Rebellion, current owner and publisher of the longstanding British anthology 2000AD, have announced a special over-sized, deluxe edition of work by one of their artistic greats – Brian Bolland, to be released in 2022. Unfortunately there is a snag: pages are missing.
The Brian Bolland Apex Edition will feature full sized reproductions of the maestro’s black and white original Judge Dredd artwork that will surely appeal to art enthusiasts and connoisseurs.
Rebellion had previously published a Zenith Phase One Apex Edition in 2015. That totemic item showcased Steve Yeowell’s full-size artwork from the cult favourite Grant Morrison-scripted superhero series Zenith.
The Brian Bolland Apex Edition will be overseen by Rebellion Graphic Novels editor Oliver Pickles alongside primo artist and comic art historian David Roach, who most recently saw the publication of Masters of British Comic Art in 2020.
As the collection will be reproducing the original artwork using high resolution scans, the artist’s pages are needed. And Rebellion’s extensive archives have come up short in places.
British comic book publishers were extremely lax about preserving artwork after it had seen publication. There are horror stories of original pieces being used as door stops, cutting boards, or just being thrown away and destroyed. It is also possible that the originals may have just been sold on to collectors, and that is what Rebellion is hoping with its latest call out.
According to Rebellion,
“[M]any pages of Bolland’s 2000 AD work has already been located and scanned, brought together from private collections in the US, UK, France, and beyond.
However, editors are still seeking a number of pages to scan and include in this special collection, many of which have not been scanned since their original publication.
“All artwork will be securely returned after being carefully scanned and appropriate credit given in the collection. If you have any of these pages, please contact Rebellion on [email protected]” The hunt is on.
Brian Bolland remains a big name in British comics and his work on 2000AD helped define the comic and its signature character Judge Dredd. He also co-created fan favourite Dredd nemesis Judge Death. He later participated in the so-called ‘British Invasion’ in the US comics industry and famously paired with Alan Moore on Batman: The Killing Joke.
“As well as his slick, highly-detailed linework on stories such as ‘Punks Rule’ and ‘The Cursed Earth’,” opine Rebellion, “the inventiveness and sardonic humour of his covers for 2000 AD and the Eagle Comics reprints for North America confirmed him as one of the industry’s greatest, who has influenced a huge number of today’s comic book superstars.”
The Missing Pages
- 2000 AD Prog 110 (‘Punks Rule’) pages 5, and 6
- 2000 AD Prog 120 (‘Forever Crimes’) pages 1, 2, and 5
- 2000 AD Prog 182 (‘Block War’) pages 3, and 5
- 2000 AD Prog 224 (Judge Death Lives’) pages 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
- 2000 AD Prog 225 pages 1, 2, 3
- 2000 AD Prog 226 pages 1, 2, 3, 6
- 2000 AD Prog 227 pages 1, 2 and 4
- 2000 AD Prog 228 pages 1, 2
- 2000 AD Prog 244 (‘Block Mania’) pages 1, 2, 4, 5, 6