Brian Bolland: The Best Comic Book Cover Artist
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- Brian Bolland has had a long and dynamic career in comic books. He made a name for himself on Judge Dredd and was the first talent in DC Comics' "British Invasion" of the 80s. Along with his work on Batman: The Killing Joke, he's created many iconic and beloved covers.
This episode breaks down Bolland's work history and analyzes the techniques and work that makes him so popular and successful.
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Brian Bolland is the guy who drew "Gaze Into the Fist of Dredd!"
That is all.
KesselRunner606 Which is on the wall.
Bolland rules and so do you. These videos are very informative. Would love to see a Nocturnals vid or Fables.
Love his realistic and evocative style.
Your video has given me a better appreciation of Brian Bolland as an artist. Can't wait to see who you feature next.
As for my personal favorite cover artist I'd say it's Adam Hughes. Just consistently beautifully drawn and laid out.
I used to be really fond of Ken Steacy 's cover work. They did some really fun stuff and their Star Wars work always charmed me. But I can see how some people wouldn't like it.
Esad Ribic is one of my favorites. His Wolverine, Thor and Secret Invasion covers were gorgeous
Another great video. Always loved Brian Bolland's artwork. His Judge Dredd work in 2000ad was fantastic . Bolland is one of those artists who - in my opinion - works best in black and white.
Tim Bradstreet....'nuff said!👍
I'd put Dave McKean, Glenn Fabry, Jock, and Phil Hester on that list. I know Hester does a lot of interiors, I just love his dynamic covers. Oh and Jim steranko and Neil Adams and sal buscema
20 minutes of talking about how great Brian Bolland is - how did I miss this?
I've long wished DC would publish a book of Bolland covers, particularly the Animal Man covers. (They can keep the Wonder Woman ones, though. Not sure what was going on there).
15:23 I would’ve added Adam Hughes to the list of amazing cover artists I’d say he’s my favorite cover artist
Glenn Fabry made killer covers for the Preacher series and paperbacks.
Congrats on the 50k subs
Best comic cover artist, to me, have always been Bolland. Seinkewicz and Adam Hughes.
Love bolland on judge dredd i want to buy his art book wen ever i fined it at a good deal
So when's the Alex Ross episode coming out???
Both you and cartunist kayfabe doing videos on Akira? That's great!
Usually my favourite artist also create the best covers as it is a preview of art to come. I am always disappointed when my favourite artist just does the cover and someone else does the interiors. Brian Bolland is the exception as you do not expect interiors from him. The same goes for Alex Ross and Dave McKean.
Think of it: The Killing Joke cover depicts a pivotal scene from the story THAT ISN'T EVEN SHOWN IN THE STORY! You don't know how disturbing that cover is till you read the story! It's conceptually brilliant AND looks great!
Right
You have to make a video on Alex Ross
Yep...
Lucian Ganea
Hell Yeah!
Yeah, it's about time.
Lucian Ganea nah, Alex Ross is over admired
@@dexterroberts5569 so what you're saying is, you're being a hipster...gotcha.
Oh hi! You caught me stuck in 144p.
Hammy426 Boo!
Speaking of pathetic things, let’s talk about my social skills
I love it when British artists do ultra-realistic art. They always lean towards the grotesque. Just look at Chris Weston and Glenn Fabry's work.
Glenns covers are amazing!
Pål Christian Andersen
I’ve been reading Preacher (amazing book, super violent), and those Glenn Fabry covers are awesome. In my opinion, he’s like the dark antithesis of Alex Ross
@Rob Y. That's bitchin
Yeah, I ripped off that style before when I do realistic. Really Fun stuff.
Fabry is amazing, his Preacher covers and American God's covers are great (altough I do think David Mack's covers fit American God's mood much better but it's still nice to have both). Since he does so detailed work I was just thinking while reading the American God's part he illustrated that how long it must've took to do. For Preacher he was perfect since the grotesque look where every muscle is ultra highlighted to look a bit skewed matched the story very well. There is couple of my favorite covers there, the voodoo one with the snake and the first chapters cover where the church is burning.
