In the mid-80s, Frank Miller reinterpreted Batman for a new age in the Dark Knight Returns. While DKR tells the story of the end of Batman, Miller soon returned to write Batman Year One… a retelling of Batman's genesis. Both stories have gone down in Bat-history as being some of the very best Batman stories and both can also be partly credited for the direction that the Bat-films took when kicking off in 1989. With the 2011 release of DC Animation's Batman Year One DVD, DC Direct produced this statue to coincide with the DVD release of the film. Not much merchandise, at all, was released with the film but we did get this beautiful statue from DC Direct. The look of the statue is based on the animated version and not the comic (expertly drawn by David Mazzucchelli). However, the animated film somewhat closely followed the look of the comic. So, in a sense, we get a look close to the comic but sort of "once removed."
I was very pleased when this statue was announced as the look of Batman in Year One is one of my very favorite looks for the character. His costume is simple but sleek. I'm a fan of several of Batman's looks but I tend to prefer him in a simpler, more classic style of costume. This statue depicts this type of costume very well from the understated creases in his shorts to the amazing look of his cape.
The sculpting on this statue (sculpted by Derek Miller) completely nails the look of the animated character from the Year One animated film. He looks tough but sleek and his cape seems to have a life of its own. The way this statue's cape billows, creases, and flows is truly something to behold, in person.
This statue stands at about 10 inches tall. So, he's bigger than your average DC Direct maquette and quite a bit bigger than the scale typically used for the Batman Black and White Statues.
There is absolutely nothing I'd change about this statue. I think it's "spot on" and a great addition to anyone's statue collection or Batman shelf.
I never knew this existed!
ReplyDeleteThis does capture the basic Batman the I prefer as well.
I would love to see one of these in person.
Now I know I need something that I didn't know I needed until reading this post.
My wife will now hate you.
I am going to agree I like the simple and clean look of this one, with the hint of yellow being the belt. It is sort of what I expect the next evolution of the BTAS character to look like instead of what we got with the JLU cartoon.
ReplyDeleteI loved Mazzucchelli's somewhat mor realistic body proportions as much as I love Miller's exaggeration of the figure. This is a nice statue with a slick aesthetic, but he's a little big in the chest compared to the comic art, where he seems more slender.
ReplyDeleteGood point, SuperC. I still love the statue, though. For the most part, he still embodies the general look of Mazzucchelli's Batman.
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