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Review of Batman Black & White statue - Pat Gleason
DC Direct
Date Published: 2012-01-06
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 3
out of 4
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Introduction
And the beat goes on...at least when it comes to the highly successful Batman Black and White statue series by DC Direct.
The latest release is designed by Pat Gleason based on his recent work for the comic Batman
and Robin, and sculpted by the always talented Phil Ramirez.
This one is a bit of a change of pace, since we've seen a lot of recent releases focusing on older comic variations. This is
a very current look for Bats, and it's inclusion in the series shows how popular Gleason's work is.
You can have this guy for around $70, a little cheaper if you're diligent. I have the usual excellent sponsor suggestions at
the end of the review.
Click on the image below for a Life Size version


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Packaging - ***
Same old, same old, with one notable change. As I've mentioned before, there's no COA, but at least in the past the edition
size and number are printed on the bottom of the box. This time, however, it was NOT printed on the base of the
statue...or the box. Hmmm.
One other thing worth noting, although I'm not sure this is the very first package to exhibit the change - the Styrofoam
trays are getting a little less dense and softer. They aren't quite to the point of falling apart in your hands, but they
are certainly softer than once upon a time.
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Sculpting - ***1/2
The basic design of this statue is based on the cover of Batman and Robin #20. There's no Robin of course, but you get the idea.
Bats is stoic and determined, with one fist pressing the palm of the other like something from a 40's film noir. The stance
says you're about to get an ass whoopin', and you ain't gonna like it.
The physique is a bit bulkier than some of the other renditions in the line, but it's not too far out of scale. He stands 7
inches tall without the base.
I only have two complaints about the sculpt overall, and both are more aesthetic than not. The first involves the cowl nose
- it's wrinkled and crinkled in a way that just doesn't look accurate to Gleason's style, at least not to me. I would have
preferred a smooth cowl over the nose.
The second issue is his huge - and I mean huge - feet. The ladies are going to love this guy. The boots are large and
chunky, and do not look like something that would help with stealth or agility.
But as I said, both of these points are more personal taste, so your mileage may vary.
It's also worth noting that this is one of the two piece statues - body and base. The metal posts are in the feet, so you
won't be able to stand him without the base, but the posts fit cleanly.
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Paint - **1/2
I wish I could say my only issues were personal taste when it comes to the paint. Here there are some actual quality issues,
a bummer for sure.
The worst offense, at least on my statue, is the buckle of the belt, where the paint is clumpy and looks as though dirt got
into the mix. There's a couple spots like this on the costume and face as well, but they aren't as obvious as the buckle.
Not as noticeable are some of the sloppy cut lines, but at $70 this isn't quite up to par.
I do like the use of different finishes on the all black areas like the boots and gloves. The switch from matte to gloss in
these areas adds some visual appeal, but they wisely went with an all matte look to the one piece cape and cowl.
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Value - **1/2
At around $60 - $65, I'd go three stars here, but the price has started to creep up, often over $70. I'm still giving that
an average rating, but I'm not quite as happy about the current going rate as I was even with the last release.
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Things to Watch Out For -
Just remember that the metal posts on the feet can scratch the paint on top of the base. Insert with care!
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Overall - ***
The big pluses here is that this is a newer variation on Batman, and the stance is somewhat different than most so far. It's
not a particularly dynamic look, but it will stand out.
Unfortunately, the weak paint ops are what held it back from a higher score for me. Hopefully that's not an issue we'll see
with the next release.
Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - **1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***
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Where to Buy
Online options include these site sponsors:
-
has it at $70.
-
has him at $72.
- Entertainment
Earth has it at $70.
- or you can search
ebay for a deal.
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Related Links -
I've covered my fair share of Black and White statues:
- most recent was the Chiang version.
- before that, I covered the Finch version, which
I liked quite a bit and was a very nice surprise.
- there's also the Bermejo Joker, the Tony Daniel Batman, and the Arkham
Asylum version.
- further back I looked at the cool Man-bat, and
don't forget the other black and white Joker by a Lee - Jim
Lee.
- before that, we had the Quitely version of
Batman, the Bermejo, the McGuinness
version, the Dave Mazzucchelli version,
the Penguin, Gotham
Knight 2 version, the Bruce Timm version,
the Ethan Van Sciver version, the Aparo, the Neal
Adams and George Perez versions, the Gotham
Knight, Bob
Kane, Frank Miller, Jim
Lee, Matt Wagner, Mike
Mignola, and Kelley Jones. *whew*
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!
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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.
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