It's a shame photorealistic art nowadays lack the style and energy of guys like Bolland.
Dave McKean, Glenn Fabry, Mike Mignola, Bill Sienkewicz
Doctor Handsome Dave McKean always comes to mind when people ask about great covers. And Sienkewicz has some of the most creative and interesting work ever in comics. I’d love to see him and Jim Steranko (though I don’t know if Steranko even considers working these days) collaborate.
@@JoeJoe-lq6bd Steranko does still pop up in comics from time to time. He usually will do a variant cover on some special issue. Just a few years ago, he did an unexpected cover for an off label Hercules adaptation. I believe he did a cover for Detective1000. Or it may have been Action 1000.
The only things i've never read that Dave Mckean did was the two books he wrote himself, Cages and Pictures that Tick. I got pretty much everything else covered.
Cam Kennedy did great work on 80s Dredd.
Neal Adams
Greg Capüllo and Todd Mc Farlane are great with covers.
A great cover is what attracts me first to a comic. Neal Adams, Joe Kubert, Jim Aparo, John Buscema, John Romita, and Mike Grell are some of my all-time favourites!
How do you feel about Bill Sienkiewicz? I always loved his covers
@@emmanuellykes1428 He is great. I especially like his Moon 🌙 Knight covers.
"... Undead Virgins..." Sounds like a 70s/80s exploitation horror film title (something produced by Roger Corman, for sure) if ever there was one. I'm totally stealing it. ;-)
Brian Bolland is easily one of the greatest cover artists! Especially Wonder woman & Joker! Here's some other great cover artists! Frank Cho, J.Scott Campbell, Jim Lee, Joseph Linsner, and Adam Hughes!
Alex Ross creates beautiful pieces every damn time. Would love a episode on him!
Jack Kirby is a great cover artist too! The Fantastic 4 cover with the Watcher is amazing!
Judge Death is the OG Batman Who Laughs.
Damn......that's pretty interesting.
Now that you mention it... that makes too much sense.
Isn't the Gilberto Hernandez who submitted a drawing,
the same Gilberto Hernandez who writes and draws Love & Rockets?
The style is similar.
Dave McKean and Tim Bradstreet were my favorites growing up. I think they did some illustration (Serious House on Serious Earth is a great example) but I think their works as cover artists were the most gripping.
I dislike the recolors of The Killing Joke. The original vibrant colour palette fits the story better in my opinion.
Have.... you read it
I completely agree. I have so much nostalgia for John Higgins work. It really speaks to the time in which Killing Joke was first published. Additionally, I feel the same way about Steve Oliff on The Maxx. I very much appreciate that the artist's intent was for something more realistic and muted, but I just love those vibrant 90's colors.
Agreed. The Joker scenes feel like an LSD trip with the garish coloring.
Yea it looks like a bad acid trip. Sets a perfect tone for the book
When everybody read KJ ...in the 80's, we did not know the coloring was not what Bolland wanted. That info was not revealed for several years after the fact, but i can take the coloring both ways.
Between his run on Hellblazer (please consider an episode on John Constantine) and the Punisher, Tim Bradstreet has to be up there with the best cover artists for me. Glenn Fabry's work on Preacher is epic as well, as is anything by Simon Bisley. Come to think of it, DC's Vertigo line had amazing cover artists; Brian Wood and later J.P. Leon on DMZ, James Jean on Fables, the list goes on. Name dropping is fun :)
Darwyn Cooke and Mike Mignola are my two favorite cover artists. Completely different styles but their technique and artwork are gorgeous and clean
he is very good but I think Alex Ross is out there as well
Yeah but no bananas line work. It's a chocolate and cheese comparison. Both good in their own way.
Different styles. Ross is more a “painter” despite some of his artworks are inked particularly Shadowrun.
I loved his crisis on infinite earths cover
Bolland is great and so are you. It's hard to pick a favorite of his covers but one of mine is a 2000ad cover where a insane looking waiter serves a spaghetti monster. Speaking of artists who were made famous by 2000ad, have you done any vid about Carlos Esquerra? He died last year and I think he deserves to be remembered for his talent and very unique style.
