Yesterday, my comic-book shop left a message for me. The brand new Supergirl statue from the DC New 52 Covergirls series had come in, and they wanted to know if I was still interested, and if they should put it aside for me. As anyone who has read this blog could predict, I told them of course! I hadn't planned to head over to the comic shop today, actually. Even though it is New Comic-book Night, only one book on my pull list was due out this week (Lazarus #4), and I figured it would cost me more in gas to drive there and back (now that I live 40 minutes from the shop) than the cover price of $2.99. Since I had more issues due out next week, I figured to just wait and pick up Lazarus a week late.
However, knowing that the statue was there, I decided it was worth the trip. This statue was announced about 5 months ago, and I've been dying to get it ever since. It's only the second statue ever made of Supergirl in her "New 52" costume. And although that's not exactly my favorite version of her costume, given the display I am planning to make, with one shelf devoted to each of Supergirl's four major incarnations, I figured this would spruce up shelf #4 (the current one). That's not to say I have all the figures I need yet. So far, I only have one action figure for original Kara (the "Crisis" uniform, as people call it, with the head band and the red shoulder stripes), and one for Matrix Supergirl (it's not explicitly called that, but it is the proper costume for Peter David's version). I don't have any yet for the second Kara (the one with the bare midriff) -- that is my next assignment. However, the other thing I like about this statue is that it's a full-sized one, not just a bust or waist-up figure.
Showing posts with label Statue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Statue. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Statue 5: Batgirl - New 52 Covergirls series
Several months ago, I heard about DC's "New 52 Covergirls" line of statues, which includes two of my favorite heroines - Supergirl and Batgirl. Both of these characters already had "DC Covergirls" statues in the past, featuring older "classic" costumes (I have reviewed the Supergirl version here). Photos of the new Batgirl statue looked particularly good, with a flowing cape and having her in a great pose ready to throw a "batarang."
Today when I walked into the shop, I saw a box for this statue on one of the shelves -- it had just come in this week. I was a bit surprised by this, as the DC website says the statue doesn't ship until end of September, but I was not going to argue the point. I had no comics to pick up this week (I am not buying DC's "Villain Month" issues, and the Indy titles I currently pull at the shop aren't due out until later in the month), and was only at the shop to update my pull list (I added Ghosted and Miss Fury to it), so I decided to go ahead and pick up the statue today.
I have to say, when I took it out of the box, I was very impressed. Whatever problems I may have with DC editorial and the content of their current New 52 line of comics, I have nothing but favorable comments to make in general about their statues, and in particular about this one. This is a truly outstanding sculpt of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, with the flowing fiery red hair, the swirling cape, the cocked-and ready batarang, and the deadly serious expression on her face. She looks every inch the heroine from the comics. The statue is highly detailed and holds up to the closest inspection. The colors are excellent and the proportions look good.
One of the very best features of this statue is the cape. It flows very nicely and looks realistic. The way it seems to flutter around her legs is perfect given the position of her body, and provides the illusion of real kineticism.
Overall, this is one really gorgeous statue, and if you like Batgirl at all, or heck if you just like really well-sculpted superhero collectible statues, this one is definitely worth a look. This is a high quality collectible that will look lovely on the shelf for years to come. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes items such as this. Just beware the wallet -- this statue retails for $99.95 + tax. But it's well worth it, in my opinion.
My score: 10/10
Today when I walked into the shop, I saw a box for this statue on one of the shelves -- it had just come in this week. I was a bit surprised by this, as the DC website says the statue doesn't ship until end of September, but I was not going to argue the point. I had no comics to pick up this week (I am not buying DC's "Villain Month" issues, and the Indy titles I currently pull at the shop aren't due out until later in the month), and was only at the shop to update my pull list (I added Ghosted and Miss Fury to it), so I decided to go ahead and pick up the statue today.
