Brian Bolland

Brian Bolland (; born 26 March 1951)Salisbury, Mark, ''Artists on Comic Art'' ( Titan Books, 2000) , p. 11 is a British comics artist. Best known in the United Kingdom as one of the definitive 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 on '' Camelot 3000'' (with author Mike W. Barr), which was DC Comics' first 12-issue comicbook maxiseriesSalisbury, p. 17 created for the direct market.Salisbury, p. 10

Bolland illustrated the critically acclaimed graphic novel '' Batman: The Killing Joke'', with writer Alan Moore, and a self-penned '' Batman: Black and White'' story. He subsequently concentrated on working as a cover artist, producing the vast 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 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''. In 2006, he published ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', showcasing all of Bolland's work to date and also his work as a photographer.

Early life

Brian Bolland was born in Butterwick, Lincolnshire, to parents Albert "A.J." John, a fenland farmer, and Lillie Bolland.Bolland, Brian, "On Sale Everywhere" in Joe Pruett (ed.) ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', (Image Comics, 2006), , pp. 10–15 He spent his "first 18 years" living "in a small village near Boston in the fens of Lincolnshire, England," but has "no memory of comics" much before the age of ten. When American comics began to be imported into England, c.1959, Bolland says that it "took a little while for me to discover them," but by 1960 he was intrigued by Dell Comics' ''Dinosaurus!'', which fed into a childhood interest in dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes. Comics including '' Turok, Son of Stone'' and DC Comics' '' Tomahawk'' soon followed, and it was this burgeoning comics collection that would help inspire the young Bolland to draw his own comics around the age of ten with ideas such as "Insect League."Bolland, "The 1960s – Insect League" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', pp. 22–23 He recalls that " perheroes crept into my life by stealth," as he actively sought out covers featuring "any big creature that looked vaguely dinosaur-like, trampling puny humans." These adolescent criteria led from ''Dinosaurus!'' and ''Turok'' via '' House of Mystery'' to "Batman and Robin howere ftenbeing harassed by big weird things, as were Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman tc" 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 "bookcase I'd made in school woodwork especially."

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 reviouslyseen." He would later cite Kane and Alex Toth as "pinnacle of excellence," alongside "Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson, Sid Greene, Joe Kubert, Ross Andru, Mike Esposito, Nick Cardy and the under-rated Bruno Premiani," whose influences showed in his "early crude stabs at drawing comics." The young Bolland did not rate Marvel Comics as highly as DC, feeling the covers cluttered and the paper quality crude. His appreciation of the artwork of Jack Kirby, he says, only materialised much later "through the eyes of a seasoned professional." He did however enjoy UK comics, including newspaper strips such as "Syd Jordan's ''Jeff Hawke'' nd David Wright's ''Carol Day''",Bolland, "Influences – Carol Day by David Wright" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 17 and ''Valiant'' which featured " Eric Bradbury's '' Mytek the Mighty'' and Jesus Blasco's '' Steel Claw''".Bolland, "Influences – The Steel Claw by Jesus Blasco" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 19 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, who "evidently said all the right things to me."

Growing up as "an only child in a house without culture," (Bolland says that his "mother and father had no use for art, literature or music"), he embraced the late 1960s pop culture explosion of " pirate radio stations, music (particularly Frank Zappa...), drug taking, psychedelia, "peace and love," " dropping out," the underground scene, ''Oz Magazine''," and other aspects of hippy culture epitomised by underground comix such as Robert Crumb's '' Zap Comix''. Having taken both O-Level and A-Level examinations in art, Bolland spent five years at art school (starting in 1969) learning graphic design and art history. Learning to draw comics, however, was "more a self-taught thing," with Bolland eventually writing a 15,000-word dissertation in 1973 on Neal Adams – an "artist is teachershad never heard of." He would later recall:

UK career

Fanzines and early work

Bolland studied graphic design at Norwich University of the Arts. 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''.Bolland, "The 1970s – Time Out Illustration" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 27 In 1971, his friend Dave Harwood "took his first step into printed mass production with his ''RDH Comix''," for which Bolland provided a cover (featuring Norwich Cathedral)."Bolland, "The 1970s – Epic & RDH Comix" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 25 Also in 1971, ''Time Out'' – an underground magazine rapidly reinventing itself into "the biggest weekly listings magazine in London" – gave Bolland his "first paid job"Bolland, "The 1980s – Time Out" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', pp. 142–143 producing an illustration of blues guitarist Buddy Guy. 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.''Bolland, "The 1970s – Suddenly and Little Nympho" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 29 He also contributed a smaller, strip entitled "The Mixed-Up Kid" to the Central School of Art's "college newspaper... the ''Galloping Maggot''."Bolland, "The 1970s – The Mixed-Up Kid" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', pp. 34–35

