Batgirl – DC Collectibes
Designed by Stanley “Artgerm” Lau.
Sculpted by Jack Matthews.
Stands at approximately 10” high.
Limited edition size of 5200.
RRP: $99.95 USD
Intro.
In 2009, Wonder Woman was released as the first ever DC Cover Girls statue, launching a much loved line inspired by Adam Hughes. In 2012, Sideshow launched the acclaimed DC line of Premium Format statues with the release of the Joker PF. Also in 2012, DC released the New 52 line of Cover Girls, which left many disappointed.
Basically what I’m trying to get at here is that launches are important. Take a look at the current DC Icons line of statues. “The DC what,” you ask? Exactly. Due to a rather mediocre launch statue (a stiff, rigid Batman that claimed to be a full 1/6 despite being only 10”) the line has gone largely unnoticed.
Now let’s jump back to September 2013 with the release of a new Cover Girls line, starting with Batgirl. The new line has been inspired by work of Stanley “Artgerm” Lau, a digital artist who has certainly made a name for himself in the past few years, having worked on covers for DC Comics and designing statues with Sideshow for the DC line. With this new line of statues, comes a new, matching bases for all the girls to stand on (more on this later). This is the second time Batgirl has featured in the Cover Girls line, the first time of course was during the Adam Hughes era:
Now while some may argue that Platinum was the beginning of the new line, since she was the first with the oval-shaped base, she was based off designs by Kenneth Rocafort, so doesn’t technically fit into the “Artgerm” line of Cover Girls.
You may be wondering why I’m reviewing a year-old piece. Other than the fact I only just received it, I think it’s a good idea to go back and see where the new Cover Girls started. So this review has been written retrospectively with the fact that this statue is the launch of a new line in mind.
Sculpt. 7.5.
Jack Matthews has been sculpting most of the Cover Girls since the beginning, and it’s easy to see why. There are plenty of nice little details on this piece, from her hair to the intricacies on her armoured costume.
Batgirl’s pose is quite dynamic, a big change from the pin-up styles of the original Cover Girls line. Now that’s not a bad thing, but if the pin-ups were the big draw of the old line, then perhaps you might feel a little underwhelmed with the new stuff. There’s less of the charisma and charm of the original Adam Hughes line. Instead, we have a more action ready stance. However, we’re starting to go into the design elements of the piece so I’ll save some for that section.
While the sculpt is generally quite nice and well made, it does ultimately suffer from some awkward transition from the artwork. The pose works from some angles, but seems a little stiff and rigid from others. Poses like this are quite ambitious, even for DC Collectibles, so I will give credit for trying something a little more fresh, but again, it does come off a little awkward.
Paint. 8.5
The paintwork on Batgirl works. It just does. The matte black of her cowl is really nicely done and contrasts quite well with the brighter shades of her hair and the metallic yellows on her costume.
My one small criticism here is that the colours of her hair look rather flat and average. Not bad, but not great.
The edges are sharp and clean, with no noticeable overlapping. All round, quite a nice paint job which is great to see from DC Collectibles.
Design. 6.5.
I’m a sucker for Artgerm’s artwork. He knows how to draw his women. However, unfortunately the posing in the original design is a little awkward, which ends up showing in the final piece. Her cape flows strangely, both in concept and in the final product. In fact, the final product has a very weird cape shape.
However, going back what I mentioned earlier, props to the Artgerm and Matthews for trying to create a dynamic piece. It does end up being a little rigid, but at least they tried something to differentiate themselves from the previous Hughes/Matthews team up.
However, at the end of the day, the uncomfortable pose seems to come mostly from the original design, which is perhaps why I gave a rather average score here.
Production and Build Quality 6.5.
Here’s where the statue suffers quite a bit. Right off the bat, here’s two things to watch out for: Firstly, that batarang in her hand is incredibly flimsy so be very cautious with it. Secondly, the statue wobbles a little when placed in the base; so try not to move her around too much.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about THAT base. It’s an oval shape. It’s a weird shape. But, it’s a shape that we have to deal with. For Batgirl, the base doesn’t work too greatly. If you want her at the optimal position, the base ends up at a 45 degree angle. When displaying all the girls together, you’re going to have the bases pointing in different directions, which make potential set-ups look a little awkward and muddled.
Now while it might not be that big a deal aiming Batgirl’s base at a certain angle, let’s remember this is the starting point of a new series. The designers sat down and actively chose to make the base the oval shape for all the Cover Girls. Perhaps if they followed through with their decision and had all the girls facing a certain direction so that the bases could line up, it would have look a bit more like a complete set. But hey, I’ll admit I’m getting a little nit-picky here. Perhaps it’s because the Adam Hughes’ pieces had such a nice, uniform base that created a matching set.
The box and Styrofoam keep her well packed, which is definitely needed considering the fragility of the batarang.
Overall. 7.25.
Batgirl’s a nice piece, and I do think it’s a good starting point for the new line. It’s exciting to see the start of a new line, even if it is one that’s started for the third time. While the overall design may seem a bit awkward, the sculpt and paint work are quite good for the line.
I may be alone in this (particularly in a forum with Sideshow collectors), but I do love the Artgerm’s Cover Girls. Of the 5 Artgerm’s released, I now own 4, with 2 more already pre-ordered.
Afterthoughts.
The good news is (if you enjoy this line, that is), there is some serious support from DC to continue this line. Upcoming later this year is Katanna and Mera. Starfire and Vixen have been previewed for early next year, with a new Harley Quinn also being shown privately to SDCC14 guests. On top of that, Jack Matthews recently said he’s working on a Wonder Woman statue for this line. That’s 6 more statues for this line, totalling 11 pieces, and we haven’t even got Catwoman, Power Girl, Zatanna or Black Canary – some of DC’s most popular girls!
If I remember correctly, I believe the Adam Hughes line had something like 13 statues before it was replaced by the New 52 Cover Girls, so Artgerm is getting quite close to that number, and the line isn’t even a year old yet!
Now, over to you guys. What are your feelings towards the line? Are you excited about its future? And if so, what character are you hoping shows up in the line?