Tag Archives: cover girls of the dc universe

Nov 8 2024

Cover Girls of the DC Universe (J. Scott Campbell) Zatanna by McFarlane/DC Direct

The DC Cover Girls line of statues has been around a long time now with different series showcasing different artist interpretation of some of comic’s greatest female heroes and villains. Hell, I reviewed my first purchase from this series here almost 12 years ago! The line went from DC Collectibles to DC Direct and now McFarlane has taken up the torch, although they still seem to be using the DC Direct name for whatever reasons. Also, the current series is showcasing one of my favorite comic artists of all time, J. Scott Campbell, and boy is ever about damn time! DC’s Mistress of Mysticism, Zatanna, is the third release in this series, with Catwoman and Wonder Woman preceding her, and Supergirl now up for preorder.

The packaging is pretty standard stuff, featuring a fully enclosed box with some shots of the statue and some artwork ghosted behind it. The box does state the limitation and you also get your piece’s individual number on the box as well. The statue comes nestled between two Styrofoam bricks for protection and there’s a little assembly required. Just peg Zatanna’s foot into the base and tab her wand into her hands and she is ready for her curtain call!

Of the three JSC statues so far, Zatanna comes the closest to a classic museum pose, but it suits her so perfectly. Catwoman was playfully readying her whip, Wonder Woman was deflecting a bullet, but Zatanna stands with her hands folded and resting on her cane/wand as if waiting for the magic show to begin. Feet apart, back arched, and head cocked, it’s a pose that conveys a sense of high confidence and professional showmanship.

Zatanna’s costume represents my favorite look for the character. She’s got her black one piece with yellow and white corset over it and black tuxedo coat and tails over that. There’s a little sculpted ruffling to the middle of the corset while the low cut top shows ample cleavage, no doubt to distract from any slight of hand. The shoulders flare up stylishly, the lapels are painted blue, and she had a red carnation on the right lapel. The snappy tails of the coat hang down to the backs of her knees. She has a pair of shiny black heels and while her legs aren’t clad in actual fishnets, the skin is painted in a darker color to denote that she is wearing stockings. The paint lines on this piece are very sharp and the yellow, blue, red, and white all add some nice contrast to the black.

The head sculpt is very nice, even if I do think she got an unnecessary extra helping of eyebrows. The expression in the eyes is absolutely priceless. They’ve got a slightly sleepy quality to them, which also works as confidence bordering on boredom. It’s as if she’s sizing up an adversary and thinking,
“You’ve got to be kidding. You have no chance against my mystical arts.” I think there’s a tad less of Campbell’s style in this one, although it’s definitely there in the distinctive nose. The paint is immaculate, especially in the eyes and mascara and her bold lipstick. They seem to have toned down the shading around the eyes as seen on the box, and I think that was a great idea. The hair is beautifully sculpted and frames her face perfectly and it’s all capped off with the regal black top hat with blue band to match her coat’s lapels.

The base is designed to match the previous statues. It’s a circular raised platform in black with a gray stripe around the beveled edges. It’s simple and distinguished but the addition of the Zatanna logo gives it a kick of personality. These pieces are limited and hand numbered on the bottom of the base, and I have no idea where they are drawing the limitations for each. Catwoman started at 920, Wonder Woman went to 945, and now Zatanna shoots up to 1580. Back in the day, most Cover Girls were at a limitation of 5200, whereas these seem more random. Either way, mine is #509, which is lower than my Wonder Woman but higher than my Catwoman.

Over the years, some of my Cover Girls have left my collection, but I maintain a solid dozen or so on display at any one time. Needless to say I’m happy to see the line continue and it really seems to be in good hands with McFarlane. And naturally, I’m doubly happy to see my main man, J. Scott Campbell, finally get his turn at these ladies. I’ll confess that Catwoman was not a rock-solid start for this run, but she was still pretty good and both Wonder Woman and Zatanna more than make up for that somewhat shaky start. These retail at around $139.99, which feels right in line with what they’ve been going for in the past. Supergirl is next up on the roster, and as you can imagine, I already have her preordered.

Aug 2 2024

Cover Girls of the DC Universe (J. Scott Campbell) Wonder Woman by McFarlane/DC Direct

The DC Cover Girls line has been going on for quite a while. I reviewed my first statue from this series over ten years ago! The line was mostly produced by DC Collectibles, but when McFarlane took over the license they began releasing some here and there in partnership with DC Direct. I’m not going to pretend to know how the licensing works and who’s actually producing these now, but Both McFarlane’s and DC Direct’s names appear on the box. Recently, McFarlane announced a trio of these ladies inspired by the art of J. Scott Campbell, so you know I was instantly on board! They’ve already released Catwoman, Zatanna is coming soon, and today we’re checking out Wonder Woman.

The mostly white box is similar to what we saw last time, and has remained more or less the same throughout the series run. You get some shots of the statue, a notation of the artist, and the size is roughly the same as the Catwoman statue, with both ladies measuring about 10-inches tall. That puts these a bit taller than the older DC Collectibles offerings. Inside the box, the statue comes encased in two Styrofoam trays and you get a collector card. Assembly requires attaching her right arm at the bicep band via a magnet, and plugging her right foot into the base, which was an easy fit. Let’s get her out of the box and all set up!