''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 "a lot of the people who were key in the comics scene of the time," including Dez Skinn, Nick Landau, Richard Burton, Angus McKie and – crucially – Dave Gibbons.Bolland, "1970s – Powerman" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 37 Bolland and Gibbons became firm friends. After finishing his college course, Bolland was hit with "the stark reality of unemployment" and on the advice of GibbonsSalisbury, p. 13 joined art agency Bardon Press Features. "A few two-page strips" for D.C. Thomson resulted, but Bolland would refer to this period as his "lowest time." 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. Gibbons and Bolland were to draw alternate issues (Bolland's first issue was ''Powerman'' No. 2.), and Bolland recalls that "soon Dave had drawn his entire story and I had produced just a few pages." 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." With comics purportedly being new to Nigeria, Bolland recalls this work being created specifically to be "really simple; six panels on a page and llthe panels had to be numbered." Not only was this work " e 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." He "drew around 300 pages of that very straightforward, simple-to-follow work, and I guess the storytelling flowed naturally from that."Salisbury, p. 12 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.Bolland, "The 1970s – Help from Friends" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 42

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..."

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."Bolland, "The 1970s – 2000AD" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 57 Gibbons joined Carlos Ezquerra in "jumping into ''2000AD'' feet first with issue 1 (or Programme, later Prog 1)... but meanwhile ollandwould have to keep drawing ''Powerman'' on isown." ''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"). Bolland recalls of those early days that:

Other covers following (nearly a third of the first 30), 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.Bolland, "The 1970s – My First Dredd Nov 1977" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 42 "From that point on," writes Bolland, "either he andauor his successor Steve MacManus called me direct whenever they wanted me to do a ''Dredd'' story." Dredd stories started as traditional UK comic stories, i.e. "six-page one-offs... riters Pat Mills and John Wagner seem ngto 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 ngone great new idea each week."Bolland, "The 1970s – Dredd Stories and 2000AD covers" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 72 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". 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"Bolland, "The 1970s – The Muties Mountain Double Page Spread" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 76 finding it "very difficult... ryingto fill that space most effectively." 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.

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." Bolland therefore states that he "aped Mike's genius... and then reinterpreted reddin a style which actually borrowed a lot from the work of the American artists," 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."

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) and Judge Anderson.

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".Bolland, "The 1980s – Eagle Comics Covers" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 145 Bolland provided many of the covers for these compendium issues.

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."Bolland, "The 1980s – Judge Death" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 114 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''. 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. 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.

When Nick Landau began (in 1981) Titan Books' reprints of Judge Dredd material, he "used this story non-chronologically" to begin the series. Landau spent time paginating the book at Bolland's flat, and discovered that " me 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.Bolland, "The 1980s – Titan Books" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 124

Walter the Wobot was an android with a speech impediment who served as Judge Dredd's personal servant robot. Created for light relief, Bolland notes that " e great thing about the ''Judge Dredd'' strip was it's icability to slide seamlessly between gritty sci fi adventure, nasty gothic horror, spoofery, all the way to daft comedy."Bolland, "The 1970s – Walter the Wobot" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 68 Walter's solo adventures – "Walter the Wobot, Fwiend of Dwedd" – were the latter style. 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." 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.

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.Bolland, "The 1970s – House of Hammer" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 65 Soon, Bolland was asked to draw "'' Vampire Circus''" (dir. Robert Young, 1972; comic version scripted by Steve Parkhouse), and "pile on the gore" for his first Hammer horror adaptation – although he found much of the "blood painted out" in the printed version.

