The Complete Brian Bolland

[Im_not_Frank]

Hi everyone. I thought I would make my first post a bit of a back story as well as a review. Last week I was in my local library when as I walked past the graphic novel shelves, a Watchmen prequel comic book caught my eye (it was one featuring Comedian and Rorschach). Even though I knew it wouldn't be that good I sat down and read it anyway. Sure enough it was as I expected it to be. However, when I went to put it back on the bottom shelf I noticed a face from the past looking back at me.

Now I haven't picked up a 2000ad comic book in a long while. I started reading at some point in the mid 90's and stopped probably 10 years after that. So I was completely unfamiliar with the "classic" Dredd. I had heard of the stories of course, but never read them for myself.

Well I picked up The Complete Brian Bolland and read it from cover to cover. Obviously the thing that jumps out at you first is the stunning artwork. In particular the strip where bank robbers disguise themselves as Laurel and Hardy (and Charlie Chaplin I believe) and later switch to the Marx Brothers was very impressive visually.

Of course not all of the chapters of ever story is in there, but it is not too difficult to bridge the gap using your imagination. It was really great seeing so many sides of Dredd as the book progressed. And the Judge Death story - Brilliant!

If there are any people new to Judge Dredd reading this, or anyone who was like myself and had never read the classic stories, I can't recommend this book enough. I would almost say it would be worth buying over the case files in terms of bang for your buck.

So that is the story of how an eventful trip to the library has rekindled my love affair with comic books. I look forward to talking to you all here on the boards. It looks like a great place.

[Dash Decent]

Welcome, I'm_not_Frank!

[Richard S.]

For anyone (!) who likes Brian's work I've researched his fanzine work in BEM - my work on his interior and cover art is here...

  https://boysadventurecomics.blogspot.com/2020/06/bem-covers-by-brian-bolland.html

[Tjm86]

I would almost say it would be worth buying over the case files in terms of bang for your buck.

I'm not sure I would agree completely.  I mean arguments for:

- it's Bolland's work ...
- it's early Dredd ...
- IDW did a cracking job of production (damn sight better than they did on Apocalypse War with an absolutely bizarre choice of cover compared to Ezquerra's work ...

Against:

- incomplete ...
- it's only Bolland (so no Ezquerra, McMahon, Kennedy, Gibson, Smith ...)
- it's very early Dredd ....

When you consider some of the stories around the same time, and particularly since, then there is a lot of scope for developing your appreciation.

Personally I still hold out a forlorn hope that Rebellion will relent and do hardback editions of the Case files but even the soft backs offer far more than the single Bolland volume.  Not to mention so much more bang for your buck ....

I would suggest that the Complete Bolland is a little bit of an appetiser.  There is so much more out there and definitely more than you might recall from the late 90's and early Noughties ...