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| John Bolton | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1951-05-23)23 May 1951 (age 74) London, England |
| Area | Artist |
| Awards | Inkpot Award (1988) |
Official website | |
John Bolton (born 23 May 1951)[1] is a Britishcomic book artist andillustrator most known for his dense, painted style, which often verges onphotorealism.[citation needed] He was one of the first British artists to come to work in the American comics industry,[2] a phenomenon which took root in the late 1980s and has since become standard practice.
Born 23 May 1951 inLondon, England, Bolton's introduction to comics came about quite casually after he graduated fromEast Ham Technical College (whose former alumni includeGerald Scarfe,Barry Windsor-Smith andRalph Steadman) with a degree in graphics and design.
His first works in Great Britain were for magazines likeLook In (alongside other British talents such asArthur Ranson,Angus P. Allan andJim Baikie),The House of Hammer,[3] andWarrior (edited byDez Skinn).
In 1981Marvel Comics' editorRalph Macchio noticed his work and called him to work for an adaptation ofKull of Valusia forBizarre Adventures #26 (May 1981). After illustrating two Kull stories, Bolton began working on the historical-fantasy characterMarada, written byChris Claremont (author ofX-Men). This was published inEpic Illustrated in black-and-white, and then coloured as aMarvel Graphic Novel.
After another fantasy series,Black Dragon (1985), the duo Claremont & Bolton produced some short stories about X-Men's lives forX-Men Classic.[4] This represented the first introduction of Bolton to the world ofsuperheroes. In this period Bolton worked on covers forEclipse andPacific publishers, and on thegraphic novelSomeplace Strange, written byAnn Nocenti (1988).
From 1989 Bolton devoted himself to horror, his favourite genre. Apart from a great number of covers forDark Horse Comics and adaptations of horror movies, the main work of this period is his collaboration with writerClive Barker including theHellraiser comic book version.
In 1990 Bolton worked on the first issue ofThe Books of Magic forDC Comics, written byNeil Gaiman. The physical appearance of the protagonist,Timothy Hunter, is that of Bolton's eldest son.[5] In other comic books he has also portrayed his wife and sons.
In 1995 Bolton painted theMan-Bat mini-series, written byJamie Delano for DC Comics. Bolton said he accepted only because the story pivoted on a villain, instead ofBatman, who he consideredtoo winning a character.
Later Bolton worked on another Batman book,Batman/Joker: Switch. His latest works includeUser, written byDevin Grayson,Menz Insana, a mad trip byChristopher Fowler, andGifts of the Night byPaul Chadwick.
In 2003, authorNeil Gaiman directedA Short Film About John Bolton where the painter (played by John O'Mahony) is interviewed by a reporter seeking to answer "Where do your ideas come from?" The artist is portrayed as very soft-spoken and reclusive, somewhat of a reluctant local celebrity inCrouch End,London. Bolton himself plays a guest interviewed at a gallery showing.
Bolton received anInkpot Award in 1988.[6] He won anEisner Award for Best Painter/Digital Artist in 1996.[7]
Comics work includes:
Bolton has illustrated cards for collectible card games like theMagic: The Gathering andVampire: The Eternal Struggle.