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Old 04-24-2006, 10:20 PM   #1
JerrySmith
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Dr. Strange - Bowen Designs

This week I purchased the Bowen Designs statue of Dr. Stephen Strange, Marvel’s Master of the Mystic Arts, from my local comic store, Comic Book World in Florence, KY. It was a special order. Here is a full report:

First, the costume. Perfect. Exactly as portrayed in the finest Dr. Strange stories, the run by Roger Stern and Paul Smith in the early ‘80s. Sure, the Lee/Ditko stuff was mind-blowing, but Stern and Smith brought the Doc screaming into the modern age and gave him a reason to exist. No one has done him better. Anyway, all the familiar trappings are there—the eye of Agamatto, the sweeping hooked cape with gold edge drooping slightly over Doc’s shoulders, and the gold waist sash. Kudos to the colorist here—Bowen’s pieces are always colored well, but he is one of the few 3D artists that can tell yellow from gold and use it to spectacular effect. DC Direct has this problem, they tend to color belts and bronze things yellow. It comes off as garish and cartoony. Doc’s sweeping cape, etched with a frenzied string design, is done in a dark bronzed gold that is perfect for the piece. From Doc’s puffy sleeves to the folds in his cape, the piece bursts with realism. No detail is omitted, including the black “Kirby dots” on the top of Doc’s gloves! This is detail, ladies and gentlemen. Any representation this detailed shows a true love and respect for the character.

Next, the sculpt/pose. Again, perfect. Doc is doing his usual spell casting with one hand extended and one by his side. Is there any other Strange pose we would accept? Yet it’s not clichéd, it’s totally true to the character. The facial features are strong yet delicate, showing that he is a physician turned magician, not some gym-addicted body builder. The facial expression is stern yet serious, perhaps even slightly arrogant. The high cheekbones and delicate features are reminiscent of a real person. Did someone model for this, or is it taken directly from Smith’s art?

I have heard complaints that Doc’s sweeping cape makes this statue too wide and takes up too much space. Geez, can you have too many chocolate chip cookies? The bigger the better. Cape size—perfect.

Finally, the base. It’s a simple round base inscribed with Doc’s famous mystic symbol. What else could it be? Simple, yet it brings this piece of art together as a whole.

There may have been bigger statues of more popular characters, but I will submit that no artist working in 3D has ever captured the essence of a character the way the Kucharek Bros. have captured Dr. Stephen Strange. Perfect.
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Old 04-24-2006, 10:38 PM   #2
Jesse321
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Couldn't agree with you more ... this piece has become one of my favorites in the Bowen line ... I can't wait to get the Hulk and Namor, so we'll finally have all the Defenders together.
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Old 04-24-2006, 11:16 PM   #3
moon_knight1971
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Love your review but WHERE ARE THE PICS!?!
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Old 04-24-2006, 11:46 PM   #4
Ink
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no pics
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Old 04-24-2006, 11:49 PM   #5
wktf
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Outstanding review!
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Old 04-25-2006, 12:31 AM   #6
twisterred
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great review...makes it harder to hold off buying this fella...
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Old 04-25-2006, 01:01 AM   #7
Ish
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jesse321
Couldn't agree with you more ... this piece has become one of my favorites in the Bowen line ... I can't wait to get the Hulk and Namor, so we'll finally have all the Defenders together.
i agree, i saw it this past weekend and it's awsome. , the neck it's just fine.
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Old 04-25-2006, 01:11 AM   #8
Jesse321
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Quote:
Originally Posted by twisterred
great review...makes it harder to hold off buying this fella...
A couple of people have mentioned that this was going to be a sleeper piece, and I think they're right .. I think that in the long run the value of this piece will eventually rise.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ish
i agree, i saw it this past weekend and it's awsome. , the neck it's just fine.
After looking closely at my statue, I sort of agree with BC in a way, but I think that it has more to do with the the size collar around the base of the neck where it connects to the shoulders, I think that it needed to be just a bit bigger in circumfrance, it appears to be a bit too small and the effect that it's having is that it would be choaking him, like a tight neck-tie would be uncomfortable to wear.

But either way, it's SO minimal a fault, that's definately not a deal breaker in my eyes .. I still love this sculpt!
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Old 04-25-2006, 05:46 AM   #9
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Great Sculpt@!
Definitely better than DST's version
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Old 04-25-2006, 09:24 AM   #10
Ish
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jesse321
A couple of people have mentioned that this was going to be a sleeper piece, and I think they're right .. I think that in the long run the value of this piece will eventually rise.

After looking closely at my statue, I sort of agree with BC in a way, but I think that it has more to do with the the size collar around the base of the neck where it connects to the shoulders, I think that it needed to be just a bit bigger in circumfrance, it appears to be a bit too small and the effect that it's having is that it would be choaking him, like a tight neck-tie would be uncomfortable to wear.

But either way, it's SO minimal a fault, that's definately not a deal breaker in my eyes .. I still love this sculpt!
like you say nothing that would make it unbuyable, the colors are outstanding.
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