Review of Bane - Batman Black & White statue

Introduction

Like Catwoman, Bane has acquired a new found fame with the release of the Dark Knight Rises. But as much as I enjoyed Tom Hardy's portrayal, it's the venom infused comic book villain that truly broke the Batman.

This newest Batman Black and White statue celebrates that character, based on the designs of Kelley Jones and sculpted by Ray Villafane. Ray is probably best known these days for his work on the pumpkin carving television contests, but he was - and is - a master sculptor.

This statue has just started shipping, and is available at many retailers for around $85 - $90.

Packaging - ***
New day, new character, same packaging. I've already made my displeasure well known with the predominately white boxes, but a good whine is best when aged. I do really like the Bane artwork on the side, however, and that helps spice up the overall blah.

These are no longer a limited edition series, so there's no Certificate of Authenticity or numbering on the box or base.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Jones was the artist working on the cover art when Bane did the deed, and so a Jones' Bane design is most fitting. His art is always extreme, and this version of Bane is monstrously huge, with muscle structure unlike any living human. His shoulders and back are so large that his head sticks out like a stork.

This extreme physiology may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I have always liked Jones' designs. Ray does a beautiful job bringing it into 3 dimensions, and the large size (this statue stands a good 9" altogether) fits in nicely with the rest of the series.

This is a two piece statue, with the small base separate from the character. The posts are in the base, not the feet, and they are long enough to keep the rather top heavy statue upright and steady.

Paint - ***
The paint work is good, but not great. There's slop around some of the edges, particularly on the belt, and the suit edge has that slightly fake look that only a painted suit can have.

The bigger issue though is the change to the palette. The box photos show much darker hoses, and I think that look works much better than what we ended up with on the final product. The lighter gray blends into the skin too much, and takes away some of the detail and pop.

Value - **
I'm not sure what happened in this category - I was just singing the praises of these statues with the last release. The Batman Beyond version was running only $65 or so, and I assumed that dropping the limited nature helped keep the prices down.

Sad to say, that didn't last, at least not with Bane. Perhaps they're using the larger size of the character as the excuse, but this statue is back up to $85 - $90. That's a good $15 more than I can say is an average value.

Let's hope that this is only because of his slightly bigger size, and that with the next release the price drops back again.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.

Overall - ***
I like this design overall, and while the paint isn't perfect, it's solid work. The biggest issue here is the high price - at $85, it pulls the score down.

But for big fans, and you know who you are, the price won't be an issue. The design goes well with the Kelley Jones Batman released several years ago, but if you missed out then, don't fret. That statue has been recently re-released (and called 'version 2') for the much more reasonable price of $65. This re-release of Batman was also sculpted by Villafane, making the pair a nice set.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -

Other reviews include:

- Batman Beyond was the most recent.

- before that was the 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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