Oh yeah, that’s the stuff! As we saw with Catwoman, the composition is a little bit of museum pose with a hint of action. Wonder Woman stands with a slight lean to her right hip and a turn to her left ankle. Her coiled golden lasso is held firm in her right hand, while her left arm is drawn up to effortlessly deflect a projectile headed right for her face. Her one-piece outfit has a very modern vibe from the golden belt up, and things get a little more traditional below, with some abbreviated skirt flaps hanging down front and back.

All the details of the outfit are incorporated as part of the sculpt, which helps make for some clean paint lines. The red part of her corset has panel lining and is painted with a rich, glossy red, while framed top and bottom with the same quality of gold paint. All this conspires to produce a beautiful new-car-style finish to this part of the costume. The high-heeled boots are painted in red matte with some dark shading, white stripes running up the center from toe to top, and gold bands around the top edges. You get two shades of blue around her pelvic region with a darker blue making up the panties and a paler shade for the skirt pieces. And, of course, both are speckled with white stars. Her arm bracers are painted in silver and gold, and her bicep ring is gold. These pieces have a duller metallic finish than the corset, but still look nice. Finally, the skin tone is very warm and even with some pink added to the knees and elbows. All in all, the sculpted detail and colors here are very well done, especially for a statue in this price range.

The portrait is quite lovely and does a solid job evoking the JSC style. Diana is sporting some dreamy, heavy eyelids, a narrow and sharp nose, and her lips are slightly parted, revealing a flash of white teeth. The painted facial features are clean, particularly the eye liner and pupils. The flowing hair has some blue shading to evoke that classic comic book panel coloring, and I really dig the way it bunches up to her right, swirling in a flurry of defensive action. The portrait is rounded out by her gold tiara with a central red star.

The coiled lasso also contorts a bit from her defensive maneuver, with one end curling up into the air. The paint on mystical rope looks good, but I would have liked to have seen a little bit of sculpted detail to the braid. What we got gives it a bit of a simple, animated look, which is fine, but a bit at odds with the detail in her corset. Still, not bad!

The bullet defecting on her wrist bracer is done with a bit of translucent plastic colored in red and orange. It’s not spectacular, but it gets the job done. It would have been cool to have an actual bullet sculpted in there, or perhaps being deflected away.

The base is a raised black disk with beveled edges and a gold stripe. The face has a Wonder Woman logo flanked by stars. I like the way this is stylized and it adds some nice flavor to the base, much in the same way they did with Catwoman’s. On the flipside you get the hand numbered limitation underneath. Mine is 590 out of 945. The limitation is a lot smaller on these than it was in the old days, when 5200 was the magic number.

Like Catwoman, Wonder Woman retails at $139 which, if you count for inflation, is probably pretty close to what the older Cover Girls sold for. I included a shot of her with the Stanley Artgerm Lau piece from 2016. I still enjoy to display that one and it’s fun to see how the series has evolved over nearly a decade. As for the new ones, well, I really like both of these JSC efforts, with Wonder Woman edging out Catwoman as the favorite of the two. From a design standpoint, I think there was just more to work with than this one, and the final release came a lot closer to what was solicited. They do look nice paired together, but I have Catwoman displayed with some other Catwoman pieces and Diana here will be going to my Wonder Woman display. Still, I’m excited to see how the trio will look when Zatanna joins up!

Mar 15 2024

Cover Girls of the DC Universe (J. Scott Campbell) Catwoman by McFarlane/DC Direct

It’s safe to say that I’ve been a long time collector of the DC Cover Girls line of statues. I’ve reviewed over 20 of them here on FFZ over the past ten years or so and while some have since left my collection, I still have quite a few and always have a shelf with a dozen or so of these lovely ladies on rotation. And naturally, Selina Kyle has turned up as a DC Cover Girl more than once! Indeed, this line has been around long enough to be rebranded from DC Direct to DC Collectibles, and now back to DC Direct and licensed to McFarlane Toys. Likewise, the series has showcased different artists over the years from Joelle Jones to Stanley Lau and while I have loved each and every one of those, it’s about time my main man, J. Scott Campbell got his turn, with Catwoman here in the lead and both Wonder Woman and Zatanna coming up next.

One thing that hasn’t changed much over the years is the packaging. Catwoman comes in a fully enclosed box with a clean white and black deco and some pictures of the statue front and back. This line hasn’t always been the best about showcasing the artist front and center, but here we get Mr. Campbell’s name right on the front. The statue measures about 10-inches tall, cast in resin, and comes encased between two styrofoam bricks. And I gotta say I have never had this much trouble getting the styrofoam out of the box before. I literally had to open it from both ends and push it through and even then it was crazy tight. So weird! Anyway, Catwoman comes out of the box with her whip in her hands. All you have to do is plug her foot post into the base and there’s a peg to help anchor the whip as well. So let’s let this cat out of the bag…

Selina presents herself somewhere between a museum pose and a little cheesecake tease. One leg is drawn up at the knee, resting the toe of her left boot on the ground. Her arms bent at the elbows and holding up her whip across her at neck level, as if inviting you to play. She dons a very classic blueish-purple bodysuit that is oh, so very tight and I’m going to say straightaway the curves on display here are this statue’s greatest win. The contours of Selina’s body are so lovingly sculpted here that the sheer simplicity of her suit works in the figure’s favor. The only real detail is on the zipper that tracks all the way down from her neck and stops just above her kitty’s lair with a large silver pull resting at the top. Otherwise, you do get some very subtle and sparing wrinkles, and just a hint of her underlying muscle definition. I dig this sculpt and composition a lot, especially the way it lets her curves do all the talking.

