cover art, Bolland has also produced several comic strips and pin-ups as both writer and artist. His most notable are the semi-autobiographical humour strip Mr. Mamoulian and the whimsical rhyming strip The Actress and the Bishop. All strips of both projects were included in the Bolland Strips! collection book, published in 2005. In 2006, he compiled the art book The Art of Brian Bolland, showcasing all of Bolland's work to date and also his work as a photographer.

Early life

 
Bolland grew up near Boston, Lincolnshire.

Brian Bolland was born in Butterwick, Lincolnshire, England,[1] to Albert "A.J." John, a fenland farmer, and Lillie Bolland.[2] He grew up in a small village near Boston, Lincolnshire until he was 18 years old. but has "no memory of comics" much before the age of ten.[2] When American comics began to be imported into England, c.1959, Bolland hadn't read any comics before the age of ten, but by 1960 he was intrigued by Dell Comics' Dinosaurus!, which developed into a childhood interest in dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes.[2] Comics including Turok, Son of Stone and DC Comics' Tomahawk soon followed, and it was this burgeoning comics collection that would help inspire Bolland to draw his own comics[1] around the age of ten with ideas such as "Insect League."[3] He recalls that "[s]uperheroes crept into my life by stealth," as he actively sought out covers featuring "any big creature that looked vaguely dinosaur-like, trampling puny humans."[2] These adolescent criteria led from Dinosaurus! and Turok via House of Mystery to "Batman and Robin [who] were [often] being harassed by big weird things, as were Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman [etc]," Bolland recalled.[2] Soon, family outings to Skegness became an excuse for the future artist to "trawl... round some of the more remote backstreet newsagents" for comics to store on an overflowing wooden bookcase he'd built in school.[2]

As early as 1962, aged 11, Bolland remembers thinking that "Carmine Infantino's work on the Flash and Gil Kane's on Green Lantern and the Atom had a sophistication about it that I hadn't [previously] seen."[2] He would later cite Kane and Alex Toth as "pinnacle[s] of excellence,"[1] alongside Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson, Sid Greene, Joe Kubert, Ross Andru, Mike Esposito, Nick Cardy, and Bruno Premiani, whose influences showed in his "early crude stabs at drawing comics."[2] The young Bolland did not rate Marvel Comics as highly as DC, feeling the covers cluttered and the paper quality crude.[2] His appreciation of the artwork of Jack Kirby, he says, only materialised much later.[2] He did however enjoy UK comics, including newspaper strips such as Jeff Hawke by Syd Jordan and Carol Day by David Wright,[4] and Valiant which featured Mytek the Mighty by Eric Bradbury and Steel Claw by Jesus Blasco.[5] [2] Despite such a variety of inspirations, Bolland credits his eventual pursuance of art as a hobby and then vocation to a primary school art teacher.[6]

Growing up as an only child with parents that had no interest in art, literature, or music, he embraced the late 1960s pop culture explosion of pirate radio stations, experimental music, recreational drugs, psychedelia, Oz Magazine, "dropping out" and other aspects of hippy culture epitomised by underground comix such as Robert Crumb's Zap Comix.[2] Having taken both O-Level and A-Level examinations in art, Bolland spent five years at art school beginning in 1969,[2] learning graphic design and art history.[6] Learning to draw comics, however, was an art he self-taught, with Bolland eventually writing a 15,000-word dissertation in 1973 on Neal Adams – an "artist [his teachers] had never heard of."[1][6] He would later recall:

It was during this time that I discovered the sheer range of comics and their history. All the British stuff I'd missed was there to be discovered. I found the American greats, Foster, Herriman, Alex Raymond and Winsor McCay... Noel Sickles, Milt Caniff, Roy Crane, had all, I discovered, put down the basic building blocks of our "Art form". And there were the Europeans... Moebius, Manara, Breccia. Later the Filipinos—Alex Niño, Nestor Redondo, Alfredo Alcala, all were inspirational. None of this stuff was to be found in the art schools. During my five years in three art schools I never learnt a single thing about comics from any of my tutors.[2]

UK career

Fanzines and early work

Bolland studied graphic design at Norwich University of the Arts.[7] While at art school, Bolland drew and self-published a couple of fanzines and his work was published in British underground magazines Frendz, International Times and OZ.[8] In 1971, his friend Dave Harwood entered printed mass production with his RDH Comix, for which Bolland provided a cover (featuring Norwich Cathedral).[9] Also in 1971, Time Out – an underground magazine[8] rapidly reinventing itself into "the biggest weekly listings magazine in London" – gave Bolland his first compensated work[10] producing an illustration of blues guitarist Buddy Guy.[8] While in Norwich, Bolland produced the first episodes of an adult Little Nemo in Slumberland parody entitled Little Nympho in Slumberland, and when he moved to the Central School of Art and Design in London in 1973, he continued to produce (mostly full-page) Little Nympho strips for a 50-copy fanzine entitled Suddenly at 2-o-clock in the Morning.[11] He also contributed a smaller, strip entitled "The Mixed-Up Kid" to the Central School of Art's Galloping Maggot, the college newspaper.[12]

2000 AD, Judge Death and Walter the Wobot

In 1972, Bolland attended the British Comic Art Convention at the Waverley Hotel in London, and met several influential figures in the current British comics scene, including Dez Skinn, Nick Landau, Richard Burton, Angus McKie and – crucially – Dave Gibbons.[13] Bolland and Gibbons became firm friends. After finishing his college course, Bolland was hit with "the stark reality of unemployment"[13] and on the advice of Gibbons[14] joined art agency Bardon Press Features. He soon found work doing a number of two-page strips for D.C. Thomson resulted, but Bolland would refer to this period as his "lowest time."[13] Bardon did however produce a client called Pikin which was "planning a bi-weekly comic about an African superhero," Powerman, which was to be sold in Nigeria.[1][13] Gibbons and Bolland were to draw alternate issues, with Bolland first drawing Powerman No. 2.[1] Bolland recalls that "soon Dave had drawn his entire story and I had produced just a few pages."[13] This knowledge – "that Dave could produce a page a day... and that I was going to have to do the same" – was a shock, but proved to be "the very best kind of training ground."[13] With comics purportedly being new to Nigeria,[13] Bolland recalls this work being created specifically to be "really simple; six panels on a page and [all] the panels had to be numbered."[15] Not only was this work "[t]he best way to learn the simple rules of comic book storytelling," but "better still, it was going someplace where nobody I knew could see it."[13] He "drew around 300 pages of that very straightforward, simple-to-follow work, and I guess the storytelling flowed naturally from that."[13][15] Even so, he "was always struggling to get the last eight or ten pages finished," and was occasionally helped by friends, both from his "Norwich School of Art days," Gibbons and future-2000 AD and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen artist Kevin O'Neill.[16]

Bolland writes that starting with Powerman he "found regular employment drawing comics, one of which, Judge Dredd, in 1977–80, turned out to be quite a hit..."[2]

In early 1977, Bardon agent Barry Coker called Gibbons and Bolland to the office and showed them "mock-ups from a new science fiction comic IPC was planning to publish."[17] Gibbons joined Carlos Ezquerra in "jumping into 2000AD feet first with issue 1 (or Programme, later Prog 1)... but meanwhile [Bolland] would have to keep drawing Powerman on [his] own."[17] Powerman dropped to a monthly schedule, and Coker soon got Bolland "a cover on 2000 AD in May '77 with Prog 11" (7 May 1977; signed "Bollo").[17] Bolland recalls of those early days that:

You'll be surprised to hear that even though Judge Dredd had been in 2000AD since Prog 2 the editors weren't sure which of the interior characters would sell the comic best if that character was on the cover. Artists like me just came up with cover ideas and, if they liked them, we'd draw the cover and they would write a one-page text story based on it to go inside. These early covers of mine fall into that category.[17]

Other covers followed for nearly a third of the first 30 progs, as well as stand-alone pages and some inking duties on Gibbons' Dan Dare. Already familiar with Nick Landau (acting editor), when another artist dropped out, Bolland was called directly to complete a Judge Dredd story in Prog 41 (3 Dec 77) and soon was established as a regular artist on the series.[18] "From that point on," writes Bolland, "either he [Landau] or his successor Steve MacManus called me direct whenever they wanted me to do a Dredd story."[18] Dredd stories started as traditional UK comic stories, i.e. "six-page one-offs... [Writers] Pat Mills and John Wagner seem[ing] to spurn the American comic idea of continuing stories or, worse, the idea of a 2000 AD continuity between characters," Bolland seeing this as a "strength... hav[ing] one great new idea each week."[19] Soon, though, the writers began to craft serials, and Bolland's distinct abilities with subtle facial expressions, dramatic lighting and the dynamic composition of page layout made him the perfect choice to draw the ongoing sagas, starting with "The Lunar Olympics".[19] Bolland contributed artwork to such Judge Dredd story-arcs as "Luna Period", "The Cursed Earth", "The Day the Law Died", "The Judge Child Quest" and "Block Mania". As the Dredd stories rose in popularity, they "were moved so they started on the middle pages" with a colour double-page spread, which Bolland "always struggled with"[20] finding it "very difficult... [trying] to fill that space most effectively."[14] Ultimately the weekly deadlines meant that Bolland was unable to produce all episodes of the epic storylines himself, and the art chores on The Cursed Earth were split between Bolland and Mike McMahon.[21]

Bolland's early work on Judge Dredd was much influenced by McMahon, a talented newcomer whose idiosyncratic style was fuelling the interest in the new character. Bolland thought McMahon was "terrific, the real ideas man on Dredd," but noted that McMahon's approach was "very impressionistic," while the "average comics reader, certainly at the time, does tend to prefer realism."[14][15] Bolland therefore states that he "aped Mike's genius... and then reinterpreted [Dredd] in a style which actually borrowed a lot from the work of the American artists,"[14] retaining McMahon's "granite-jawed" look but bringing a level of realism and fine detail to the character, which Mark Salisbury says "finally cemented the iconic image."[15]

As well as honing the look of the character and contributing to the highest-profile early storylines, Bolland also created the look of two of the wider Dredd universe's most enduring characters: Judge Death (and the other three Dark Judges)[22] and Judge Anderson.[23]

Later, Landau's Titan "decided they could repackage the Judge Dredd stories in an American comic format with new covers and sell it to America," and did under the brand "Eagle Comics".[24] Bolland provided many of the covers for these compendium issues.[24]

Bolland "drew the first three episodes of the Judge Death story over the winter of 1979–80," as "just another villain in just another excellent John Wagner script."[25] He does not "remember doing any sketches to get him right," the "outfit was described somewhat in the script... and details of it were heavily inspired by the look of Kevin O'Neill's Nemesis the Warlock.[25] Bolland was, he acknowledges, "by far the slowest of the rotating Judge Death artists," opting to "take as long as I needed and do a half-way decent job" rather than rushing.[25] For the sequel, a "massive (for me) 30 pages," 2000 AD's editorial banked one-off stories to give Bolland long enough to draw it all.[25]

When Nick Landau began (in 1981) Titan Books' reprints of Judge Dredd material, he "used this story non-chronologically" to begin the series.[25] Landau spent time paginating the book at Bolland's flat, and discovered that "[s]ome stories started or ended on the wrong page thereby leaving blank pages," as it was set to be "in effect, the first book exclusively of my work" the artist "gladly offered to add three full page pictures for the Cursed Earth volume and a new back cover for the first Judge Dredd volume.[26]

Walter the Wobot was an android with a speech impediment who served as Judge Dredd's personal servant robot. Created for comedic relief, Bolland notes that "[t]he great thing about the Judge Dredd strip was it's [sic] ability to slide seamlessly between gritty sci fi adventure, nasty gothic horror, spoofery, all the way to daft comedy."[27] Walter's solo adventures – "Walter the Wobot, Fwiend of Dwedd" – were the latter style.[27] Bolland drew all bar a couple of Walter's adventures, which appeared between Progs #50–61; #67–68 and #84–85 (with Ian Gibson drawing the first two episodes and Brendan McCarthy the last two), and says that he "was usually able to complete one in a day."[27] He namechecks "the great Don Martin" as an artist he "shamelessly ripped off" for the human supporting characters, drawing most of the pages in Chiswick, 1978.[27]

Other UK work

In between Dredd assignments Bolland drew horror strips for Dez Skinn's House of Hammer, having been introduced to the comic through another of the "fanboy in-crowd," Trevor Goring, who drew "a comic strip version of the movie Plague of the Zombies," and asked Bolland to ink it.[28] Soon, Bolland was asked to draw "Vampire Circus" (dir. Robert Young, 1972; comic version scripted by Steve Parkhouse), and "pile[d] on the gore" for his first Hammer horror adaptation – although he found much of the "blood painted out" in the printed version.[28]

 
Cover art of Legacy of EAGLES (1984). Art by Bolland.

From the 1970s to the present, Bolland has also produced one-off pieces of artwork for use as record (including one for The Drifters in 1975[29]), paperback book (including the UK Titan editions of George R. R. Martin's Wild Cards anthologies[30]) and magazine covers (including Time Out[10] and every major comics publication). He continued to produce work for fanzines, including for Nick Landau's Comic Media News,[31] and Arkensword and even "drew the hazard cards" for a board game called Maneater.[32] He later "got to know the Games Workshop guys, Steve Jackson[33] and Ian Livingstone," and produced various "games related drawings" including a cover or two for Fighting Fantasy Adventure Game Books,[34] and RPG scenario pamphlets.[35] His cover work for Games Workshop includes the role-playing game Golden Heroes and its only adventure Legacy of Eagles,[36]: 50  and the Fighting Fantasy book Appointment with F.E.A.R.: 367 

In 1977, Bolland was approached by Syd Jordan to ghost some episodes of Jordan's newspaper strip Jeff Hawke,[37] after fellow fandom-pro artist Paul Neary had already done a fair number of them.[37] Bolland drew 13 episodes, and "Syd touched up some of the faces, a few details here and there, to make them look a bit more like him."[37] By this point, "although the Express owned the rights to the strip, they were not printing it," but since it had a strong European following, these new episodes (Bolland believes) "got collected in anthologies in French and Spanish," but not in the UK except briefly in "the fanzine Eureka."[37] In 1985, as a known fan, Bolland was approached by Nick Landau to select stories and draw covers for two Titan collections of the strip, with a third design going unpublished.[38][39] Bolland also contributed "A Miracle of Elisha" to Knockabout Comics' Old Bailey OZ Trial Special, written because Old Testament history had piqued the interest of Bolland when living near the British Museum.[40] This page was later reprinted in the Outrageous Tales From the Old Testament volume, which included works from Moore, Hunt Emerson, Gaiman, Gibbons, and Dave McKean, although Bolland's name was left off the cover.[41]

Bolland produced a considerable amount of advertising work, initially because his agent "Barry Coker kept putting advertising jobs my way," including a number of ads for "Palitoy's Star Wars toys."[42] He also drew some of the earliest pieces of advertising artwork for the science fiction and comic shop Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed, which ran in various fanzines, convention programmes, and magazines such as Time Out and was commissioned by future-Titan Distribution and Forbidden Planet co-founder Mike Lake (who was "working there at the time") c. 1976.[43] As well as the DTWAGE adverts, Bolland and most of his peers also contributed artwork to advertise, and/or feature in programme booklets for the UK Comicon, starting c.1976.[44] In 1978, Nick Landau, Mike Lake and Mike Luckman "took their comic distribution business into the highstreet," opening the first Forbidden Planet comics shop, for which Lake asked Bolland to produce the now-famous "People like us shop at... FORBIDDEN PLANET" adverts. Bolland's artwork would also feature on the shop's plastic bags, as well as T-Shirts and "covers for their SF, comic and TV & film catalogues," among other places.[45] Later, when a branch of Forbidden Planet was opened in New York, and at a second location in London, Bolland "did ads for both of them."[46]