I have to say, when I took it out of the box, I was very impressed. Whatever problems I may have with DC editorial and the content of their current New 52 line of comics, I have nothing but favorable comments to make in general about their statues, and in particular about this one. This is a truly outstanding sculpt of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, with the flowing fiery red hair, the swirling cape, the cocked-and ready batarang, and the deadly serious expression on her face. She looks every inch the heroine from the comics. The statue is highly detailed and holds up to the closest inspection. The colors are excellent and the proportions look good.
One of the very best features of this statue is the cape. It flows very nicely and looks realistic. The way it seems to flutter around her legs is perfect given the position of her body, and provides the illusion of real kineticism.
Overall, this is one really gorgeous statue, and if you like Batgirl at all, or heck if you just like really well-sculpted superhero collectible statues, this one is definitely worth a look. This is a high quality collectible that will look lovely on the shelf for years to come. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes items such as this. Just beware the wallet -- this statue retails for $99.95 + tax. But it's well worth it, in my opinion.
My score: 10/10
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Statue 4: New 52 Batgirl
Since getting back into the comic-book/superhero scene, one of my most pleasant surprises has been the New 52 Batgirl series. Whereas most of the New 52 material has been nothing great to write home about (e.g., Supergirl since issue 8), and some has been downright awful (Action Comics, Superman), Batgirl has been absolutely superb since day 1, due primarily to Gail Simone's top-notch writing. Because of how well this series has been both written and drawn, the Batgirl character has risen rapidly to become one of my favorite superheroes in all of comics. In fact, although as a general rule I would say that Supergirl is my all-time favorite, I have to admit that, just comparing New 52 incarnations, Batgirl has it all over Supergirl up to this point.
Given my growing esteem for this character, and my plans to create a small display dedicated to her (admittedly much less extensive than what I will be able to do for Supergirl), I thought it was high time to add a Batgirl statue to my collection. There are a few choices here, but only one that captures the New 52 version of her suit -- the Batgirl Bust put out by the +DC Comics line of collectibles. And I have to say this for +DC Comics -- their New 52 stories may only be mediocre, but the new line of busts they are putting out for the New 52 characters is absolutely first rate. Now if only the comics could be this good.
The statue I picked up at the comic shop was the "display" model. For some people, who never take the item out of the packaging, I suppose this would be unacceptable. But since the thing had been sitting in a glass case for several months, untouched, and was in mint condition, I saw no reason to turn up my nose at the floor model. The guys at the shop always keep the boxes, so they were able to give me the box and styrofoam packaging to go with it.
I don't have any way to make a real display with this statue yet (first I need to buy a house, then I need to buy or build some kind of display stand or curio for my collectibles), but I pulled out some of Batgirl's biographical literature (including my signed copy of Batgirl #0) to provide an admittedly rudimentary display background for photographing. The statue stands about 6" tall, the same height as all the other busts, and is not really a bust so much as the upper half of Batgirl's body from just below the waist to the tips of her bat-ears.
This is a really well-posted statue. Batgirl is clearly in the middle of fighting some villain like the Joker or Riddler. She has her left hand cocked back, holding a bat-a-rang, ready to throw, with her right hand thrust out forward for counter-balance. She looks to the right, clearly planning to throw toward the right, across her body, with the 'rang, and the flow of her movement has caused her cape and hair to fly to the left. This really is a wonderful action pose for this character, and her facial expression is wonderful -- determined, but with a slight hint of a smile. You can almost imagine that, as she pulled out that bat-a-rang, she made a classic Batgirl wise-crack to the villains.
The statue is made of porcelain, and is beautifully sculpted and painted. The colors are outstanding, with a shiny black for the armor and a golden-yellow for the boots, belt, and bat symbol. Her hair is reddish-brown, and the purple underside of the cape makes a nice contrast with all the black and gold. She really looks like a superhero. The base is a dark purple, matching the inside of her cape, and there is a very nice raised gold bat-symbol on the front of the base. Strangely enough, like the Supergirl statue, the symbol on the base is the old, classic (pre-New-52) version of the symbol, not the current symbol for either character. I'm not sure why they did that, but it doesn't do anything to detract from the beauty of the piece.
