Review of Batman Black and White - Marc Silvestri
Statue

Introduction

I've been picking up the Batman Black and White series of statues from day one. I didn't review the first few, however, but started with the 6th one they produced, which is also one of the best in the entire run - the original Mike Mignola statue. It's hard to believe it's been more than 13 years since the start of this series.

And yet, they haven't run out of concepts or artists. The latest release is based on the artwork of Marc Silvestri, and is a limited edition of 5000. Expect to pay around $70 or so for him, depending on the retailer.

Packaging - ***
Nothing new or unique here. The exterior shows off the statue design, but you'll have to open it to see your particular statue. He is held safe in dense foam eggshell trays, and this time the statue is all one piece.  While he's a limited edition - and you can see the edition size and number on the bottom of the base - there's no Certificate of Authenticity.

Sculpting - ***
I like the overall concept of the design, and I loved the original artwork. But sometimes when 2D art gets translated into three dimensions, you see things you didn't see before.

That's the case here, at least for me. I really like the amount of detail, both in the sculpted texture and in the contours and musculature. The cowl is sharply defined, and the folds of the cape look realistic, wrapping around his 'throne' and body.

There was no attempt to make this a two piece statue like the majority of the line. Instead, they did one of my favorite things - they incorporated the oval base right into the character design. The cape rolls over and around the edges, making it look seamless.

So what's my beef? It's the way the feet dangle above the ground. The left toes barely touch, and the right toes are slightly above the surface. It reminds me of a little kid swinging his legs, or someone riding a Ferris Wheel. I'm probably being weird, but it bugs me. Your mileage may vary.

Paint - *1/2
The sculpt is decent, even with my personal quirk. But the paint is awful, one of the worst I've received in quite awhile. At this lower price point, the paint does tend to be inconsistent, with some statues looking great and others mediocre, but rarely are they this bad.

First, the overall statue has a dusty look to it. It's not dust, that's the way the paint actually looks. There's plenty of sloppy edges and odd splotches, and the cape has lots of white spots peaking through. It's as if they didn't give the cape in particular a thick enough coat, and all that texture caused them problems.

Then there's the ears. Each has a blob of paint at the tip, completely killing any chance Bats had of looking bad ass. It's just not a quality job.

Value - ***
Okay, this guy has some serious paint issues. But they've managed to keep this line in the $70 or so range for quite awhile now, and for that they need to be commended. If the price does rise, as I'm sure it will, the quality of the paint work better also rise and become more consistent.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.

Overall - **
I don't love the swinging feet, but I can overlook that thanks to the rest of the design and sculpt detail. This would be a great looking statue, but for the weak paint job.  It's one of the worst I've seen in some time, and pulls down what could have been at least a *** star Overall.

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

Where to Buy 
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Related Links -
Other recent Batman Black and White statues include the Rocafort, the White Knight Joker. the animated Batgirl, the Sean Murphy Batman, the Klaus Johnson, Jiro Kuwata, 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.

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