The release of the undeniably awesome Dredd last September failed to kick some box office ass. But its tremendous sales on Blu-ray and DVD proved you can’t keep a good masked lawman down for long. You just gotta love Mega City-One’s toughest cop; he’s been blasting his way through absurdly violent – and often just plain absurd – comic book adventures for 35 years and has yet to lose a step, kept alive and charging hard thanks to many top-notch creative teams. One of the artists who made their name on Judge Dredd is getting a very special tribute courtesy of IDW Limited as Judge Dredd: The Complete Brian Bolland will soon be released in a special deluxe hardcover limited edition.
You can check out images from the book here below.
Brian Bolland, one of the finest artists who ever worked on the title, had this to say:
“Back in the ‘70s, when 2000 AD was first published, the stories were printed on low-grade newsprint paper, which has yellowed with age, so it’s great to see Dredd published again in new formats. Fans should be delighted with this limited-edition book. John (Wagner) and I have signed every copy and the art portfolio that comes with it captures a dozen of our favourite moments from the series. It’s a top-notch presentation of work we’re very proud of.”
Lauded for his work on Judge Dredd, Bolland would find himself in the 1980s as one of the artists imported to DC Comics from the U.K. as part of their “British Invasion.” He worked on titles like Camelot 3000, Superman, Justice League of America, and Batman. In 1988 he teamed with writer Alan Moore for the classic Batman tale The Killing Joke, which portrayed the villainous Joker in a mildly sympathetic light as his origins were explored. The comic was controversial for its intense violence – it was the story that showed Barbara Gordon, daughter of Commissioner Jim Gordon, crippled after being shot by the Joker, who later tortures her captive father with nude photos of her injured body – and adult themes at the time but in the ensuing decades it has been hailed as one of the greatest Batman stories ever published. The Killing Joke would also prove to be highly influential on subsequent Batman comics, television series, and motion pictures featuring the Joker as the primary villain. Bolland also provided the artwork for the first 63 issues of the relaunched Animal Man as well as drawing covers for The Invisibles and Wonder Woman.
Judge Dredd editor Justin Eisinger had this to say about IDW’s restored hardcover collection:
“With strong design and packaging, plus the involvement of [Brian] Bolland and [John] Wagner, we’ve managed to do something special here. Which is no small feat, considering this material has been beloved by generations of fans and seen reprint in several forms. Hats off to everyone for their efforts!”
The deluxe edition will come packaged in a limited-edition, custom-designed slipcase with a cover printed in metallic ink, a hardcover portfolio featuring twelve special lithographs of key moments from the classic Judge Dredd comics, and a mounted signature page signed by Bolland and co-creator John Wagner.
The Red Label edition is limited to 325 copies, retails for $125, and will begin shipping next week. You can pre-order the book here. The standard hardcover edition of The Complete Brian Bolland is currently available and you can order that here.
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