The paint would be simple if not for the pearlescent finish to the suit and the slight wash. In bright light it looks warm and even, almost like a second skin, but give her a turn and you can see some of the underlying sparkles come to life. You also get some high gloss black for her short gloves and low cut boots and a hint of bright purple for the boot linings. A lick of silver rounds things out below the neck.

The portrait is… well, it isn’t what we were promised in the solicitation photos. Not even close. And yes, that’s disappointing. That’s not to say I don’t like it, but there were clearly some major revisions done between pre-order and arrival, and that’s surprising considering how fast the turnaround on this statue was. The biggest change is the mouth, which was better sculpted and painted in the initial images. What we got shows too much teeth, and by that I mean just white paint with no real detail. Close up, it lets the statue down, but isn’t so bad when viewed with the statue on the shelf. The rest of the portrait’s paint turned out more basic, but I think it works for a comic or animated look. The lines are sharp there’s some nice gradient work in the skin tone, and I like the gloss finish used for the mask. It’s not the best rendering of J. Scott Campbell’s style in my collection, but it’s far from the worst.

The whip is cast in a soft, pliable black plastic with a glossy sheen. I like the way it coils up on the base, spilling over the side a bit. The peg that anchors it to the base doesn’t fit very tightly so it’s likely to pop out when handling the statue, but it works well enough when on display. You get a little texture to the grip at the end of the whip and there’s a sculpted loop hanging off of it.

The base is a clean and classy raised black disk with a Catwoman logo in purple and gold, and a purple ring striping the side of the platform. The underside of the base has the hand numbered limitation. The statue is limited to a production run of 920 with mine being 484. That’s a huge reduction from the old line, where these pieces were usually given 5000 to 5200 runs. Although, I’m not sure what the significance of the rather specific 920 is.

Finally, you also get a collector card with the statue and this is basically the same sort of thing Todd throws in with his DC Multiverse figures. Note, the stand is not included. I borrowed that from one of the figures for display here. Although, if they can throw that in with a $30 figure, it makes me wonder why they can’t do it with a $130 limited edition statue. Either way, the card is a forgettable bonus, and I would have much rather they included a numbered limitation card like Diamond does with their Premier Edition Statues and Busts, which fall in at about the same price range.

I really like this piece a lot, but I don’t remember there being this much disparity between the solicitation photos and the actual product back when DC Direct/Collectibles were their own thing. So, I’m definitely going to call out McFarlane on that point. I understand that final products rarely make for perfect matches to what is initially shown, but in this case the mouth got a complete redesign, and that’s a sticking point for me. Truth be told, I would have still happily purchased this piece if McFarlane had just shown what we were actually getting. And with how quick the turn around here was, I have to believe the statue was already well into production when it was solicited. Either way, I’m thrilled to have a J Scott Campbell Catwoman in my Cover Girls collection and I’m looking forward to seeing Wonder Woman next!

Apr 24 2020

Cover Girls of the DC Universe (Series 3): Catwoman by DC Collectibles

Well, this feels good. Not only did I make it back for three reviews in one week, it’s the second week in a row that I achieved this time management miracle! Plus, I’m tossing out a little homage to the old DC Friday content I used to churn out on a regular basis. It’s been a ball buster of a week and I felt like a little statue therapy today, so I’ve decided to open up another one of the Cover Girls of the DC Universe! And it’s Catwoman! Meow!

This release is from the most recent and third series of cold-cast porcelain Cover Girl statues, based on the art of Joelle Jones. I was away from these gals for a while, but a few months back I picked up the Mera statue and now I’m back with Selina Kyle. Although I still maintain that these two acquisitions were anomalies and I’m I’m not back to seriously collecting this line. I just don’t have the space for them. Anywho, Catwoman comes in a fully enclosed box with plenty of shots of the statue. And while she conforms to the same (roughly 9-inch scale) of the other ladies, the box here is a lot more compact because of the nature of the pose. Inside, she comes sandwiched between two styrofoam trays and the only assembly required is pegging the figure into the base via tow metal posts.

Straight away I’ll say that I love the composition for this piece. The vast majority of the Cover Girls have been fairly conservative, and very vertical, museum style poses. There’s nothing wrong with that. I love it. They all look great when displayed together. But if it weren’t for this release trying something different, I probably wouldn’t have taken notice and ultimately purchased her. Here, Selina sits atop a safe in a very cat-like pose, her hands resting in front of her and one leg drawn up on top of the safe. Overall, the pose is very reminiscent to me of the one Diamond recently did for their Marvel Gallery Black Cat. I don’t know which one came first, but this one instantly reminded me of her Marvel counterpart.

I love the simple look they went for with her costume. The skin tight catsuit features only some sculpted wrinkles and stitch lines in the way of details. Well, that and the silver ring zipper, which is surprisingly zipped all the way up to her chin. Yup, you’ll have to look elsewhere for your kitty cleavage fix. Her knee-high boots are each sculpted with three buckling straps and chunky high heeled wedges. Finally, her whip is sculpted coiled around her waist and snaking down the back of the safe like a kitty cat tail. The paintwork on the costume is also quite lovely with a mix of black and purple to depict the light reflecting off of it. Additionally, the zipper and boot buckles are all sharply painted with a crisp silver.

