One of the most successful lines of statues for DC Direct has been the Batman Black and White series. The concept is simple enough – have different comic book artists design a Batman in black and white that is then translated into a 6″ scale statue by a capable sculptor. I’ve lost count of how many they’ve done so far, but almost every one has been interesting and unique, if not always to your personal taste.

The latest was released last week, and is based off the artwork of Andy Kubert. Andy comes from the extremely well known family of comic book artists that includes his dad Joe and his brother Adam. He’s been working on the Batman titles for a couple years now, and his art style has been widely acclaimed by fans. As I said, this came out to your LCS last week, and should be available there, or you can pick it up from one of the fine folks in my Where To Buy section.

Any comments or questions, just drop me an email. Now on to the review!

Batman Black and White Andy Kubert

Packaging – ***
This is one of the most carefully packaged statues or busts I’ve ever seen. There’s foam stuffed between every crevasse, wrapped around the cape and body, and tucked in places you wouldn’t want to go. They’ve done all they can to reduce the chance of any sort of damage in transit, and it’s very much appreciated.

Unlike some companies, DCD doesn’t do Certificates of Authenticity, but they do put the edition number on the bottom of the statue. This is an edition size of 4000.

Sculpting – ****
While this is based on Andy’s design, the actual sculpting was done by Jonathan Matthews, one of my favorite DCD sculptors. He’s done a fantastic job capturing the feel of Andy’s work and translating it into three dimensions, and I think this is now one of my top 3 or 4 statues in the series.

Paint – ***1/2
The paint is generally clean, with no bleed and very clean cut lines. There was a hint of slop around the eyes and mouth, but it’s still quite a bit above average for a statue in this price range.

The color scheme that is the theme of this line is fairly restrictive of course, but DCD has found ways to make even the basic colors more appealing. I particularly like the use of the high gloss black on the gloves and boots, while the cape and cowl are matte finish. This gives the impression of different materials, and adds to the visual interest.

Design – ***1/2
This was a statue that I had really no expectations about going in. Early photos hadn’t done much to sway me one way or the other, and so it was a very pleasant surprise to open it up. The design turns out to be very strong, with a very dynamic and fluid pose. Nothing about it appears excessive, extreme, or inhuman, avoiding those pitfalls in many ‘action’ poses. But it’s certainly not static either, and there’s just the right amount of fluid movement implied to give it a ‘split second in time’ quality.

Value – **
DC Direct is going to have to be careful here – they’re edging the price up, but the edition sizes are still huge. They’ve jumped up from around $45 – $50 to the $50 – $55 range, hurting the overall value a bit. If you can still get this guy for around $50, add another half star, but I’m grading it on the $5 hike.

Things to Watch Out For –
This is one you’ll want to take care freeing from his prison. The foam is packed in tight around the cape, and for good reason. Don’t go nuts pulling and tearing it out – take your time, as the cape could easily be broken by excessive force.

Overall – ***1/2
I was very pleasnatly surprised by this statue. As I said, I was expecting it just to end up one of those middle of the road versions, not bad, but certainly not outstanding. Instead, what I got was one of my favorites of the series. He’s not going to unseat Mignola or Jones, but for a relatively straight version of Bats, they managed to make him unique and interesting.

Where to Buy –
If your LCS is lacking or too expensive, your online options include:

– Alter Ego has him at $55.25.

– CornerStoreComics has him for $51.

– Amazing Toyz has him in stock for $51.

Related Links –
I’ve covered a few of these, including the Jim Lee, Matt Wagner version, Mike Mignola version, and Kelly Jones version.

Also, one of the better action figure lines from DC Direct was Batman and Son, also based on Andy’s art.

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