Brian Bolland is an artist, most famous for his highly detailed comics artistry and covers.

He is particularly known as one of the foremost Judge Dredd artists for 2000 AD Magazine, as well as being the artist on DC's Camelot 3000 12-issue maxi-series, with Mike Barr (dealing with the return of King Arthur to save England from an Alien invasion in the Year 3000), and on the Batman graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke, written by the legendary Alan Moore.

The Killing Joke, published in 1988, details a possible (now almost entirely assumed as canonical) origin story for the villain The Joker, as being a failed stand-up comedian. The story also delves deep into the interaction between the Batman, Commissioner James Gordon, and Gordon's daughter Barbara (a former Batgirl, later the technological genius Oracle). The finer points of the Joker/Batman dichotomy, and how each are on the brink between madness and sanity is ably explored, and the ending has become a slight point of contention over the off-panel happenings, with some fans suggesting the Batman murders the Joker. (See here.) http://progressiveruin.com/archives/2004_03_01_archive.html

Bolland is much more famous as a cover artist however, and has contributed covers — in many cases to complete runs/arcs — to some of the more famous landmark comics of recent years. Examples of his work include the whole second and third volumes of Grant Morrison's The Invisibles, a large run of Animal Man (also by Morrison), and assorted issues of Tank Girl, The Flash, Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Batman, and so forth.

He is also noted for his use of Censored page imagery in some of his work, in particular his work for adult comics .

External links

• Comicography Interview with Mr Bolland http://www.twomorrows.com/comicology/articles/04bolland.html
• Brian Bolland @ Lambiek.net http://www.lambiek.net/bolland_brian.htm
• Image Gallery http://www.jensantarelli.com/bollandgallery/
• BrianBolland.com Homepage http://www.brianbolland.com/
• Brian Bolland's Personal Gallery http://www.brianbolland.com/gallery.html
• ESSENTIAL Artistic Walk-through on Cover Creation http://www.brianbolland.com/gk29/gk29-intro.html
• 2000 AD Profile http://www.2000adonline.com/index.php3?zone=droid&page=profiles&choice=brianb