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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 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.
Bolland illustrated the critically acclaimed 1988 graphic novel , 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 superhero comic book series. In 1996, he drew and self-penned a story, "An Innocent Guy". For DC's Vertigo Comics 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 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.
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." He would later cite Kane and Alex Toth as "pinnacles of excellence," 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." 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. He did however enjoy UK comics, including newspaper strips such as Jeff Hawke by Syd Jordan and Carol Day by David Wright,Bolland & Pruett, "Influences – Carol Day by David Wright" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 17 and Valiant which featured Mytek the Mighty by Eric Bradbury and Steel Claw by Jesus Blasco.Bolland & Pruett, "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.Salisbury, p. 10
Growing up as an only child with parents that had no interest in art, literature, or music, he embraced the late 1960s popular 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. Having taken both O-Level and A-Level examinations in art, Bolland spent five years at art school beginning in 1969, learning graphic design and art history. 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 had never heard of." He would later recall:
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 Magazines was planning to publish."Bolland & Pruett, "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 Bolland would have to keep drawing Powerman on his own." 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 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.Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – My First Dredd Nov 1977" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 42 "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." Dredd stories started as traditional UK comic stories, i.e. "six-page one-offs... Writers Pat Mills and John Wagner seeming 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... having one great new idea each week."Bolland & Pruett, "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", "Judge Child" 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 & Pruett, "The 1970s – The Muties Mountain Double Page Spread" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 76 finding it "very difficult... trying to 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 ," 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 Dredd in 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 & Pruett, "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 & Pruett, "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 "some 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 & Pruett, "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 Comic relief, Bolland notes that "the great thing about the Judge Dredd strip was it's sic ability to slide seamlessly between gritty sci fi adventure, nasty gothic horror, parody, all the way to daft comedy."Bolland & Pruett, "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.
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 & Pruett, "The 1970s – The Drifters" in The Art of Brian Bolland, pp. 44–45), paperback book (including the UK Titan Books editions of George R. R. Martin's Wild Cards anthologiesBolland & Pruett, "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 & Pruett, "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 & Pruett, "The 1970s – Maneater" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 46 He later "got to know the Games Workshop guys, Steve JacksonNot the US game designer of the same name, despite the section heading in The Art of Brian Bolland. and Ian Livingstone," and produced various "games related drawings" including a cover or two for Fighting Fantasy Adventure Game Books,Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Steve Jackson Games" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 167 and RPG scenario pamphlets.Bolland & Pruett, "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 write some episodes of Jordan's comic strip Jeff Hawke,Bolland & Pruett, "The 1970s – Jeff Hawke" in The Art of Brian Bolland, pp. 52–55 after fellow fandom-pro artist Paul Neary had already done a fair number of them. 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 & Pruett, "The 1980s – Jeff Hawke Titan Collections" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 174Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Jeff Hawke Volume 3 Prelim" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 174 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 & Pruett, "The 1980s – A Miracle of Elisha" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 156 This page was later reprinted in the Outrageous Tales From the Old Testament volume, which included works from Alan Moore, Hunt Emerson, Neil Gaiman, Dave Gibbons, and Dave McKean, although Bolland's name was left off the cover.Bolland & Pruett, "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 & Pruett, "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 Comics fanzine, 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 & Pruett, "The 1970s – Dark They Were and Golden Eyed" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 48 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 .Bolland & Pruett, "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 & Pruett, "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 & Pruett, "The 1970s – Forbidden Planet Expansion" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 96
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." Bolland felt that "after my cover GL 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."Bolland & Pruett, "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... then Alan Davis and Mark Farmer." Following the artists, "Alan Grant went across and, at some point, a Alan Moore."
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 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.Salisbury, p. 17 Bolland was not familiar with the Arthurian legends, and initially conceived Merlin as a comical character.Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Camelot 3000" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 133 The series was graced with considerable media hype, and Bolland found himself invited to San Diego Comic-Con and other conventions. 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, he was satisfied with the finished 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 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.Salisbury, p. 16 As the series continued, however, Bolland became increasingly meticulous, always trying to improve upon his pages. 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 nine months later than the penultimate issue.
Bolland drew a pinup for Superman No. 400 (Oct. 1984) Superman #400 at the Grand Comics Database and its companion portfolio.Dick Giordano "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, Mœbius, 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." In 1986, Bolland was one of several artists who contributed pages to the anniversary issue Batman No. 400 (Oct. 1986),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 drawn by George Pérez, Bill Sienkiewicz, Arthur Adams, Joe Kubert, Brian Bolland, and others." 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 & Pruett, "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 . 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. Director Tim Burton has named The Killing Joke as an influence for his 1989 film adaptation of Batman, specifically the origin of the Joker. It would also prove to be highly influential on future Batman and Joker stories,Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 233: "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." 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
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.Brian Bolland, "On Batman: Brian Bolland Recalls The Killing Joke," DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore (New York: DC Comics, 2006) 256. . 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. "Graphic Books Best Seller List: May 16", The New York Times; George Gene Gustines. May 22, 2009
In 1996, Bolland wrote and drew the story "An Innocent Guy" for the anthology , 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 & Pruett, "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, . 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.Bolland & Pruett, "The New Millennium – Batman Gotham Knights" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 266
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.Bolland & Pruett, "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 was himself enthusiastic about the capabilities of computers. 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.Salisbury, p. 26 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. 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.Salisbury, p. 28
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.Bolland & Pruett, "The 1980s – Animal Man" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 213 So, instead
Describing the art of good covers, Bolland remarks that
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.
For the third series,
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 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."Bolland & Pruett, "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 cover art, Bolland described him as generous to the work Bolland came up with.Salisbury, p. 24 In selected cases, however, Bolland would ask for ideas, and in one specific case " Bolland admits "I don't know exactly why. I just supplied it."
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. Wonder Woman #100 (DC, August 1995). Retrieved 23 February 2009. 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. For her return to her famous costume, Bolland produced the Britannia-esque pose from Wonder Woman #72 (Mar 1993). Wonder Woman #72 (DC, March 1993). Accessed 13 May 2009 He says that "images 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. 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.Bolland & Pruett, "The 1990s – The New Costume" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 233
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 & Pruett, "The New Millennium – The Flash" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 268) and the Batman anthology series , 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."Bolland & Pruett, "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" of Marvel and the company's production line method that overrules his art style.Bolland & Pruett, "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 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.Bolland & Pruett, "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 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." 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 difficult angles.Bolland & Pruett, "Nudes" in The Art of Brian Bolland, pp. 283–292 Only three of the nude sketches involve scenes of bondage.Bolland & Pruett, "Nudes" in The Art of Brian Bolland, pp. 285, 292
Bolland wrote in 2006 that Nick Landau of Titan Books was impressed by Mr. Mamoulian and became Bolland's unofficial 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 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.
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!.
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. "BFI poster" on "The Art of Brian Bolland" – The Official Website, 22 June 2008 . Retrieved 25 February 2009. His work has appeared on the covers of, and inside, numerous publications over the decades, ranging from Comics fanzine 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 Pantomime" production of Beauty and the Beast in 2004.Bolland & Pruett, "The New Millennium – Beauty and the Beast" in The Art of Brian Bolland, p. 274
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 ; 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.
In 2007, Bolland added to his Eisner Award wins when The Art of Brian Bolland won the "Best Comics-Related Book" award.
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