The portrait is just full of character. Selina stares ahead with her perfect green eyes and a cocky smirk on her lips. Her face is framed by the sculpted snug hood and her goggles are worn up on her forehead. The goggle rims and strap are painted silver to match the zipper on the costume and the lenses in the goggles are tinted red plastic. The headgear is topped off by two perfect little cat ears. I’ve got zero things to nitpick with the portrait. I was really sold on it based off the solicitation photos and I think this is one of those somewhat uncommon examples where the production piece came out just as good.

The safe is an extremely simple piece. It’s got a black matte metal finish to it and a raised door on the front. The door features two sculpted hinges, rivets running around the edges, a handle, and a giant combination dial the front. Diamond went a step further with their Black Cat piece, by having the safe door open, but I think this works just fine. The safe is detailed enough to look good, but it doesn’t upstage the figure itself. One of the odd things about this piece is that the base is sculpted with Joelle Jone’s signature. I don’t think any of the Cover Girls statues has done this in the past, and it further makes this statue feel like a stand-alone release to me.

DC Collectibles is still limiting these pieces, this time to 5,000 each. They are hand-numbered on the bottom of the base. I purchased mine quite a while after it was released, but still got a fairly low number, #468.

Catwoman tends to be something of a focus in my collection, so this may have been an inevitable purchase. Truth be told, I like the Cover Girls series a lot, but I truly have no place left to display these gals and I’m not keen on getting to the point where I’m cycling statues in and out of display because I have too many. Yeah, I already do that with my Gallery Statues from Diamond, but those are just so damn good for the money, sometimes I can’t resist them. Nonetheless, I think it was the distinctive composition mixed with the alluring portrait that made me bite on this one. I believe the MSRP on these pieces are up around $125, but they tend to list closer to the $100 mark. I think I paid $75 for this one as part of a holiday sale. Yup, she really has been waiting around to be opened for a while. But I will say that she was money well spent.

Feb 7 2020

Cover Girls of the DC Universe (Series 3): Mera by DC Collectibles

What’s this? An actual DC Friday? Yup! It’s hard to believe I used to have enough material (and time) to do these every week, but if sure feels good to come back to it every now and then for old time’s sake. If you’ve been with me for a while than you may know I was an avid collector of the second series of DC Collectibles’ Cover Girls cold-cast porcelain statues. But when the series rebooted again I decided that in the interest of diminishing display space that I would call it quits. For someone with very little willpower when it comes to buying collectibles, I have remained surprisingly true to that decision. That’s not to say that I haven’t been admiring them from afar. And ultimately, it was a price that I couldn’t refuse on Mera that made me finally dip my toe into this third series. It’s been about two years since I last visited with this line, so I’m more than ready!

The previous line was based on the art of Stanley Artgerm Lau, whereas this time around it’s Joelle Jones’ turn and I dig both artists’ work a lot. The packaging on this line hasn’t changed much since my absence, although this time around they are scaled bigger and the size of the box obviously reflects that. The statue still comes in a fully enclosed box and sandwiched between two Styrofoam trays to keep it safe. I’ve heard one or two horror stories about breakage with this new series, but I was happy to see that mine survived. The only assembly required is pegging Mera’s single foot post into the base. Let’s do that and check her out!

Standing tall and proud, Mera strides across the waves with confident poise and her head held high. It’s an appropriately regal look for the Queen of the Depths. And regal is also the word I would choose to describe her attire. She sports the very familiar form-fitting scaled bodysuit with some stylish gold piping on her arms, torso and boots. I also dig the stylized “M” strategically placed where her belt buckle would be. The bulk of the scales are painted over in a stunning emerald green, as are the boots. The center of her chest and her arms are painted gold, making for a very striking two-tone deco. Every detail on this costume is part of the sculpt and the precision and quality of the paint applications are both excellent.

Moving on to the portrait, and oh boy do I get a major Filmation (as in He-Man/She-Ra) vibe off of this. I’m not sure if it’s from the eyes, but I saw it right away and can’t unsee it. It’s not a bad thing, mind you, just that I find the styles highly similar. Mera’s face is framed by a gold tiara, behind which flows her voluminous red hair. The sculptor really went over the top on her hair and it looks great. The painted facial features match the impecable quality of the rest of the piece. Her eyes are straight and even and the eyebrows and lips are crisp and sharp. No complaints here.

And that brings us to the base. As with the previous Cover Girls Mera, they went with a translucent plastic to simulate water and the effect works beautifully. The splashing water erupts from beneath her feet and curls up at the ends, all set upon a disc-shaped platform. Flip the base over and the bottom is branded with DC Collectibles and shows that the piece is hand-numbered. Mine is 324 of 5000 pieces produced. The previous series produced 5200 of each, so it looks like they shaved a whole 200 off each run.

