It’s time to check in with the bi-annual Batman watch. I mean, it’s a pretty hourly thing for me on a personal level, but I choose to make it public twice a year – for your benefit.
We’ve finally seen a healthy ebb in the Batman Returns merchandise that Mattel had clogged the local toy shelves with. Wal-Mart can only carry so many slightly different variations of Christian Bale’s Cookie Monster Batman and not-even-close-to-Heath Ledger 4” Jokers, which have pretty much dominated more shelf space than they ever had the right to. Unless you stumble upon a super-rare Movie Masters ‘Unmasked Batman’ or ‘Fear Batman’ with the all-black ghoul mask, these aren’t worth squat. Even the Movie Masters Jokers, which exploded in secondary market value shortly after Heath Ledger’s death, are now commonplace as they’re no longer serving as creepy personal memorials.
New from Mattel, however, is the super adorable ‘Action League’ Batman, based on the ‘Brave & the Bold’ cartoon. While Hasbro pioneered the chunky ‘Superhero Squad’ style of simplified figure, which was quickly emulated by every other toy company, Mattel enters the fray with the most animated, clean bunch of figures.
Collectors and completists, please note that there are three different Batmen in this line at this time. Two Batmen, both in classic blue and grey, come in two different fightin’ poses – one holding a Batarang. They’re available in single packs for around $5, but also come in two-packs with villians. A third Batman, decked out in his grey and blacks, comes with the Batmobile set, which also includes the Clock King and retails for around $20. For my money, the Action League blows away the sloppy paint and occasionally goofy sculpting that Hasbro launched the aesthetic with.
UK’s Eaglemoss Publications, responsible for the popular Marvel Classic Figurine Collection, has recently started releasing DC Comics characters into the US – 
starting with a 4” lead statue of Batman, which I couldn’t resist. They’ll run you about $10 a piece, are planned to span a huge amount of characters., and all come with a pretty impressive glossy magazine that details the minutae of each character’s developments, statistics, enemies, and a ton of pictures. Most of these pieces are great – heroic poses, clean paint and excellently sculpted – but there’s also the occasional piece that doesn’t exactly fill the mold and will come out warped, completely broken, or will get painted blindly. As a result, it’s best to know what you’re looking at before you bring it home. Also, don’t eat it.
The next two Batmen of significance both come from DC Direct’s statue lines.
The ‘Batman Black & White’ line has been an excellent way for DC Direct to show off the art of dozens of different illustrators and how they interpret Batman. Bruce Timm’s May 2009 entry into the series is only the third Batman in the series that has never appeared in a canonical comic, and might just be the Batman with the widest audience, because that audience includes my mom. I admit to a distinct love of Bruce Timm’s squared-off Batman, since it was through the 1990s cartoons that I really found my inner Batman. Only 4000 of these were made, but don’t expect these later pieces to increase in value. Early pieces from the series, like Mike Mignola’s statue, now sell for around $200, while Brian Bolland and Eduardo Risso’s statues have peaked at around $100. Considering the original price of around $50, that’s not too shabby – but those are the only three that have truly taken off.
Finally, there’s one more Batman statue from DC Direct that was released last month, as the second release from the new (but ongoing) Heroes of the DC Universe line. Based on the art of Carlos Pacheco and sculpted by superstar Jean St. Jean, it’s more if an ‘iconic’ Batman than a ‘dynamic’ Batman – a good piece to anchor the display, and in full color.
It’s a bevy of Batmen, and despite this flagging economy, I’m still all in for Batman. Sorry, Iron Man – you’ll just have to be on hold for now.
