Batman : Black and White
04.29.06By Collin David
In recent years, DC Comics has published two collections of a little thing called Batman : Black and White. These short Batman stories were originally published in comic book form under its own masthead, and later, within the back pages of Gotham Knights. The Batman : Black and White stories call upon a vast array of writers and artists to uniquely bring life to snippets of Batman’s exceptional existence.
These stories told entirely in black and white (and sometimes, greys) call upon the aesthetic of newspaper comics and small, independent publishers, and a story told entirely in film noir style evokes a certain narrative theme. With the modern Batman being a character that is usually depicted in solid blacks, the illustrations create some very interesting visuals. While the relative quality of the stories and the art are hit or miss, the idea of harnessing these creative talents into such a unique project is a noble one, and worth reading.
DC Comics didn’t stop there with the exploration of the ‘black and white’ theme, though. These stories were popular enough to warrant an ongoing line of Batman : Black and White statues based on the artwork within the books. I’m a tremendous fan of the many interpretations of Batman that artists have created, and have collected nearly every one of them in action figure form, so this line of statues is heaven for me.
This week saw the release of the sixth statue in the series, based on the artwork of Mike Mignola, who is best known for writing and creating Hellboy. Based on the cover artwork to the second volume of the Black and White trade paperbacks, the 7.5” tall statue is excellently sculpted in Mignola’s signature style. Slumped shoulders, angular shadows painted into jagged greys, and a sense of heavy gravity throughout. A bat grappling hook hangs straight down from Batman’s hand, heavy and immobile, further communicating the feeling of gravity that this statue has. Mignola initially drew this image in solid blacks and whites, so there’s been considerable liberty taken in flushing out the previously-shadowed details of the figure, but it still looks like pure Mignola.
Mignola’s heroes aren’t the dynamic, energetic figures that comics are defined by. These characters are tired and cynical and completely aware of the weight of the world, conserving their energies for a burst of energetic and almost unstoppable rage-driven power.
Preceding this Mignola statue are statues based on the artwork of Simon Bisley, Brian Bolland, Joe Kubert, Tim Sale and Eduardo Risso. They range from stoic to grotesquely muscular, classic to bizarre. It’s an amazing cross-section of ideas about Batman, which will soon be followed by two more statues based on the artwork of Kelley Jones (who presents a distinctly vampiric Batman) and Steve Rude (who heavily references Batman’s first appearances).
Most of these statues are fairly easy to find for around 50 dollars or less, but the Eduardo Risso statue, which was the first one produced, seems to be the only exceptionally coveted one. With a production run of 7000, versus a run of around 5000 on the subsequent statues, it’s certainly not rarer than the others, but it IS an especially powerful statue, and those ‘first-in-a-series’ things usually fetch higher prices anyhow. The Mignola statue was only produced in 3800 pieces, a relatively small number. Each piece is also hand-numbered on the bottom of the base, as well as the box that it comes in.
And with things of this nature, if you ever plan on displaying them and transporting them again, it’s a really good idea to keep the box. They’re delicate, cold-cast porcelain, and there’s nothing better to keep them safe than the styrofoam package that was designed specifically to protect them.
If you’re a Batman fan, or a fan of anything that appreciates in value significantly, the Batman : Black and White series is an excellent investment.
