Review of Brian Bolland Joker
Batman Black and White statue

Introduction

What can I possibly say about the hit series from DC Direct, the Batman Black and White statues, that I haven't said before? I've reviewed dozens of these cool collectibles, and personally feel it's the best single series that they've ever produced.

The newest release is the Brian Bolland inspired Joker, and Brian Fay (new to working on this series, I believe) did the sculpting.

This is not the first Batman Black and White statue based on Bollarnd's art - a couple years ago, we were treated to another member of Batman's Rogue's Gallery, the Penguin. It also makes sense that they went with a Joker based on his work, since he was the artist on the famous Batman: The Killing Joke, considered by many to be the definitive Joker tale.

You should be able to pick this guy up for $60 - $70, and I have several sponsors with it in stock at great prices. Please support the sponsors when you can - remember, they make it possible for me to do the reviews.

Packaging - ***
I've made it pretty clear that I think the largely white boxes are boring - and I'm not a huge fan of the new peel away secret identity logo either.

They've completely dropped the 'limited edition' label at this point, although I'm not sure what that means in terms of the number of statues being produced.

The dense foam trays do keep the statue very safe, however, and that's job number one.

Sculpting - ***1/2
This statue is based on the cover art for Batman Legends of the Dark Knight #50. This is an extremely well known cover, and is truly a classic Joker representation.

The cover only showed the cat and the upper body of the Joker - a little interpretation was necessary for the stance. I wasn't loving the extreme bend to the body when I first set the statue up, but it grew on me as I shot the photos. It's very dynamic, although from certain angles it is a bit awkward.

This is a two piece statue, with the base and figure separate. The metal pegs are attached to the feet, so you can't have one without the other.

The detail work is terrific, especially on the face and on the creepy Cheshire-like cat. His fur and fangs look fantastic, with sharply defined edges, with much more detail than we usually see in this series.

I do think the face itself could have used a little more texture to make it appear slightly rougher and more insane, matching up with the cover art a little better. But it's definitely a minor nit.

The Joker stands about 7" tall without the base, but if you use the LifeSizer feature above, you'll be able to get exact size on your computer screen.

Paint - ***1/2
Clean sharp paint all around, making this one of the more consistently well done statues I've seen in awhile.

The monochromatic style works well with this design, and they've used a broad enough gray scale palate to bring out the various details. They also used other techniques, like dry brushing on the cat, to further bring out the excellent sculpt.

Value - ***1/2
Here's something more rare than a DC Direct limited edition - a collectible getting a great value score. Perhaps it's because they dropped the 'limited edition' title and are cranking these out in numbers too huge to ponder, but you can find this Joker for under $65 from my sponsors. Even at $70, he's cheaper than a number of the more recent releases.

Things to Watch Out For -
As always, take a little care with those metal pegs going into the softer polysstone base.

Overall - ***1/2
This is one of the consistently best statues from DC Direct in awhile. Some might have a slightly better sculpt, or a slightly better (or worse) paint job, but very few are well above average in every category, including Value.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is at $65.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered many of the statues in this series, including:

- the most recent was the Jock and Cooke versions of Batman.

- before that was the 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 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:
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