John Bolton (born 23 May 1951 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) is a British

comic book artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

most known for his dense, painted style, which often verges on

photorealism Photorealism is a genre of art that encompasses painting, drawing and other graphic media, in which an artist studies a photograph and then attempts to reproduce the image as realistically as possible in another medium. Although the term can be ...

. He was one of the first British artists to come to work in the American comics industry, a phenomenon which took root in the late 1980s and has since become standard practice.

Biography

Bolton's introduction to comics came about quite casually after he graduated from

East Ham Technical College Newham College is a large general further education college in the London Borough of Newham, England, established in 1985. The college's main site is in East Ham, with a further site in Stratford and six further local neighbourhood learning cen ...

(whose former alumni include

Gerald Scarfe Gerald Anthony Scarfe (born 1 June 1936) is an English cartoonist and illustrator. He has worked as editorial cartoonist for ''The Sunday Times'' and illustrator for ''The New Yorker''. His other work includes graphics for rock group Pink Flo ...

Barry Windsor-Smith Barry Windsor-Smith (born Barry Smith, 25 May 1949) is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best known work has been produced in the United States. He attained note working on Marvel Comics' ''Conan the Barbarian (comics), Conan th ...

and

Ralph Steadman Ralph Idris Steadman (born 15 May 1936) is a British illustrator best known for his collaboration and friendship with the American writer Hunter S. Thompson. Steadman is renowned for his political and social caricatures, cartoons and picture b ...

) with a degree in graphics and design. His first works in Great Britain were for magazines like '' Look In'' (alongside other British talents such as

Arthur Ranson Arthur James Ranson (born 1939) is an English comic book illustrator, known for his work on ''Look-in'', '' Anderson: Psi Division'', '' Button Man'' and '' Mazeworld''. His work on Cassandra Anderson has been called "photo-realistic". Early lif ...

Angus P. Allan Angus Peter Allan (22 July 1936 – 16 July 2007) was a British comic strip writer and magazine editor who worked on ''TV Century 21'' in the 1960s and ''Look-in'' magazine during the 1970s. Most commonly known as Angus Allan and sometimes credit ...

and

Jim Baikie James George Baikie (28 February 1940 – 29 December 2017) was a Scottish comics artist best known for his work with Alan Moore on ''Skizz''. He was also a musician. Biography Baikie served as a Corporal with the Royal Air Force in 1956–1963 ...

), ''

The House of Hammer ''The House of Hammer'' was a British black-and-white magazine featuring articles and comics related to the Hammer Film Productions series of horror and science fiction films. The brainchild of Dez Skinn,Dakin, John. "'Marvel Revolution' in Engl ...

'',Dakin, John. "John Bolton: Britain's Foremost Fantasy Artist, from Dracula to the Bionic Woman," ''The Comics Journal'' #55 (Apr. 1980), pp. 54–61. and ''

Warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been p ...

'' (edited by

Dez Skinn Derek "Dez" Skinn (born 4 February 1951) Miller, John Jackson"Comics Industry Birthdays" ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', 10 June 2005. Accessed 14 August 2010WebCitation archive is a British comic and magazine editor, and author of a number of books o ...

). In 1981 Marvel Comics' editor

Ralph Macchio Ralph George Macchio Jr. ( ; born November 4, 1961) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Daniel LaRusso in three ''Karate Kid'' films and in ''Cobra Kai'', a sequel television series. He also played Johnny Cade in '' The Outsiders' ...

noticed his work and called him to work for an adaptation of Kull of Valusia for

Marvel Preview ''Marvel Preview'' is a black-and-white comics magazine published by Magazine Management for fourteen issues and the affiliated Marvel Comics Group for ten issues. The final issue additionally carried the imprint Marvel Magazines Group. Publica ...

. After illustrating two Kull stories, Bolton began working on the historical-fantasy character

Marada The Mardaites () or al-Jarajima ( syr, ܡܪ̈ܕܝܐ; ar, ٱلْجَرَاجِمَة / ALA-LC: ''al-Jarājimah''), inhabited the highland regions of the Nur Mountains. The Mardaites were early Christians following either Miaphysitism or Monothelit ...