The previous Cover Girls Mera was one of my favorite statues in that series, so it comes as high praise when I say I like this one almost as much. There are actually some things this one does better, like that superb water effect, and in truth this one has a far more intricate sculpt. Plus the green paint used for her suit looks a bit more premium here. With that having been said, I do really like the way the Artgerm version is balanced, as if defying gravity, and the portrait is less stylized and still absolutely drop dead gorgeous. Did I really need two Meras on my Cover Girl shelf? Nah, but I picked this one up over the holidays for around $40, which was a deal I could not refuse and I’m glad that was the case because she is a very beautiful piece. Does it mean I’m going to dip into any more of this third series? Eh, maybe. I sure have been eyeing that Catwoman, so if you’re interested in that one you may want to keep watching this space.

Apr 7 2017

Cover Girls of the DC Universe: Harley Quinn (Ver.2) by DC Collectibles

I’m committed to getting completely caught up with DC’s Cover Girls before the next statue ships in a month or so, and to that end I’m finally getting around to this, the second version of Harley Quinn to be released in the current incarnation of the line. The first Harley consisted of her full-on New 52 look, whereas this one returns the character to her more classic look. It’s also worth noting that a third version of Cover Girls Harley has been announced, but I’m pretty sure that one will kick off the third Cover Girls series, which will be under the stewardship of a new artist.

The statue comes in a really big box. Next to Bleez, this is probably the biggest box they’ve had to use for this line. What’s funny, though, is that it weighs so little that I was actually worried that there might not be anything in it. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case and what’s really going on here is that Harley’s a pretty slender gal, but her rather unique pose required the bigger box. Combine those two elements, and you get the deceptive size to weight ratio. With that having been said, the box is bright and snappy with a white, black and red deco. It notes on the bottom that this is a numbered second edition, as the original run did sell out and DC Collectibles put her back into production. As a result, the limitation here is 5,000 as opposed to the usual 5,200. Apart from the disclaimer on the box, that change in limitation is the key to identifying the second edition of the statue.

Harley comes balancing with her left foot on her giant hammer and her right leg stretched out in front of her. Her right hand clutches the handle of the hammer and her left hand sports her over-sized pop-gun. There’s a lot to love about this pose. It’s distinctive and totally Harley. She’s playful and whimsical, and she’s probably going to murder someone with that hammer. On the other hand, the composition here makes for a statue that for me really only has one “sweet spot,” which is basically the angle of the first picture.  The problem with this is that it means her right leg is also protruding forward. My Cover Girls display shelves are getting a little congested, and to put it bluntly, when it comes to taking up space on the shelf, Harley does not play well with others. I’m also a little worried I’m going to knock that leg when passing by and all Joker’s horses and all Joker’s men won’t be able to put Harley back together again.

Looking beyond the composition, I have to say that I love what they did with the sculpt. The costume is appropriately simple, but even the little things like the diamonds on her legs are sculpted and not just painted on. She’s also got little wrinkles around her ankles, the flare of her little boots, and the fringe around her wrists and neck all look fantastic. I’m very happy that they went with a subtle gloss for the costume. The Harley from the first incarnation of Cover Girls always looked way too glossy for me. The paint on the costume is super clean too, the lines are pretty sharp, and the red  is nice and even, and compliments the black and white beautifully. There are, however, a few QC issues on my statue, and to show you, I’m going to have to go in for a butt shot. Sorry, can’t be helped.

So first off, let me get it out of the way. Daaaaaayum, that’s a fine tokus! But what we’re really looking at here is that scattering of what appear to be paint bubbles on her right ass cheek. These are pretty unsightly, but at least they’re in a place where they won’t be normally be seen when she’s on display. Instead, I’m only apt to notice them when I pick her up and scrutinize that fine clown caboose. And how often is that going to be, eh? OK, probably a lot.

The portrait is pretty solid. There are a few very minor blemishes on her face, but you have to get in pretty close to see them. Also, it kind of looks like what you might expect to see on grease paint. What’s crazy is that teeny tiny bit of flesh color that they put around the seam between her collar and her hood. I also like the subtle rumple in her tassels. Unfortunately, the posing here does get in the way a little of really taking in her facial features. With her hand holding the gun up in front of her, you have to come in at an angle.

The base uses the standard oval structure that we’ve seen since the earliest releases in this line. I like how they get around that by having her stand on the hammer. It’s like they wanted to do something special, but still conform to the standard that the line has been using. They really went all out on the wood detail for the mallet, which makes for a nice contrast to the smooth and mostly featureless costume she’s wearing. The red and black deco looks great on the base and the paint here is nice and clean. As always, the statue is hand numbered on the bottom, with mine being 1532 of 5,000.

So, I actually passed on this statue when it was first offered. While I have most of this series of Cover Girls, there have been a select few that I skipped. Most notable was the first version of Wonder Woman, which did nothing for me and had a reputation for some unfortunate QC issues. I would have probably stuck with my inclination to skip Harley here, had I not found this second edition for the irresistible price of $45. How could I go wrong? Yeah, I know what you’re saying… you could get one with ass bubbles, and you did! I’m pretty sure that was just a coincidence as my statue was still sealed and I’ve still seen Ms. Quinn here floating around in the forties through other sellers. She’s a nice piece of work, but not one of my favorite releases in the line. I think a lot of that may come down to just having Classic Harley fatigue. Which would also explain why I still prefer the first release version to this one, as it’s something different.