Another great cover artist: Joe Kubert. As you can see, my icon is Brian Bolland's Sgt. Rock.
Great point. Joe Kubert just might be the greatest cover artist of all time. He definitely gets my vote.
Another great video, so thanks! Also, I really enjoyed your British place name pronunciations: 'Shire' (of Lincolnshire) rhymes with 'Clear', and 'Norwich' rhymes with 'Porridge' - not that you'll ever have to say them again! Also also, Kevin Wada's covers are always divine.
And Bolland is pronounced boll-and, not bole-and!
Alex Ross has gotta be my favorite
Sone of my favorite cover artists are Gil Kane (Marvel years), George Pérez, and Adam Hughes
Mike Zeck is my favorite cover artist.
His Punisher covers are pure gold!
Ricky G I love those and his work on GI Joe, the original Secret Wars, but what grabbed my attention as a kid, my very first comic book that I just had to have and my dad got for me was Captain America #272, look that beauty up if you ever get a chance. I just had to know what happened and who could possibly do this to Captain America? I credit that one issue, capturing my young imagination from a convenience store spinner rack with my life-long love of comic books.
@@petemarquez8759 damn that is a great cover
Steve Rude, amazing cover artist.
he made me want to read Animal Man even when it was waaaaay too weird and I always HATE when the cver artist isn't the interior (everything today?)
Favorite comic cover artists:
1. Brian Bolland
2. Alex Ross
3. Steve Ditko
I think I'd include Kirby, but heaven knows which one I'd drop for him.
As per usual, a great episode about a truly great artist. You pronounced Norwich and Lincolnshire wrong though. It's a nit picky thing but they are actually pronounced "noridge" (Norwich) and "Linconshar" (lincolnshire). Hope the next episode comes soon.
Dude I have the first 4 volumes of judge dredd complete case files with all of Brians art from every issue of 2000ad before he left. I swear his art made early judge dredd comics really enjoyable
I consider Ethan Van Sciver the spiritual heir of Brian Bolland
Speaking of great cover artists, have you done an episode on Adam Hughes yet?
I once saw Brian sketching a Joker commission at a Con, he must have spend an hour on the head sketch. Constantly erasing and redrawing. Without a doubt he is a perfectionist which kind of explains why he didn't do a lot of sequential art. It would have taken too long and he would probably have missed a lot of deadlines.
Dude! I love you, but if I see you holding a violin and bow like that again, I will personally show up on your doorstep and SCHOOL YOU in fiddle playing!😁👍
I am always excited for these videos! Thanks for the great content.
Great Video as usual Chris! You should do a video on Christopher Priest or Greg Rucka next!
Please do a video on Geof Darrow, that man is my favorite artist of all time!
wow, was that art by Love and Rocket's Gilberto Hernandez
Bolland is very good, but can anything really top Alex Ross? He genuinely brings characters to life
The Killing Joke was always supposed to be canon. CBR covered that a few years ago and there was a Batgirl one-shot that set up her retirement.
I think Moore wasn't aware DC intended for it to be canon, but then Moore and DC being on different wavelenghts on so many subjects is the main reason why they split ways.
Great tribute to a great artist. Cannot recommend The Art of Brian Bolland book enough - that, together with the Will Elder book, are the art books I go back to most often (hey, here's a thought - how about a video on the great artists of Mad magazine?).
Of the cover artists I like, Bolland is the best at giving you an image that is very beautiful (but with a little twist that will make you smile), tells a full story on its own and is still very true to the book itself. Other artists I like: Glenn Fabry (godfather of the "demented artsy-fartsy" style), Adam Hughes (cheescake you can show your mom), Frank Cho (cheescake with an edge) and Bill Sienkiewicz (artsy-fartsy taken to the Nth degree?). Not so big on Alex Ross, any more - there's just so much GRAVITAS the human mind can process. Com'n, man - it's just pumped-up morons running around in their long johns!
Mark texeira's work on ghost rider and black panther is beautiful
Anyone here like the pinks and oranges of the original Killing Joke better?
