Review of Harley Quinn - Batman Black & White statue

Introduction

The 1992 television show Batman: The Animated Series is considered by many to be one of the finest renditions of the caped crusader. With a dark, brooding atmosphere created by Eric Radomski and angular, retro character designs from Bruce Timm, the show gave us a Batman that was a real detective and classic crime fighter.  It is my personal favorite Batman television show, eclipsing anything before or since.

One of the highlights is the introduction of Harley Quinn, the Joker's gal pal. She has proved to be a tremendously popular character, and is now a staple across all Batman media. Her look has changed slightly in various comics, games and shows, but it's always Harley.

They've finally gotten around to including her in their Batman Black and White series of statues, which is quite the honor, considering a BTAS style Joker hasn't made it in yet. They've gone with the classic Timm design, which was a brilliant choice.

If there's any wondering about her popularity, look no further than the edition size. This first release was set at 5200 pieces, a pretty normal - and large - edition size.  It sold out so quickly on pre-order that they announced a 2nd edition of 5200, with a slightly different color scheme, before this first statue even started to ship.

Either edition is going for around $65 or so, which is a solid price point for any Batman Black and White release.

Packaging - ***
Nothing super special, and certainly nothing unique from other releases. Still, the box and hard foam trays keep her safe with very little waste. There's no COA, although the edition size and numbering are on the box and base.

Sculpting - ****
This is a multi-piece statue, somewhat unique for a Black and White release. She is separate from the base, and is attached with metal posts on the feet (no standing without the base!). There's a third piece as well - the smoke trailing from the barrel of the gun. Since this sticks out at an odd angle, they wisely went with a separate piece.

I'm going to be completely out of left field here, but I like her better without the smoke cloud. It doesn't really look a whole lot like smoke (although they did give it a smokey translucent color), and the fake, plasticy appearance contrasts with the rest of the statue. Thankfully, you can remove it, because if you couldn't she'd be in jeopardy of losing a half star in this category.

I included a couple photos both with and without for you to judge, but she'll be on my shelf without.

This isn't a huge statue - Harley isn't a tall girl. The overall height is 7 1/2", and she fits in extremely well, scale-wise, with the rest of the series.

And she's gorgeous - no doubt about it. They've not only captured the Timm design beautifully, they've gotten just the right pose and expression. Everything about this design works for me, from the pursed lips, to the sultry half lidded eyes. Even her stance, with the hips thrust slightly forward and the seductive tilt in the waist, is dead on perfect. Homina, homina, howa...I didn't even know I could speak Cherokee.

I haven't been this impressed by a statue in this series in a long time, and I have a hard time believing that I'll see another statue this year that I'll like more. Yep, she's that good!

Paint - ***1/2
If I were basing this score solely on quality, I'd drop it a bit more. There is some slop, including some weak cut lines and even an odd finger print on her forehead. The quality isn't awful - it would still get three stars - but it's not quite at the level of the sculpt.

But there's more to it than just the quality. There's also the palette and color selection. And these are just outstanding. There's not a bunch of variation in grays this time, and there is really only three main colors - a very black black, a very white white, and a mid-tone gray. There's a little more than these three (for example, the gun is slightly different), but it's these that really make an impactful statement.

The contrast is striking and beautiful, and they've made some very intelligent choices. I love the use of the gray on the eyes and eye lids, and it makes them really pop. They've also used a gloss finish in some small areas, such as the eyes and the balls on the tassels and collar, giving the basic paint scheme a little extra pizazz.

Value - ***1/2
The Batman Black and White statues have stayed reasonable over the last couple years, while other statues have skyrocketed in cost.  While this isn't a huge statue - with the base she's only about 7 1/2" tall - it is extremely well done, and I have to say that you won't find many this nice at this price point.

Things to Watch Out For -
It's a tight fit when you're putting the metal foot posts into the soft base, so take some care.

Overall - ****
I really, really like this statue. It's been awhile since I pulled something out of the box and was this wowed by it, even with it's few flaws.  It's one of those collectibles that, in hand, gives a terrific overall impression. It sold out fast because of the character, and it's going to stay sold out because of the end result.

And if we ever do get a live action version of Harley (they've hinted at her on Arrow), they better damn well cast Melissa Rauch!

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is at $70.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered a lot of this series, including the Earth 1 and 2 Batmen, the Capullo Joker, Allred, Bane, Batman Beyond, Bolland Joker, Jock and Cooke versions of Batman, New 52 Jim Lee Batman, Sam Keith version, the Mignola variant, the humorous version based on artwork by Sergio Aragones, the Gleason and Chiang versions, the Finch version, the Bermejo Joker, the Tony Daniel Batman, the Arkham Asylum version, the cool Man-bat, and don't forget the other black and white Joker from 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.

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