Mar 24 2017

Cover Girls of the DC Universe: Starfire by DC Collectibles

The current incarnation of Cover Girls of the DC Universe is running out of time. There are only three more statues due to release before it reboots in favor of a new artist. Conversely, there are only three previously released Cover Girls that I need in order to get all caught up, and I’m opening one of those today. I hope you like Tamaranean T&A, because it’s time to check out the lovely Princess Koriand’r!

I’ve showcased enough of these statues by now that I have precious little left to say about the packaging. Starfire comes in a fully enclosed box and sandwiched between two styrofoam trays. It’s not the snazziest presentation out there, but it’s collector friendly, and I’ve yet to receive one of these pieces damaged, so obviously the packing is doing its job. Starfire requires no assembly. She’s already attached to her base and ready to go.

And WOW! Starfire hovers in mid-flight supported by the toe of her right boot, which dips into the fiery trail left behind by her hair. There are so many things I love about the composition of this piece. The graceful flow of her body, tapering off to her outstretched right hand is absolute poetry and the way her hair arcs alongside her is stunning. It’s not only a great comic statue, but a wonderful study of the female form. The balance (both literal and figurative) of the statue is also fantastic, as Starfire looks like she’s defying gravity. Cover Girls is so often about museum-style posing, but every now and then DCC lets loose and delivers a release like this one. It’s definitely one of the most kinetic statues in the line, and yet she still feels right at home when displayed among her fellow Cover Girls.

The costume is lifted directly from her appearances in Red Hood and the Outlaws, although purple and skimpy has almost always been the order of the day for Koriand’r, so this New 52 look isn’t a huge departure from her more classic appearances. Granted, she covered up a bit more once she got her own book by Amanda Connor, but that’s another statue for another day. It’s perhaps worth noting that there isn’t a lot of sculpted muscle definition here. I only tend to notice it around her abs area where it’s totally smooth. Not a problem for me, but I thought it was an interesting choice on the part of the sculptor and I feel it gives her a slightly more animated appearance.

From the neck down, the paint on this piece is quite good, both in terms of quality and application. The metallic purple used for her costume is right on the money and is nicely complimented by the silver borders. Her distinctive orange skin is just the right shade as well as being smooth, warm, and even. There are a few areas on mine where the paint lines don’t quite conform to the sculpted lines, but I really had to scrutinize her carefully to notice them. Needless to say whatever tiny flubs are here, don’t bother me at all.

And as long as we’re doing paint checks… nothing wrong back here!

I like the portrait a lot, but I think there are just a few areas for improvement here. Normally, I wouldn’t bother mentioning them, but since all I’m doing is gushing over this piece, I’ll play devil’s advocate for a bit. The first is just my personal preference that I would have liked to see a little smirk or smile on her face. As it is, it’s a very neutral expression, and that’s fine. There’s so much great stuff going on here, that I’m not immediately drawn to her expression anyway. Secondly concerns the paint application, which is a tad off on the hairline and the lips, both of which are only really an issue if I get in super close and start to scrutinize it. Still, it’s not bad and I’ve seen far worse paint applications on far more expensive “premium” statues.

The base manages to maintain the uniform oval generic theme of this line, while still going above and beyond. For most of the Cover Girls, the bases are just something for the figures to stand on, but here, it’s an integral part of the presentation, as her hair flows down and transitions into the fire effect. It’s beautifully done and genuinely hard to tell where the cold-cast porcelain ends and the translucent plastic begins. The effect is quite similar to what we saw with Bleez’s fire base and Mera’s water base. It’s an effect that could easily make or break the statue, but here it succeeds brilliantly. As always, the limitation is hand numbered on the bottom of the base. Mine is 2,223 of 5,200.

Starfire’s MSRP is right in line with the other Cover Girls at around $100. It’s certainly a fair price for what you’re getting, but I try to do a little bargain hunting when it comes to this line, and was able to pick her up for just under $70. Between the elaborate marrying of hair and base, the vibrant combination of colors, and just the overall beauty of her form, I think this is one piece that really sticks out, even in a display case full of Cover Girls releases. It’s also a piece that makes for a great stand-alone representation of Koriand’r for someone who isn’t collecting the line. And considering that Kotobukiya’s Bishoujo Starfire is now selling for well over $100, this one is a damn good value too.

Mar 3 2017

Cover Girls of the DC Universe: Power Girl by DC Collectibles

Apologies to DC fans who have missed DC Friday for the last two weeks, but truth be told, I’m almost caught up with opening my DC figures and statues, so I’ve been rotating DC Fridays out in favor of other areas. It’s going to continue to be a little hit-or-miss in the weeks ahead. But I’m bringing it back home today with a look at another DC Cover Girls statue. This time, it’s one of my all time favorites… Power Girl!

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If you’re unfamiliar with this line, these are approximately 9-inch scale, cold cast porcelain statues released in numbered editions. The box she comes in is mostly white with, in this case, a blue swipe running down the the front. You get some photos of the statue and credits to the designer, Stanley Lau, and the sculptor, Jack Matthews. The box is fully enclosed and collector friendly. The collectible comes wrapped in plastic and sandwiched between two hearty styrofoam bricks. The only assembly required is to plug Kara’s feet into the base via the metal posts. It’s a comfortable fit, they go in easy and despite just balancing on one foot, she’s very sturdy.

