I do believe he inks his own work. I’ll have to double-check that.

Thanks for sharing your Batman thoughts. I remember those issues too. But for me, when it comes to Batman, it’s always about Jim Gordon. I know I’m repeating myself, but if I were to ever work my way into DC, I’d be fighting tooth and nail to write a Gordon monthly. No kidding.

It’s taking me a long time to come around to the problems inherent in THE KILLING JOKE, and it continues to amaze me how selective DC has been about which parts of the story to keep in continuity. You’re right. It’s completely wrong on nearly every level, except, of course, Bolland’s art.

I mentioned THE KILLING JOKE not to encourage it being great, but because unfortunately, it continues to be seen that way.

He’s not a loose penciler – the drawings are grounded and fastened to the page. If he was being inked by the wrong person, they might even come off stiff and flat and overly rendered. It’s the inks that pop these images off the page – alternately smooth jelly lines and bursts of spatter. These inks are fucking agressive, preditory.

My most recent Bats exposure (aside from Batman: Year One) are from the stories where he faced down Swamp Thing in Gotham from the 80s Alan Moore run. This is a Batman who is more ghostly and aloof (though also just animated when needs be and as obsessed with his end goals). Moore very interestingly makes Bats the villain of the piece, twisting his narrow-minded obsession with protecting Gotham into a fascistic hatred of everything peaceful, organic, and inclusive without depicting Batman as a frothing caricature. I’d argue that when Lex Luthor enters the mix, Bat is rendered even more ineffectual next to this super genius with corporate and state backing (and we’re reminded why even though he’s a mortal, Luthor is still the ultimate Supes nemesis, with the way he eliminates Swampy-by completely disconnecting him from the Green and exiling his consciousness to DEEP SPACE).

I belabor the Moore digression because you mentioned Killing Joke, which I believe is the worst, most off-base and completely wrong wrong wrong examination of the Joker character and his relationship to Batman ever committed to paper. It’s popularity and gospel status in the Batman Mythos baffles me. Baffles, I say. But Bolland’s art, natch, kicks ass.

Geek out!