DC Comics

Bolland was among the first British comics creators to work in the American comics industry, spearheading the so-called "British Invasion" in 1979/80. Bolland recalls that his big break came when Joe Staton attended the Summer 1979 Comicon, and, needing somewhere to work on Green Lantern while in the UK, arranged to stay with the Bollands.[47] Staton called his editor Jack Harris and told him that Bolland, a big Green Lantern fan, would like to draw a Green Lantern cover; Harris agreed.[47] He drew several covers for DC Comics, starting with Green Lantern No. 127 (April 1980),[47] as well as some fill-in stories.[2] These stories included, in 1980-1981, "Certified Safe" in Mystery in Space[48] and "Falling Down to Heaven" in Madame Xanadu, DC's first attempt at marketing comics specifically to the "direct market" of fans and collectors.[49] For editor Julius Schwartz, Bolland drew covers around which writers would craft stories, which included two Starro covers for Justice League of America No. 189 and 190 and Superman No. 422 (Aug. 1986).[48]

Among his earliest interior work for DC was a chapter in Justice League of America No. 200 (March 1982) alongside Joe Kubert, Carmine Infantino, Gil Kane, Jim Aparo, George Pérez, and Dick Giordano. This gave the artist his "first stab at drawing Batman."[48] Bolland felt that "after my cover [GL #127] worked out the people at DC turned their gaze on London... and particularly on the group of artists at 2000AD who had been weaned on the DC characters."[50] He recalled that, "after I was settled in at DC, scouts from that company came to our "Society of Strip Illustration" meetings to win over a few more of us,"[2] making a "formal invitation" at an SSI meeting, which saw "Dave Gibbons, Kevin O'Neill... [t]hen Alan Davis and Mark Farmer," following the artists "Alan Grant "went across" and, at some point, a certain tall hairy writer from the Midlands."[50]

In 1982, DC editor Len Wein chose Bolland to be the artist on DC's Camelot 3000 12-issue maxi-series, with writer Mike W. Barr.[51][52] The story, dealing with the return of King Arthur to save England from an alien invasion in the year 3000, not only the largest body of work in a single series by Bolland – and his only attempt to draw a monthly title – but was also the first maxi-series from DC or any other publisher.[6][53] Bolland was not familiar with the Arthurian legends, and initially conceived Merlin as a comical character.[54][55] The series was graced with considerable media hype, and Bolland found himself invited to San Diego Comic-Con and other conventions.[54] Bolland was allowed to pick between two inkers, but opted to ink his covers himself.[54] Bolland was uncomfortable with having a third party ink his pencils, and later admitted that he put a high level of detail into his art for the series to leave as little room as possible for the inker to creatively reinterpret his work.[55] However, he was satisfied with the finished results.[54] Reacting indignantly to being presented with Ross Andru layouts for the first two Camelot 3000 covers, he

chose to ignore [the Andru design] completely and come up with my own unapproved design. Len Wein rejected it and told me to do the Ross Andru one. Grudgingly I drew the number one cover that made it onto the issue – but as a protest I reversed the letter N in my signature as a code to remind myself that my "artistic integrity" had been despoiled. I liked the backwards N enough to keep it from that day on.[54]

Camelot 3000 had lengthy delays between its final issues. Bolland recalled that he and DC spoke often about how long the series would take to complete, and because the series was inked by other artists, he started off enthusiastically working on issues.[53][56] As the series continued, however, Bolland became increasingly meticulous, always trying to improve upon his pages.[53] The added details he introduced into his artwork caused significant delays in the final issues of the limited series,[55] causing issues #8–11 to be released on a quarterly rather than monthly status, and the final issue to be cover dated nine months later than the penultimate issue.[57]

Bolland drew a pinup for Superman No. 400 (Oct. 1984)[58] and its companion portfolio.[59] In 1986, Bolland was one of several artists who contributed pages to the anniversary issue Batman No. 400 (Oct. 1986),[60] his offering featuring villains Ra's al Ghul and Catwoman.[61] Around this time, Titan Books were trying to launch a line of comics written by Alan Moore, including a Batman Meets Judge Dredd one-off by Moore and Bolland.[62]

 
Origin of the Joker in Batman: The Killing Joke. Art by Brian Bolland and John Higgins.

After watching the 1928 film The Man Who Laughs, which features a character named Gwynplaine (played by Conrad Veidt) whose rictus grin inspired the visual design of the Joker,[63] Bolland conceived of the 1988 graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke.[64] The book was written by Alan Moore to great critical acclaim, winning the Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album, and has been regarded as one of the all-time best Joker stories,[65][66] and one of the greatest Batman graphic novels ever.[67] Director Tim Burton has named The Killing Joke as an influence for his 1989 film adaptation of Batman, specifically the origin of the Joker.[68] It would also prove to be highly influential on future Batman and Joker stories,[69][70] though it has also been met with criticism for the violence inflicted on the character Barbara Gordon.[71][72][73]

Speaking circa 2000, Bolland said that since The Killing Joke he has only drawn comics that he also wrote.[61] Six years later he clarified that

Since then I haven't wanted to draw comics that anyone else has had a hand in. I'd rather not work on a story I haven't written myself or one that will ultimately be colored by someone else. I have to earn a living, though. Covers are a safe place for me. If someone else's colors swamp my work then, who cares. It was only one page. I can move on...[62]

Bolland had expressed some dissatisfaction with the final book, regretting that its impending schedule for release meant he could not colour the book himself, with John Higgins instead being the colorist.[74] In March 2008, the twentieth anniversary hardcover edition of The Killing Joke saw the release of the artwork as Bolland intended it, and is completely recoloured by Bolland himself. The book made The New York Times Best Seller list in May 2009.[75]

In 1996, Bolland wrote and drew the story "An Innocent Guy" for the anthology Batman: Black and White, in which an otherwise normal inhabitant of Gotham City documents his plan to carry out the ultimate perfect crime and assassinate the Dark Knight Detective. Drawing inspiration from a cover by Alex Toth, and intended as an homage to the Silver Age Batman, Bolland wrote in 2006 that "If anyone were to ask me what is the thing I've done in my career that I'm most pleased with, it would be this."[76]

Approached by Batman-editor Mark Chiarello, Bolland was asked whether he would like to draw Batman covers for a new title, Batman: Gotham Knights. Excited by the opportunity, he remarks that a misunderstanding resulted in his being unaware of the first issue being scheduled, resulting in Dave Johnson drawing No. 1 instead, and Bolland joining at issue No. 2. Bolland's first two covers were coloured by editor Chiarello, but from issue No. 5 to No. 47 (his last) they were coloured by the artist himself. As his run progressed, the cover art on Gotham Knights was increasingly done by Chiarello and other artists, and Bolland's first ideas for covers were rejected more often. Eventually, Bolland was told that he'd be done on the title within a few issues, but after discovering that upcoming covers featured Bane prominently (and not the Joker or Penguin as he had been hoping for some time), Bolland offered to leave immediately.[77]

Covers

Although his forays into interior artwork are almost universally acclaimed, Bolland is now far more commonly seen as 'just' a cover artist – although he notes that he has never decided to actually solely create covers, having merely explored other jobs from strip work.[61] He admits that he works slowly, and consequently finds covers easier to supply than whole story artwork. He also noted simply that he began to focus on covers simply because they were the assignments he was offered. He adds that for artists like him that are well known for covers, editors will usually ask for pin-ups instead.[78]

Bolland has contributed covers – in many cases to complete runs/arcs – to comics since the 1990s, with his photo-realistic work on the titles for which he works as the primary external reference image.[79]

Bolland now draws on a computer, eschewing pencil and paper. He cites the influence of Dave Gibbons, who was himself enthusiastic about the capabilities of computers.[80] Noting also that some colorists were increasingly using computer effects on a whim, he decided if he did not do the colouring himself, the effects would produce covers that didn't resemble his work.[80][81] Starting in 1997, Bolland bought a lot of software and spent ten frustrated months learning the ropes and ultimately finding the liberating ability to adapt his now-solely-onscreen artwork. He states categorically that, in his opinion, drawing on his Wacom tablet is no different from drawing on a pad of paper.[81] Having fully embraced the technology, Bolland has also produced a number of lessons/tutorials on his official website demonstrating his complex techniques. He states that, while this leap means that he no longer produces any paper-based artwork (a profitable sideline for many artists who sell on their original work to collectors), he was certain on abandoning pen and paper.[82]

Bolland recalls that, in the wake of The Killing Joke, he received plenty of work offers, but didn't feel ready to make a long commitment.[83] So, instead

[a]fter Killing Joke, DC asked me to do the covers on Animal Man, and I said fine, expecting it to be maybe ten or so. I ended up doing sixty-three. It became almost habitual, and it did mean that there would at least be something new of mine out there to look at.[78]

Animal Man

 
Cover of Animal Man #19 (Jan. 1990). Art by Bolland.

The first 63 issues of Animal Man featuring Bolland's artwork covered the tenures of writers Grant Morrison, Peter Milligan, Tom Veitch and Jamie Delano, with Bolland's images maintaining a continuity of style and imagery while the interior work underwent several changes of style and storyline.[84] Initially, he recalls that his cover images derived directly from the script. He would find a scene from the interior art that appeared to make for a good cover, or use a hook on the cover that outlined the plot of the issue.[78] This included the incorporation of photographs into the later covers of Morrison's tale of metafiction and deus ex machina author-input. With the (post-Morrison) move of Animal Man to DC's new 'Mature Readers' imprint Vertigo, Bolland notes that the covers moved to full color paintings with issue No. 57. These of his covers were "a mixture of ink linework, color washes, airbrush and then, eventually, areas painted in poster color by my wife, Rachel," which ultimately saw her have significant input on some covers, with Bolland acknowledging that some of his final Animal Man covers were mostly her work.[85]

Describing the art of good covers, Bolland remarks that

[y]ou really have to be constantly thinking of ways that the image on the cover will intrigue and lure in the potential punter. It helps to try and imagine your cover is in a whole bank of thirty or more and you need it to stand out.[78]

Coincidentally, when a time travel story arc saw Bolland's work coincide with the plot in such a way that he was able to produce a recreated cover from an alternate angle to shed new light on an initially inconsequential image.[80]

The Invisibles

Main article: The Invisibles

Bolland's covers adorn the whole second and third volumes of Grant Morrison's The Invisibles[84] and his depictions of the main characters are widely reprinted as the definitive images, despite them all having been realised by other artists – and often drawn by several before Bolland entered the picture. With this title, the artist remarks the complicated subject matter necessitated his "working a lot of strange symbolism and subliminal messages into the cover designs" to create "an image that puzzles to a degree and is layered with elements of surrealism."[78] Asked to take over from Sean Hughes on the covers for volume two by editor Shelly Roeberg, Bolland found her to be an ideal editor, effusive with praise and specific in requirements. Generally, Bolland recalls she was excited for his ideas, although Morrison had approval on all designs as the series creator. Finding that he had a rapport with, and the trust of, his editor, Bolland thinks that these factors led to some of his most experimental work.[86] Newly embracing the use of a computer, Bolland cites The Invisibles Vol 2 No. 11 as his earliest computer-assisted piece of artwork.[87]

For the third series,

we [Bolland and Morrison] talked about trying to make the covers look different in some way, and when DC decided to number the issues backwards [from 12 to 1; to count down to the Millennium], that set me thinking. I remember seeing Peter Greenaway's film Drowning By Numbers, in which they had these numbers placed subtly in every scene, and I really liked that idea. So I began to include elements of the issue number... always trying to think of ways to hide it, or make it an integral design element.[78]

The covers for the third volume of The Invisibles were done using a computer, in part because Vertigo had requested "painted" covers and Bolland felt that line and flat color wouldn't suffice. The experimental nature of the twelve covers was assisted by the fact that neither Bolland or Roeberg saw the issue script. For the trade paperback covers, Bolland "was determined to make each one weirder than the last," and so created a Francis Bacon inspired "fleshy mass [dubbed "The Blobby Man"] with a typewriter" for Entropy in the UK. Having convinced Karen Berger (Editor in chief of Vertigo) and Roeberg that it was a good idea, the artist recalls that "Shelly rang up and, rather than telling me how wonderful I was, said that when she saw it she nearly lost her lunch! I was asked to turn his skin color from flesh to blue to tone him down a bit." For the final Invisible Kingdom TPB cover, Bolland produced a cover featuring 12 small alternative Invisibles covers, which had been very time consuming. Likening the process to creating "a mini comic strip," Bolland says that "if any detail made any sense it had to be changed to something that didn't."[88]

Bolland's style includes the initial 'rough' outline stage, making it easy for the publisher (and, in some cases, the writer) to "sign off" on his designs.[89] In the case of The Invisibles, however, although Morrison officially had final approval on cover art, Bolland described him as generous to the work Bolland came up with.[80] In selected cases, however, Bolland would ask for ideas, and in one specific case "Shelly [Roeberg], the editor... did once relay that Grant wanted an arm coming out of the water holding a gun on the cover of the last issue."[89] Bolland admits "I don't know exactly why. I just supplied it."[80]

Wonder Woman

Main article: Wonder Woman

Bolland also contributed a large number of covers to Wonder Woman, beginning with William Messner Loebs's first issue (#63, June 1992[90]) after that author took over writer (and artist) George Pérez's 1987 post-Crisis relaunch. Bolland recalls his time drawing Wonder Woman fondly, as one of the few occasions he actually sought work rather than being sought for work. He recalls

I usually sit at home optimistically hoping that people love me enough to ring me and offer me work. The end result is that most of the time I'm doing what other people want and not what I want. Wonder Woman was an exception. I happened to mention to Tom Peyer, my editor on Animal Man, that I'd love to draw Wonder Woman covers... [a]t the time, despite her long history at DC, her iconic appearance, even her cult TV series, she wasn't a character that A-list artists were lining up to draw. Well, I wasn't an A-list artist, so I was keen to have a crack at her.[91]

Bolland's first cover saw Diana next to the headline: "The Stunning return of comics' greatest heroine!" speaking directly to the reader the words "... Miss me?"[90] Bolland's covers over the next 30-plus issues laid the visual groundwork for the character, and saw Bolland illustrate up to and including the centennial issue No. 100.[92] To prepare for his work, Bolland "clipped pictures of the most beautiful women of the time – Christy Turlington, Stephanie Seymour, etc." saying that he was predominantly interested in their faces, generally doing the body without reference. Interested particularly in drawing the costume, which he feels "has to be one of the sexiest in comics," he soon found the character removed from her normal costume in the storyline.[91] For her return to her famous costume, Bolland produced the Britannia-esque pose from Wonder Woman #72 (Mar 1993).[93] He says that "[i]mages like that... usually arise when you're completely stuck for an idea." The image was so iconic that it was released as a poster and later turned into a statue. Shortly thereafter, Diana underwent another costume change – this time designed by Bolland, and mostly drawn on the interior pages by Mike Deodato. The black costume was roundly disliked, even by its designer, Bolland, who philosophically says only that "it was what was asked for at the time," and – aside from Camelot 3000 – is the lone instance he was asked to design a costume.[91] The new costume – black hotpants, halter top, straight hair (which Bolland did like) and "WW"-emblazoned jacket – was based, Bolland recalled, on a Versace outfit that Cindy Crawford wore for Vogue magazine.[94]

Other cover work

 
A rare Marvel cover for Hellstorm: Prince of Lies No. 16 (July 1994).

