Brian Bolland - C or D

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20 years ago he'd have been first name on the teamsheet as far as 'perfect art' goes. Now it seems there's something a little, well, naff about his stuff. Or is it just me...?

― Tom (Groke), Wednesday, 8 September 2004 15:40 (twenty years ago) link

Classic still. He's a cover artist these days, but he nearly always comes up with something interesting which is more than most covers manage.

― Vic Fluro, Wednesday, 8 September 2004 15:43 (twenty years ago) link

As far as nearly realistic slick-ass cover artists go, he's got a helluva lot more class than the other guy.

Other than Brit comics, has he ever done the insides of anything beyond Camelot 3000 and Killing Joke?

― Huk-L, Wednesday, 8 September 2004 15:45 (twenty years ago) link

I did an art project on him when I was about 12. I looked up his name in the phone book, trusted it would be him and not some other Brian Bolland and sent him a list of questions. He answered all my questions very thoroughly and sent me a Judge Dredd sketch. Total classic.

― Wooden (Wooden), Wednesday, 8 September 2004 15:47 (twenty years ago) link

I took a dislike to him after he took over the Invisisble covers. Sean Phillips' work on the first volume was fantastic, Bolland's just seemed to be "a scene from inside the book" in comparison.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Wednesday, 8 September 2004 16:58 (twenty years ago) link

Animal Man covers were superb. Plus, he drew a Buddy-sketch for me once, therefore he's classic.

But yeah, there's something a little stilted about him now...

― Chuck Tatum (Chuck Tatum), Wednesday, 8 September 2004 17:12 (twenty years ago) link

A possible reason for the stiffness (from his website):

All of Brian's recent artwork is created 100% digitally -- without the use of paper, pencil, ink or paint. Using Photoshop Brian draws the images directly to his Macintosh using a device called a WACOM tablet.

I heard something about BB suffering from nerve damage or failing eyesight or some sort of impediment that would prompt this switch from pencil to digital & perhaps see a semi-perceptible decline in the quality of his work.

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 8 September 2004 17:17 (twenty years ago) link

I wish he'd do sequentials again. One of the first non-Marvel comics I bought was a Titan pressing of the Judge Dredd classic CURSED EARTH, of which he drew a few of the progs. Blew my tiny little mind it did.

I thought his covers for THE INVISIBLES were great. At least the good ones were...

― Matt Maxwell (Matt M.), Wednesday, 8 September 2004 21:06 (twenty years ago) link

I always liked his art, but there is something a bit static about it, which makes him perhaps better for covers. His long time home was on the same road as ILX's Kate, until Kate moved recently. We used to be friendly enough, and he did a cover for me once. And I remember bumping into him in Bristol once and having a chat, and highlighting that I'd recently discovered that the local comics shop had this big box half-hidden of European comics at 50p a shot, and there were some left because there were multiples of several A Suivres and so on, and I think he bought most of what I hadn't.

A sweet man, but utterly lacking in normal human tact. His first trip to the DC offices threw up two beautiful examples. He was waiting in their reception area, and chatting to this old guy sitting there. Brian pointed to a couple of covers on the walls, and said that he drew them. The other guy did the same, and Brian gasped and said "Y-you're Steve Ditko! I never thought you'd look like this - I always imagined you were a midget!" Then later he was introduced to Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. Now he was Argentinian, and this was in the '80s. As Brian offered his hand to shake, his first words were "We should be at war, really."

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Thursday, 9 September 2004 15:20 (twenty years ago) link

I feel that artists who only do covers are pissing away their talent. Therefore: DUD

― DV (dirtyvicar), Thursday, 9 September 2004 15:48 (twenty years ago) link

back in the day I liked Bolland more than McMahon because he drew more attractive women. I accept now that this should not be a sole criterion for judging artists.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Thursday, 9 September 2004 15:50 (twenty years ago) link

You don't feel that covers allow an artist full scope to explore the infinite wealth of possibilities within the freedom of a single image?

― Vic Fluro, Thursday, 9 September 2004 17:04 (twenty years ago) link

I'm probably missing a reference somewhere, but is there a reason Steve Ditko might be a midget?

― Chuck Tatum (Chuck Tatum), Thursday, 9 September 2004 17:44 (twenty years ago) link

The sheer amount of detail in Ditko's drawings would lead one to suspect he has tiny, tiny hands, therefore HE MUST BE A MIDGET!

