Judge Dredd: The Complete Brian Bolland

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After watching the 1928 film The Man Who Laughs, which features a character named Gwynplaine (played by Conrad Veidt) whose rictus grin inspired the visual design of the Joker, [63] Bolland conceived of the 1988 graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke. Bolland's covers adorn the whole second and third volumes of Grant Morrison's The Invisibles [84] and his depictions of the main characters are widely reprinted as the definitive images, despite them all having been realised by other artists – and often drawn by several before Bolland entered the picture.

The Art of Brian Bolland covers all of the artist's work to date, under an introduction from close friend Dave Gibbons, [110] an autobiographical essay and sections ranging from his "Influences" (featuring near-unseen examples of Bolland's childhood art), [111] through each of the decades from the 1960s to the present. But Brian continued to improve with each new strip and illustration, and happily the book includes much of his best work from the ‘80s, which represents Brian at the peak of his powers. Brian: I've had a chequered career, or more accurately a brief series of misadventures, with Marvel. while a longer story with 110 verses went unreleased for 17 years until publication in the compendium hardback Bolland Strips!At first the giant was portrayed as a grumpy caveman, but in 1935 legendary ad man Leo Burnett revised the face of the brand, adding the leafy suit and putting in the word “Jolly” in front of his name. and then reinterpreted [Dredd] in a style which actually borrowed a lot from the work of the American artists," [14] retaining McMahon's "granite-jawed" look but bringing a level of realism and fine detail to the character, which Mark Salisbury says "finally cemented the iconic image. That was particularly true in the case of Brian, whose appeal as an artist is literally worldwide, particularly with the success of his Killing Joke strip. 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 "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.

Brian: My earliest memory is of my father taking me round to his brother Frank’s house with a drawing I’d done. 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.Though now primarily known as a cover artist on titles such as Batman: Gotham Knights and The Invisibles, his interior comics work has included the acclaimed Batman: The Killing Joke and Camelot 3000.