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 1975Bolland, "The 1970s – The Drifters" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', pp. 44–45), paperback book (including the UK Titan editions of George R. R. Martin's '' Wild Cards'' anthologiesBolland, "The 1980s – Wild Cards" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 209) and magazine covers (including ''Time Out'' and every major comics publication). He continued to produce work for fanzines, including for Nick Landau's ''Comic Media News'',Bolland, "The 1970s – Comic Media News" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 47 and ''Arkensword'' and even "drew the hazard cards" for a board game called ''Maneater''.Bolland, "The 1970s – Maneater" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 46 He later "got to know the Games Workshop guys, Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone," and produced various "games related drawings" including a cover or two for ''Fighting Fantasy'' Adventure Game Books,Bolland, "The 1980s – Steve Jackson Games" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 167 and RPG scenario pamphlets.Bolland, "The 1980s – Steve Jackson Games" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 169 His cover work for Games Workshop includes the role-playing game '' Golden Heroes'' and its only adventure '' Legacy of Eagles'', and the ''Fighting Fantasy'' book ''Appointment with F.E.A.R.''

In 1977, Bolland was approached by Syd Jordan to ghost some episodes of Jordan's newspaper strip ''Jeff Hawke''.Bolland, "The 1970s – Jeff Hawke" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', pp. 52–55 (Fellow fandom-pro artist Paul Neary had "already done quite a few.") 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." 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''." 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. 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.Bolland, "The 1980s – A Miracle of Elisha" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 156 This page was later reprinted in the star-studded (Moore, Hunt Emerson, Gaiman, Gibbons, Dave McKean, etc.) ''Outrageous Tales From the Old Testament'' volume, although Bolland's name was left off the cover.Bolland, "The 1980s – Outrageous Tales From the Old Testament" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 156

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."Bolland, "The 1970s – Star Wars Ads" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 99 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.Bolland, "The 1970s – Dark They Were and Golden Eyed" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 48 As well as the DTWAGE adverts, Bolland also contributed (alongside most of his peers) artwork to advertise, and/or feature in programme booklets for the UK Comicon, starting c.1976.Bolland, "The 1970s – Comicon 1976" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 46 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.Bolland, "The 1970s – Forbidden Planet" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 96 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."Bolland, "The 1970s – Forbidden Planet Expansion" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 96

DC Comics

Bolland was among the first British comics creators 'discovered' by 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.Bolland, "The 1970s – Green Lantern" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 102 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. He drew several covers for DC Comics, starting with ''Green Lantern'' No. 127 (April 1980), as well as some fill-in stories. These stories included, in 1980-1981, "Certified Safe" in '' Mystery in Space''Bolland, "The 1980s – ''JLA'' 200 and ''Superman'' Beastman Cover" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 130 and "Falling Down to Heaven" in '' Madame Xanadu'', DC's first attempt at marketing comics specifically to the "direct market" of fans and collectors. 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).

Among his earliest interior work for DC was a chapter in ''Justice League of America'' No. 200 (March 1982) alongside artistic heroes Joe Kubert, Carmine Infantino and Gil Kane, as well as Jim Aparo, George Pérez and Dick Giordano. This gave the artist his "first stab at drawing ''Batman''." Bolland felt that "after my cover 'GL'' #127worked 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."Bolland, "The 1970s – The European Invasion" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 103 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," making a "formal invitation" at an SSI meeting, which saw " Dave Gibbons, Kevin O'Neill... en Alan Davis and Mark Farmer," following the artists " Alan Grant "went across" and, at some point, a certain tall hairy writer from the Midlands."

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. The story, dealing with the return of King Arthur to save England from an alien invasion in the year 3000, not only "represents the single biggest body of work" by Bolland – and his only attempt to draw a monthly title – but was also the "first example of a DC (or otherwise) maxi-series." Bolland was not familiar with the Arthurian legends, and initially conceived Merlin as a comical character.Bolland, "The 1980s – Camelot 3000" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 133 The series was graced with considerable media hype, and Bolland found himself "whisked off to San Diego and places and made a fuss of." Bolland was allowed to pick between two inkers, but opted to ink his covers himself. 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. However, "by the end I was quite pleased with the results." Reacting indignantly to being presented with Ross Andru layouts for the first two ''Camelot 3000'' covers, he

''Camelot 3000'' had lengthy delays between its final issues. Bolland recalled that he and DC "talked quite a bit about how long it would take me to do the series," and because the series was inked by other artists, he started off "churning the pages out with great enthusiasm."Salisbury, p. 16 As the series continued, however, Bolland became increasingly meticulous, "trying to make the pages look better and better". The added details he introduced into his artwork caused significant delays in the final issues of the limited series, 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.

