Coming a year or so after Sideshow Collectibles released the Mystique PF, which is a gorgeous statue, the Mystique comiquette had a lot to live up to. It’s part of the Adam Hughes line and based off of her classic look, as opposed to the more modern PF look.

I’ll mention right off the bat that I purchased the exclusive and immediately sold the print. I didn’t like it in the slightest and at least at the time, was consistently selling far cheaper than any other Adam Hughes print. With that out of the way, let’s take a look over her. The first thing you’ll likely notice is she’s a rather dark blue, a fair bit darker than the PF. While I’m sure this is the look Hughes wanted, I prefer a lighter blue, it looks more appealing. I could’ve done with the hair being a slightly lighter shade as well but both are minor complaints, they’re still appealing. Just not as appealing as they could be.

The dress is held in place with strong magnets so for fellow pervs, you can check out Mystique in a less clothed form. Sure, the giant magnet holes are distracting, but no one is actually going to display it that way. They did a great job on hiding the separation between the statue and magnetic parts, I can’t even tell. Moving on to the sculpting detail, it’s superb. From the fantastic base to her killer body, the skull belt, the flowing dress, even her hair, I like all of it. She’s got a really great face and expression. I could do with the breasts being slightly smaller, they’re Powergirl enormous here.

While there are some minor paint issues in the detail areas, there’s little to complain about here. It’s a fairly simple paint job but it looks good for what it is. The skulls look great. One thing that seems a bit bizarre, the Mystique comiquette is enormous. It’s about as tall as the PF version, making her a fair bit larger than most of the Adam Hughes ladies. While it’s unusual to complain about getting more for your dollar, if you’re planning to display her with the rest of the AH gals, it’s something to consider. Compare her to the Black Cat comiquette and there’s a huge difference.

4.5/5. I wouldn’t bother with the exclusive. They made enough of these that you can get the regular for a good price.

Buying Options : Sold out at Sideshow for a while now and not available on Amazon at the moment, check Ebay.

I’ll be looking at one of the earlier DC Direct Cover Girls of DC this week, Black Canary. Let’s get right into it!

Why they managed to get fishnets on Black Canary and not Zatanna, I have no clue. The fishnets were the first thing I noticed (simply because they ARE missing on Zatanna), they add a bit of a mixed media feel to it and they’re a nice touch. Although they look awful in the back, not sure why they couldn’t fix that problem. You’ll notice in my first picture that the pegs on the foot weren’t fully inserted. I’m not sure if it was an issue with just mine or if it was common but man, those pegs were TIGHT. I didn’t want to jam the statue in there that hard.

I love the pose here. It gives off the impression she just finished kicking some ass, no big deal. Full of a casual confidence. I like the sculpt in general, the jacket looks nice, the hair is fine, although the breasts looks a little strange, you can see what I mean in the third picture. It doesn’t detract from it, it’s just a little odd from some angles.

As you can tell, the paint is pretty plain on most of it. It’s a very simple character design. What’s there is good, although the hair could look nicer. Something about the face bothers me, I think it’s the lips. I looked at it for a while and from certain angles…she simply doesn’t look as I pictured her. It’s difficult to identify exactly why, which is a total cop-out for a review, but even looking at it now it doesn’t look ugly by any means.

3.5/5. A good statue but it has flaws. I’ll wait for another release down the line.

Buying Options : Goes for fairly cheap on Ebay. I believe she’s the cheapest of the Cover Girls.

Checking out the exclusive first, I was kinda pissed off about it. It arrived bent (you can see it in the picture) and had two holes in it. Fair warning : Don’t be an idiot Ebay seller and pack it wrong. It’s a damn print, you pack it flat on the side! Not difficult. On the plus side, the print is gorgeous. One of the nicer images I’ve ever seen of Black Cat. It’s actually a little TOO good…more on that later.

On to the statue. The print has Black Cat leaning backwards but for the statue, they decided on a straight pose with no lean. It’s not nearly as sexy and relaxed as the illustration, but you know, it’s not bad either. You can’t really tell in the pictures (since I fixed it a bit), but the grate on mine leans sideways. I might be a total doofus and not putting it in the base right, but it takes away from the effect.

The sculpt on her body is superb. Just look at those curves, damnn. Even though she’s mostly covered, the body suit leaves little to the imagination. The sculpt on the face though…something about it puzzles me. She’s got a really cute face, the hair looks great and flows nicely down the back. I think the problem might be that she looks a little bored. Not really something I want in my lady statues, you know? Still, I like the face better than the Black Cat PF, which I saw at SDCC.

While the paint is simple, most of it is done very well. The skintones are pleasant, and the suit is perfect. It’s just a gloss black, but as you can see from the pictures, there’s a whole lotta reflection going on up in there. The hair is a plain white, a little bit of shading wouldn’t have killed them.

The base on this looks solid. It matches the print well, it’s sculpted nicely, and the paint looks great. Fine job.

The real problem comes when you compare the statue to the print. The print looks a lot nicer. Yeah sure, that’s happened with a few of the Sideshow Hughes statues, it’s just a little worse here than say, the Rogue. But you know what, there’s still a lot to like, and I think this is the cheapest of all the Hughes statues (either that or the She-Hulk, and I think this looks much better). When you consider how large she is, I think a lot of people will be happy with this.

