Review of The Joker - Greg Capullo design
Batman Black and White statue

Introduction

Recently, a reader asked if I'd stopped collecting the Batman Black and White series of statues from DC Collectibles. I was taken aback - why would you think that? Sure seems like they keep piling up around here...and then I looked back at when I'd last reviewed any of the long running series, and realized it had been quite awhile.

Let's correct that with a look at the new Joker in the series designed by Greg Capullo. This isn't the only Capullo designed statue hitting soon - his Batman in the series will be here any day as well.

Expect to pay around $70 for this guy at most retailers, and he just started hitting stores.

Packaging - **1/2
I'm not a huge fan of the rather dull, white boxes. Add in the silly new DC logo, and you get a snooze fest.  The foam trays work well, and there's little chance the statue will get broken on its way to your home. But they don't do much to market or sell the contents, either.

Since these are not limited editions, there's no Certificate of Authenticity or numbering on the box.

Sculpting - ****
Greg Capullo is well known to any comic book fan. As an artist with Image Comics, he did excellent work on titles like Spawn, as well as his own creation, Creech.

As part of the New 52 relaunch of the DC universe, Greg joined the Batman team. This Joker is based on his designs that started with Batman: Death of the Family, and it's one of the more interesting character adjustments that came out of the overall relaunch.

The Joker has had his face cut off. Yes, you heard that right. But you can't go walking around without a face - even Darkman knew that. So the Joker has reattached his skin, in a rather utilitarian way, with hooks and straps. If you thought he was gruesome before, this Texas Chainsaw Massacre look is going to freak you out.

He's also gone away from the dapper clothes, wearing overalls and carrying tools. This is all part of his more determined, blue collar approach to getting revenge on Batman, and fits in nicely with the theme of the books.

They've captured all that extremely well with this statue, right down to the stretch lines in the facial skin and glassy eyes set deep behind it.

One of the things I really like about this statue when compared to others in the series, is the small tools strung along his belt. Most of the statues don't have that sort of small detail work, making this one stand out from the crowd. Even here the tools are a little lacking in textures, but it's still great to see so much variety.

I also like the dynamic pose, which meshes the expression with the action perfectly. It's a perfect marriage of violence and madness, just what the character needs.

The Joker stands about 7 inches tall, fitting in nicely with the rest of the series. There's no assembly this time - it's all one piece.

Paint - ***
While I love the sculpt and design, I'm not quite as thrilled with the paint work. There's plenty of gray scale blood, but some of it looks just like what it is: paint droplets.

And while the overall quality is good - no slop or fuzzy cut lines - I'm not really digging the look of the wash on the face.

I do like the glassy eyes though, a big improvement over what we've seen with most of the Batmen in this line. These are much more realistic, even reminding me a bit of the sixth scale Hot Toys work.

Value - ***
You can find this statue for $70 pretty much everywhere, and maybe a bit cheaper if you look hard enough. That's a very good price for a statue in this scale, and slightly larger statues (like DC Comics Bombshells) are north of $100 now. Keeping the price lower and more in line with the releases from earlier years makes it that much easier to be a completist on the series.

Things to Watch Out For -
Since there's no assembly required, there's not much to watch out for.

Overall - ***1/2
I really like Capullo's style, and this is one of the creepiest Joker designs ever. Add in the cool tools that they've sculpted with care around his belt, and you have one of the more unique designs in the entire series.

The paint is a little weak, but its a minor quibble when compared to the excellent design and sculpting. DC Collectibles have produced several Jokers in this series now, but I think this is my favorite so far, simply because it's such an unusual look. I wouldn't want it to be the only one on my shelf - you need something a bit more traditional first - but as an addition to the long running series, he's top notch.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is at $70, but has free shipping right now.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other Black & White reviews include the recent 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 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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