As with the New 52 Supergirl bust, which I reviewed back in January, the Batgirl bust is a very high quality, well-crafted collectible. It retails for around $67, as most of the busts in this line do, and is well worth the price if you are in the market for a Batgirl statue. They had two other statues of this character in the comic shop, with the classic/previous costumes, and although they were nice, I felt this was the most attractive Batgirl statue I have seen. I give this one 10/10.
Given my growing esteem for this character, and my plans to create a small display dedicated to her (admittedly much less extensive than what I will be able to do for Supergirl), I thought it was high time to add a Batgirl statue to my collection. There are a few choices here, but only one that captures the New 52 version of her suit -- the Batgirl Bust put out by the +DC Comics line of collectibles. And I have to say this for +DC Comics -- their New 52 stories may only be mediocre, but the new line of busts they are putting out for the New 52 characters is absolutely first rate. Now if only the comics could be this good.
The statue I picked up at the comic shop was the "display" model. For some people, who never take the item out of the packaging, I suppose this would be unacceptable. But since the thing had been sitting in a glass case for several months, untouched, and was in mint condition, I saw no reason to turn up my nose at the floor model. The guys at the shop always keep the boxes, so they were able to give me the box and styrofoam packaging to go with it.
I don't have any way to make a real display with this statue yet (first I need to buy a house, then I need to buy or build some kind of display stand or curio for my collectibles), but I pulled out some of Batgirl's biographical literature (including my signed copy of Batgirl #0) to provide an admittedly rudimentary display background for photographing. The statue stands about 6" tall, the same height as all the other busts, and is not really a bust so much as the upper half of Batgirl's body from just below the waist to the tips of her bat-ears.
This is a really well-posted statue. Batgirl is clearly in the middle of fighting some villain like the Joker or Riddler. She has her left hand cocked back, holding a bat-a-rang, ready to throw, with her right hand thrust out forward for counter-balance. She looks to the right, clearly planning to throw toward the right, across her body, with the 'rang, and the flow of her movement has caused her cape and hair to fly to the left. This really is a wonderful action pose for this character, and her facial expression is wonderful -- determined, but with a slight hint of a smile. You can almost imagine that, as she pulled out that bat-a-rang, she made a classic Batgirl wise-crack to the villains.
The statue is made of porcelain, and is beautifully sculpted and painted. The colors are outstanding, with a shiny black for the armor and a golden-yellow for the boots, belt, and bat symbol. Her hair is reddish-brown, and the purple underside of the cape makes a nice contrast with all the black and gold. She really looks like a superhero. The base is a dark purple, matching the inside of her cape, and there is a very nice raised gold bat-symbol on the front of the base. Strangely enough, like the Supergirl statue, the symbol on the base is the old, classic (pre-New-52) version of the symbol, not the current symbol for either character. I'm not sure why they did that, but it doesn't do anything to detract from the beauty of the piece.
As with the New 52 Supergirl bust, which I reviewed back in January, the Batgirl bust is a very high quality, well-crafted collectible. It retails for around $67, as most of the busts in this line do, and is well worth the price if you are in the market for a Batgirl statue. They had two other statues of this character in the comic shop, with the classic/previous costumes, and although they were nice, I felt this was the most attractive Batgirl statue I have seen. I give this one 10/10.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Statue 3: Supergirl statue (Movie version)
The movie version of Supergirl's costume is generally considered the "classic" one, and DC Direct has put out a very nice statue of this Supergirl version. I'm not sure whether it was intended to be modeled after Helen Slater (the actress who played Supergirl in the movie), or after the Matrix version of Supergirl (as drawn by either Gary Frank or Leonard Kirk, the two main artists of her 80-issue series in the late 90s/early 2000s). It's difficult to differentiate these two Supergirls because the costume and look is basically the same.
