The DC animated universe is what really got me into DC. Sure, I’d read a few Batman and Superman comics before, but nothing that blew me away and made me into a fan of the universe. I’m sure I’ll blab on about the Batman and Superman animated shows later on, so I’ll keep this short. Basically, I think they’re great, and I love picking up neat stuff in that style. Today, I’ll be reviewing the Batman and Superman animated WB store exclusive busts from 1999.
My first impression was that these are huge. I knew they weren’t mini-busts, I just wasn’t expecting something that was over a foot tall. Most DC busts are either mini-busts, ala the Women of DC series, or 1:2 scale busts, like the recent Batman and Joker, and the Sideshow Legendary Scale busts. I can’t think of any other busts that’re in scale with these, so they stand out in a collection.
The paint is pretty decent, but it’s a fairly basic job and isn’t anything special. Superman’s eyes are strange. On my bust, they’re just black. I’ve seen other pictures where they’re like this, and I don’t get the reasoning. Why would Superman have black eyes that look like they simply weren’t painted? Who knows!
As for the sculpting, it’s not terribly well done. Batman is the better of the two and looks like his animated version, the Superman kind of does, but not really. Not nearly as nice as the maquettes. The bases are quite basic, and unfortunately, the letters are weak. It couldn’t have been that much more effort to make sure the letters look decent, but I guess that just wasn’t on the gameplan! The pose is fairly standard, and while nothing original, it’s not ugly either. I think these look pretty decent when displayed at an angle, so if you pick these up, keep that in mind.
2/5. These feel like a sloppy effort. The redeeming qualities are primarily the size and novelty of these busts, and that they look decent if you can display them at an angle. If you’re a huge fan of the animated series, these aren’t a bad purchase, but they should’ve put more effort into them. Poor form, DC!
Buying Options : The only place these are currently available is when they pop up on Ebay.