You should do an episode on just fan art so you can showcase the best of it just an idea thanks Chris
Alex Ross, Adi Granov, Essad Ribic, Mike Deodato JR are great cover artists too :)
I remember „Camelot 3000“.
It was… luxury. It stood above everything else at the time.
Do Sam Keith art next. It's one of my favorites
I would like to see a video on Mike Mignola's covers he did for Marvel and DC!
Great video Chris. I was watching some of your earlier shows, while still very informative, your delivery and production quality has improved exponentially brother. Good job man!
Man, it is very hard for me to agree that Brian Bolland is the best cover artist of all artists. Don't get me wrong, I love Bolland's work, but the best? Of course art is all subjective, and if he's your absolute favorite, then that is fine with me because my favorites are probably not in everyone's wheelhouse either. All right, so here are 10 of my favorite artists who've done covers.
10. Joe Jusko
09. Earl Norem
08. Richard Corben
07. Brian Bolland
06. Stephen Bissette
05. Bernie Wrightson
04. The Kubert Family (Sorry, I can't really choose between Joe, Adam, and Andy as I love their work equally)
03. Jack Kirby
02. Mark Texiera
01. Sam Kieth
And before anyone goes off on me on the placements, keep in mind these are my personal favorites--not those who are best in the world of comics.
Great list. Sam Kieth is a favorite of mine. His Knightfall covers wowed me as a kid.
Thanks, @@callahan821! I was onto Sam Kieth very early on from his time at Marvel when he did all those excellent double covers for Marvel Comics Presents covers with Wolverine and Ghost Rider.
@@DoppelgangerShockwave although I appreciated his work on Batman covers, I didn't realize his greatness until I picked up The Maxx #16 from my local comic shop. Amazing artist.
@@callahan821 The Maxx is one of my all-time favorite comics.
Akira Toriyama and Alex Ross are my favorite cover/interior artists. Great vid. Always appreciated.
My personal favorite cover artist is Claudio Villa. His covers for Dylan Dog and Tex are wonderful. Also loved Jerome K. Moore's covers for Star Trek. There are many other excellent cover artists, too numerous to mention all.
Moore' star trek covers were always very eye catching...i would not have thought of him.
Brian Bolland might be my favorite photo realistic cover artist I've seen. Much more expressive than Alex Ross IMO. Dammit now I'm just going to be eagerly waiting for the Katsuhiro Ottomo episode! Been looking for a copy of Domu but for whatever reason Dark Horse doesn't have it in print. As much as I want it, paying 200+ for it isn't really feasible lol
It seems you favor more conventional artwork and this may be why you rank Bolland so highly! While I've enjoyed Bolland's work I wouldn't call him "The Best..."! True, his drawing is always rock solid but sometimes I wasn't crazy about the design\composition of his covers!
My Top 3 all time favorite cover artists are BILL SIENKEWICZ ruclips.net/video/iOflT6ERGi0/видео.html,
GIL KANE ruclips.net/video/3QufpbcHKRg/видео.html and DAVE McKEAN (Sandman)! I would
sometimes rip the covers off the comics just so I could have samples of their brilliant cover
work!
Artgerm's one of my fav cover artists
Artgerm's new poster book is coming out soon...i can't wait!
Best Dredd Artists: 1-Bolland, 2-Esquerra, 3-Staples
Dave McKean is one of my favourite artists
Certainly up there, but I’d go for Joe Calquhoun, who drew Johnny Red (about wW2) and Charlie’s War. (WW1) The greatest artwork I’ve ever seen. Mike Ploog told me he was a huge fan of his.
Great cover artists: Jim Steranko, Frank Brunner, Jim Starlin, Alex Ross
No. Ps...oze tbr mizfard xM
Yup! Chris owns that.
Born in '51! Like ME! I can also relate to loving the work but hating deadlines. Excellent episode Mr. Chris.
So... You're about 69 years old now?
The late Michael turner RIP
I'm hoping you make a Richard Corben episode, it'll be great
Don't forget, Corben has a new book coming out soon of Edgar Allen Poe adaptations.