Bolland drew a pinup for ''Superman'' No. 400 (Oct. 1984) and its companion portfolio. In 1986, Bolland was one of several artists who contributed pages to the anniversary issue ''Batman'' No. 400 (Oct. 1986), his offering featuring villains Ra's al Ghul and Catwoman.Salisbury, p. 19 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.Bolland, "The 1980s – The Killing Joke" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', pp. 195–197

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, Bolland conceived of the 1988 graphic novel '' Batman: The Killing Joke''. 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, and one of the greatest Batman graphic novels ever. It would also prove to be highly influential on future Batman and Joker stories, though it has also been met with criticism for the violence inflicted on the character Barbara Gordon.

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

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."Bolland, "The 1990s – An Innocent Man" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 254

Approached by Batman-editor Mark Chiarello, Bolland was asked whether he would like to draw Batman covers for a new title, '' Batman: Gotham Knights''. Jumping at the chance, he remarks that "there was a misunderstanding" resulting in his being unaware of the first issue being scheduled, resulting in "the superb 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 job of getting a cover on ''Gotham Knights'' passed from Mark to a number of other people," and Bolland "found more and more of isfirst ideas for covers being turned down." Eventually, Bolland was "told hat he'dbe off the book in a few issues time," but after discovering that upcoming covers featured Bane prominently (and not the Joker or Penguin as he had been hoping for some time), Bolland "said I'd go right away."Bolland, "The New Millennium – Batman Gotham Knights" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 266

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 "pursue covers exclusively," having merely "branched off a little bit" from strip work. 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 "concentrate on covers... really just because they were the jobs that I was offered." He adds that for artists like him, "it's common knowledge they're going to say no" to strip work, "so editors get them to do pin-ups instead."

Bolland has contributed covers – in many cases to complete runs/arcs – to some of the more famous landmark comics of recent years since the 1990s, with his photo-realistic work leaving an indelible impression on the titles for which he works, as the primary external reference image. His iconic covers are in high demand, although his work predominantly appears on titles published by DC Comics.Bolland, "The 1990's" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', pp. 230–231

Bolland now draws on a computer, eschewing pencil and paper. He cites the influence of Dave Gibbons, who "had got into computers himself, and... was really enthusing about them." Noting also that some colorists were increasingly using computer effects "seemingly arbitrarily," he decided "that if I didn't take control of the colouring process myself... hose effectswould eventually transform the covers into something not my own."Salisbury, p. 26 Starting in 1997, Bolland "bought all the gear" and spent ten frustrated months learning the ropes and ultimately finding the liberating "infinite ability to change" his now-solely-onscreen artwork. He states categorically that, in his opinion, " ere is absolutely no difference between drawing on my Wacom tablet and drawing on a pad of paper." 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), "the pen and paper are gone for good."Salisbury, p. 28

Bolland recalls that, in the wake of ''The Killing Joke'', he "was offered a lot of work," but didn't feel ready to make a long commitment.Bolland, "The 1980s – Animal Man" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 213 So, instead

''Animal Man''

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. Initially, he recalls that his cover images derived directly from the script. He would "go through and find a scene that looked as if it would make a good cover," or "find a particular hook that cleverly summed up what's going on inside the book." 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 painted covers" 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 the last ''Animal Man'' covers were more her than me."Bolland, "The 1990s – Vertigo Animal Man" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', pp. 228–229

Describing the art of good covers, Bolland remarks that

Happy coincidence also plays its part, as 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.

''The Invisibles''

Bolland's covers adorn the whole second and third volumes of Grant Morrison's '' The Invisibles'' 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 subject matter is more complicated," necessitating 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." Asked to take over from Sean Hughes and "do the covers on volume two" by editor Shelly Roeberg, Bolland found her to be "the dream editor," effusive with praise and "very specific about what she required." Generally, Bolland recalls "she was enthusiastic about my ideas," although Morrison had "creator's approval" on all designs. Finding that he had a rapport with, and the trust of, his editor, Bolland thinks that these factors "resulted in some of ismost experimental work."Bolland, "The 1990s – The Invisibles" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 256 Newly embracing the use of a computer, Bolland cites ''The Invisibles'' Vol 2 No. 11 as his earliest computer-assisted piece of artwork, using it to "insert... a computer generated background behind a severed hand."Bolland, "The 1990s – The Computer" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 260