Bolland notes that while he tends not to reuse cover ideas, he does occasionally produce homages to his past covers. Particularly, for the first Eagle Judge Dredd comic issue – which repackaged 2000 AD stories for the American market – on which the positioning of the figures echoed similar covers Bolland had drawn "two or three times for different companies with different characters."[80]

In addition to his landmark runs on Animal Man and The Invisibles, Bolland has also produced lengthy runs on covers for Geoff Johns' The Flash (from roughs by series editor Joey Cavalieri[95]) and the Batman anthology series Batman: Gotham Knights, as well as assorted issues of Tank Girl (for original UK publication Deadline and the two subsequent Vertigo miniseries Tank Girl: The Odyssey and Tank Girl: Apocalypse), Superman, Green Lantern, Batman and many more, including a number of oneshots and miniseries for DC's offshoot Vertigo. From 2007 to 2011, Bolland was the cover artist on Vertigo's Fables spin-off Jack of Fables, replacing previous cover artist James Jean. Bolland's covers also appear on the DC/Vertigo trade paperback collections of Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol, although he only produced some of covers for the individual issues. He recalls that he sent a number of rough artwork that was often rejected, much to his disappointment, as previous cover artist Simon Bisley had been "a hard act to follow."[96]

Long-standing familiarity with DC characters and staff, coupled with high demand have combined with other factors to mean that the vast majority of Bolland's work has been for DC Comics. In The Art of Brian Bolland, he also mentions in passing that a bad experience with a Marvel UK Hulk cover and a later oddity with a She-Hulk cover featuring Howard the Duck have given him a mild "phobia" of Marvel and the company's production line method that overrules his art style.[97] He has however, produced odd covers for Marvel, First Comics, Continuity Comics, Eclipse Comics, New Comics and a dozen other companies, large and small, as well as book, magazine and record covers. For Dark Horse Comics, Bolland has produced several diverse covers, including a couple for Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist at the behest of editor Diana Schutz. He recalled that the cover of the tenth issue would've had the style of Hergé's The Adventures of Tintin, but it was cancelled after eight issues.[98]

Bolland is noted by some for his use of bondage imagery, although in a humorous self-referential comment, he quotes this "fact" (cited as from Wikipedia), and states that he is unsure of the sentiment's accuracy. He notes that "I can only think off-hand of a few occasions when I've drawn bondage. A few Wonder Woman covers perhaps, a Flash cover, a 2000 AD cover, a Mr. Mamoulian page... but that's all that I can remember out of many hundreds of images."[99] In 2006's The Art of Brian Bolland, he does suggest that "I trace my mild bondage fetish back to a book of Bible stories that must have been given to my father as a Sunday school gift when he was a child," wherein "was a picture of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo [sic]." Such Biblical imagery was bolstered in 1971 by a book bought in Paris "called Les Filles de Papier... [a] large part of [which] was taken up with comic strips about women tied up in fiendish and excruciating positions by mad robots... it was just jaw-droppingly bonkers... and yet... there was something rather appealing about it."[11] The Art of Brian Bolland also features a separate "Nudes" section, mostly created for the purpose of experimenting with different inking techniques or practicing figures from a difficult angles.[100] Only three of the nude sketches involve scenes of bondage.[101]

Other comics work

In addition to his early forays into full interior strip art, and his later focus on covers, Bolland has also produced a number of short – often single pages – strips, numerous pin-ups and a pair of ongoing irregular humour strips. These latter feature Bolland as writer-artist, his now-preferred method of working.[61] Most notable are Bolland's two "personal projects", Mr. Mamoulian and The Actress and the Bishop, all appearances of which strips were collected in the book Bolland Strips! (Palmano-Bennet/Knockabout Comics, 2005). Bolland Strips! stemmed from a suggestion by Josh Palmano (owner of Gosh Comics in London, and also involved in publishing company Knockabout Comics) to collect all instances of Bolland's two strips and Steve Moore's "Zirk" story. Bolland had other thoughts, and suggested including an undrawn 20-page story called "The Actress & the Bishop and the Thing in the Shed" (written 18 years previously), and two stories written and illustrated by him for Vertigo Comics. After negotiations with DC, the two stories – "Princess & the Frog" (from Heartthrobs) and "The Kapas" (from Strange Adventures) were included alongside six limited edition Éditions Déesse prints.[102]

Mr. Mamoulian

Among Bolland's other works is the Robert Crumb-esque semi-autobiographical stream of consciousness humour strip Mr. Mamoulian,[103] which was first printed in Paul Gravett's UK pro-zine Escape and later brought to the US in issues of the Dark Horse title Cheval Noir and the Caliber Comics anthology Negative Burn. Bolland recalled that the origins of the character lay in him contemplating middle age on his 36th birthday, and experimenting with drawing "whatever came into my head". The name echoes the character's mammalian look, resembling a hedgehog, although Bolland acknowledges that Armenian-American film director Rouben Mamoulian likely provided an inspiration on the name front. Noting his enjoyment of Berke Breathed's Bloom County, Bolland's own strip wasn't always humorous, reflecting Bolland's own mood at times. Thus the strip became an exposé of Bolland's inner self drawn out of a personal desire to do so, as a forum to explore and express "various interests of mine, various philosophical notions, personal neuroses." Designed to be read individually – indeed, early publication in Escape was in "no particular order" – gradually it became clear that a mildly self-referential wider chronological narrative had been established. For example, a plot concluded on one page might've continued in a future volume.[104]

Bolland wrote in 2006 that Nick Landau of Titan Books was impressed by Mr. Mamoulian and became Bolland's unofficial agent.[104] Through Landau, Bolland saw his strip published across Europe in publications including Linus, Cimoc and (in Sweden) Pox. Such widespread exposure had its downside, when the original artwork went missing, meaning that later reprints of Mamoulian had to be made from Bolland's photocopies. Disenchanted by the loss of (more of) his artwork, and with declining European interest, Bolland ceased drawing the strip. Subsequent to the collection Bolland Strips!, however, interest from Negative Burn (now published by Desperado Publishing) had persuaded the artist to make more pages.[104]

The Actress and the Bishop

Bolland's other "personal project" is his occasional strip "The Actress and the Bishop".[105] This strip's origins date back to 1985, when Frederick Manzano commissioned Bolland to "draw 6 plates in my own portfolio bearing my name" for Éditions Déesse, a "small Paris based comic-store-cum-publishers", and Bolland drew in one of the six plates an elderly Bishop (whose face echoed "shamelessly" the work of Alberto Breccia[106]) and a femme fatale Actress.[107] Bolland was subsequently approached by Garry Leach and Dave Elliot, who were publishing a new comic anthology series, A1.[108] They asked Bolland to draw – and write – a couple page to include in the first issue, and Bolland recalls that it was his first commission as both a writer and an artist.[108] Actively seeking to write a story that wouldn't be classified as any particular genre, Bolland found the description 'Whimsy' reached by Leach and Elliot to be very apt, and "rooted in the Englishness" of the artists life.[108]

Written in rhyming couplets, the pair "look like the punchline of a smutty joke," but their creator instead "wanted the reader to see them in a benign and non-judgemental light" – the antithesis of "Benny Hill, Frankie Howerd "Oo er, Mrs!"... [rather] like the owl and the pussycat setting sail in a pea green boat." Three pages in A1 No. 1 were followed by another three in A1 No. 3, while a longer story with 110 verses went unreleased for 17 years until publication in the compendium hardback Bolland Strips!.[108]

The Art of Brian Bolland

In 2006 a comprehensively sizeable retrospective of Bolland's work was published by Image/Desperado under the title The Art of Brian Bolland, featuring contextualising references and copious text – 33,500 words[109] – written by the artist with Joe Pruett alongside hundreds of pieces of artwork and rare photographs. The Art of Brian Bolland covers all of the artist's work to date, under an introduction from close friend Dave Gibbons,[110] an autobiographical essay and sections ranging from his "Influences" (featuring near-unseen examples of Bolland's childhood art),[111] through each of the decades from the 1960s to the present. The book also showcases several of Bolland's own photographs taken in Asia and Russia over twenty years of travelling.[112]

Non-comics work

Bolland is also an accomplished photographer, with examples of his work being included in the Image/Desperado book The Art of Brian Bolland. In May 2008, Bolland announced on his website that he had begun making a photo book of a week he spent in Burma in 1988.[113] Some photographs taken by Bolland in Burma are reprinted in the Image-published retrospective The Art of Brian Bolland.[114]

Much in demand for advertisements, Bolland has produced work down the years for bookshops – including pioneering UK Sci-Fi/Comics sellers such as Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed[43] and Forbidden Planet – and film festivals including a poster for BFI Southbank's July/August 2008 Comic-Book Movies series.[115] His work has appeared on the covers of, and inside, numerous publications over the decades, ranging from fanzines to several covers for London-based magazine Time Out and other professional, internationally sold magazines.[116]

Bolland has also produced posters for local theatre groups' amateur stage productions, most notably for his local "village panto" production of Beauty and the Beast in 2004.[117]

Personal life

Bolland married his girlfriend, illustrator and sometime-collaborator Rachel Birkett in 1981.[118] She later gave up illustration and became a cook for a vegetarian restaurant,[119] although she has since assisted her husband with his work, acting as colourist, inker, co-artist and ghost. The two have a son.[24]

Awards

Wins

Bolland and his work have received recognition in both the British and American comics industry. He was awarded the "Best Newcomer" award by the Society of Strip Illustration in 1977.[120]

In 1982, he received an Inkpot Award,[121] and the following year, he was named "Favourite Artist" in the British section of the Eagle Awards.[122]

In 1989, Moore and Bolland's The Killing Joke received an Eisner Award for "Best Graphic Album," while Bolland was named separately as "Best Artist/Penciller/Inker" for the same work.[123] The same year, Bolland won three Harvey Awards; two in the same categories for the same work – "Best Artist" and "Best Graphic Album" – while the third was also The Killing Joke which was separately honoured as the winner of the "Best Single Issue" award.[124]

In 1992, Bolland won an Eisner Award after being named "Best Cover Artist,"[125] an honour he received three years in a row (1992–1994),[126][127] and twice subsequently (1999, 2001) for various works.[128][129]

In 2007, Bolland added to his Eisner Award wins when The Art of Brian Bolland won the "Best Comics-Related Book" award.[130]

Nominations

The Camelot 3000 limited series, which he created with Mike W. Barr, was nominated for the 1985 Kirby Award for Best Finite Series, narrowly losing to Marv Wolfman and George Pérez's Crisis on Infinite Earths. In 2002, he placed second behind Jack Kirby for the title of "Best Artist Ever" in the short-lived National Comics Awards.[131]

Bibliography

Interior comic work includes:

  • 2000 AD (IPC Media):
    • Dan Dare: "Greenworld, Part 2" (with Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons, in No. 35, 1977)
    • Judge Dredd:
      • "The Mega-City 5000, Part 2" (with John Howard, in No. 41, 1977)
      • "Land Race" (with John Howard, in No. 47, 1978)
      • "The Lunar Olympics" (with John Howard, in No. 50, 1978)
      • "Luna 1 War" (with John Howard, in No. 51, 1978)
      • "The Face-Change Crimes" (with John Howard, in No. 52, 1978)
      • "The Oxygen Board" (with John Howard, in No. 57, 1978)
      • "Full Earth Crimes" (with John Howard, in No. 58, 1978)
      • "The Cursed Earth":
        • "Part 5: The Mutie Mountains" (with Pat Mills, in No. 65, 1978)
        • "Part 9: The Slay-Riders!" (with Pat Mills, in No. 69, 1978)
        • "Part 10: Requiem for an Alien!" (with Pat Mills, in No. 70, 1978)
        • "Part 17: Giants aren't Gentlemen!" (with Jack Adrian, in No. 77, 1978)
        • "Part 18: Soul Food" (with Jack Adrian, in No. 78, 1978)
        • "Parts 21–22: Tweak's Story" (with Pat Mills, in #81–82, 1978)
      • "Crime and Punishment" (with John Howard, in No. 86, 1978)
      • "Outlaw" (with John Howard and Dave Gibbons, in No. 87, 1978)
      • "The Day the Law Died!" (with John Howard):
        • "Part 6: Behold the Hordes of Klegg!" (with Garry Leach, in No. 94, 1978)
        • "Part 7" (with Garry Leach, in No. 95, 1978)
        • "Part 10" (in No. 98, 1979)
        • "Parts 13–14" (in #101–102, 1979)
      • "Punks Rule!" (with John Howard, in No. 110, 1979)
      • "The Forever Crimes" (with John Howard, in No. 120, 1979)
      • "Father Earth" (with John Howard, in #122–123, 1979)
      • "Night of the Fog" (with John Howard, in No. 127, 1979)
      • "Judge Death" (with John Howard, in #149–151, 1980)
      • "The Judge Child" (with John Howard):
        • "Part 1" (in No. 156, 1980)
        • "Part 7" (in No. 162, 1980)
        • "Parts 17–18" (in #172–173, 1980)
      • "Block War" (with John Howard, in No. 182, 1980)
      • "Judge Death Lives" (with T.B Grover, in #224–228, 1981)
      • "Block Mania, Part 9" (with T.B Grover, in No. 244, 1981)
      • "The Alien Zoo" (with John Wagner, in Annual '82, 1981)
    • Tharg's Future Shocks: "Solo Flip" (with Jack Adrian, in No. 52, 1978)
    • Walter the Wobot (with Joe Collins):
      • "Walter's Brother" (in #52–56, 1978)
      • "Radio Walter" (in No. 57, 1978)
      • "Master-Mind" (in No. 58, 1978)
      • "The Fwankenheim Monster" (in #59–61, 1978)
      • "Frankenheim's Finest Hour!" (in No. 67, 1978)
      • "Grin and Bear It!" (in No. 68, 1978)
  • Graphixus #3: "Little Nympho in Slumberland Meets Benny Bunny" (script and art, Graphic Eye, 1978)
  • Madame Xanadu #1: "Falling Down to Heaven..." (with J.M. DeMatteis, DC Comics, 1981)
  • Mystery in Space #115: "Certified Safe" (with Arnold Drake, DC Comics, 1981)
  • Justice League of America #200: "A League Divided" (with Gerry Conway, among other artists, 1982)
  • Warrior #3: "Zirk: Silver Sweater of the Spaceways" (with Pedro Henry, Quality Communications, 1982)
  • Camelot 3000 #1–12 (with Mike W. Barr, DC Comics, 1982–1985)
  • Grimjack #22: "Mother's Calling" (with John Ostrander, First Comics, 1986)
  • Batman #400: "Resurrection Night!" (with Doug Moench, among other artists, DC Comics, 1986)
  • Outrageous Tales from the Old Testament: "Elisha's Miracle" (script and art, anthology graphic novel, Knockabout, 1987)
  • The Outsiders #18: "Freeway of Fear!" (with Mike W. Barr, DC Comics, 1987)
  • Real War Stories #1: "The Elite of the Fleet" (with Mike W. Barr, Eclipse, 1987)
  • Power Comics #1–4 (with Don Avenell, Norman Worker and Dave Gibbons, Eclipse, 1988)
  • Batman: The Killing Joke (with Alan Moore, graphic novel, DC Comics, 1988)
  • AARGH! #1: "A Page from Brian Bolland" (script and art, Mad Love, 1988)
  • Wonder Woman Annual #1: "Epilogue" (with George Pérez, DC Comics, 1988)
  • A1 (script and art, Atomeka):
    • "The Actress and the Bishop Go Boating" (in No. 1, 1989)
    • "The Actress and the Bishop Throw a Party" (in No. 3, 1989)
    • "Parcels of Events" (in True Life Bikini Confidential, 1990)
  • Cheval Noir No. 3, 5–9, 11–12, 15–18 (Mr. Mamoulian strips, script and art, Dark Horse, 1989–1991)
  • Freak Show: "Harry the Head" (script and art, anthology graphic novel, Dark Horse, 1992)
  • Legends of Arzach #6: "The Fountains of Summer" (with Jean-Marc Lofficier, among other artists, Kitchen Sink, 1992)
  • Negative Burn #1–5, 7–14, 16, 18–22, 24–27, 29, 33, 35, 38–39, 42–50 (Mr. Mamoulian strips, script and art, Caliber, 1993–1997)
  • Batman: Black and White #4: "An Innocent Guy" (script and art, DC Comics, 1996)
  • Heartthrobs #1: "The Princess and the Frog" (script and art, Vertigo, 1999)
  • Strange Adventures #1: "The Kapas" (script and art, Vertigo, 1999)
  • Negative Burn #1–5, 13, Summer Special, Winter Special (Mr. Mamoulian strips, script and art, Desperado Publishing, 2005–2007)
  • Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall: "What You Wish for" (with Bill Willingham, graphic novel, Vertigo, 2006)
  • 52 (DC Comics):
    • "The Origin of Animal Man" (with Mark Waid, co-feature, in No. 19, 2006)
    • "The Origin of Zatanna" (with Mark Waid, co-feature, in No. 34, 2006)
  • Countdown to Final Crisis #31: "The Origin of Joker" (with Mark Waid, co-feature, DC Comics, 2007)
  • DC Universe: Legacies #7: "Snapshot: Reunion!" (with Len Wein, co-feature, DC Comics, 2011)
  • Wasted #6: "Shit the Dog: Relish That!" (with Alan Grant and John Wagner, Bad Press, 2011)
  • The Spirit #17: "Strange Bedfellows" (with Howard Chaykin, DC Comics, 2011)