, written by

Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marvel ...

(author of

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

). This was published in ''

Epic Illustrated ''Epic Illustrated'' was a comics anthology in magazine format published in the United States by Marvel Comics. Similar to the US-licensed comic book magazine '' Heavy Metal'', it allowed explicit content to be featured, unlike the traditional Am ...

'' in black-and-white, and then coloured as a

Marvel Graphic Novel ''Marvel Graphic Novel'' (''MGN'') is a line of graphic novel trade paperbacks published from 1982 to 1993 by Marvel Comics. The books were published in an oversized format, 8.5" x 11", similar to French albums. In response, DC Comics establ ...

. After another fantasy series, '' Black Dragon'' (1985), the duo Claremont & Bolton produced some short stories about X-Men's lives for '' X-Men Classic''."JOHN BOLTON," ''The Comics Journal'' #122 (June 1988), pp. 137–139. This represented the first introduction of Bolton to the world of

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

es. In this period Bolton worked on covers for

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

and

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

publishers, and on the

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

Someplace Strange ''Someplace Strange'' is a graphic novel, published in 1988 by Marvel Comics under that company's Epic Comics imprint. It was written by Ann Nocenti, with artwork by John Bolton. References *''Someplace Strange''at the Big Comic Book DataBase ...

'', written by

Ann Nocenti Ann "Annie" Nocenti (; born January 17, 1957) is an American journalist, filmmaker, teacher, comic book writer and editor. She is best known for her work at Marvel in the late 1980s, particularly the four-year stint as the editor of ''Uncanny X-Me ...

(1988).

Horror

From 1989 Bolton devoted himself to horror, his favourite genre. Apart from a great number of covers for

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

and adaptations of horror movies, the main work of this period is his collaboration with writer

Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English novelist, playwright, author, film director, and visual artist who came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories, the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading h ...

(including the ''

Hellraiser ''Hellraiser'' is a 1987 British supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker, and produced by Christopher Figg, based on Barker's 1986 novella ''The Hellbound Heart''. The film marked Barker's directorial debut. Its plot invol ...

'' comic book version). In 1990 Bolton worked on the first episode of ''

The Books of Magic ''The Books of Magic'' is the title of a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has ...

'' for

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

, written by

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

. The physical appearance of the protagonist,

Timothy Hunter Timothy Hunter is a fictional character, a comic book sorcerer published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''The Books of Magic'' #1 (January 1990), and was created by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton. Publication history Tim Hunter was created by ...

, is that of Bolton's eldest son. In other comic books he has also portrayed his wife and sons. In 1995 Bolton produced art for the ''

Man-Bat Man-Bat (Dr. Robert Kirkland "Kirk" Langstrom) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Introduced in ''Detective Comics'' #400 (June 1970) as an enemy of the superhero Batman, the character belongs to t ...

'' mini-series, written by

Jamie Delano Jamie Delano (; born 1954) is an English comic book writer. He was part of the first post-Alan Moore "British Invasion" of writers which started to feature in American comics in the 1980s. He is best known as the first writer of the comic book s ...

for DC Comics. Bolton said he accepted only because the story pivoted on a villain, instead of

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

, who he considered ''too winning'' a character. Later Bolton worked on another Batman book, '' Batman/Joker: Switch''. His latest works include ''User'', written by

Devin Grayson Devin Kalile Grayson is an American writer of comic books and novels. Titles that she has written include ''Catwoman'', '' Gotham Knights'', '' The Titans'', the Vertigo series ''USER'', and ''Nightwing''. Early life Grayson was born in New Hav ...

, '' Menz Insana'', a mad trip by

Christopher Fowler Christopher Fowler (born 26 March 1953) is an English thriller writer. While working in the British film industry he became the author of fifty novels and short-story collections, including the Bryant & May mysteries, which record the adventures ...