For the third series,

The covers for the third volume of ''The Invisibles'' were "done on the computer," in part because "Vertigo were paying for "painted" covers and ollandfelt ehad to deliver something more than line and flat color." The experimental nature of the twelve covers was assisted by the fact that, says Bolland "neither I nor Shelly had seen that issue's 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 ubbed "The Blobby Man"with a typewriter" for ''Entropy in the UK''. Having convinced Karen Berger (Editor in chief of Vertigo) and Shelly 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 containing 12 small alternative ''Invisibles'' covers," which "took a long time to do." 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."Bolland, "The 1990s – The Invisibles, Volume 3" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', pp. 262–263

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.Salisbury, p. 21 In the case of ''The Invisibles'', however, although Morrison officially had "final approval on the cover designs," Bolland describes him as "very generous about my work," saying that "it's not his job to actually come up with the idea."Salisbury, p. 24 In selected cases, however, Bolland would ask for ideas, and in one specific case " Shelly oeberg 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." Bolland admits "I don't know exactly why. I just supplied it."

''Wonder Woman''

Bolland also contributed a large number of covers to '' Wonder Woman'', beginning with William Messner Loebs's first issue (#63, June 1992''Wonder Woman'' #63 (DC, June 1992)
Retrieved 23 February 2009.) 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

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?" 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. 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 ("The body I generally made up"). 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, "defeating, for me, the whole point." For her return to her famous costume, Bolland produced the Britannia-esque pose from ''Wonder Woman'' #72 (Mar 1993). He says that " ages 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 only occasion" he was asked to design a costume. The new costume – black hotpants, halter top, straight hair (which Bolland ''did'' like) and "WW"-emblazoned jacket – was based, Bolland thinks, "on a Versace outfit I saw Cindy Crawford wearing in an issue of '' Vogue''."Bolland, "The 1990s – The New Costume" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 233

Other cover work

Bolland notes that while he tends not to reuse cover ideas, he does occasionally produce "what I like to think of as homages to my own covers." Particularly, for "the first issue of the Eagle ''Judge Dredd'' comic" – 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."

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 CavalieriBolland, "The New Millennium – The Flash" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 268) 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 "a couple" of covers for the individual issues. He recalls that he "turned in quite a few roughs, but, disappointingly for me, they were often rejected," previous cover artist Simon Bisley being "a hard act to follow."Bolland, "The 1990s – Doom Patrol" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 242

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 about Marvel... ndthe laws of the production line" that overrule "whatever it is I have to give."Bolland, "The 1990s – Howard and She-Hulk" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 221 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 recalls that "the cover for number ten was done in the style of Hergé's '' The Adventures of Tintin''... but the book was cancelled after number eight."Bolland, "The New Millennium – The Escapist Covers" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 282

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.""The Art of Brian Bolland" – The Official Website
. Retrieved 25 February 2009. 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 ic" Such Biblical imagery was bolstered in 1971 by a book bought in Paris "called '' Les Filles de Papier''... large part of hichwas 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." ''The Art of Brian Bolland'' also features a separate "Nudes" section, mostly created for the purpose of "trying out a different inking technique or trying to work out the figure from a difficult angle."Bolland, "Nudes" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', pp. 283–292 Only three of the nude sketches involve scenes of bondage.Bolland, "Nudes" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', pp. 285, 292

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 'occasional' humour strips. These latter feature Bolland as writer-artist, his now-preferred method of working. 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.Bolland, "The New Millennium – Bolland Strips!" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 279

''Mr. Mamoulian''

Among Bolland's other works is the Robert Crumb-esque semi-autobiographical stream of consciousness humour strip ''Mr. Mamoulian'', 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 ("lie a hedgehog"), although Bolland acknowledges that Armenian-American film director Rouben Mamoulian may also have provided an inspiration on the name front. Noting his enjoyment of Berke Breathed's '' Bloom County'', Bolland's own strip didn't "have a funny line to end each page, because I wasn't always in a funny mood." Thus the strip became an "exposé of the inner me" drawn because "I felt like it... t to deadline," 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 "chronological narrative was taking shape," "a plot that would come to a shock conclusion on page 96 – and then continue, possibly, to volume two."Bolland, "The 1980s – Mr. Mamoulian" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 182

Bolland writes in 2006 that " ter a while, Nick Landau of Titan Books showed an interest and offered to act as my agent." 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 " bsequent prints of ''Mamoulian'' have ad to bemade from olland'sphotocopies." Disenchanted by the loss of (more of) his artwork, and with "European interest... waning," Bolland "lost interest in doing more." Subsequent to the collection ''Bolland Strips!'', however, interest from ''Negative Burn'' (now published by Desperado Publishing) "has coaxed new pages out of" the artist.