Unlike the last two collectibles I have reviewed, this Supergirl was apparently made in a limited run of only 5,000 copies. As a result, this statue has a "run number" on it, which is taped to the bottom of the original packaging, and also listed on the bottom of the statue's base. For example, mine is number 2,887 out of 5,000 produced. I'm honestly not sure what that means, and I suspect it is probably meaningless, unless perhaps you have the very first or last one of the series.
This Supergirl statue is by far the most expensive of the three collectibles I currently own, weighing in at $99. I paid that price at the comic-book shop, because it was just as expensive online (and was even slightly more expensive on Amazon). The statue is part of the "Cover Girls of the DC Universe" line. All the statues of this series are similar in size and quality, as far as I can tell (from looking at them behind glass in the comic shop). I will probably pick up several more like this in the future (the Black Canary one, for instance, is utterly magnificent). The Supergirl statue comes in a large, sturdy box with photographs of the model and descriptions printed on each side.
Once I opened the box, one surprise that confronted me immediately was that the base and the statue are separate. There is a large pin underneath Supergirl's left foot that needs to be inserted into the base to assemble the model. The assembly was not difficult, although it would have been nice, given that there were four different ways to insert the pin, if the manufacturer had provided some instruction as to the proper orientation for the model. Additionally, because only the single pin, which is perhaps half an inch long and not very thick, holds the model in place, Supergirl is a little "wobbly" on her base. This is not really a problem for a statue that just sits in place, but I would have preferred a sturdier fit. If it weren't for the fact that the assembled model would not fit back into the box, I would be inclined to get out the Elmer's and glue her down. (And to tell the truth I might just do it anyway.)
That said, the model is extremely beautiful. They crafted Supergirl's body in a very heroic pose, meant to depict her crashing up through the pavement (perhaps from below the street, after fighting a supervillain). She has burst through the ground and is flying upward, with one fist pointed ahead to the sky, and the other curled back by her torso. This is a classic pose one can see frequently in any comic-book starring flying characters, and Supergirl looks great doing it. They also did a good job molding the details to her body, such as the skirt, the cape, and the "S" shield. Each of these looks like fabric, rather than porcelain, and they all "pull" slightly in very natural directions.
Overall, I am pleased with this statue. It is over 11" tall once you place it onto the base, so it is quite large. The detailing is exquisite, and it looks fantastic. I absolutely love the pose - she looks powerful and super. And her face is the most beautiful of the three Supergirl statues I currently own. This statue really looks like Supergirl. The only negative is the slightly wobbly nature of the connection to the base. Again, since I won't be moving it around too much once I get my house (I plan to put her behind glass in a nice curio, surrounded, as in these pictures, by "biographical material"), this isn't a huge problem. But I would have liked it better if they had made the fit into the base a little more snugly. This is a minor issue, so overall I still rate this statue a 9/10. It's something I will keep for many years.
Finally, now that I have two high-quality statues, new and old Supergirl, I thought I would present them both here for comparison, so you can see the size and scale of each. I have each girl flanked by her, erm, "biographical periodicals."
Personally, I like the larger statue's look better. Not only is it her entire body instead of just from the hips up, but I also prefer Supergirl with the more classic, and frankly more demure, look of the skirt. I also like the shape of the "S" shield better on this one. However, I prefer that the New 52 Supergirl's bust and base are all of the same piece.
To wrap up, the "Cover Girls of the DC Universe" Supergirl statue is an outstanding sculpture, and is well worth it if you like Supergirl and like collecting statues and action figures.
Unlike the last two collectibles I have reviewed, this Supergirl was apparently made in a limited run of only 5,000 copies. As a result, this statue has a "run number" on it, which is taped to the bottom of the original packaging, and also listed on the bottom of the statue's base. For example, mine is number 2,887 out of 5,000 produced. I'm honestly not sure what that means, and I suspect it is probably meaningless, unless perhaps you have the very first or last one of the series.