4/5. I’d give this a 3.5 if it weren’t so damn cheap, but well, it is.

Buying Options : It’s old enough that the only place you’ll find it is Ebay.

This was inspired by the cover of Powergirl, issue 2. It came very close to the original look, but there’s a few changes that I wanted to mention. Pro – Her breasts, while still completely ridiculous, look more natural than the fake looking funbags that were on the cover. Con? Her face doesn’t look as soft as it did on the original art.

That’s almost my only issue with this statue, but it bothers me. Her face comes off as very angular, not round enough. That affects how her lips look as well, they should be wider.

Now I know people on the forums have been loving this statue, we just have differing opinions on how the face should’ve looked. Even so, it’s mostly only visible from certain angles. While I’m complaining, the paint on mine was a little sloppy in some detail areas. See how it looks around the belt? Not the best. A little more shading in the hair wouldn’t have hurt either.

Time to switch it up and talk about the good stuff. I love the pose. She’s got a very powerful and confident thing going for her. The majority of the paint looks great, especially the eyes on this piece. Her hair, the cape, it’s all fine sculpting.

There’s a lot to like and it’s the most heroic representation of Powergirl you’re likely to see from DC Direct anytime soon. I prefer Powergirl being a bit of a goofball in the DC universe, like in the ongoing comic she has now, so the original Adam Hughes bust and the upcoming Amanda Conner one are more than fine for me.

3.5/5.

Buying Options : Might still be available at your LCS, but unlikely. You’re most likely stuck with Ebay and Amazon.

Minor photography complaint : Wonder Woman here looks much better from a slightly higher angle, like so.

DESIGNED BY ADAM HUGHES – SCULPTED BY JACK MATHEWS

With strength and speed, the Girl of Steel blasts up through soil and stone, shattering solid rock, shooting into the stratosphere. As the Kryptonian cousin of Superman, Kara Zor-El has her sights set on the stars, streaking through the heavens in a supersonic blur – a soaring symbol of justice and truth.

Supergirl is the latest hero to join the stunning COVER GIRLS OF THE DC UNIVERSE statue series, with fan-favorite artist Adam Hughes specially commissioned to design Supergirl for this smashingly successful series.

Hand-painted, cold-cast in porcelain and measuring approximately 11.75” high x 4.25” wide x 5” deep, this statue is packaged in a 4-color box.

Limited Edition. On Sale January 12, 2011. $99.99 MSRP.

If you look at my photos, you’ll see the glove doesn’t go quite between her fingers. This is a known issue with this statue. It can be fixed by heating the glove and adjusting it carefully. I didn’t have the space in my room to display it so I didn’t want to fool around with it just yet.

About my earlier point, the Sideshow photography. While it was competent, the main issue was it gave a poor impression of her face. The print has a gorgeous smile. They made the statue appear to have a bit of an evil smirk. In person, while it does have a bit of that smirk, I’m happy to report there’s a solid smile there.

It’s surprising to see an Adam Hughes piece with so much clothing. In this case, a welcome addition. It’s appropriate for Rogue and it’s a striking piece. One of the most eye-catching statues I’ve ever seen. Light bounces off of it in very appealing ways.

The sculpting is spot on. The only issue that I would bring up is the smile and even that’s not bad. The elaborate base is fantastic, both the bricks and the destroyed wall. Rogue’s pose is cute, yet shows off her power. The sculpting on the hair, hands, gloves, all of that stuff looks good.

No issues with the paint whatsoever. Vibrant, colourful, spot on. As mentioned before, such an eye-catching piece. No paint drips or detail problems.

4.5/5. The face issue practically prevented me from buying this statue, so it’s not a surprise I’m deducting .5 because the face isn’t perfect. It’s good, but man, if it matched the print it’d be an even more knockout piece.

Buying Options : Off to Ebay you go, I recommend the exclusive. Amazon is overpriced at the moment, but check back later.

I’ve liked a few of the Adam Hughes Sideshow statue (especially Rogue), but I’ve always felt the DC pieces captured his style better. While I’m a fan of scantily clad females, his Emma Frost looked ridiculous and this felt like more of the same. I was pleasantly surprised.

The first thing I noticed, besides the oversized breasts, was the flowing cloth that she holds. It’s really nicely done and a very cool touch. I should mention that she’s normally displayed with a whip but I was an idiot and forgot to put it in her hands during these shots. Moving on. It’s sculpted very well. Black Queen comes off as a royal bitch, which is completely suitable for her dominatrix image. The facial expression is great, though not quite spot on with the print.

Since it’s the rear photo above, there is a small problem. The paint ends awkwardly down there so that ass looks a little strange up close. Not like I put my face in there, just from a few feet away. It would’ve made sense to go over that area and give it a little more shading so it wasn’t such an abrupt transition. Aside from that, the paint on my piece was very well done. Most detail areas were well represented.

I received the regular but I enjoyed it enough that I bought the print separately. The print is nicer than the statue but it’s close. The exclusive in this case is well worth it.

4.5/5. Nobody actually cares about the Black Queen as a character but if you’ve ever wanted a Marvel universe dominatrix, here you go!

Buying Options : This one’s been sold out for a while and it’s gone up in value a bit.