Covers only

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Salisbury, Mark, Artists on Comic Art (Titan Books, 2000) ISBN 1-84023-186-6, p. 11
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Bolland, Brian, "On Sale Everywhere" in Joe Pruett (ed.). The Art of Brian Bolland, (Image Comics, 2006), ISBN 1-58240-603-0, pp. 10–15
  3. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1960s – Insect League" in The Art of Brian Bolland, pp. 22–23
  4. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "Influences – Carol Day by David Wright" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 17
  5. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "Influences – The Steel Claw by Jesus Blasco" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 19
  6. ^ a b c d Salisbury, p. 10
  7. ^ . Norwich University of the Arts. n.d. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  8. ^ a b c Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – Time Out Illustration" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 27
  9. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – Epic & RDH Comix" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 25
  10. ^ a b Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Time Out" in The Art of Brian Bolland, pp. 142–143
  11. ^ a b Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – Suddenly and Little Nympho" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 29
  12. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – The Mixed-Up Kid" in The Art of Brian Bolland, pp. 34–35
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bolland & Pruett, "1970s – Powerman" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 37
  14. ^ a b c d Salisbury, p. 13
  15. ^ a b c d Salisbury, p. 12
  16. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – Help from Friends" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 42
  17. ^ a b c d Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – 2000AD" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 57
  18. ^ a b Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – My First Dredd Nov 1977" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 42
  19. ^ a b Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – Dredd Stories and 2000AD covers" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 72
  20. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – The Muties Mountain Double Page Spread" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 76
  21. ^ Ching, Albert (2 April 2016). "EXCLUSIVE: Brian Bolland's Cover for "Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth Uncensored"". Comic Book Resources. from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  22. ^ Keily, Karl (5 December 2014). "EXCLUSIVE: Staples Takes Judge Death Back to His Roots for "Dark Justice"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  23. ^ Noble, Colin (4 June 2019). "Comics Inspiration: How Celebrities have inspired the look of some Comic Characters Part 3: 2000AD Edition". Down The Tubes. from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  24. ^ a b c Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Eagle Comics Covers" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 145
  25. ^ a b c d e Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Judge Death" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 114
  26. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Titan Books" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 124
  27. ^ a b c d Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – Walter the Wobot" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 68
  28. ^ a b Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – House of Hammer" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 65
  29. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – The Drifters" in The Art of Brian Bolland, pp. 44–45
  30. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Wild Cards" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 209
  31. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – Comic Media News" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 47
  32. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – Maneater" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 46
  33. ^ Not the US game designer of the same name, despite the section heading in The Art of Brian Bolland.
  34. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Steve Jackson Games" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 167
  35. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Steve Jackson Games" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 169
  36. ^ Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-653-5.
  37. ^ a b c d Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – Jeff Hawke" in The Art of Brian Bolland, pp. 52–55
  38. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Jeff Hawke Titan Collections" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 174
  39. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Jeff Hawke Volume 3 Prelim" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 174
  40. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – A Miracle of Elisha" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 156
  41. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Outrageous Tales From the Old Testament" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 156
  42. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – Star Wars Ads" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 99
  43. ^ a b Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – Dark They Were and Golden Eyed" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 48
  44. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – Comicon 1976" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 46
  45. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – Forbidden Planet" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 96
  46. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – Forbidden Planet Expansion" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 96
  47. ^ a b c Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – Green Lantern" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 102
  48. ^ a b c Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – JLA 200 and Superman Beastman Cover" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 130
  49. ^ Catron, Michael (June 1981). "DC Taps Fan Market for Madame Xanadu". Amazing Heroes (1): 25. Madame Xanadu, a 32-page/$1.00 comic that marks DC's first attempt at marketing comics specifically to fans and collectors, went on sale in early April. The book contains a 25-page tale by Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers entitled "Dance for Two Demons" and a seven-page fantasy story by J. Marc DeMatteis and Brian Bolland.
  50. ^ a b Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – The European Invasion" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 103
  51. ^ Manning, Matthew K. (2010). "1980s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 199. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. Writer Mike W. Barr and artist Brian Bolland pushed the limits of the conventional comic book with Camelot 3000. DC Comics' first foray into the realm of the maxiseries, Camelot 3000 was a twelve-issue story printed on vibrant Baxter paper that showcased Bolland's realistic artwork.
  52. ^ Boyanski, Brian (Summer 2001). . Comicology. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing (4). Archived from the original on 7 December 2004.
  53. ^ a b c Salisbury, p. 17
  54. ^ a b c d e Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Camelot 3000" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 133
  55. ^ a b c Ash, Roger (April 2008). "Mike W. Barr and Brian Bolland Return to Camelot". Back Issue!. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing (27): 45–56.
  56. ^ Salisbury, p. 16
  57. ^ Brian Bolland at the Grand Comics Database
  58. ^ Superman #400 at the Grand Comics Database
  59. ^ Giordano, Dick "Meanwhile" column, Jemm, Son of Saturn No. 2 (Oct. 1984) "We have another goodie for you! Also on this year's October schedule is the Superman No. 400 portfolio ... The portfolio will have a full-color painted cover by Howard Chaykin and will contain 15 black-and-white plates by Terry Austin, Brian Bolland, John Byrne, Jack Davis, Steve Ditko, Will Eisner, Mike Grell, Jack Kirby, Frank Miller, Moebius, Jerry Robinson, Bill Sienkiewicz, Walter Simonson, Steranko, and Berni Wrightson. Look for it around June 26th. On good stock, it'll be available for $10.00 in the USA and $16.00 in Canada."
  60. ^ Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 221: "Batman celebrated the 400th issue of his self-titled comic with a blockbuster featuring dozens of famous comic book creators and nearly as many infamous villains. Written by Doug Moench, with an introduction by novelist Stephen King...[it was] drawn by George Pérez, Bill Sienkiewicz, Arthur Adams, Joe Kubert, Brian Bolland, and others."
  61. ^ a b c d Salisbury, p. 19
  62. ^ a b Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – The Killing Joke" in The Art of Brian Bolland, pp. 195–197
  63. ^ Mithaiwala, Mansoor (19 July 2016). "15 Things You Need To Know About Batman: The Killing Joke". Screen Rant. from the original on 20 July 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  64. ^ Brooker, Will (18 September 2001). Batman Unmasked: Analyzing a Cultural Icon. London, England: Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 268–272. ISBN 978-0826413437.
  65. ^ Goldstein, Hilary (24 May 2005). "Batman: The Killing Joke Review". IGN. San Francisco, California: j2 Global.
  66. ^ Goldstein, Hilary (June 13, 2005). "The 25 Greatest Batman Graphic Novels". IGN.
  67. ^ James Donnelly (21 March 2008). . Pop Syndicate. Archived from the original on 4 April 2008.
  68. ^ Burton, Tim (2006). Burton on Burton. London, England: Faber and Faber. p. 71. ISBN 0-571-22926-3.
  69. ^ Greenberger, Robert; Manning, Matthew K. (2009). The Batman Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the Batcave. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Running Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-7624-3663-7. Offering keen insight into both the minds of the Joker and Batman, this special is considered by most Batman fans to be the definitive Joker story of all time.
  70. ^ Manning, Matthew K. (2010). "1980s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 233. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. Crafted with meticulous detail and brilliantly expressive art, Batman: The Killing Joke was one of the most powerful and disturbing stories in the history of Gotham City.
  71. ^ Brian Cronin (2009), Was Superman A Spy?: And Other Comic Book Legends Revealed, Penguin, p. 47, ISBN 9780452295322
  72. ^ Sharon Packer (2010), Superheroes and Superegos: Analyzing the Minds Behind the Masks, ABC-CLIO, p. 201, ISBN 9780313355363
  73. ^ Jeffrey A. Brown (2011), Dangerous Curves: Action Heroines, Gender, Fetishism, and Popular Culture, University Press of Mississippi, p. 175, ISBN 9781604737141
  74. ^ Brian Bolland, "On Batman: Brian Bolland Recalls The Killing Joke," DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore (New York: DC Comics, 2006) 256. ISBN 1-4012-0927-0.
  75. ^ "Graphic Books Best Seller List: May 16", The New York Times; George Gene Gustines. May 22, 2009
  76. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1990s – An Innocent Man" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 254
  77. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The New Millennium – Batman Gotham Knights" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 266
  78. ^ a b c d e f Salisbury, p. 20
  79. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1990's" in The Art of Brian Bolland, pp. 230–231
  80. ^ a b c d e f Salisbury, p. 24
  81. ^ a b Salisbury, p. 26
  82. ^ Salisbury, p. 28
  83. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Animal Man" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 213
  84. ^ a b Irvine, Alex (2008). "Animal Man". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.). The Vertigo Encyclopedia. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-7566-4122-1. OCLC 213309015.
  85. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1990s – Vertigo Animal Man" in The Art of Brian Bolland, pp. 228–229
  86. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1990s – The Invisibles" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 256
  87. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1990s – The Computer" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 260
  88. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1990s – The Invisibles, Volume 3" in The Art of Brian Bolland, pp. 262–263
  89. ^ a b Salisbury, p. 21
  90. ^ a b Wonder Woman #63 (DC, June 1992). Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  91. ^ a b c Bolland & Pruett, "The 1990s – Wonder Woman" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 230
  92. ^ Wonder Woman #100 (DC, August 1995). Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  93. ^ Wonder Woman #72 (DC, March 1993). Accessed 13 May 2009
  94. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1990s – The New Costume" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 233
  95. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The New Millennium – The Flash" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 268
  96. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1990s – Doom Patrol" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 242
  97. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1990s – Howard and She-Hulk" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 221
  98. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The New Millennium – The Escapist Covers" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 282
  99. ^ "The Art of Brian Bolland" – The Official Website 24 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  100. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "Nudes" in The Art of Brian Bolland, pp. 283–292
  101. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "Nudes" in The Art of Brian Bolland, pp. 285, 292
  102. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The New Millennium – Bolland Strips!" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 279
  103. ^ Mr. Mamoulian on "The Art of Brian Bolland" – The Official Website 23 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  104. ^ a b c Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Mr. Mamoulian" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 182
  105. ^ The Actress & The Bishop on "The Art of Brian Bolland" – The Official Website 23 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  106. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "Influences – Mort Cinder by Alberto Breccia" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 18
  107. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Éditions Déesse" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 160
  108. ^ a b c d Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – The Actress and the Bishop" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 202
  109. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "Moving Things About" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 310
  110. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "Introduction by Dave Gibbons" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 6
  111. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "Influences" in The Art of Brian Bolland, pp. 16–19
  112. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "Places of Interest" in The Art of Brian Bolland, pp. 293–309
  113. ^ "A Book About Burma" on "The Art of Brian Bolland" – The Official Website, 14 May 2008 16 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  114. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "Places of Interest" in The Art of Brian Bolland, pp. 293–309
  115. ^ "BFI poster" on "The Art of Brian Bolland" – The Official Website, 22 June 2008 16 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  116. ^ Khoury, George (2004). True Brit: A Celebration of the Great Comic Book Artists of the UK. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 49–50. ISBN 1893905330.
  117. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The New Millennium – Beauty and the Beast" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 274
  118. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Munden's Bar" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 179
  119. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1990s – Happy Birthday!" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 219
  120. ^ Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – SSI Illustration" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 81
  121. ^ Inkpot Award
  122. ^ . Eagle Awards. Archived from the original on 29 May 2007. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
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  129. ^ "2001 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees Winners". Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac. from the original on 2 May 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  130. ^ "2007 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards". Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac. from the original on 4 May 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  131. ^ "2002 National Comics Awards". Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac. from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.

Further reading

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brian Bolland.
  • Brian Bolland at the Grand Comics Database
  • at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
  • Brian Bolland at Barney
  • Brian Bolland at the Lambiek Comiclopedia
  • Brian Bolland at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
  • Brian Bolland at IMDb

