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DC Direct Black Canary

 

The Drunken Fist is swinging wildly again, doing another guest review for us tonight.  This time it's the recent released Black Canary from the second series of Justice League figures.  DF didn't have much to say before diving right into the review, so it must be some exciting stuff!  What's the 411, DF?




Packaging - **1/2
Once again, we have another package by DC Direct that we have to absolutely destroy to remove the figure. The plastic bubble to which the figure is bound with twist ties is glued to the interior of the cardboard box lining, so you have to rip it apart if you plan on freeing your figure. This style of package is also damaged very easily, as the weight of the box hanging from the flimsy card portion of the package makes it easy to tear. I'm glad I'm not a MOC collector, since this was the only Black Canary figure at the comic store, and the package had several tears along the edge where the card portion joins the box. It's rather mind-boggling that DCD continues to use this style of packaging over and over again, despite all the drawbacks, and numerous complaints from collectors. Maybe someday, they'll learn.

On the plus side, the graphics are attractive, although it would be nice to have some individual flavor to each box. Aside from the character photo on the side of the box, each package is the same for every figure.

Sculpting - ***1/2
The sculpt is very true to the art. Fortunately, Black Canary does not have the somewhat masculine quality to her face, as many of Ross's female characters do. (The upcoming Wonder Woman in Series Three appears to have that problem.) Canary's face actually looks quite a lot like a younger Marg Helgenberger, from the TV show "CSI." This is a good thing, if you ask me. The wrinkles in Canary's clothing are sculpted very realistically, and the main part of her jacket is a separate sculpt. It's made of the soft rubbery plastic often used on figures these days, and it works very well. I only wish DCD had done the same for Canary's hair-- more on that a little later. 

I'll mention this here, since I can't think of a more appropriate place to fit it in. Black Canary's fishnets are real fabrics, not sculpted and painted on. This works very well and looks great from the front, but when you turn her around, you can see where the material is stitched together, and, well, there seems to have been a lot of excess material there. It looks really bad from that perspective. This may not be such a problem on every figure, but it is with mine.

Paint - ***
Much better job than usual for DCD. Paint apps are clean across the board, although there are relatively few of them compared to some of the other figures in this series. Her fingernails and lips are painted the same shade of red, and applied perfectly. The eyes are done very well, too, some of the best paint work I've seen recently from DCD. Canary's hair is blonde, with lighter highlights painted in. It all works together very well. 

Articulation - **
As usual for DCD, we have articulation that is unimpressive, and just barely adequate. Black Canary has cuts at the neck, shoulders, forearms (where her sleeves end), and hips, with joints at the elbows and knees. The hip joints look odd from the sides and back because of the way they have been implemented, but from the front, they blend in well with the wrinkles in Canary's clothing. The neck joint is utterly useless, as Canary's hair makes her head completely immobile. If the softer plastic had been used for her hair, this wouldn't be an issue. I don't know why DCD seems to have an aversion to the stuff, but they never use it where it is needed most. 

Accessories - *
Black Canary comes with a stand. Woo-hoo. It's a nice stand, but it's also unnecessarily large, and takes up much more space than a stand ought to. It has two pegholes in it, but good luck trying to get two figures to fit on it. I tried, and it ain't easy. 

Fun Factor - **1/2
Even for collectors who do not play with figures, this one is pretty fun. Black Canary is a fan-favorite character that has rarely been rendered in plastic form, so that alone makes her stand out. She'll fit in equally well with the other figures from the Justice line, or some of the more realistically-sculpted comic style figures. She's going on my Batman shelf, which is made up mostly of DCD and Mattel's Batman figures. 

Value - **1/2
Most places sell these in the $12-15 range, which is a halfway decent value. Naturally, the cheaper you can get it, the better. 

Things to Watch Out For:
As should now be your standard practice when buying a DCD figure, look over all the figures in the store to find the best paint job. I know I spent five minutes trying to find a Batman that did not look like he was wearing lipstick, to no avail. Sometimes, you just can't win. But you gotta give it a shot! 

Overall - ***
Despite this figure's shortcomings, Black Canary is still my favorite in the Alex Ross Justice line so far. She's such a seldom-seen character in a action figure line, which increases her appeal. her sculpt is above average, and her articulation is actually a bit better than a lot of what DCD releases. The paint apps are also above the DCD average. Ultimately, this is a figure for fans of the character. If Black Canary is a favorite of yours, this one is a must-have. If you don't care much for the character, she's not so awesome that you must buy one anyway. 

Score Recap:
Packaging - **1/2
Sculpt - ***1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - **
Accessories - *
Fun Factor - **1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***

Where to Buy - 
You can find these at comic shops, or online:

- Alter Ego Comics has the full set of five for just $50.

- Circle Red has the full set for the great price of just $50.

- YouBuyNow has an excellent price on the individual figures, any one for just $12.

- Amazing Toyz has the full set for $54, or individual figures for $12 - $14.

- CornerStoreComics has the full set for $55, or the individual figures for $11 - $14 each.

- Yikes Comics has the full set for $55 or the individual figures for $15 each.


Figure from the collection of Drunken Fist.

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