Review of Batman Black and White - Jiro Kuwata
Statue

Introduction

The best collectibles are those that teach you something, spark your interest in something new, or just bring to light a phase of your favorite character you might not otherwise have ever noticed. The latest Batman Black and White statue is a perfect example.

Back in the mid sixties when Batman fever was sweeping the nation, Japanese artist Jiro Kuwata did a series of 'batmanga' comics in his home country. It didn't last long, and for years it was rarely discussed by fans. Big Batman collector Chip Kidd produced a book in 2008 that compiled much of the work, and shed light on a lost period of Batman's history.

The latest release in the Batman Black and White statue series pays tribute to the Batmanga creation of Kuwata. It's a limited edition run of 5000, and will run you around $70 at most retailers.

Packaging - ***
Nothing unique here. The outer box shows off the statue through photos, but there's no window and there's no Certificate of Authenticity. The hard foam eggshell trays hold the statue and base safe, and it's all collector friendly. While there's no COA, the edition size and number are printed on the bottom of the base itself.

Sculpting - ****
I love this silver age look mixed with Japanese art style. If you've checked out Chip Kidd's book, you 'll see they've captured Kuwata's work extremely well, and there's plenty of sculpted detail in the 'gun', belt, and costume wrinkles and folds.  Things that could have merely been painted were sculpted to add depth and dimension, and the dynamic pose looks terrific.

I didn't have too much anticipation for this one, but after opening it up, I was really drawn to the overall look, being a child of the 60's myself. The statue is about 7" tall overall, fitting in nicely with the rest of the series.

Paint - **
Gah! This could have been a four star statue, but they tripped all over the production paint work this time.

I love what they were going for, with cross hatching, highlighting, and shading designed to look like a two dimensional drawing. We've seen this a few other times, and when it works - as it does here - it really adds something special to the statue.

But the quality of the application itself leaves a lot to be desired. There are lots of sloppy edges, and some areas - like the bat symbol - don't even line up correctly with the sculpted edges. Add in some clumps in the paint, as well as a weird discoloration in the gray chest, and you can paint me disappointed.

Value - **1/2
Regular readers know a **1/2 here means 'average' - it won't affect my Overall either up or down. I appreciate their ability to keep these in the $70 price range, but with the paint work this time it doesn't become quite as good a value.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. The post on the foot is metal - the base is polystone. It's always a good idea to be careful when inserting a metal rod into a softer material. Otherwise, you should be good to go.

Overall - ***
Oh, this could have been something! I love the sculpt and design, and the concept behind the paint work is terrific. But the execution on that paint work leaves something to be desired.  I'm happy to see them keep the cost around $70, but they still need to produce quality paint. I don't expect perfection at that price point, but it has to be better than this.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ****
Paint - **
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth also has it in stock for $70.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered plenty of these statues, including the recent Gerard Way Joker, the Gerard Way Batman, the Cloonan, the Spy vs Spy release, John Romita Jr's artwork, the Breyfogle, the Jason Fabok version, and the Sprang Joker and Batman. There's lots before that as well - you should also hit the Search Reviews page to find them and in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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