August 21, 2023
brian, bolland, born, march, 1951, british, comics, artist, best, known, united, kingdom, judge, dredd, artists, british, comics, anthology, 2000, spearheaded, british, invasion, american, comics, industry, 1982, produced, artwork, alongside, author, mike, bar. Brian Bolland ˈ b ɒ l e n d born 26 March 1951 1 is a British comics artist Best known in the United Kingdom as one of the Judge Dredd artists for British comics anthology 2000 AD he spearheaded the British Invasion of the American comics industry and in 1982 produced the artwork alongside author Mike W Barr on Camelot 3000 which was DC Comics first 12 issue comicbook maxiseries created for the direct market Brian BollandBolland at the New York Comic Con in Manhattan 9 October 2010Born 1951 03 26 26 March 1951 age 72 Butterwick Lincolnshire EnglandArea s Writer Penciller InkerNotable worksJudge Dredd vs Judge DeathBatman The Killing JokeCamelot 3000Bolland illustrated the critically acclaimed 1988 graphic novel Batman The Killing Joke an origin story for Batman supervillain the Joker with writer Alan Moore He gradually shifted to working primarily as a cover artist producing the majority of his work for DC Comics Bolland created cover artwork for the Animal Man Wonder Woman and Batman Gotham Knights superhero comic book series In 1996 he drew and self penned a Batman Black and White story An Innocent Guy For DC s Vertigo imprint Bolland has done covers for The Invisibles Jack of Fables and a number of one shots and miniseries In addition to interior and cover art Bolland has also produced several comic strips and pin ups as both writer and artist His most notable are the semi autobiographical humour strip Mr Mamoulian and the whimsical rhyming strip The Actress and the Bishop All strips of both projects were included in the Bolland Strips collection book published in 2005 In 2006 he compiled the art book The Art of Brian Bolland showcasing all of Bolland s work to date and also his work as a photographer Contents 1 Early life 2 UK career 2 1 Fanzines and early work 2 2 2000 AD Judge Death and Walter the Wobot 2 3 Other UK work 3 DC Comics 3 1 Covers 3 1 1 Animal Man 3 1 2 The Invisibles 3 1 3 Wonder Woman 3 1 4 Other cover work 4 Other comics work 4 1 Mr Mamoulian 4 2 The Actress and the Bishop 4 3 The Art of Brian Bolland 5 Non comics work 6 Personal life 7 Awards 7 1 Wins 7 2 Nominations 8 Bibliography 8 1 Covers only 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External linksEarly life Edit Bolland grew up near Boston Lincolnshire Brian Bolland was born in Butterwick Lincolnshire England 1 to Albert A J John a fenland farmer and Lillie Bolland 2 He grew up in a small village near Boston Lincolnshire until he was 18 years old but has no memory of comics much before the age of ten 2 When American comics began to be imported into England c 1959 Bolland hadn t read any comics before the age of ten but by 1960 he was intrigued by Dell Comics Dinosaurus which developed into a childhood interest in dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes 2 Comics including Turok Son of Stone and DC Comics Tomahawk soon followed and it was this burgeoning comics collection that would help inspire Bolland to draw his own comics 1 around the age of ten with ideas such as Insect League 3 He recalls that s uperheroes crept into my life by stealth as he actively sought out covers featuring any big creature that looked vaguely dinosaur like trampling puny humans 2 These adolescent criteria led from Dinosaurus and Turok via House of Mystery to Batman and Robin who were often being harassed by big weird things as were Superman Aquaman Wonder Woman etc Bolland recalled 2 Soon family outings to Skegness became an excuse for the future artist to trawl round some of the more remote backstreet newsagents for comics to store on an overflowing wooden bookcase he d built in school 2 As early as 1962 aged 11 Bolland remembers thinking that Carmine Infantino s work on the Flash and Gil Kane s on Green Lantern and the Atom had a sophistication about it that I hadn t previously seen 2 He would later cite Kane and Alex Toth as pinnacle s of excellence 1 alongside Curt Swan Murphy Anderson Sid Greene Joe Kubert Ross Andru Mike Esposito Nick Cardy and Bruno Premiani whose influences showed in his early crude stabs at drawing comics 2 The young Bolland did not rate Marvel Comics as highly as DC feeling the covers cluttered and the paper quality crude 2 His appreciation of the artwork of Jack Kirby he says only materialised much later 2 He did however enjoy UK comics including newspaper strips such as Jeff Hawke by Syd Jordan and Carol Day by David Wright 4 and Valiant which featured Mytek the Mighty by Eric Bradbury and Steel Claw by Jesus Blasco 5 2 Despite such a variety of inspirations Bolland credits his eventual pursuance of art as a hobby and then vocation to a primary school art teacher 6 Growing up as an only child with parents that had no interest in art literature or music he embraced the late 1960s pop culture explosion of pirate radio stations experimental music recreational drugs psychedelia Oz Magazine dropping out and other aspects of hippy culture epitomised by underground comix such as Robert Crumb s Zap Comix 2 Having taken both O Level and A Level examinations in art Bolland spent five years at art school beginning in 1969 2 learning graphic design and art history 6 Learning to draw comics however was an art he self taught with Bolland eventually writing a 15 000 word dissertation in 1973 on Neal Adams an artist his teachers had never heard of 1 6 He would later recall It was during this time that I discovered the sheer range of comics and their history All the British stuff I d missed was there to be discovered I found the American greats Foster Herriman Alex Raymond and Winsor McCay Noel Sickles Milt Caniff Roy Crane had all I discovered put down the basic building blocks of our Art form And there were the Europeans Moebius Manara Breccia Later the Filipinos Alex Nino Nestor Redondo Alfredo Alcala all were inspirational None of this stuff was to be found in the art schools During my five years in three art schools I never learnt a single thing about comics from any of my tutors 2 UK career EditFanzines and early work Edit Bolland studied graphic design at Norwich University of the Arts 7 While at art school Bolland drew and self published a couple of fanzines and his work was published in British underground magazines Frendz International Times and OZ 8 In 1971 his friend Dave Harwood entered printed mass production with his RDH Comix for which Bolland provided a cover featuring Norwich Cathedral 9 Also in 1971 Time Out an underground magazine 8 rapidly reinventing itself into the biggest weekly listings magazine in London gave Bolland his first compensated work 10 producing an illustration of blues guitarist Buddy Guy 8 While in Norwich Bolland produced the first episodes of an adult Little Nemo in Slumberland parody entitled Little Nympho in Slumberland and when he moved to the Central School of Art and Design in London in 1973 he continued to produce mostly full page Little Nympho strips for a 50 copy fanzine entitled Suddenly at 2 o clock in the Morning 11 He also contributed a smaller strip entitled The Mixed Up Kid to the Central School of Art s Galloping Maggot the college newspaper 12 2000 AD Judge Death and Walter the Wobot Edit In 1972 Bolland attended the British Comic Art Convention at the Waverley Hotel in London and met several influential figures in the current British comics scene including Dez Skinn Nick Landau Richard Burton Angus McKie and crucially Dave Gibbons 13 Bolland and Gibbons became firm friends After finishing his college course Bolland was hit with the stark reality of unemployment 13 and on the advice of Gibbons 14 joined art agency Bardon Press Features He soon found work doing a number of two page strips for D C Thomson resulted but Bolland would refer to this period as his lowest time 13 Bardon did however produce a client called Pikin which was planning a bi weekly comic about an African superhero Powerman which was to be sold in Nigeria 1 13 Gibbons and Bolland were to draw alternate issues with Bolland first drawing Powerman No 2 1 Bolland recalls that soon Dave had drawn his entire story and I had produced just a few pages 13 This knowledge that Dave could produce a page a day and that I was going to have to do the same was a shock but proved to be the very best kind of training ground 13 With comics purportedly being new to Nigeria 13 Bolland recalls this work being created specifically to be really simple six panels on a page and all the panels had to be numbered 15 Not only was this work t he best way to learn the simple rules of comic book storytelling but better still it was going someplace where nobody I knew could see it 13 He drew around 300 pages of that very straightforward simple to follow work and I guess the storytelling flowed naturally from that 13 15 Even so he was always struggling to get the last eight or ten pages finished and was occasionally helped by friends both from his Norwich School of Art days Gibbons and future 2000 AD and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen artist Kevin O Neill 16 Bolland writes that starting with Powerman he found regular employment drawing comics one of which Judge Dredd in 1977 80 turned out to be quite a hit 2 In early 1977 Bardon agent Barry Coker called Gibbons and Bolland to the office and showed them mock ups from a new science fiction comic IPC was planning to publish 17 Gibbons joined Carlos Ezquerra in jumping into 2000AD feet first with issue 1 or Programme later Prog 1 but meanwhile Bolland would have to keep drawing Powerman on his own 17 Powerman dropped to a monthly schedule and Coker soon got Bolland a cover on 2000 AD in May 77 with Prog 11 7 May 1977 signed Bollo 17 Bolland recalls of those early days that You ll be surprised to hear that even though Judge Dredd had been in 2000AD since Prog 2 the editors weren t sure which of the interior characters would sell the comic best if that character was on the cover Artists like me just came up with cover ideas and if they liked them we d draw the cover and they would write a one page text story based on it to go inside These early covers of mine fall into that category 17 Other covers followed for nearly a third of the first 30 progs as well as stand alone pages and some inking duties on Gibbons Dan Dare Already familiar with Nick Landau acting editor when another artist dropped out Bolland was called directly to complete a Judge Dredd story in Prog 41 3 Dec 77 and soon was established as a regular artist on the series 18 From that point on writes Bolland either he Landau or his successor Steve MacManus called me direct whenever they wanted me to do a Dredd story 18 Dredd stories started as traditional UK comic stories i e six page one offs Writers Pat Mills and John Wagner seem ing to spurn the American comic idea of continuing stories or worse the idea of a 2000 AD continuity between characters Bolland seeing this as a strength hav ing one great new idea each week 19 Soon though the writers began to craft serials and Bolland s distinct abilities with subtle facial expressions dramatic lighting and the dynamic composition of page layout made him the perfect choice to draw the ongoing sagas starting with The Lunar Olympics 19 Bolland contributed artwork to such Judge Dredd story arcs as Luna Period The Cursed Earth The Day the Law Died The Judge Child Quest and Block Mania As the Dredd stories rose in popularity they were moved so they started on the middle pages with a colour double page spread which Bolland always struggled with 20 finding it very difficult trying to fill that space most effectively 14 Ultimately the weekly deadlines meant that Bolland was unable to produce all episodes of the epic storylines himself and the art chores on The Cursed Earth were split between Bolland and Mike McMahon 21 Bolland s early work on Judge Dredd was much influenced by McMahon a talented newcomer whose idiosyncratic style was fuelling the interest in the new character Bolland thought McMahon was terrific the real ideas man on Dredd but noted that McMahon s approach was very impressionistic while the average comics reader certainly at the time does tend to prefer realism 14 15 Bolland therefore states that he aped Mike s genius and then reinterpreted Dredd in a style which actually borrowed a lot from the work of the American artists 14 retaining McMahon s granite jawed look but bringing a level of realism and fine detail to the character which Mark Salisbury says finally cemented the iconic image 15 As well as honing the look of the character and contributing to the highest profile early storylines Bolland also created the look of two of the wider Dredd universe s most enduring characters Judge Death and the other three Dark Judges 22 and Judge Anderson 23 Later Landau s Titan decided they could repackage the Judge Dredd stories in an American comic format with new covers and sell it to America and did under the brand Eagle Comics 24 Bolland provided many of the covers for these compendium issues 24 Bolland drew the first three episodes of the Judge Death story over the winter of 1979 80 as just another villain in just another excellent John Wagner script 25 He does not remember doing any sketches to get him right the outfit was described somewhat in the script and details of it were heavily inspired by the look of Kevin O Neill s Nemesis the Warlock 25 Bolland was he acknowledges by far the slowest of the rotating Judge Death artists opting to take as long as I needed and do a half way decent job rather than rushing 25 For the sequel a massive for me 30 pages 2000 AD s editorial banked one off stories to give Bolland long enough to draw it all 25 When Nick Landau began in 1981 Titan Books reprints of Judge Dredd material he used this story non chronologically to begin the series 25 Landau spent time paginating the book at Bolland s flat and discovered that s ome stories started or ended on the wrong page thereby leaving blank pages as it was set to be in effect the first book exclusively of my work the artist gladly offered to add three full page pictures for the Cursed Earth volume and a new back cover for the first Judge Dredd volume 26 Walter the Wobot was an android with a speech impediment who served as Judge Dredd s personal servant robot Created for comedic relief Bolland notes that t he great thing about the Judge Dredd strip was it s sic ability to slide seamlessly between gritty sci fi adventure nasty gothic horror spoofery all the way to daft comedy 27 Walter s solo adventures Walter the Wobot Fwiend of Dwedd were the latter style 27 Bolland drew all bar a couple of Walter s adventures which appeared between Progs 50 61 67 68 and 84 85 with Ian Gibson drawing the first two episodes and Brendan McCarthy the last two and says that he was usually able to complete one in a day 27 He namechecks the great Don Martin as an artist he shamelessly ripped off for the human supporting characters drawing most of the pages in Chiswick 1978 27 Other UK work Edit In between Dredd assignments Bolland drew horror strips for Dez Skinn s House of Hammer having been introduced to the comic through another of the fanboy in crowd Trevor Goring who drew a comic strip version of the movie Plague of the Zombies and asked Bolland to ink it 28 Soon Bolland was asked to draw Vampire Circus dir Robert Young 1972 comic version scripted by Steve Parkhouse and pile d on the gore for his first Hammer horror adaptation although he found much of the blood painted out in the printed version 28 Cover art of Legacy of EAGLES 1984 Art by Bolland From the 1970s to the present Bolland has also produced one off pieces of artwork for use as record including one for The Drifters in 1975 29 paperback book including the UK Titan editions of George R R Martin s Wild Cards anthologies 30 and magazine covers including Time Out 10 and every major comics publication He continued to produce work for fanzines including for Nick Landau s Comic Media News 31 and Arkensword and even drew the hazard cards for a board game called Maneater 32 He later got to know the Games Workshop guys Steve Jackson 33 and Ian Livingstone and produced various games related drawings including a cover or two for Fighting Fantasy Adventure Game Books 34 and RPG scenario pamphlets 35 His cover work for Games Workshop includes the role playing game Golden Heroes and its only adventure Legacy of Eagles 36 50 and the Fighting Fantasy book Appointment with F E A R 367 In 1977 Bolland was approached by Syd Jordan to ghost some episodes of Jordan s newspaper strip Jeff Hawke 37 after fellow fandom pro artist Paul Neary had already done a fair number of them 37 Bolland drew 13 episodes and Syd touched up some of the faces a few details here and there to make them look a bit more like him 37 By this point although the Express owned the rights to the strip they were not printing it but since it had a strong European following these new episodes Bolland believes got collected in anthologies in French and Spanish but not in the UK except briefly in the fanzine Eureka 37 In 1985 as a known fan Bolland was approached by Nick Landau to select stories and draw covers for two Titan collections of the strip with a third design going unpublished 38 39 Bolland also contributed A Miracle of Elisha to Knockabout Comics Old Bailey OZ Trial Special written because Old Testament history had piqued the interest of Bolland when living near the British Museum 40 This page was later reprinted in the Outrageous Tales From the Old Testament volume which included works from Moore Hunt Emerson Gaiman Gibbons and Dave McKean although Bolland s name was left off the cover 41 Bolland produced a considerable amount of advertising work initially because his agent Barry Coker kept putting advertising jobs my way including a number of ads for Palitoy s Star Wars toys 42 He also drew some of the earliest pieces of advertising artwork for the science fiction and comic shop Dark They Were and Golden Eyed which ran in various fanzines convention programmes and magazines such as Time Out and was commissioned by future Titan Distribution and Forbidden Planet co founder Mike Lake who was working there at the time c 1976 43 As well as the DTWAGE adverts Bolland and most of his peers also contributed artwork to advertise and or feature in programme booklets for the UK Comicon starting c 1976 44 In 1978 Nick Landau Mike Lake and Mike Luckman took their comic distribution business into the highstreet opening the first Forbidden Planet comics shop for which Lake