DC sent IGN a factory sample of the new statue. You can check out the slideshow gallery below for a closer look at this impressive piece, and then read on for our detailed thoughts on the Batman: Black & White by Todd McFarlane statue.
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This particular statue is sculpted by Jonathan Matthews, with a design based directly on McFarlane’s cover to 1988’s Batman #423. Apart from the lack of color, obviously, the one real visual change involves the removal of the woman Batman has rescued in the image, allowing the character’s iconic chest emblem to stand out. Otherwise, this is about as faithful a recreation of that cover as could be expected at this scale.
The McFarlane piece stands out from the rest of the Black & White line in more ways than one. For one thing, it’s noticeably larger than most. In the past, Black & White statues were sculpted at 1:12 scale, with the end product coming in at around 6 or 7-inches-tall. But DC seems to have switched to a slightly larger 1:10 scale, meaning this Batman measures just under 10-inches tall at the highest point of his cape. That certainly gives it more presence, and helps justify the relatively higher MSRP. That being said, collectors who prefer to display multiple Black & White pieces together may find this one stands out altogether too much. This Batman definitely benefits from either being displayed on its own or alongside slightly larger DC pieces. For example, the classic DC Direct Swamp Thing statue makes for an excellent companion piece if you’re in a dark-and-gritty, ’80s DC kind of mood:
Another distinguishing characteristic is just how much the cape drives the look and sculpt of this piece. Many of the best Black & White pieces use Batman’s cape to create a sense of dynamic motion (Batman by Jock, Batman by Ed McGuiness, Batman by Norm Breyfogle, etc.), but this design makes the cape into the dominant feature of the statue. Only Batman’s head and upper torso are actually sculpted. The rest is an abstract swirl of cape only hinting at the powerful figure beneath. Again, it’s a striking design that has great shelf presence while doing true justice to the original artwork.
The paint job is where many Black & White statues either succeed or fail, especially with several recent releases suffering from significant quality control issues. Fortunately, the McFarlane statue benefits from a simple but effective paint scheme. As with the source material, the statue is basically divided into two shades – a deep black for the outer cape and cowl and a lighter gray tone for the highlights, torso and mouth area and inner cape lining. The bat emblem is rendered in a lighter off-white tone that helps draw the eye to Batman’s chest and helps prevent those few sculpted body parts from being drowned out by the cape.
Interestingly, though this statue won’t begin trickling into stores until late July, DC has already solicited a “2.0” version for release in November. The only visual difference with that rerelease looks to be a slightly darker color scheme. Your mileage may vary, but seeing this version in hand and how necessary those lighter tones are in terms of giving the statue depth and definition, it’s hard to imagine a darker palette actually benefitting the piece. Better to grab the original while it’s still available.
At $135, this is hardly a cheap collectible, especially considering the 1:6 scale DC Designer Series statues can usually be had for around the same price. But for the discerning Batman collector who wants a strong statement piece for their collection, it’s hard to go wrong with the Batman: Black & White by Todd McFarlane statue. Rarely has an iconic Batman image made so successful a jump to 3D sculpture. It’s a welcome sign that this series hasn’t lost its momentum after 15 years and 100 releases.
You can head over to DC’s official website to find out where you can preorder this Batman statue. Then check out an early preview of another upcoming Black & White statue, the Court of Owls-inspired “Batmonster.” And if you’ve got Bruce Wayne levels of disposable income, why not check out this amazing but expensive Joaquin Phoenix Joker statue?
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.