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Power Girl stands confidently with one knee bent and palming her fist as she prepares for a fight (someone’s about to get the most enjoyable beat-down they’ll ever get in their life!), while a breeze blows her half-cape and short coif of hair off to the side. This is a great pose that not only characterizes the nobility and courage of Power Girl beautifully, but also fits in right at home with her fellow Cover Girl statues. It’s cover-worthy composition with the promise of a little action to come.

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The sculpt does a fantastic job of recreating Power Girl’s timeless outfit. The white one-piece features sculpted seam lines and some slight wrinkles to suggest it’s properly snug in all the right places. Of course, you also get the high collar and her iconic boob window. Hey! Her eyes are up there, mister! Her cape is perfectly sculpted to billow in the breeze and is secured by a sculpted gold painted disc and braided cord. The rest of her costume is rounded out by her blue buccaneer boots and gloves and a blue belt with gold buckle. About the only downside is that her cape obstructs the view of her caboose. Just saying.

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The coloring and quality of paint on this statue are both exceptional. The white is clean with a subtle glossy sheen, the blue is deep and rich, the red is vibrant, and the gold adds that perfect little pop to the whole ensemble. What’s more the flesh tones on her legs and chest are warm, even and clean. When it comes to the figure itself, I have to say I’ve seen far more expensive statues painted with a lot less care than this one.

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The portrait is spot on and absolutely lovely. The shape of her face and the contours of her perfect nose make her a sight to behold. The paint on the eyes, eyebrows, and lips is all crisp, and the sculpting on the wind blown hair is perfect. If I wasn’t already in love with Power Girl, admiring that face would surely push me over the edge.

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The base is the standard oval that we’ve been seeing throughout most of this line. It’s painted white with blue edges and you get her trademark “P” at the cardinal points. The base is also the only place on this piece where the quality of paint application stumbles a bit. It’s not terrible, but the lines are certainly not as straight and even as they could have been. Nonetheless, if the paint has to take a hit somewhere, I’d much rather it be down on the base than on the figure itself. As always, the limitation is hand numbered on the bottom of the base. Mine is 2,722 of 5,200.

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The suggested retail here is around $99, but a little patience and hunting netted me this one for $66 shipped and it’s hard to beat that! Most people who know me are surprised that I didn’t jump on this one the moment it was released. The truth is that most of the official photos gave me pause. Even the shots on the box don’t do the finished product justice at all. When she arrived and I opened her, I was practically bracing myself for disappointment. And in fairness, my love of Power Girl means that I often hold her merch up to especially high standards. But, as it turned out, I couldn’t possibly have been more delighted with the way this statue turned out. I have just a few more DC Cover Girls to get caught up on and then there’s three more yet to be released this year before DC Collectibles reboots this line again with a new artist. Will I still be on board after the reboot? Most likely.

Dec 2 2016

Cover Girls of the DC Universe: Mera by DC Collectibles

I’m just about done going back and picking up all the older Cover Girls that I needed to fill out my collection. In fact, Mera here was one of the last. There are a couple recent releases I still need to grab, Raven and Power Girl, but what the future holds for this line is still uncertain. The only Cover Girls solicit I’ve seen for 2017 so far is Hawkgirl, so it could be that DCC is wrapping this one up. And that would make sense, what with the shakeup from New 52 to ReBirth this year. But I’d best not get ahead of myself, let’s live in the moment and have a look at the lovely Mera!

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After looking at over a dozen of these ladies, there isn’t much new to report about the packaging. Mera comes in a fully enclosed box with some pictures of the statue on the front and side panels. The back panel advertises the Katana statue that I’ve already looked at here, and Starfire, which I’ll be getting around to eventually. As usual, the statue comes wrapped in plastic and encased in a styrofoam brick. The base comes separate from the figure, so you need to do some assembly that is minor, but no less harrowing. I’ll come back to that when I talk about the base.

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Once set up, Mera makes for both a majestic and gorgeous display piece. All of these statues are executed in roughly a 9-inch scale, but Mera’s a bit bigger since she’s elevated. She rises from the waves with her back arched and her right arm reaching out to the unseen object that has captured her gaze. For a line that has gotten by with mostly static and almost museum-style poses, Mera here really breaks tradition with a composition full of grace and energy. Just the engineering of the balance here is impressive as she appears to defy gravity.

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Mera is clad in her fish-scaled green bodysuit that covers from the tips of her toes all the way up to her shoulders, allowing for a deep and revealing plunging chest cut-out and ending with long sleeves. Apart from the individually sculpted scales, the only other detail and paint variation on the bodysuit itself comes from the gold shell patterns on the cuffs of her sleeves. The green paint used for the suit features an appropriate sheen and the flesh tone used for her hands and exposed neck and cleavage is soft, warm and evenly applied. The paint and quality of application here is some of the best I’ve seen in this line.

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Mera’s portrait also ranks up pretty high on my list. Previously, my favorite was the other green costumed redhead, Poison Ivy, but I think Mera is giving her a run for her money. The sculpt is beautiful and the paint applications, from her lips to her eyes, are neat and precise. The subtle green eye shadow is a nice touch as are the gold hoop earrings. She has a gold tiara and her red hair spills out the back, with some stray strands snaking around her neck. Oh yeah… and bewbs! Mera is not too modest to show off her goodies.