asked Bolland to produce the now famous People like us shop at FORBIDDEN PLANET adverts Bolland s artwork would also feature on the shop s plastic bags as well as T Shirts and covers for their SF comic and TV amp film catalogues among other places 45 Later when a branch of Forbidden Planet was opened in New York and at a second location in London Bolland did ads for both of them 46 DC Comics EditBolland was among the first British comics creators to work in the American comics industry spearheading the so called British Invasion in 1979 80 Bolland recalls that his big break came when Joe Staton attended the Summer 1979 Comicon and needing somewhere to work on Green Lantern while in the UK arranged to stay with the Bollands 47 Staton called his editor Jack Harris and told him that Bolland a big Green Lantern fan would like to draw a Green Lantern cover Harris agreed 47 He drew several covers for DC Comics starting with Green Lantern No 127 April 1980 47 as well as some fill in stories 2 These stories included in 1980 1981 Certified Safe in Mystery in Space 48 and Falling Down to Heaven in Madame Xanadu DC s first attempt at marketing comics specifically to the direct market of fans and collectors 49 For editor Julius Schwartz Bolland drew covers around which writers would craft stories which included two Starro covers for Justice League of America No 189 and 190 and Superman No 422 Aug 1986 48 Among his earliest interior work for DC was a chapter in Justice League of America No 200 March 1982 alongside Joe Kubert Carmine Infantino Gil Kane Jim Aparo George Perez and Dick Giordano This gave the artist his first stab at drawing Batman 48 Bolland felt that after my cover GL 127 worked out the people at DC turned their gaze on London and particularly on the group of artists at 2000AD who had been weaned on the DC characters 50 He recalled that after I was settled in at DC scouts from that company came to our Society of Strip Illustration meetings to win over a few more of us 2 making a formal invitation at an SSI meeting which saw Dave Gibbons Kevin O Neill t hen Alan Davis and Mark Farmer following the artists Alan Grant went across and at some point a certain tall hairy writer from the Midlands 50 In 1982 DC editor Len Wein chose Bolland to be the artist on DC s Camelot 3000 12 issue maxi series with writer Mike W Barr 51 52 The story dealing with the return of King Arthur to save England from an alien invasion in the year 3000 not only the largest body of work in a single series by Bolland and his only attempt to draw a monthly title but was also the first maxi series from DC or any other publisher 6 53 Bolland was not familiar with the Arthurian legends and initially conceived Merlin as a comical character 54 55 The series was graced with considerable media hype and Bolland found himself invited to San Diego Comic Con and other conventions 54 Bolland was allowed to pick between two inkers but opted to ink his covers himself 54 Bolland was uncomfortable with having a third party ink his pencils and later admitted that he put a high level of detail into his art for the series to leave as little room as possible for the inker to creatively reinterpret his work 55 However he was satisfied with the finished results 54 Reacting indignantly to being presented with Ross Andru layouts for the first two Camelot 3000 covers he chose to ignore the Andru design completely and come up with my own unapproved design Len Wein rejected it and told me to do the Ross Andru one Grudgingly I drew the number one cover that made it onto the issue but as a protest I reversed the letter N in my signature as a code to remind myself that my artistic integrity had been despoiled I liked the backwards N enough to keep it from that day on 54 Camelot 3000 had lengthy delays between its final issues Bolland recalled that he and DC spoke often about how long the series would take to complete and because the series was inked by other artists he started off enthusiastically working on issues 53 56 As the series continued however Bolland became increasingly meticulous always trying to improve upon his pages 53 The added details he introduced into his artwork caused significant delays in the final issues of the limited series 55 causing issues 8 11 to be released on a quarterly rather than monthly status and the final issue to be cover dated nine months later than the penultimate issue 57 Bolland drew a pinup for Superman No 400 Oct 1984 58 and its companion portfolio 59 In 1986 Bolland was one of several artists who contributed pages to the anniversary issue Batman No 400 Oct 1986 60 his offering featuring villains Ra s al Ghul and Catwoman 61 Around this time Titan Books were trying to launch a line of comics written by Alan Moore including a Batman Meets Judge Dredd one off by Moore and Bolland 62 Origin of the Joker in Batman The Killing Joke Art by Brian Bolland and John Higgins After watching the 1928 film The Man Who Laughs which features a character named Gwynplaine played by Conrad Veidt whose rictus grin inspired the visual design of the Joker 63 Bolland conceived of the 1988 graphic novel Batman The Killing Joke 64 The book was written by Alan Moore to great critical acclaim winning the Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album and has been regarded as one of the all time best Joker stories 65 66 and one of the greatest Batman graphic novels ever 67 Director Tim Burton has named The Killing Joke as an influence for his 1989 film adaptation of Batman specifically the origin of the Joker 68 It would also prove to be highly influential on future Batman and Joker stories 69 70 though it has also been met with criticism for the violence inflicted on the character Barbara Gordon 71 72 73 Speaking circa 2000 Bolland said that since The Killing Joke he has only drawn comics that he also wrote 61 Six years later he clarified that Since then I haven t wanted to draw comics that anyone else has had a hand in I d rather not work on a story I haven t written myself or one that will ultimately be colored by someone else I have to earn a living though Covers are a safe place for me If someone else s colors swamp my work then who cares It was only one page I can move on 62 Bolland had expressed some dissatisfaction with the final book regretting that its impending schedule for release meant he could not colour the book himself with John Higgins instead being the colorist 74 In March 2008 the twentieth anniversary hardcover edition of The Killing Joke saw the release of the artwork as Bolland intended it and is completely recoloured by Bolland himself The book made The New York Times Best Seller list in May 2009 75 In 1996 Bolland wrote and drew the story An Innocent Guy for the anthology Batman Black and White in which an otherwise normal inhabitant of Gotham City documents his plan to carry out the ultimate perfect crime and assassinate the Dark Knight Detective Drawing inspiration from a cover by Alex Toth and intended as an homage to the Silver Age Batman Bolland wrote in 2006 that If anyone were to ask me what is the thing I ve done in my career that I m most pleased with it would be this 76 Approached by Batman editor Mark Chiarello Bolland was asked whether he would like to draw Batman covers for a new title Batman Gotham Knights Excited by the opportunity he remarks that a misunderstanding resulted in his being unaware of the first issue being scheduled resulting in Dave Johnson drawing No 1 instead and Bolland joining at issue No 2 Bolland s first two covers were coloured by editor Chiarello but from issue No 5 to No 47 his last they were coloured by the artist himself As his run progressed the cover art on Gotham Knights was increasingly done by Chiarello and other artists and Bolland s first ideas for covers were rejected more often Eventually Bolland was told that he d be done on the title within a few issues but after discovering that upcoming covers featured Bane prominently and not the Joker or Penguin as he had been hoping for some time Bolland offered to leave immediately 77 Covers Edit Although his forays into interior artwork are almost universally acclaimed Bolland is now far more commonly seen as just a cover artist although he notes that he has never decided to actually solely create covers having merely explored other jobs from strip work 61 He admits that he works slowly and consequently finds covers easier to supply than whole story artwork He also noted simply that he began to focus on covers simply because they were the assignments he was offered He adds that for artists like him that are well known for covers editors will usually ask for pin ups instead 78 Bolland has contributed covers in many cases to complete runs arcs to comics since the 1990s with his photo realistic work on the titles for which he works as the primary external reference image 79 Bolland now draws on a computer eschewing pencil and paper He cites the influence of Dave Gibbons who was himself enthusiastic about the capabilities of computers 80 Noting also that some colorists were increasingly using computer effects on a whim he decided if he did not do the colouring himself the effects would produce covers that didn t resemble his work 80 81 Starting in 1997 Bolland bought a lot of software and spent ten frustrated months learning the ropes and ultimately finding the liberating ability to adapt his now solely onscreen artwork He states categorically that in his opinion drawing on his Wacom tablet is no different from drawing on a pad of paper 81 Having fully embraced the technology Bolland has also produced a number of lessons tutorials on his official website demonstrating his complex techniques He states that while this leap means that he no longer produces any paper based artwork a profitable sideline for many artists who sell on their original work to collectors he was certain on abandoning pen and paper 82 Bolland recalls that in the wake of The Killing Joke he received plenty of work offers but didn t feel ready to make a long commitment 83 So instead a fter Killing Joke DC asked me to do the covers on Animal Man and I said fine expecting it to be maybe ten or so I ended up doing sixty three It became almost habitual and it did mean that there would at least be something new of mine out there to look at 78 Animal Man Edit Cover of Animal Man 19 Jan 1990 Art by Bolland The first 63 issues of Animal Man featuring Bolland s artwork covered the tenures of writers Grant Morrison Peter Milligan Tom Veitch and Jamie Delano with Bolland s images maintaining a continuity of style and imagery while the interior work underwent several changes of style and storyline 84 Initially he recalls that his cover images derived directly from the script He would find a scene from the interior art that appeared to make for a good cover or use a hook on the cover that outlined the plot of the issue 78 This included the incorporation of photographs into the later covers of Morrison s tale of metafiction and deus ex machina author input With the post Morrison move of Animal Man to DC s new Mature Readers imprint Vertigo Bolland notes that the covers moved to full color paintings with issue No 57 These of his covers were a mixture of ink linework color washes airbrush and then eventually areas painted in poster color by my wife Rachel which ultimately saw her have significant input on some covers with Bolland acknowledging that some of his final Animal Man covers were mostly her work 85 Describing the art of good covers Bolland remarks that y ou really have to be constantly thinking of ways that the image on the cover will intrigue and lure in the potential punter It helps to try and imagine your cover is in a whole bank of thirty or more and you need it to stand out 78 Coincidentally when a time travel story arc saw Bolland s work coincide with the plot in such a way that he was able to produce a recreated cover from an alternate angle to shed new light on an initially inconsequential image 80 The Invisibles Edit Main article The Invisibles Bolland s covers adorn the whole second and third volumes of Grant Morrison s The Invisibles 84 and his depictions of the main characters are widely reprinted as the definitive images despite them all having been realised by other artists and often drawn by several before Bolland entered the picture With this title the artist remarks the complicated subject matter necessitated his working a lot of strange symbolism and subliminal messages into the cover designs to create an image that puzzles to a degree and is layered with elements of surrealism 78 Asked to take over from Sean Hughes on the covers for volume two by editor Shelly Roeberg Bolland found her to be an ideal editor effusive with praise and specific in requirements Generally Bolland recalls she was excited for his ideas although Morrison had approval on all designs as the series creator Finding that he had a rapport with and the trust of his editor Bolland thinks that these factors led to some of his most experimental work 86 Newly embracing the use of a computer Bolland cites The Invisibles Vol 2 No 11 as his earliest computer assisted piece of artwork 87 For the third series we Bolland and Morrison talked about trying to make the covers look different in some way and when DC decided to number the issues backwards from 12 to 1 to count down to the Millennium that set me thinking I remember seeing Peter Greenaway s film Drowning By Numbers in which they had these numbers placed subtly in every scene and I really liked that idea So I began to include elements of the issue number always trying to think of ways to hide it or make it an integral design element 78 The covers for the third volume of The Invisibles were done using a computer in part because Vertigo had requested painted covers and Bolland felt that line and flat color wouldn t suffice The experimental nature of the twelve covers was assisted by the fact that neither Bolland or Roeberg saw the issue script For the trade paperback covers Bolland was determined to make each one weirder than the last and so created a Francis Bacon inspired fleshy mass dubbed The Blobby Man with a typewriter for Entropy in the UK Having convinced Karen Berger Editor in chief of Vertigo and Roeberg that it was a good idea the artist recalls that Shelly rang up and rather than telling me how wonderful I was said that when she saw it she nearly lost her lunch I was asked to turn his skin color from flesh to blue to tone him down a bit For the final Invisible Kingdom TPB cover Bolland produced a cover featuring 12 small alternative Invisibles covers which had been very time consuming Likening the process to creating a mini comic strip Bolland says that if any detail made any sense it had to be changed to something that didn t 88 Bolland s style includes the initial rough outline stage making it easy for the publisher and in some cases the writer to sign off on his designs 89 In the case of The Invisibles however although Morrison officially had final approval on cover art Bolland described him as generous to the work Bolland came up with 80 In selected cases however Bolland would ask for ideas and in one specific case Shelly Roeberg the editor did once relay that Grant wanted an arm coming out of the water holding a gun on the cover of the last issue 89 Bolland admits I don t know exactly why I just supplied it 80 Wonder Woman Edit Main article Wonder Woman Bolland also contributed a large number of covers to Wonder Woman beginning with William Messner Loebs s first issue 63 June 1992 90 after that author took over writer and artist George Perez s 1987 post Crisis relaunch Bolland recalls his time drawing Wonder Woman fondly as one of the few occasions he actually sought work rather than being sought for work He recalls I usually sit at home optimistically hoping that people love me enough to ring me and offer me work The end result is that most of the time I m doing what other people want and not what I want Wonder Woman was an exception I happened to mention to Tom Peyer my editor on Animal Man that I d love to draw Wonder Woman covers a t the time despite her long history at DC her iconic appearance even her cult TV series she wasn t a character that A list artists were lining up to draw Well I wasn t an A list artist so I was keen to have a crack at her 91 Bolland s first cover saw Diana next to the headline The Stunning return of comics greatest heroine speaking directly to the reader the words Miss me 90 Bolland s covers over the next 30 plus issues laid the visual groundwork for the character and saw Bolland illustrate up to and including the centennial issue No 100 92 To prepare for his work Bolland clipped pictures of the most beautiful women of the time Christy Turlington Stephanie Seymour etc saying that he was predominantly interested in their faces generally doing the body without reference Interested particularly in drawing the costume which he feels has to be one of the sexiest in comics he soon found the character removed from her normal costume in the storyline 91 For her return to her famous costume Bolland produced the Britannia esque pose from Wonder Woman 72 Mar 1993 93 He says that i mages like that usually arise when you re completely stuck for an idea The image was so iconic that it was released as a poster and later turned into a statue Shortly thereafter Diana underwent another costume change this time designed by Bolland and mostly drawn on the interior pages by Mike Deodato The black costume was roundly disliked even by its designer Bolland who philosophically says only that it was what was asked for at the time and aside from Camelot 3000 is the lone instance he was asked to design a costume 91 The new costume black hotpants halter top straight hair which Bolland did like and WW emblazoned jacket was based Bolland recalled on a Versace outfit that Cindy Crawford wore for Vogue magazine 94 Other cover work Edit A rare Marvel cover for Hellstorm Prince of Lies No 16 July 1994 Bolland notes that while he tends not to reuse cover ideas he does occasionally produce homages to his past covers Particularly for the first Eagle Judge Dredd comic issue which repackaged 2000 AD stories for the American market on which the positioning of the figures echoed similar covers Bolland had drawn two or three times for different companies with different characters 80 In addition to his landmark runs on Animal Man and The Invisibles Bolland has also produced lengthy runs on covers for Geoff Johns The Flash from roughs by series editor Joey Cavalieri 95 and the Batman anthology series Batman Gotham Knights as well as assorted issues of Tank Girl for original UK publication Deadline