''The Actress and the Bishop''

Bolland's other "personal project" is his occasional strip "The Actress and the Bishop". 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 BrecciaBolland, "Influences – Mort Cinder by Alberto Breccia" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 18) and a femme fatale Actress.Bolland, "The 1980s – Éditions Déesse" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 160 Bolland was subsequently approached by Garry Leach and Dave Elliot, who "were launching a new comic anthology called '' A1''."Bolland, "The 1980s – The Actress and the Bishop" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 202 They asked Bolland to draw – and write – "a few pages for the first issue," and Bolland recalls that it "was the first time I'd been commissioned to write and draw anything." Actively seeking to write a story that wouldn't "fit into any identifiable genre," Bolland found the description 'Whimsy' reached by Leach and Elliot to be very apt, and "rooted in the Englishness" of the artists life.

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!"... atherlike 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... gathered dust for 17 years" until publication in the compendium hardback ''Bolland Strips!''.

''The Art of Brian Bolland''

In 2006 a comprehensively sizeable retrospective of Bolland's work was published under the title ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', featuring contextualising references and copious text – 33,500 wordsBolland, "Moving Things About" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 310 – written by the artist 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,Bolland, "Introduction by Dave Gibbons" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 6 an autobiographical essay and sections ranging from his "Influences" (featuring near-unseen examples of Bolland's childhood art),Bolland, "Influences" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', pp. 16–19 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.Bolland, "Places of Interest" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', pp. 293–309

Non-comics work

An accomplished photographer (examples of Bolland's work are, for example, included in the Image/Desperado book ''The Art of Brian Bolland''), as of May 2008, Bolland noted on his website that he is "working on a book about a week I spent in Burma in 1988." Some photographs taken by Bolland in Burma are reprinted in the Image-published retrospective ''The Art of Brian Bolland''.Bolland, "Places of Interest" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', pp. 293–309

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 and Forbidden Planet – and film festivals including a poster for BFI Southbank's July/August 2008 Comic-Book Movies series. 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.

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.Bolland, "The New Millennium – Beauty and the Beast" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 274

Personal life

Bolland married his girlfriend, illustrator and sometime-collaborator Rachel Birkett in 1981.Bolland, "The 1980s – Munden's Bar" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 179 She later gave up illustration "to become a cook in a vegetarian restaurant",Bolland, "The 1990s – Happy Birthday!" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 219 although she has since assisted her husband with his work, acting as colourist, inker, co-artist and ghost. The two have a son, Harry.

Awards

Wins

Bolland and his work have received considerable recognition in both the British and American comics industry. He was awarded the "Best Newcomer" award by the Society of Strip Illustration in 1977 (the SSI "was formed in . . . 1977," making this one of their first awards).Bolland, "The 1970s – SSI Illustration" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 81

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

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. 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.

In 1992, Bolland won an Eisner Award after being named "Best Cover Artist," an honour he received three years in a row (1992–1994), and twice subsequently (1999, 2001) for various works. To date, he ties with James Jean ('' Fables'' cover artist) for five Cover Artist Eisners.

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

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.