I like the covers for Paper Girls and others like them that are more simple "design"-based as opposed to very detailed. But I also like Alex Ross.
When I think pf great cover artists, Alex Schomburg & L. B. Cole come to mind. Also, can't leave out Frazetta.
Tim Bradstreet is one of my favorite cover artists!
My own favorite comic cover artists
1. Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
2. Lou Fine
3. Jack Cole
4. Alex Schomberg (for WWII propaganda covers he had no equal)
5. Walt Kelly (his covers for Walt Disney Comics And Stories were just beautiful)
6. Reed Crandall
7. Sheldon Moldoff
8. Frank Frazetta/Dave Stevens
(a tie there)
9. Alex Ross
10. Adam Hughes
My favorite all time comics artist is Sam Kieth, and I love his cover work on Marvel Comics Presents through the late 1980s and early 1990s.
BBolland is one of the absolutely best comic artists that ever worked in the field! (Ok, top of the pile)
Norwich is pronounced Norr-ich by the way.
Mr.fid the point is the W is silent.
It's funny, Alan Moore, was probably happy with The Killing Joke, when it came out, but now regards it as his worst work. Bolland was unhappy with it, when it came out, but then he recoloured it and now he's probably happy with it.
To me, Brian Bolland draws the Joker the BEST. He gives him a semi-realistic and uncanny look.
Hmmm great cover artists, Well of coarse Brian Bolland and Dave Gibbons are up there, But I also like Neal Adams, Ross Andru, Alex Ross, Marie Severin, Bob Budiansky, Bob Layton, Paul Gulacy, Greg Capullo, M.D. Bright, Mike Zeck, Dave Cockrum, John Byrne, and George Perez
I love Brian Bolland's work, as well as Glenn Fabry, Sienkewicz, Alex Ross, and Charles Vess. However I have to say that in general I don't like the idea of the cover artist being different than the interior artist.
I love Brian Bolland's work. Actually, on the other end of the spectrum, Jack Kirby is a great cover artist. Apparently he didn't like doing covers, but maybe that's why they're so distinctive and interesting -- perhaps he didn't treat them as covers, but rather windows into the stories.
@ComicTropes - first, thanks for doing some of my homework - 2) Nice scans, well paced and three..."Time" tends to "move" from "past-to-future" in a singular direction. We are not microwaved-braindamaged-three-year-olds (actually a few are) . I am "66 years whatever". "Moving forward" is a cliche-filler-meaningless phrase. Please, I am begging you, make your videos 13 percent better and drop just one cultural wonder-bread crumb, moving forward...definitions create reality. So sez Mister Moore. Love the fiddle, play one-note-perfect or fer crissakes give it to a poor kid starved for "expression resources". Nuff said. Also (from your better angels) stop...eating...animals. You'll thank me later but I'll be dead, pal, amigo, dude.
"He has a photorealistic style...." Apparently, this genius doesn't know what photorealism is, but uses the term anyway. He also doesn't know how to pronounce "Bolland." EDIT: He doesn't know how to pronounce "Lincolnshire," either. ruclips.net/video/p5_shlqLjFs/видео.html SECOND EDIT: He mispronounced Alex Toth's name, too.
My favorite cover artists (no particular order:
Jenny Frison
Bran Bolland
Tim Bradstreet
Dave Johnson
Dave McKean
Glenn Fabry
Adam Hughes
Alex Ross
Steve Rude
Joshua Middleton
J.G. Jones
Marko and Jelena Djurdjevic
Looks like I have the properly colored Bolland version of TKJ. Thanks for drawing my attention to it, I never would have known otherwise. Maybe I'll track down the "original" version for some side by side comparison.
Also, I just got the hardcover version of The Best Of 2000AD and the Harlem Heroes front page is the first story to read. I look forward to it!
Sienkewicz.
Zecc
Bolland
Gibbons
Mazzuchelli
simonson
Art Adams
McFarlane(hulk and spider only)
Giffen
Mills
Vietch
Mignola
Surfer era Ron lim