and the two subsequent Vertigo miniseries Tank Girl The Odyssey and Tank Girl Apocalypse Superman Green Lantern Batman and many more including a number of oneshots and miniseries for DC s offshoot Vertigo From 2007 to 2011 Bolland was the cover artist on Vertigo s Fables spin off Jack of Fables replacing previous cover artist James Jean Bolland s covers also appear on the DC Vertigo trade paperback collections of Grant Morrison s Doom Patrol although he only produced some of covers for the individual issues He recalls that he sent a number of rough artwork that was often rejected much to his disappointment as previous cover artist Simon Bisley had been a hard act to follow 96 Long standing familiarity with DC characters and staff coupled with high demand have combined with other factors to mean that the vast majority of Bolland s work has been for DC Comics In The Art of Brian Bolland he also mentions in passing that a bad experience with a Marvel UK Hulk cover and a later oddity with a She Hulk cover featuring Howard the Duck have given him a mild phobia of Marvel and the company s production line method that overrules his art style 97 He has however produced odd covers for Marvel First Comics Continuity Comics Eclipse Comics New Comics and a dozen other companies large and small as well as book magazine and record covers For Dark Horse Comics Bolland has produced several diverse covers including a couple for Michael Chabon s The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist at the behest of editor Diana Schutz He recalled that the cover of the tenth issue would ve had the style of Herge s The Adventures of Tintin but it was cancelled after eight issues 98 Bolland is noted by some for his use of bondage imagery although in a humorous self referential comment he quotes this fact cited as from Wikipedia and states that he is unsure of the sentiment s accuracy He notes that I can only think off hand of a few occasions when I ve drawn bondage A few Wonder Woman covers perhaps a Flash cover a 2000 AD cover a Mr Mamoulian page but that s all that I can remember out of many hundreds of images 99 In 2006 s The Art of Brian Bolland he does suggest that I trace my mild bondage fetish back to a book of Bible stories that must have been given to my father as a Sunday school gift when he was a child wherein was a picture of Shadrach Meshach and Abednigo sic Such Biblical imagery was bolstered in 1971 by a book bought in Paris called Les Filles de Papier a large part of which was taken up with comic strips about women tied up in fiendish and excruciating positions by mad robots it was just jaw droppingly bonkers and yet there was something rather appealing about it 11 The Art of Brian Bolland also features a separate Nudes section mostly created for the purpose of experimenting with different inking techniques or practicing figures from a difficult angles 100 Only three of the nude sketches involve scenes of bondage 101 Other comics work EditIn addition to his early forays into full interior strip art and his later focus on covers Bolland has also produced a number of short often single pages strips numerous pin ups and a pair of ongoing irregular humour strips These latter feature Bolland as writer artist his now preferred method of working 61 Most notable are Bolland s two personal projects Mr Mamoulian and The Actress and the Bishop all appearances of which strips were collected in the book Bolland Strips Palmano Bennet Knockabout Comics 2005 Bolland Strips stemmed from a suggestion by Josh Palmano owner of Gosh Comics in London and also involved in publishing company Knockabout Comics to collect all instances of Bolland s two strips and Steve Moore s Zirk story Bolland had other thoughts and suggested including an undrawn 20 page story called The Actress amp the Bishop and the Thing in the Shed written 18 years previously and two stories written and illustrated by him for Vertigo Comics After negotiations with DC the two stories Princess amp the Frog from Heartthrobs and The Kapas from Strange Adventures were included alongside six limited edition Editions Deesse prints 102 Mr Mamoulian Edit Among Bolland s other works is the Robert Crumb esque semi autobiographical stream of consciousness humour strip Mr Mamoulian 103 which was first printed in Paul Gravett s UK pro zine Escape and later brought to the US in issues of the Dark Horse title Cheval Noir and the Caliber Comics anthology Negative Burn Bolland recalled that the origins of the character lay in him contemplating middle age on his 36th birthday and experimenting with drawing whatever came into my head The name echoes the character s mammalian look resembling a hedgehog although Bolland acknowledges that Armenian American film director Rouben Mamoulian likely provided an inspiration on the name front Noting his enjoyment of Berke Breathed s Bloom County Bolland s own strip wasn t always humorous reflecting Bolland s own mood at times Thus the strip became an expose of Bolland s inner self drawn out of a personal desire to do so as a forum to explore and express various interests of mine various philosophical notions personal neuroses Designed to be read individually indeed early publication in Escape was in no particular order gradually it became clear that a mildly self referential wider chronological narrative had been established For example a plot concluded on one page might ve continued in a future volume 104 Bolland wrote in 2006 that Nick Landau of Titan Books was impressed by Mr Mamoulian and became Bolland s unofficial agent 104 Through Landau Bolland saw his strip published across Europe in publications including Linus Cimoc and in Sweden Pox Such widespread exposure had its downside when the original artwork went missing meaning that later reprints of Mamoulian had to be made from Bolland s photocopies Disenchanted by the loss of more of his artwork and with declining European interest Bolland ceased drawing the strip Subsequent to the collection Bolland Strips however interest from Negative Burn now published by Desperado Publishing had persuaded the artist to make more pages 104 The Actress and the Bishop Edit Bolland s other personal project is his occasional strip The Actress and the Bishop 105 This strip s origins date back to 1985 when Frederick Manzano commissioned Bolland to draw 6 plates in my own portfolio bearing my name for Editions Deesse a small Paris based comic store cum publishers and Bolland drew in one of the six plates an elderly Bishop whose face echoed shamelessly the work of Alberto Breccia 106 and a femme fatale Actress 107 Bolland was subsequently approached by Garry Leach and Dave Elliot who were publishing a new comic anthology series A1 108 They asked Bolland to draw and write a couple page to include in the first issue and Bolland recalls that it was his first commission as both a writer and an artist 108 Actively seeking to write a story that wouldn t be classified as any particular genre Bolland found the description Whimsy reached by Leach and Elliot to be very apt and rooted in the Englishness of the artists life 108 Written in rhyming couplets the pair look like the punchline of a smutty joke but their creator instead wanted the reader to see them in a benign and non judgemental light the antithesis of Benny Hill Frankie Howerd Oo er Mrs rather like the owl and the pussycat setting sail in a pea green boat Three pages in A1 No 1 were followed by another three in A1 No 3 while a longer story with 110 verses went unreleased for 17 years until publication in the compendium hardback Bolland Strips 108 The Art of Brian Bolland Edit In 2006 a comprehensively sizeable retrospective of Bolland s work was published by Image Desperado under the title The Art of Brian Bolland featuring contextualising references and copious text 33 500 words 109 written by the artist with Joe Pruett alongside hundreds of pieces of artwork and rare photographs The Art of Brian Bolland covers all of the artist s work to date under an introduction from close friend Dave Gibbons 110 an autobiographical essay and sections ranging from his Influences featuring near unseen examples of Bolland s childhood art 111 through each of the decades from the 1960s to the present The book also showcases several of Bolland s own photographs taken in Asia and Russia over twenty years of travelling 112 Non comics work EditBolland is also an accomplished photographer with examples of his work being included in the Image Desperado book The Art of Brian Bolland In May 2008 Bolland announced on his website that he had begun making a photo book of a week he spent in Burma in 1988 113 Some photographs taken by Bolland in Burma are reprinted in the Image published retrospective The Art of Brian Bolland 114 Much in demand for advertisements Bolland has produced work down the years for bookshops including pioneering UK Sci Fi Comics sellers such as Dark They Were and Golden Eyed 43 and Forbidden Planet and film festivals including a poster for BFI Southbank s July August 2008 Comic Book Movies series 115 His work has appeared on the covers of and inside numerous publications over the decades ranging from fanzines to several covers for London based magazine Time Out and other professional internationally sold magazines 116 Bolland has also produced posters for local theatre groups amateur stage productions most notably for his local village panto production of Beauty and the Beast in 2004 117 Personal life EditBolland married his girlfriend illustrator and sometime collaborator Rachel Birkett in 1981 118 She later gave up illustration and became a cook for a vegetarian restaurant 119 although she has since assisted her husband with his work acting as colourist inker co artist and ghost The two have a son 24 Awards EditWins Edit Bolland and his work have received recognition in both the British and American comics industry He was awarded the Best Newcomer award by the Society of Strip Illustration in 1977 120 In 1982 he received an Inkpot Award 121 and the following year he was named Favourite Artist in the British section of the Eagle Awards 122 In 1989 Moore and Bolland s The Killing Joke received an Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album while Bolland was named separately as Best Artist Penciller Inker for the same work 123 The same year Bolland won three Harvey Awards two in the same categories for the same work Best Artist and Best Graphic Album while the third was also The Killing Joke which was separately honoured as the winner of the Best Single Issue award 124 In 1992 Bolland won an Eisner Award after being named Best Cover Artist 125 an honour he received three years in a row 1992 1994 126 127 and twice subsequently 1999 2001 for various works 128 129 In 2007 Bolland added to his Eisner Award wins when The Art of Brian Bolland won the Best Comics Related Book award 130 Nominations Edit The Camelot 3000 limited series which he created with Mike W Barr was nominated for the 1985 Kirby Award for Best Finite Series narrowly losing to Marv Wolfman and George Perez s Crisis on Infinite Earths In 2002 he placed second behind Jack Kirby for the title of Best Artist Ever in the short lived National Comics Awards 131 Bibliography EditInterior comic work includes 2000 AD IPC Media Dan Dare Greenworld Part 2 with Gerry Finley Day and Dave Gibbons in No 35 1977 Judge Dredd The Mega City 5000 Part 2 with John Howard in No 41 1977 Land Race with John Howard in No 47 1978 The Lunar Olympics with John Howard in No 50 1978 Luna 1 War with John Howard in No 51 1978 The Face Change Crimes with John Howard in No 52 1978 The Oxygen Board with John Howard in No 57 1978 Full Earth Crimes with John Howard in No 58 1978 The Cursed Earth Part 5 The Mutie Mountains with Pat Mills in No 65 1978 Part 9 The Slay Riders with Pat Mills in No 69 1978 Part 10 Requiem for an Alien with Pat Mills in No 70 1978 Part 17 Giants aren t Gentlemen with Jack Adrian in No 77 1978 Part 18 Soul Food with Jack Adrian in No 78 1978 Parts 21 22 Tweak s Story with Pat Mills in 81 82 1978 Crime and Punishment with John Howard in No 86 1978 Outlaw with John Howard and Dave Gibbons in No 87 1978 The Day the Law Died with John Howard Part 6 Behold the Hordes of Klegg with Garry Leach in No 94 1978 Part 7 with Garry Leach in No 95 1978 Part 10 in No 98 1979 Parts 13 14 in 101 102 1979 Punks Rule with John Howard in No 110 1979 The Forever Crimes with John Howard in No 120 1979 Father Earth with John Howard in 122 123 1979 Night of the Fog with John Howard in No 127 1979 Judge Death with John Howard in 149 151 1980 The Judge Child with John Howard Part 1 in No 156 1980 Part 7 in No 162 1980 Parts 17 18 in 172 173 1980 Block War with John Howard in No 182 1980 Judge Death Lives with T B Grover in 224 228 1981 Block Mania Part 9 with T B Grover in No 244 1981 The Alien Zoo with John Wagner in Annual 82 1981 Tharg s Future Shocks Solo Flip with Jack Adrian in No 52 1978 Walter the Wobot with Joe Collins Walter s Brother in 52 56 1978 Radio Walter in No 57 1978 Master Mind in No 58 1978 The Fwankenheim Monster in 59 61 1978 Frankenheim s Finest Hour in No 67 1978 Grin and Bear It in No 68 1978 Graphixus 3 Little Nympho in Slumberland Meets Benny Bunny script and art Graphic Eye 1978 Madame Xanadu 1 Falling Down to Heaven with J M DeMatteis DC Comics 1981 Mystery in Space 115 Certified Safe with Arnold Drake DC Comics 1981 Justice League of America 200 A League Divided with Gerry Conway among other artists 1982 Warrior 3 Zirk Silver Sweater of the Spaceways with Pedro Henry Quality Communications 1982 Camelot 3000 1 12 with Mike W Barr DC Comics 1982 1985 Grimjack 22 Mother s Calling with John Ostrander First Comics 1986 Batman 400 Resurrection Night with Doug Moench among other artists DC Comics 1986 Outrageous Tales from the Old Testament Elisha s Miracle script and art anthology graphic novel Knockabout 1987 The Outsiders 18 Freeway of Fear with Mike W Barr DC Comics 1987 Real War Stories 1 The Elite of the Fleet with Mike W Barr Eclipse 1987 Power Comics 1 4 with Don Avenell Norman Worker and Dave Gibbons Eclipse 1988 Batman The Killing Joke with Alan Moore graphic novel DC Comics 1988 AARGH 1 A Page from Brian Bolland script and art Mad Love 1988 Wonder Woman Annual 1 Epilogue with George Perez DC Comics 1988 A1 script and art Atomeka The Actress and the Bishop Go Boating in No 1 1989 The Actress and the Bishop Throw a Party in No 3 1989 Parcels of Events in True Life Bikini Confidential 1990 Cheval Noir No 3 5 9 11 12 15 18 Mr Mamoulian strips script and art Dark Horse 1989 1991 Freak Show Harry the Head script and art anthology graphic novel Dark Horse 1992 Legends of Arzach 6 The Fountains of Summer with Jean Marc Lofficier among other artists Kitchen Sink 1992 Negative Burn 1 5 7 14 16 18 22 24 27 29 33 35 38 39 42 50 Mr Mamoulian strips script and art Caliber 1993 1997 Batman Black and White 4 An Innocent Guy script and art DC Comics 1996 Heartthrobs 1 The Princess and the Frog script and art Vertigo 1999 Strange Adventures 1 The Kapas script and art Vertigo 1999 Negative Burn 1 5 13 Summer Special Winter Special Mr Mamoulian strips script and art Desperado Publishing 2005 2007 Fables 1001 Nights of Snowfall What You Wish for with Bill Willingham graphic novel Vertigo 2006 52 DC Comics The Origin of Animal Man with Mark Waid co feature in No 19 2006 The Origin of Zatanna with Mark Waid co feature in No 34 2006 Countdown to Final Crisis 31 The Origin of Joker with Mark Waid co feature DC Comics 2007 DC Universe Legacies 7 Snapshot Reunion with Len Wein co feature DC Comics 2011 Wasted 6 Shit the Dog Relish That with Alan Grant and John Wagner Bad Press 2011 The Spirit 17 Strange Bedfellows with Howard Chaykin DC Comics 2011 Covers only Edit 2000 AD No 11 15 17 19 20 23 27 30 45 105 121 131 134 144 146 161 166 167 197 199 210 213 215 216 236 240 242 248 403 848 891 Prog 2000 1336 1505 Sci Fi Special 79 and 81 Judge Dredd Annual 81 Annual 83 Judge Dredd Mega Special 88 IPC Media Fleetway Rebellion Developments 1977 2006 Starlord No 2 Annual 81 IPC Media 1978 1980 Green Lantern No 127 130 131 DC Comics 1980 Adventure Comics No 475 DC Comics 1980 Justice League of America No 189 190 DC Comics 1981 Tales of the Green Lantern Corps No 1 3 DC Comics 1981 DC Comics Presents No 43 DC Comics 1982 Amazing Heroes No 14 52 191 197 Fantagraphics Books 1982 1991 Judge Dredd No 1 10 15 33 Eagle 1983 1986 Judge Dredd The Judge Child Quest No 1 5 Eagle 1984 Axel Pressbutton No 1 Eclipse 1984 2000 AD Monthly No 2 5 Eagle 1985 Judge Dredd s Crime Files No 1 2 Eagle 1985 Action Comics No 571 609 DC Comics 1985 1988 Elvira s House of Mystery No 1 DC Comics 1986 Detective Comics No 559 Annual No 2 DC Comics 1986 1989 Tales of the Teen Titans No 63 65 77 DC Comics 1986 1987 Vigilante Annual No 2 DC Comics 1986 2000 AD Monthly vol 2 No 1 Eagle 1986 Judge Dredd No 34 35 Quality 1986 Superman No 422 Annual No 12 DC Comics 1986 Howard the Duck No 33 Marvel 1986 Secret Origins No 7 Special No 1 DC Comics 1986 1989 ESPers No 3 Eclipse 1986 The Outsiders No 16 DC Comics 1987 Adventures of the Outsiders No 45 DC Comics 1987 Valkyrie No 2 Eclipse 1987 Swamp Thing No 151 153 Annual No 3 1987 1995 The Comics Journal No 122 Fantagraphics Books 1988 Animal Man No 1 56 DC Comics 1988 1993 Legion of Super Heroes Annual No 4 DC Comics 1988 Judge Dredd s Crime File No 1 4 Fleetway 1989 Secret Origins of the World s Greatest Super Heroes TPB DC Comics 1989 The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told TPB DC Comics 1989 Batman No 445 447 DC Comics 1990 Revolver Special No 2 Fleetway 1990 Prince Alter Ego No 1 Piranha Press 1991 Animal Man TPB DC Comics 1991 Robin No 1 5 DC Comics 1991 Challengers of the Unknown No 1 DC Comics 1991 Maze Agency No 20 Innovation Publishing 1991 Judge Dredd Megazine No 16 Fleetway 1992 Doom Patrol Crawling from the Wreckage TPB DC Comics 1992 Wonder Woman No 0 63 92 94 100 DC Comics 1992 1995 Congorilla No 1 2 DC Comics 1992 Animal Man No 57 63 Annual No 1 Vertigo 1993 Doom Patrol No 64 75 Vertigo 1993 1994 Showcase 93 No 3 DC Comics 1993 Judge Dredd Megazine vol 2 No 31 Fleetway 1993 Batman Legends of the Dark Knight No 50 119 DC Comics 1993 1999 Batman The Collected Legends of the Dark Knight TPB DC Comics 1993 Kilroy is Here No 0 Caliber 1994 Hellstorm Prince of Lies No 16 Marvel 1994 Vamps No 1 6 Vertigo 1994 1995 Deadline No 58 Deadline 1994 The Atom Special No 2 DC Comics 1995 Tank Girl The Odyssey No 1 4 Vertigo 1995 Tank Girl Apocalypse No 1 4 Vertigo 1995 1996 The Spectre vol 3 No 42 DC Comics 1996 The Batman Chronicles No 3 DC Comics 1996 The Flash The Return of Barry Allen TPB DC Comics 1996 The Invisibles v2 No 1 22 Vertigo 1997 1999 Lobo