In a day and age where statue collectors feel everything has already been done, its nice to see a refreshing concept come to fruition. The Mike Mignola Batman Black and White mini-statue (sculpted by B&W vet Jonathan Matthews) is just that, a fresh, new concept. In a 3-d medium inspired by 2-d art, its amazing anyone hasn't thought about trying to make a statue or bust as 2-d looking as possible yet. But that's exactly what the guys at DC direct have done. But does the statue work in the real world? Is this one idea that was better left on paper?
The Concept:
Concept wise, this statue gets extremely high marks. Based on a recognizable cover image to the Batman: Black and White series, the statue is a first for many reasons. The most obvious is the 2-d appearance concept. But the statue is also the first of the series to feature any additional items, in this case his bat-rope and a batarang hanging by his side. It is also of note to say this sketch is the one drawn with the most shadow effects. Batman's face is not visible at all in the design, only the whites of his eyes. A tough concept to produce in 3-d.
The Sculpt:
Fortunately, the statue succeeds masterfully in bringing the concept to life. Matthews did a wonderful job sculpting the piece to hide the depth of the sculpt. This results in an admittingly very simple piece (no flaring capes or spread out arms like in previous entries to the series). But, Matthews also did sculpt some detail into this sucker as well. With Mignola being a very stylistic artist, Matthews did as well as he could to match the musculature of the sketch within the constraints needed to achieve he 2-d effect. The bat-rope is not loose, but instead very stiff to remain constantly fixed as his side.
The Paint Job
The paint job gets extremely high marks as this was the factor that would most decide if the 2-d effect worked or not. Brilliant use of grey shadown shading had to be used to both match the sketch and pull off the 2-d look. DC's painters nailed it though. This is the best paint work in the series for all those reasons. One negative comment though, if you expect the paint job to match the sketch exactly, you will be disappointed. For instance, Batman's face is half painted lighter than the other side. This does give the impression of a shadow draping Batman's left side, but does not make the statue nearly as intimidating as the sketch is. I have a feeling, however, the paint job had to planned that way to achieve the effect.
Over-All Value:
A very unique mini-statue for $55.00. Sounds like a great deal to me! While DC Direct has over-charged for their statues and their busts, this sereies seems to be priced just about right. This one is no exception. This will be one of the more unique products in your collection and will probably be one of the better known entries of the Black and White series.
Conclusion:
This statue has to be seen in real life to be believed. When I first took it out of the box to display it , I still felt I was holding some sort of card-board cut out. For its thinking-out-of-the-box concept, its great sculpt, and its awesome paint job, I give this statue
five out of five stars. This is one piece that will always be in my collection.
Special kudos to Azog for allowing me to use his images!
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