Review – Batman Black and White Statue: Ethan Van Sciver
It’s time for another look at the Batman Black and White statue series* with a look at my second purchase, the Ethan Van Sciver statue* that was released back in 2009. How is it? Not as cool as the Gotham Knight that I reviewed last month, but neat enough that I still want more pieces in the series.
Not Quite 6-Inches Tall
The crouched pose leaves this statue not as tall as the last one that I reviewed, but even with the crouch the statue doesn’t feel like it’s to scale with the Gotham Knight statue. I suspect that has more to do with artistic styles than anything else; it does make me wonder if DC is trying to stick to a specific scale for the line or if the pieces are just roughly sculpted close to the same size.
Ragged Paint and a Seam
The paintwork isn’t terrible on this statue though it is rougher than what we saw on the Gotham Knight statue. Even with just using black and gray there are jagged edges with the face which kinda detract from the statue’s coolness. But it’s actually minor and not even an issue if you don’t hold the statue and study it.
That nasty seam down the back is another story. You can see it in the photo above and it’s an ugly, ugly problem with the statue. But just like the paint issues this one vanishes — I doubt anyone displays the statue with its back facing out — so once I place the statue on the shelf it won’t be a problem. I’m glad I found this statue cheap or else I’d be very unhappy with the seam and the paint.
Closing Thoughts
Despite its flaws, this statue does nothing to damage my interest in the Batman Black and White statue series*. The first statue was incredible enough to make up for the problems with this one, and seeing the group of them on display last month made me realize that this is one of those lines that really looks more impressive as you add pieces to it.
The Ethan Van Sciver statue* looks pretty good — I especially like the batwing-like parts of the cape — but it’s merely adequate because of paint issues and that seam down its back. Not recommended as your first purchase in the line and not even recommended as a second or third purchase.
Philip Reed still hasn’t opened the Man-Bat statue that arrived in the mail. There needs to be more time in the day.