This Supergirl statue is by far the most expensive of the three collectibles I currently own, weighing in at $99. I paid that price at the comic-book shop, because it was just as expensive online (and was even slightly more expensive on Amazon). The statue is part of the "Cover Girls of the DC Universe" line. All the statues of this series are similar in size and quality, as far as I can tell (from looking at them behind glass in the comic shop). I will probably pick up several more like this in the future (the Black Canary one, for instance, is utterly magnificent). The Supergirl statue comes in a large, sturdy box with photographs of the model and descriptions printed on each side.
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| The Supergirl statue, boxed, surrounded by reading material. |
That said, the model is extremely beautiful. They crafted Supergirl's body in a very heroic pose, meant to depict her crashing up through the pavement (perhaps from below the street, after fighting a supervillain). She has burst through the ground and is flying upward, with one fist pointed ahead to the sky, and the other curled back by her torso. This is a classic pose one can see frequently in any comic-book starring flying characters, and Supergirl looks great doing it. They also did a good job molding the details to her body, such as the skirt, the cape, and the "S" shield. Each of these looks like fabric, rather than porcelain, and they all "pull" slightly in very natural directions.
Overall, I am pleased with this statue. It is over 11" tall once you place it onto the base, so it is quite large. The detailing is exquisite, and it looks fantastic. I absolutely love the pose - she looks powerful and super. And her face is the most beautiful of the three Supergirl statues I currently own. This statue really looks like Supergirl. The only negative is the slightly wobbly nature of the connection to the base. Again, since I won't be moving it around too much once I get my house (I plan to put her behind glass in a nice curio, surrounded, as in these pictures, by "biographical material"), this isn't a huge problem. But I would have liked it better if they had made the fit into the base a little more snugly. This is a minor issue, so overall I still rate this statue a 9/10. It's something I will keep for many years.
Finally, now that I have two high-quality statues, new and old Supergirl, I thought I would present them both here for comparison, so you can see the size and scale of each. I have each girl flanked by her, erm, "biographical periodicals."
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| Supergirls old and new. Classic (left) and New 52 (right). |
To wrap up, the "Cover Girls of the DC Universe" Supergirl statue is an outstanding sculpture, and is well worth it if you like Supergirl and like collecting statues and action figures.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Statue 2: New 52 Supergirl Bust
The very first comic-book I downloaded and read when getting back into comic-books again was Supergirl #1 from DC's The New 52 line. The comic re-introduces Supergirl as a new character, just arrived on earth. In honor of the occasion, DC gave her a newly designed costume, which has garnered both praise and criticism. Now, my favorite version of Supergirl is still and always the original, and how much I like this re-envisioned version of Supergirl is going to, in part, depend on how close she eventually comes to bringing back that original character. For now (I've read the first 10 issues of the series at this point), I'm reasonably satisfied. The new Supergirl is from Krypton (and specifically Argo City) like the original, and is the daughter of Superman's Uncle Zor-El. She is named Kara Zor-El, just as the original was. And she seems to have all the powers that the original had (within reason).
I'll reserve discussion of the various versions of Supergirl for another time, since this article is about a statue I recently purchased. When I was shopping Amazon for the "Crisis" Supergirl action figure (Statue #1), I noticed several very nice-looking statues, and one that was reasonably priced, and looked quite nice was a bust based on the new Supergirl ("The New 52" version). Since my first "statue" was an action figure of the oldest version of Supergirl (though not her oldest costume), I figured my second purchase should book-end the character by representing her newest version. I bought this statue on January 4, and it arrived at my apartment a few days ago.
The first impression one gets with any collectible is the packaging. Indeed, if you really want to keep something a "collectible," you technically shouldn't even take it out of the package. However, I have no intention of using my statues or action figures as monetary investments (since those types of things never pay off), so I plan to open them as I get them. However, it's nice when the item arrives in an attractive package, and this bust definitely did.