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As a rule, I don’t have a lot to say about the bases on these statues, but Mera’s is an exception. She manages to retain the familiar and uniform oval style with her emblem positioned at the four cardinal points. However, this time instead of a mere painted platform, we get a sculpted transparent blue wave of water that cradles her feet and ankles. It’s a similar flourish that we saw with Bleez’s firery base and it looks just as magnificent here.
What’s also magnificent, and a little scary, is the fact that Mera does not have any actual pegs or posts to support her connection to the base. Instead, the waves are sculpted so that they grab her ankles and provide a slot for her right toes. There are no instructions, and it took me a while to get the figure positioned correctly in the base. And all the while, I was worrying about scratching her paint. Fortunately, the plastic waves are soft, and when you do make the connection, it’s secure enough that you can pick her up from the figure and that base isn’t going anywhere. That having been said, if I ever need to re-box this lady, I’m not looking forward to trying to get the two apart again.

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As always, the bottom of the base is hand numbered. Mine is 2,561 of 5,200.

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In a line that seldom disappoints me, Mera shines all the more brighter. One of the things that has impressed me the most about the Cover Girls line is the work that DCC puts into some of the backbench characters. Statues like Mera, Katana, Bleez, and Vixen have all turned out fantastic and certainly rival some of the A-listers in terms of overall sculpt and composition. And maybe I just have a thing for busty red heads in tight green costumes, but Mera and Poison Ivy are among my favorites in this collection. As always, these statues carry an MSRP of about $100, but are easy to find a lot less. Indeed, Mera is currently being clearanced out at a number of online retailers and I was able to pick her up for the sweet price of $65.

Nov 11 2016

Cover Girls of the DC Universe: Wonder Woman (Ver. 2) by DC Collectibles

Back when Cover Girls got rebooted, Wonder Woman was one of the first statues out of the gate. That initial release remains one of the very few of these ladies that I don’t own. It’s nothing against that particular statue, I just never got around to going back and picking her up. Well, now DCC has done a second version of her, and it’s spectacular, I doubt I’ll have any desire to revisit the first.

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There’s nothing new to say about the packaging. It’s the same fully enclosed box that houses a brick of styrofoam with the statue inside. The back of the box has photos of Bleez and the second version of Harley Quinn. Wonder Woman comes wrapped in plastic and measures at just around 9 1/2-inches tall. All you need to do is plug her into the base via a pair of metal rods and she’s all ready for display.

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There’s so much I love about this piece, I’m not sure where to begin. Yes, it’s a very conservative and conventional pose. Diana is standing with her left hip to the side and her hand resting on it. She holds her golden lasso in her right hand and her right foot is behind her with the toe of her boot touching the back of the base. It’s not action packed. It’s not even all that original. But, I think the composition here just captures the character so well. It’s heroic, it’s noble, and perhaps most of all it’s confident. And those are all qualities that I associate with this Amazon goddess.

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The costume here is most definitely the New 52 look and I’ve never had a problem with it. It pays respects to her traditional look with just a little extra oompf. Her one piece features the red segmented middle with the reinforced silver border on the top, an integral silver “belt” and finishes at the bottom with the blue “undies” with white stars. She has her simple blue boots with the white border at the top that points in the front, her silver arm bracers and the silver band on her left bicep. The muscle tone in her arms is particularly well done and she’s certainly packing some assets up front.

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As good as everything is from the neck down, the portrait is even better. In fact, I’d say this is one of the best since the line rebooted. Not only is Diana beautiful, but I’m in love with her eyes and her little grinning smirk. Again, she just exudes confidence. She looks like she’s about to get into the fray and is thinking, “this is going to be fun.” The fine details on her choker and tiara are fantastic and I just love what they did with her hair as it cascades down and behind her right shoulder. She’s just plain dreamy.

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I’ve had a few slight issues with paint on a couple of my recent Cover Girls, but where they fumbled, Wonder Woman grabs the ball and goes the distance. In fact, I might as well start by pointing out the only issue on the whole piece and that’s a tiny stroke of stray silver paint near her left elbow. The rest of this piece is meticulously painted with sharp edges and barely a brush mark to speak of. The red and blue are both rich and the silver is bright and beautiful. I also love her skin tone. It’s soft, warm, and appropriately tanned.

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So, if I had to pick something to gripe about, I’ll go with the translucent yellow plastic they used for her coiled lasso. I get what they were going for here, I don’t think it looks bad, but I think it would have looked better had they just painted it with a nice gold leaf paint, like the kind they used on the base.

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Speaking of which, the base is the standard Cover Girls oval with a gold surface and accents and the edges painted white. There are tiny WW emblems at the cardinal points, all painted gold. As usual, these statues are limited to 5,200 pieces and hand numbered on the bottom of the base. Mine is 2,504.

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I was looking forward to getting Wonder Woman on my Cover Girls shelf ever since they revealed this second version and I’m happy to say she did not disappoint. In fact, she’s instantly become one of my favorite pieces in this line. Everything about this piece just comes together so beautifully and the quality of craftsmanship on display here should be the standard they look to. To make things even better, I got a ridiculously great deal on her. While I would have been perfectly happy paying the MSRP of a hundred bucks, I was able to pick her up for $60. Not too shabby at all.