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

*'' 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 (comics), 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 (comics), Vigilante Annual'' No. 2 (DC Comics, 1986)
*''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD Monthly'' vol. 2 No. 1 (Eagle, 1986)
*''Judge Dredd'' No. 34–35 (Quality Comics, Quality, 1986)
*''Superman'' No. 422, ''Annual'' No. 12 (DC Comics, 1986)
*'' Howard the Duck'' No. 33 (Marvel Comics, Marvel, 1986)
*''Secret Origins'' No. 7, ''Special'' No. 1 (DC Comics, 1986–1989)
*''Espers (comics), ESPers'' No. 3 (Eclipse, 1986)
*'' The Outsiders'' No. 16 (DC Comics, 1987)
*''Adventures of the Outsiders'' No. 45 (DC Comics, 1987)
*''Valkyrie (Eclipse Comics), 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)
*''Joker (comics), The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told'' TPB (DC Comics, 1989)
*''Batman'' No. 445–447 (DC Comics, 1990)
*''Revolver (Fleetway comics), Revolver Special'' No. 2 (Fleetway, 1990)
*''Prince (musician), Prince: Alter Ego'' No. 1 (Piranha Press, 1991)
*''Animal Man'' TPB (DC Comics, 1991)
*''Tim Drake, 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#Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol (volume 2, part 2), 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 (comics), 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)
*''Daimon Hellstrom, Hellstorm: Prince of Lies'' No. 16 (Marvel, 1994)
*''Vamps (comics), Vamps'' No. 1–6 (Vertigo, 1994–1995)
*'' Deadline'' No. 58 (Deadline Publications Ltd., Deadline, 1994)
*''Atom (Ray Palmer), The Atom Special'' No. 2 (DC Comics, 1995)
*''Tank Girl, Tank Girl: The Odyssey'' No. 1–4 (Vertigo, 1995)
*''Tank Girl: Apocalypse!'' No. 1–4 (Vertigo, 1995–1996)
*''Spectre (comics), The Spectre'' vol. 3 No. 42 (DC Comics, 1996)
*''The Batman Chronicles'' No. 3 (DC Comics, 1996)
*''The Flash (comic book), The Flash: The Return of Barry Allen'' TPB (DC Comics, 1996)
*'' The Invisibles v2'' No. 1–22 (Vertigo, 1997–1999)
*''Lobo (DC Comics), Lobo'' No. 37 (DC Comics, 1997)
*''Kilroy (comics), 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)
*''Spirit (comics), The Spirit: The New Adventures'' No. 3 ( Kitchen Sink, 1998)
*''Gangland (comics), 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 (comics), 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 (DC Comics), 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 & 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, Catwoman: Nine Lives of the Feline Fatale'' TPB (DC Comics, 2004)
*''Doom Patrol: The Painting That Ate Paris'' TPB (Vertigo, 2004)
*''DC Comics Presents#Julius Schwartz Tribute, DC Comics Presents: Green Lantern'' No. 1 (DC Comics, 2004)
*''DC Comics Presents: The Atom'' No. 1 (DC Comics, 2004)
*''Desperado Publishing, Desperado Primer'' No. 1 ( Desperado Publishing, 2005)
*''The Escapist (character), Michael Chabon Presents: The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist'' No. 7–8 (Dark Horse, 2005)
*''DC Universe, 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 of America, Justice Society Volume 1'' TPB (DC Comics, 2006)
*''Elephantmen'' No. 3 (Comicraft, 2006)
*''Huntress (comics), Huntress: Darknight Daughter'' TPB (DC Comics, 2006)
*''Doom Patrol: Magic Bus'' TPB (Vertigo, 2007)
*''Justice Society of America, Justice Society Volume 2'' TPB (DC Comics, 2007)
*''Harlan Ellison, Harlan Ellison's Dream Corridor'' TPB (Dark Horse, 2007)
*''Detective Chimp, The Helmet of Fate: Detective Chimp'' No. 1 (DC Comics, 2007)
*''Jimmy Olsen, Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen'' TPB (DC Comics, 2007)
*''Deathblow (comics), 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, Jeff Hawke: Overlord'' HC (Titan, 2008)
*''Femme Noir: The Dark City Diaries'' No. 1 (Ape Entertainment, 2008)
*''Jeff Hawke, 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)
*''Batman and Robin (comic book), 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

Further reading

* Salisbury, Mark, "Brian Bolland" in ''Artists on Comic Art'' ( Titan Books, 2000) , pp. 10–29

External links

*
*

Brian Bolland
at Barney


at the Lambiek, Lambiek Comiclopedia

Brian Bolland
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolland, Brian
1951 births
Alumni of Norwich University of the Arts
Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design
Eisner Award winners for Best Cover Artist
Eisner Award winners for Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
English comics artists
Harvey Award winners for Best Artist or Penciller
Inkpot Award winners
Living people
People educated at Boston Grammar School
People from the Borough of Boston
Role-playing game artists
Underground cartoonists