The bust was sealed up tight in a large styrofoam packing block, and was extremely well protected. It took some doing, in fact, to get the packaging open and get her out of there. And I have to say, once I had her on the table top, I was extremely pleased. The bust is gorgeous. It is about 6" high, and is made from a ceramic material (most likely porcelain). The detailing and painting on it are excellent, and I particularly love the way they formed the cape. She has a nice, heroic yet feminine pose, and I love the way they shaped her hair. Supergirl looks like she's about to spring into action against a super-bad-guy.
I also like the way they created the stand. It has an organic, swooping appearance to it, and the "S" shield, which represents the family crest of the House of El, is raised up three-dimensionally from the base. The statue looks good from all angles. As I said above, the paint job is outstanding, and the detailing is extremely good. Here are some shots of the statue from different angles, to demonstrate what it looks like.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with this statue. If this is the quality level I can expect from the DC Direct busts, I absolutely will be buying more (I already have Hawk, Dove, and Batgirl on my want list, but I will probably get others if they are all this good). I don't have anything bad to say about this statue. It's excellent, and was well worth the money. When I find a place to display all my collectibles, this one will get a very prominent position. I rate this a 10/10. It is first-rate.
Finally, I thought it would be fun to include a shot of the two versions of Supergirl (oldest and newest) together along with some of their contemporaneous biographical material. So here is a shot of Crisis Supergirl and New 52 Supergirl together.
I have to admit that, although I like the original Supergirl better (both in costume and in almost every other way), the New 52 statue blows the action figure out of the water.
To wrap up, the New 52 Supergirl bust, which retails for about $65, is a top-notch statue, and I can highly recommend it to anyone interested in getting a high-quality superhero statue. I don't think you even need to be a Supergirl fan to appreciate this model. It is simply outstanding.
I'll reserve discussion of the various versions of Supergirl for another time, since this article is about a statue I recently purchased. When I was shopping Amazon for the "Crisis" Supergirl action figure (Statue #1), I noticed several very nice-looking statues, and one that was reasonably priced, and looked quite nice was a bust based on the new Supergirl ("The New 52" version). Since my first "statue" was an action figure of the oldest version of Supergirl (though not her oldest costume), I figured my second purchase should book-end the character by representing her newest version. I bought this statue on January 4, and it arrived at my apartment a few days ago.
The first impression one gets with any collectible is the packaging. Indeed, if you really want to keep something a "collectible," you technically shouldn't even take it out of the package. However, I have no intention of using my statues or action figures as monetary investments (since those types of things never pay off), so I plan to open them as I get them. However, it's nice when the item arrives in an attractive package, and this bust definitely did.
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| New 52 Supergirl Bust statue box |
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| The New 52 Supergirl bust with some biographical materials |
Overall, I am extremely pleased with this statue. If this is the quality level I can expect from the DC Direct busts, I absolutely will be buying more (I already have Hawk, Dove, and Batgirl on my want list, but I will probably get others if they are all this good). I don't have anything bad to say about this statue. It's excellent, and was well worth the money. When I find a place to display all my collectibles, this one will get a very prominent position. I rate this a 10/10. It is first-rate.
Finally, I thought it would be fun to include a shot of the two versions of Supergirl (oldest and newest) together along with some of their contemporaneous biographical material. So here is a shot of Crisis Supergirl and New 52 Supergirl together.
I have to admit that, although I like the original Supergirl better (both in costume and in almost every other way), the New 52 statue blows the action figure out of the water.
To wrap up, the New 52 Supergirl bust, which retails for about $65, is a top-notch statue, and I can highly recommend it to anyone interested in getting a high-quality superhero statue. I don't think you even need to be a Supergirl fan to appreciate this model. It is simply outstanding.
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