QED

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Thursday, 9 September 2004 17:51 (twenty years ago) link

http://gaming.mallarkey.com/photos/181S8eWI8U6OHeSdo2Zxdc2P/11PgN5KHhoiZuI4PcYSJtJt.jpeg

― Chuck Tatum (Chuck Tatum), Thursday, 9 September 2004 19:10 (twenty years ago) link

I've just been googling him for my own amusement, and I don't think I've ever appreciated just how striking his compositions are. These three are all off the first page alone:

ihttp://www.deniskitchen.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/SP_SPIRIT.TIED.BG.JPG

ihttp://theages.superman.ws/400/bolland/bolland-pinup.gif

ihttp://www.fox-dream.com/goodies/galdrm05.jpg

― Wooden (Wooden), Friday, 10 September 2004 00:25 (twenty years ago) link

I feel that artists who only do covers are pissing away their talent. Therefore: DUD
-- DV, September 9th, 2004. (later)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

back in the day I liked Bolland more than McMahon because he drew more attractive women. I accept now that this should not be a sole criterion for judging artists.
-- DV, September 9th, 2004. (later)

Why does this make me think of Adam Hughes and Greg Horn?

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Friday, 10 September 2004 09:12 (twenty years ago) link

I'm not keen on his Invisibles covers, and Grant complains in the Invisibles companion that BB couldn't take direction on content from him, which is why they often represent things that didn't reflect the book itself.

But, BB himself, Classic. I'm a sucker for clean lines.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Friday, 10 September 2004 09:15 (twenty years ago) link

Nice, this

ihttp://www.monsterscollectibles.com/vaultpics/bollandaniman28cvr.jpg

― Chuck Tatum (Chuck Tatum), Friday, 10 September 2004 18:07 (twenty years ago) link

I used to buy Animal Man sometimes and then be all shocked to discover that Bolland wasn't doing the art inside. Like, repetitively. I've always been stupid.

― Huk-L, Friday, 10 September 2004 18:15 (twenty years ago) link

That was the one drawback about comics prior to the companies actually deigning to put the names of the writer / artist / inker / whomever on the cover - "oh, cool, there's a John Byrne cover on _Web of Spider-Man_, that means he did the insides, too! neato ... wait a sec, who the eff is this Greg LaRoquette jerk, and why does his art SUUUUUUUUCK?"

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 10 September 2004 18:24 (twenty years ago) link

If it'd been drawn by John Laroquette, though, that would've rocked.

― Tep (ktepi), Friday, 10 September 2004 18:26 (twenty years ago) link

With a cover by David Byrne.

― Tep (ktepi), Friday, 10 September 2004 18:26 (twenty years ago) link

Written by Mitch Alborn!

― Huk-L, Friday, 10 September 2004 18:55 (twenty years ago) link

That different artist on the cover thing: many years ago, when I was reading loads of comics, DC started a JSA series, unless it was called All-Star Squadron or something, which I think it was. It was dismal stuff, but they had a run of Kubert covers. I knew he wasn't inside, but he was THE BEST EVER at giving the impression that there was a genuinely interesting/exciting story inside. I kept thinking "I won't be fooled next month" and then again I'd think "Ooh, I really want to read this story" the next time, and be disappointed again.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 12 September 2004 18:14 (twenty years ago) link

An issue of All-Star Squadron was the first DC comic I ever bought! In retrospect it is very hard to think of a worse choice - I don't think I bought another one for a year or so.

― Tom (Groke), Sunday, 12 September 2004 20:18 (twenty years ago) link

I just picked up a bundle of All-Star Squadrons, including the first three. Yes, the Kubert covers are the best things about them! Except maybe Roy Thomas's editorial in #1 explaining why he didn't want to use any popular characters in the series.

― Huk-L, Monday, 13 September 2004 04:37 (twenty years ago) link

twenty years pass...

absolute classic.
he moved into the little town where i live recently.
due to an insane story of circumstance, we met, chatted, connected, and now hang out.
no-one else in my little town would have any idea who he is other than me.
as someone who bought early era 2000ad/dredd, killing joke etc, it's insane.

― mark e, Sunday, 29 December 2024 21:23 (five days ago) link

Lol at Steve Ditko story upthread.

Can you ask BB why he thought that?

― Kim Kimberly, Sunday, 29 December 2024 22:18 (five days ago) link

sorry KK, he is a new friend, so of course i am not going to ask him about that.

― mark e, Sunday, 29 December 2024 22:44 (five days ago) link

xxpost Wow!!

― completely suited to the horny decadence (Capitaine Jay Vee), Sunday, 29 December 2024 23:40 (five days ago) link

I went to a couple of his signings when I was 11 or 12 in the early 90s and remember he seemed lovely, the only one that wasn’t shy or weird about having kids approach him (Dave Gibbons too)

― Chuck_Tatum, Tuesday, 31 December 2024 19:14 (three days ago) link

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