SEARCH      FEATURES    NEWSLETTER    EMAIL     HOME
Captain Toy/Michael's Review of the Week

Review of Batmonster - Batman Black and White
Statue

DC Direct/McFarlane Toys
Date Published: 2022-06-27
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 3.5 out of 4

Please share with your friends!

Batman Black and White Batmonster statue by DC Direct

Dividing Bar

Dividing Bar

Introduction

If you're a collector of the Batman Black and White statues, you know the line ended when the company producing them, DC Direct, itself ended a couple years ago. But it was one of a few tremendously successful series' for the company, and when McFarlane picked up the DC license and started producing action figures based on the beloved comic characters, they took notice.

The end of DC Direct (actually DC Collectibles at the time) came rather sudden, and in the collectibles market, where pre-orders and early announcements are crucial to a company's success, there were a variety of products that had already started down the production pipeline. This included various figures and statues, including a few in the Batman Black and White series.

The production of these eventually went forward, and we are starting to see the result. We are also seeing signs of new pre-orders, and it appears McFarlane and DC will be carrying forward some of the more popular lines. Thus, we have now gotten the Batmonster, based on the terrific artwork of Greg Capullo.

This guy just started shipping, and will run you around $100 depending on the retailer.

Batman Black and White Batmonster statue by DC Direct

Dividing Bar

Packaging - ***
The box art and style match the later releases from a couple years ago. Everything is safe and sound, it's all collector friendly, but I find it interesting that there is no direct reference to McFarlane any where on the box. It still says DC Direct in very big, very obvious letters. What makes this more interesting is they had actually changed the name of the company from DC Direct to DC Collectibles a couple years before their downfall, but that name is obviously gone from the packaging. It looks like they'll be using the DC Direct 'From the Source" logo as a branding tool.

Batman Black and White Batmonster statue by DC Direct

Dividing Bar

Sculpting - ****
This statue is based on the cover of the New 52 Batman #6, drawn by Greg Capullo.

They've done a fantastic job reproducing it in three dimensions. It's a creepy, horrific look, and the extreme detail in the feathery 'wings', bared fangs, and complex costume make it stand out in the large group of previous releases.

While we've gotten some pretty detailed Batman Black and White statues before, rarely do we get them with this much surface detail and texture. At just over 7" tall, the sharpness of the cuts and depth of the edges is really impressive.

This is a two piece statue, so take a little care fitting the metal rod attached to the one foot into the polyresin base. It's also a limited edition of 3750, a rather unusual number.

Batman Black and White Batmonster statue by DC Direct

Dividing Bar

Paint - ***
One of the areas where these statues often have issues is the paint work, and there's some quality problems with this release as well.

Overall, the variation between black and white through several gradiants of gray looks fantastic. There's enough shades to create plenty of visual impact, and bring out the smallest detail and texture. There's also some actual bright white, something we don't often get, which creates a ton of contrast.

But there's also some slop. One eye on mine has a black smudge, and some of the smaller details, like the fangs, are too fuzzy, with paint edges that aren't as sharp as the sculpt edges.

At this price point, I'd like to seem the address the long standing paint quality issues.

Batman Black and White Batmonster statue by DC Direct

Dividing Bar

Dividing Bar

Batman Black and White Batmonster statue by DC Direct

Dividing Bar

Value - **
Once upon a time, these statues were in the $70 range. Thankfully this release wasn't as bad as the Todd McFarlane inspired release that was originally the end of the line, but it's still a bit below an average value for me. Get that paint quality in line, and there would be greater justification for the cost.

Batman Black and White Batmonster statue by DC Direct

Dividing Bar

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. As I mentioned, this is one of the releases that comes as a statue and a base, so you'll have to attach the statue by inserting a metal post into the polyresin base. It's not too difficult, but you still want to take a little care. It's also worth remembering for the future, when you might pick up the statue off the shelf and suddenly drop the oval base. Since these statues vary from one piece to two piece, it's a smart idea to pick up every one with two hands, one on Batman and one on the base.

Batman Black and White Batmonster statue by DC Direct

Dividing Bar

Overall - ***1/2
I have to say, it's great to add another statue to the display. Okay, so I'm gong to have a space problem pretty soon, since I thought this series was done and kinda set them up in an area where they filled the shelf...but I'm willing to figure something out to get a few more in the collection.

If you'd like to check out how I have mine set up - minus this one - hit my One Take Tour of the gray section of the CIOPCC, where you'll see the shelves of Batman Black and White statues.

This release will be a favorite, because of the unique artwork. Yea, they have to get the damn paint work under control - that big smudge on his eye annoys me - but it's still a great design.

There's a Mignola Gotham by Gaslight and Brian Bolland version up for pre-order these days, but I swear both of these were already discussed and in the works a couple years ago. I'm looking forward to seeing some brand new pre-orders go up, confirmation that the series will continue.

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

Batman Black and White Batmonster statue by DC Direct

Dividing Bar

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- has him for $100.

- has him for $100.

- Entertainment Earth has him for $100 with free shipping.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
It's been two years since I last reviewed a Batman Black and White statue. The last was the large Todd McFarlane, Doug Mahnke, and Marc Silvestri.

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

Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!

Dividing Bar

Dividing Bar

Please share with your friends!

Batman Black and White Batmonster statue by DC Direct

Back to Main Page
This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.

This page copyright 2000 - 2022, Michael Crawford. All rights reserved.