, and '' Gifts of the Night'' by

Paul Chadwick Paul Chadwick (born 1957) is an American comic book creator best known for his series ''Concrete'' about a normal man trapped in a stone body. Biography Born in Seattle, Chadwick grew up in its suburb Medina, where his father, Stephen F. Chadw ...

In other media

In 2003, author

directed '' A Short Film About John Bolton'' where the painter (played by John O'Mahony) is interviewed by a reporter seeking to answer "Where do your ideas come from?" The artist is portrayed as very soft-spoken and reclusive, somewhat of a reluctant local celebrity in

Crouch End Crouch End is an area of North London, approximately from the City of London in the western half of the borough of Haringey. It is within the Hornsey postal district (N8). It has been described by the BBC as one of "a new breed of urban villag ...

. Bolton himself plays a guest interviewed at a gallery showing.

Bibliography

Comics work includes: *'' Father Shandor'' (with Steve Moore, in

House of Hammer ''The House of Hammer'' was a British black-and-white magazine featuring articles and comics related to the Hammer Film Productions series of horror and science fiction films. The brainchild of Dez Skinn,Dakin, John. "'Marvel Revolution' in Engl ...

''appearing in issues #8, 16, 21, and 24 and later reprinted in

Warrior (comics) ''Warrior'' was a British comics anthology that ran for 26 issues between March 1982 and January 1985. It was edited by Dez Skinn and published by his company Quality Communications. It featured early work by comics writer Alan Moore, including '' ...

1-3)'' * ''

The Spiral Path ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (with

Steve Parkhouse Steve Parkhouse is a writer, artist and letterer who has worked for many British comics, especially '' 2000 AD'' and ''Doctor Who Magazine''. Biography Parkhouse has worked in comics since 1967, when he drew the occasional "Power House Pin-Up" ...

, in ''

'', 1982) * ''

Army of Darkness ''Army of Darkness'' is a 1992 American comedy horror film directed, co-written and co-edited by Sam Raimi, co-produced by Robert Tapert and Bruce Campbell and co-written by Ivan Raimi. Starring Campbell and Embeth Davidtz, it is the third i ...

'' (script and art with

Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007) and the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present). He also directed the 1 ...

and

Ivan Raimi Ivan Mitchell Raimi, D.O. (born June 21, 1956) is an American emergency medicine physician and screenwriter, and a brother of filmmaker Sam Raimi and actor Ted Raimi. Ivan works as an emergency physician in Chicago, traveling to Los Angeles occasi ...

, 3-issue mini-series, 1992–1993) * ''

: Manbat'' (with

, three issue mini-series,

Elseworlds ''Elseworlds'' was the publication imprint (trade name), imprint for American comic books produced by DC Comics for stories that took place outside the DC Universe Canon (fictional), canon. Elseworlds publications are set in alternate realitie ...

, 1995) * ''

God Save the Queen "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, bu ...

'' (with Mike Carey,

, 96 pages, Vertigo, June 2007, ) * ''

The Evil Dead ''The Evil Dead'' is a 1981 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi, produced by Robert Tapert and executive produced by Raimi, Tapert, and Bruce Campbell, who also starred alongside Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeMan ...

'' (art, with writer

Mark Verheiden Mark Verheiden (born March 26, 1956) is an American television, movie, and comic-book writer. He was a co-executive producer for the television series '' Falling Skies'' for DreamWorks Television and the TNT network. Career Comics and comic-r ...

, 4-issue mini-series, Dark Horse Comics, 2008) * ''Shame'' (art with writer Lovern Kindzierski, trilogy, Renegade Arts Entertainment, Conception 2011, Pursuit 2013, Redemption 2015) Bolton has illustrated cards for the ''

Magic: The Gathering ''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...

'' collectible card game.

Notes

References

External links

*
Long article (in Italian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolton, John 1951 births Artists from London Eisner Award winners for Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (Interior) English comics artists Game artists Inkpot Award winners Living people 20th-century British artists 21st-century British artists