Review of Batgirl - Joelle Jones
Cover Girls Statue

Introduction

I've talked a lot about several of the DC Collectibles long running lines of statues, especially Batman Black and White and the Bombshells. There's one I haven't looked at in a long time, one I've trailed away from due to a disinterest in the subject matter and designs...but the latest DC Cover Girls was just too quirky and dynamic to pass up. And it's Batgirl, for God's sake! Who can pass up a great Batgirl?

This one is based on the artwork of Joelle Jones, and is sculpted by the super talented Jack Mathews. It's technically a limited edition of 5000, although regular readers know what I think about a number that big being called 'limited'. She was supposed to be around $125 a full retail, but most sellers have her in the $100 range.

Packaging - ***
Nothing new here, and it follows the style of the other statue lines from DC Collectibles. In fact, you might not realize it's a Cover Girl based on the box, since the series name is so small. The limited edition size and number is included on the box, the interior hard foam eggshell trays, and the bottom of the statue itself. And it's collector friendly, as you'd expect.

Sculpting - ****
Talk about your wild, dynamic poses!  Batgirl is flipping up on one arm, with her legs kicked out above her, snapping a selfie with her free hand. I'm not sure who she shares her selfies with, but it's probably a fun group.

There's a lot I like about this design. First, it's fun. Nothing angsty or brooding here. There's nothing wrong with angsty and brooding, but we get plenty of it in the modern DC Universe, and it's nice to have something more lighthearted once in awhile.

Second, there's a ton of detail, from the tiny zipper to the textures of the belt and boots that add real visual pop to the overall appearance. Things that could simply be paint are not, instead sculpted with texture and depth.

Third, she's a bad ass without being overly sexualized. Again, nothing wrong against a sexy statue, but we get plenty which are more exploitative than attractive. She's still gorgeous, but that's because the pose and design match her personality and attitude, much like a well designed Batman or Joker would.

The overall statue is about 9" tall, fitting in pretty well with other Cover Girls and even Bombshells. The statue and base are two pieces, and the statue attaches - careful now! - to the base with a metal post on the hand and a metal post on the cape.

Paint - ***1/2
One area of inconsistency with the Cover Girls series (and other DC Collectibles statues for that matter) is the quality of the paint work. Fortunately, I got a good one with Batgirl.

Most of the lines and edges are clean, especially around the face, mask, and suit. The laces are a little wonky, but it's fairly minor, and the coverage of colors - especially the yellow, always a tricky one - is good. There's a nice use of matte and gloss finishes to further distinguish different 'materials', and I really like how the interior of the cape has the extra added feature of a metallic or shimmery look.

Had they put a photo of Batgirl on the phone screen, mimicking reality even more, it would have been a home run. That's more of a suggested improvement though, not a nit or quibble. While there's a blip here or there with the paint, it's much better than average at this price point.

Value - ***
While the suggested retail was $125, you should be able to find her for around $100 at most retailers. That's a better than average value, and I'm pretty surprised they've been able to keep releases around this price point for so long. Had the paint quality lagged, I would have docked them here, but they've given us a great sculpt and solid paint work at a reasonable price.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Of course, be very careful sliding the metal posts into the softer polyresin base. I had to stretch the cape slightly to get them to fit, and you want to do this very, very gingerly if you have to at all.

Overall - ***1/2
Most of the recent Cover Girls designs have been fairly uninteresting, but this one jumped out at me. Literally, with her flipping pose and fancy feet. It's a fun loving, silly, lighthearted design, and it breaks up some of the monotony of past designs quite nicely.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is also at $100, but has free shipping.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I also cover the DC Bombshells, like Wonder Woman, but it's been awhile since I reviewed a Cover Girls. The last one was also Batgirl, albeit a very different version.

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

Discussion:
Want to chat about this review?  Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be discussing it!

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