No 37 DC Comics 1997 Kilroy Daemonstorm No 1 Caliber 1997 Predator vs Judge Dredd No 1 Dark Horse 1997 Vertigo Winter s Edge No 1 Verigo 1998 Corny s Fetish No 1 Dark Horse 1998 The Spirit The New Adventures No 3 Kitchen Sink 1998 Gangland No 2 Vertigo 1998 Batman Villains Secret Files and Origins No 1 DC Comics 1998 The Invisibles v3 No 12 1 Vertigo 1999 2000 Batman Shadow of the Bat No 87 DC Comics 1999 Fanboy No 6 DC Comics 1999 Batman Gotham Knights No 2 11 14 21 23 30 32 40 42 47 DC Comics 2000 2004 Superman and Batman World s Funnest DC Comics 2000 Silver Age No 1 DC Comics 2000 The Flash No 164 178 180 187 DC Comics 2000 2002 Adventures in the Rifle Brigade No 1 3 Vertigo 2000 Comicology No 4 TwoMorrows 2001 Joker Last Laugh No 1 6 DC Comics 2001 2002 Animal Man Origin of the Species TPB Vertigo 2002 Zatanna Everyday Magic Vertigo 2003 Blood amp Water No 1 5 Vertigo 2003 Animal Man Deus Ex Machina TPB Vertigo 2003 JLA Zatanna s Search TPB Vertigo 2004 Green Arrow No 32 DC Comics 2004 Doom Patrol Archives Volume 2 HC DC Comics 2004 Back Issue No 3 TwoMorrows 2004 Catwoman Nine Lives of the Feline Fatale TPB DC Comics 2004 Doom Patrol The Painting That Ate Paris TPB Vertigo 2004 DC Comics Presents Green Lantern No 1 DC Comics 2004 DC Comics Presents The Atom No 1 DC Comics 2004 Desperado Primer No 1 Desperado Publishing 2005 Michael Chabon Presents The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist No 7 8 Dark Horse 2005 DC s Greatest Imaginary Stories TPB DC Comics 2005 Doom Patrol Down Paradise Way TPB Vertigo 2005 Rann Thanagar War TPB DC Comics 2005 Steel Claw The Vanishing Man HC Titan 2005 DC Universe The Stories of Alan Moore TPB DC Comics 2006 Doom Patrol Archives Volume 3 HC DC Comics 2006 Aquaman No 39 DC Comics 2006 Jonah Hex No 6 DC Comics 2006 Doom Patrol Musclebound TPB Vertigo 2006 Justice Society Volume 1 TPB DC Comics 2006 Elephantmen No 3 Comicraft 2006 Huntress Darknight Daughter TPB DC Comics 2006 Doom Patrol Magic Bus TPB Vertigo 2007 Justice Society Volume 2 TPB DC Comics 2007 Harlan Ellison s Dream Corridor TPB Dark Horse 2007 The Helmet of Fate Detective Chimp No 1 DC Comics 2007 Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen TPB DC Comics 2007 Deathblow No 4 Wildstorm 2007 Jack of Fables No 12 20 22 50 Vertigo 2007 2011 Doom Patrol Planet Love TPB Vertigo 2008 Jeff Hawke Overlord HC Titan 2008 Femme Noir The Dark City Diaries No 1 Ape Entertainment 2008 Jeff Hawke Ambassadors HC Titan 2008 The War That Time Forgot No 2 DC Comics 2008 The Spirit No 26 28 DC Comics 2009 Superman Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow HC DC comics 2009 Last Days of Animal Man No 1 6 DC Comics 2009 Green Lantern Corps No 45 DC Comics 2010 DC s Greatest Imaginary Stories Batman and Robin TPB DC Comics 2010 Zatanna No 1 6 DC Comics 2010 Star Spangled War Stories No 1 DC Comics 2010 Dial H No 1 15 0 DC Comics 2012 2013 References Edit a b c d e f g Salisbury Mark Artists on Comic Art Titan Books 2000 ISBN 1 84023 186 6 p 11 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Bolland Brian On Sale Everywhere in Joe Pruett ed The Art of Brian Bolland Image Comics 2006 ISBN 1 58240 603 0 pp 10 15 Bolland amp Pruett The 1960s Insect League in The Art of Brian Bolland pp 22 23 Bolland amp Pruett Influences Carol Day by David Wright in The Art of Brian Bolland p 17 Bolland amp Pruett Influences The Steel Claw by Jesus Blasco in The Art of Brian Bolland p 19 a b c d Salisbury p 10 Notable Alumni Norwich University of the Arts n d Archived from the original on 23 March 2016 Retrieved 11 June 2016 a b c Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s Time Out Illustration in The Art of Brian Bolland p 27 Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s Epic amp RDH Comix in The Art of Brian Bolland p 25 a b Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s Time Out in The Art of Brian Bolland pp 142 143 a b Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s Suddenly and Little Nympho in The Art of Brian Bolland p 29 Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s The Mixed Up Kid in The Art of Brian Bolland pp 34 35 a b c d e f g h i Bolland amp Pruett 1970s Powerman in The Art of Brian Bolland p 37 a b c d Salisbury p 13 a b c d Salisbury p 12 Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s Help from Friends in The Art of Brian Bolland p 42 a b c d Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s 2000AD in The Art of Brian Bolland p 57 a b Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s My First Dredd Nov 1977 in The Art of Brian Bolland p 42 a b Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s Dredd Stories and 2000AD covers in The Art of Brian Bolland p 72 Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s The Muties Mountain Double Page Spread in The Art of Brian Bolland p 76 Ching Albert 2 April 2016 EXCLUSIVE Brian Bolland s Cover for Judge Dredd The Cursed Earth Uncensored Comic Book Resources Archived from the original on 3 October 2016 Retrieved 3 October 2016 Keily Karl 5 December 2014 EXCLUSIVE Staples Takes Judge Death Back to His Roots for Dark Justice Comic Book Resources Retrieved 3 October 2016 Noble Colin 4 June 2019 Comics Inspiration How Celebrities have inspired the look of some Comic Characters Part 3 2000AD Edition Down The Tubes Archived from the original on 6 June 2019 Retrieved 6 June 2019 a b c Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s Eagle Comics Covers in The Art of Brian Bolland p 145 a b c d e Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s Judge Death in The Art of Brian Bolland p 114 Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s Titan Books in The Art of Brian Bolland p 124 a b c d Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s Walter the Wobot in The Art of Brian Bolland p 68 a b Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s House of Hammer in The Art of Brian Bolland p 65 Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s The Drifters in The Art of Brian Bolland pp 44 45 Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s Wild Cards in The Art of Brian Bolland p 209 Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s Comic Media News in The Art of Brian Bolland p 47 Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s Maneater in The Art of Brian Bolland p 46 Not the US game designer of the same name despite the section heading in The Art of Brian Bolland Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s Steve Jackson Games in The Art of Brian Bolland p 167 Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s Steve Jackson Games in The Art of Brian Bolland p 169 Schick Lawrence 1991 Heroic Worlds A History and Guide to Role Playing Games Prometheus Books ISBN 0 87975 653 5 a b c d Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s Jeff Hawke in The Art of Brian Bolland pp 52 55 Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s Jeff Hawke Titan Collections in The Art of Brian Bolland p 174 Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s Jeff Hawke Volume 3 Prelim in The Art of Brian Bolland p 174 Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s A Miracle of Elisha in The Art of Brian Bolland p 156 Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s Outrageous Tales From the Old Testament in The Art of Brian Bolland p 156 Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s Star Wars Ads in The Art of Brian Bolland p 99 a b Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s Dark They Were and Golden Eyed in The Art of Brian Bolland p 48 Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s Comicon 1976 in The Art of Brian Bolland p 46 Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s Forbidden Planet in The Art of Brian Bolland p 96 Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s Forbidden Planet Expansion in The Art of Brian Bolland p 96 a b c Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s Green Lantern in The Art of Brian Bolland p 102 a b c Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s JLA 200 and Superman Beastman Cover in The Art of Brian Bolland p 130 Catron Michael June 1981 DC Taps Fan Market for Madame Xanadu Amazing Heroes 1 25 Madame Xanadu a 32 page 1 00 comic that marks DC s first attempt at marketing comics specifically to fans and collectors went on sale in early April The book contains a 25 page tale by Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers entitled Dance for Two Demons and a seven page fantasy story by J Marc DeMatteis and Brian Bolland a b Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s The European Invasion in The Art of Brian Bolland p 103 Manning Matthew K 2010 1980s In Dolan Hannah ed DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle London United Kingdom Dorling Kindersley p 199 ISBN 978 0 7566 6742 9 Writer Mike W Barr and artist Brian Bolland pushed the limits of the conventional comic book with Camelot 3000 DC Comics first foray into the realm of the maxiseries Camelot 3000 was a twelve issue story printed on vibrant Baxter paper that showcased Bolland s realistic artwork Boyanski Brian Summer 2001 Brian Bolland The Gentleman Masochist Comicology Raleigh North Carolina TwoMorrows Publishing 4 Archived from the original on 7 December 2004 a b c Salisbury p 17 a b c d e Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s Camelot 3000 in The Art of Brian Bolland p 133 a b c Ash Roger April 2008 Mike W Barr and Brian Bolland Return to Camelot Back Issue Raleigh North Carolina TwoMorrows Publishing 27 45 56 Salisbury p 16 Brian Bolland at the Grand Comics Database Superman 400 at the Grand Comics Database Giordano Dick Meanwhile column Jemm Son of Saturn No 2 Oct 1984 We have another goodie for you Also on this year s October schedule is the Superman No 400 portfolio The portfolio will have a full color painted cover by Howard Chaykin and will contain 15 black and white plates by Terry Austin Brian Bolland John Byrne Jack Davis Steve Ditko Will Eisner Mike Grell Jack Kirby Frank Miller Moebius Jerry Robinson Bill Sienkiewicz Walter Simonson Steranko and Berni Wrightson Look for it around June 26th On good stock it ll be available for 10 00 in the USA and 16 00 in Canada Manning 1980s in Dolan p 221 Batman celebrated the 400th issue of his self titled comic with a blockbuster featuring dozens of famous comic book creators and nearly as many infamous villains Written by Doug Moench with an introduction by novelist Stephen King it was drawn by George Perez Bill Sienkiewicz Arthur Adams Joe Kubert Brian Bolland and others a b c d Salisbury p 19 a b Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s The Killing Joke in The Art of Brian Bolland pp 195 197 Mithaiwala Mansoor 19 July 2016 15 Things You Need To Know About Batman The Killing Joke Screen Rant Archived from the original on 20 July 2016 Retrieved 21 August 2022 Brooker Will 18 September 2001 Batman Unmasked Analyzing a Cultural Icon London England Bloomsbury Academic pp 268 272 ISBN 978 0826413437 Goldstein Hilary 24 May 2005 Batman The Killing Joke Review IGN San Francisco California j2 Global Goldstein Hilary June 13 2005 The 25 Greatest Batman Graphic Novels IGN James Donnelly 21 March 2008 Batman The Killing Joke Deluxe 20th Anniversary Edition Pop Syndicate Archived from the original on 4 April 2008 Burton Tim 2006 Burton on Burton London England Faber and Faber p 71 ISBN 0 571 22926 3 Greenberger Robert Manning Matthew K 2009 The Batman Vault A Museum in a Book with Rare Collectibles from the Batcave Philadelphia Pennsylvania Running Press p 38 ISBN 978 0 7624 3663 7 Offering keen insight into both the minds of the Joker and Batman this special is considered by most Batman fans to be the definitive Joker story of all time Manning Matthew K 2010 1980s In Dolan Hannah ed DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle Dorling Kindersley p 233 ISBN 978 0 7566 6742 9 Crafted with meticulous detail and brilliantly expressive art Batman The Killing Joke was one of the most powerful and disturbing stories in the history of Gotham City Brian Cronin 2009 Was Superman A Spy And Other Comic Book Legends Revealed Penguin p 47 ISBN 9780452295322 Sharon Packer 2010 Superheroes and Superegos Analyzing the Minds Behind the Masks ABC CLIO p 201 ISBN 9780313355363 Jeffrey A Brown 2011 Dangerous Curves Action Heroines Gender Fetishism and Popular Culture University Press of Mississippi p 175 ISBN 9781604737141 Brian Bolland On Batman Brian Bolland Recalls The Killing Joke DC Universe The Stories of Alan Moore New York DC Comics 2006 256 ISBN 1 4012 0927 0 Graphic Books Best Seller List May 16 The New York Times George Gene Gustines May 22 2009 Bolland amp Pruett The 1990s An Innocent Man in The Art of Brian Bolland p 254 Bolland amp Pruett The New Millennium Batman Gotham Knights in The Art of Brian Bolland p 266 a b c d e f Salisbury p 20 Bolland amp Pruett The 1990 s in The Art of Brian Bolland pp 230 231 a b c d e f Salisbury p 24 a b Salisbury p 26 Salisbury p 28 Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s Animal Man in The Art of Brian Bolland p 213 a b Irvine Alex 2008 Animal Man In Dougall Alastair ed The Vertigo Encyclopedia London United Kingdom Dorling Kindersley p 27 ISBN 978 0 7566 4122 1 OCLC 213309015 Bolland amp Pruett The 1990s Vertigo Animal Man in The Art of Brian Bolland pp 228 229 Bolland amp Pruett The 1990s The Invisibles in The Art of Brian Bolland p 256 Bolland amp Pruett The 1990s The Computer in The Art of Brian Bolland p 260 Bolland amp Pruett The 1990s The Invisibles Volume 3 in The Art of Brian Bolland pp 262 263 a b Salisbury p 21 a b Wonder Woman 63 DC June 1992 Retrieved 23 February 2009 a b c Bolland amp Pruett The 1990s Wonder Woman in The Art of Brian Bolland p 230 Wonder Woman 100 DC August 1995 Retrieved 23 February 2009 Wonder Woman 72 DC March 1993 Accessed 13 May 2009 Bolland amp Pruett The 1990s The New Costume in The Art of Brian Bolland p 233 Bolland amp Pruett The New Millennium The Flash in The Art of Brian Bolland p 268 Bolland amp Pruett The 1990s Doom Patrol in The Art of Brian Bolland p 242 Bolland amp Pruett The 1990s Howard and She Hulk in The Art of Brian Bolland p 221 Bolland amp Pruett The New Millennium The Escapist Covers in The Art of Brian Bolland p 282 The Art of Brian Bolland The Official Website Archived 24 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 25 February 2009 Bolland amp Pruett Nudes in The Art of Brian Bolland pp 283 292 Bolland amp Pruett Nudes in The Art of Brian Bolland pp 285 292 Bolland amp Pruett The New Millennium Bolland Strips in The Art of Brian Bolland p 279 Mr Mamoulian on The Art of Brian Bolland The Official Website Archived 23 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 25 February 2009 a b c Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s Mr Mamoulian in The Art of Brian Bolland p 182 The Actress amp The Bishop on The Art of Brian Bolland The Official Website Archived 23 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 25 February 2009 Bolland amp Pruett Influences Mort Cinder by Alberto Breccia in The Art of Brian Bolland p 18 Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s Editions Deesse in The Art of Brian Bolland p 160 a b c d Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s The Actress and the Bishop in The Art of Brian Bolland p 202 Bolland amp Pruett Moving Things About in The Art of Brian Bolland p 310 Bolland amp Pruett Introduction by Dave Gibbons in The Art of Brian Bolland p 6 Bolland amp Pruett Influences in The Art of Brian Bolland pp 16 19 Bolland amp Pruett Places of Interest in The Art of Brian Bolland pp 293 309 A Book About Burma on The Art of Brian Bolland The Official Website 14 May 2008 Archived 16 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 25 February 2009 Bolland amp Pruett Places of Interest in The Art of Brian Bolland pp 293 309 BFI poster on The Art of Brian Bolland The Official Website 22 June 2008 Archived 16 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 25 February 2009 Khoury George 2004 True Brit A Celebration of the Great Comic Book Artists of the UK Raleigh North Carolina TwoMorrows Publishing pp 49 50 ISBN 1893905330 Bolland amp Pruett The New Millennium Beauty and the Beast in The Art of Brian Bolland p 274 Bolland amp Pruett The 1980s Munden s Bar in The Art of Brian Bolland p 179 Bolland amp Pruett The 1990s Happy Birthday in The Art of Brian Bolland p 219 Bolland amp Pruett The 1970s SSI Illustration in The Art of Brian Bolland p 81 Inkpot Award The Eagle Awards Results 1983 Eagle Awards Archived from the original on 29 May 2007 Retrieved 16 May 2009 1989 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac Archived from the original on 2 May 2009 Retrieved 16 May 2009 1989 Harvey Award Nominees and Winners Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac Archived from the original on 11 August 2008 Retrieved 16 May 2009 1992 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees and Winners Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac Archived from the original on 1 May 2009 Retrieved 16 May 2009 1993 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees and Winners Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac Archived from the original on 1 May 2009 Retrieved 16 May 2009 1994 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees and Winners Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac Archived from the original on 2 May 2009 Retrieved 16 May 2009 1999 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees Winners Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac Archived from the original on 24 May 2008 Retrieved 16 May 2009 2001 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees Winners Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac Archived from the original on 2 May 2009 Retrieved 16 May 2009 2007 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac Archived from the original on 4 May 2009 Retrieved 16 May 2009 2002 National Comics Awards Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac Archived from the original on 29 March 2016 Retrieved 29 March 2016 Further reading EditSalisbury Mark Brian Bolland in Artists on Comic Art Titan Books 2000 ISBN 1 84023 186 6 pp 10 29External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brian Bolland Brian Bolland at the Grand Comics Database Brian Bolland at the Comic Book DB archived from the original Brian Bolland at Barney Brian Bolland at the Lambiek Comiclopedia Brian Bolland at Mike s Amazing World of Comics Brian Bolland at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Brian Bolland amp oldid 1163070911, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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