Review of The Joker 1966 Batman TV show
Signature Series Statue

Introduction

The 1966 Batman television show - I love it, you know it. What more can I say that I haven't said in my many past reviews of collectibles based on the show?

If you thought I'd said it all, I'll surprise you. Actually, I've said this before, but it's worth repeating - of all the collectibles being produced or having been produced based on the classic show, the Tweeterhead statues are my personal favorite. In fact, when I did my top ten statue series feature a few weeks ago, they took the number 2 spot. That's no easy feat in today's market.

The latest release is one of the most memorable characters from the show - the Joker, as played by the great Cesar Romero. They are producing two versions, as usual, including a regular release that most retailers will carry, and their exclusive 'Signature Series' version only available through Tweeterhead. I don't know what the production run is on the regular release, but this exclusive is limited to just 200 pieces, a pretty low number. There are two changes to the exclusive, which I'll mention in the appropriate sections.

Both the regular and the exclusive were $250 to start, but the exclusive is long sold out. Even the regular is getting tough to find to pre-order, so you should make the call sooner rather than later.

Packaging - ***
There's nothing exceptional about the packaging, but the sturdy foam trays do their job and keep the three separate pieces (overall base with wall, full Joker, and additional clown head) safe and sound. Like most statue or bust packaging, it's quite collector friendly, and includes a Certificate of Authenticity. The first difference for the exclusive is with this COA - as the name 'signature series' would imply, it includes Romero's signature. Of course, this is NOT an actual signature, since Mr. Romero has been dead for quite some time. But it is a copy, and creates some consistency with the statues that DID include an actual signature, like Batman or Robin.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Tweeterhead has remained with a consistent artist for all the statues in this series. That would be Trevor Grove, well known in both statue and sixth scale communities for his work. I checked out a couple photos on line for comparison sake, including this one and this one (complete with brick wall).

The Joker's expressions and behavior on the show could best be described as 'manic'. The extreme expression here works great, as does the classic pose. He looks simply giddy with the anticipation of crushing Batman.

There are some areas that could use more detail, particularly the hair. It's much too soft of a sculpt, with very little sharpness to the strands.  The work on the eyebrows, skin texture (clumpy, thanks to the heavy make up), and mustache is great however, adding a little realism to the look.

That being said, this is a bit more of a caricature of the character and actor than some of their other releases. I suppose that's to be expected considering the over the top, comic book style portrayal, but this one isn't quite as realistic as some of the earlier releases.

Let's not ignore the mustache. Of course, everyone knows about the mustache. Romero refused to shave it for the role, as it was his trademark as a 'Latin lover'. His role on the show was on again, off again, so I can kind of understand his reluctance to repeatedly shave it and regrow it, and how that might effect his 'day job'. Television at the time was not exactly 'high def' either, and there was no way a viewer in 1966 realized there was hair under that slathering of heavy white make up. It wasn't until years later, when the resolution of televisions and recording media greatly improved that everyone realized he had a hairy upper lip. They've done a nice job sculpting it here, and it's always a nifty little bit of trivia.

It's also worth mentioning the great base, complete with brick backing wall. On the regular release, this wall just has an old school executioner's axe hanging on it, and you can also attach the extra clown head (more on that in the Accessories section). But the exclusive includes one additional item - the Joker Utility Belt, which he created because he was so jealous of Batman's! This belt is NOT removable, and is permanently affixed to the back wall.

These are a big sixth scale, and with the base he comes in at !4 1/4" tall.

Paint - **1/2
While the paint on this statue is reasonable, let's not forget that this is a $250 statue. It's not cheap by any means, and there's a certain expectation around the quality of the paint work.

In hand, it's reasonably good. The colors work for me, and most of the broad applications are clean and consistent in coverage and finish. There are edges that need to be better, like along the hair line and around the eyes, and some of the slips are a bit frustrating. For example, the watch face looks great, but the edge of the band, right next to it, is wavy and sloppy.

I can actually cut them quite a bit of slack on the face and hair here, because in real life it was all make up, and depended on the steady (or not) hand of the make up artist. In some screen captures from the show you'll see the green hairline is not particularly even or sharp, and even the red lips were a bit wonky. You can rationalize any issue with the face based on the issues the actual actor's makeup exhibited.

But other areas, particularly around the suit, are less forgivable. The collar color is running up onto the neck, the edges on the sleeves and gloves are wavy, and other details are less than stellar. Again, in hand it's reasonable, but considering the price point I'd like to see better work.

Accessories - ***
It's rare for a statue to have any accessories, so any score here is a big plus. This statue has a great one though, really adding to the overall appeal.

The clown head/mask is a separate piece, with a metal hanger on the back. It can be attached to the wall at a couple different spots, depending on your personal preference. It looks fantastic, with a cool sculpt and a nifty paint application. It was a nice addition, and adds a little more pizzazz to the back drop.

If I had one complaint, it's that I don't recognize the mask...remember, the one the Joker wore in the early episode looked almost identical to the one used years later by Ledger's Joker to rob the bank. Perhaps they couldn't reproduce that here, for fear of infringement...or perhaps I'm just forgetting when this particular mask was used. Perhaps a henchmen in a later episode? I'm sure one of my astute readers will point it out for me.

EDIT - I knew someone would help me out!  Here it is in the background, hanging on the wall!

Value - **1/2
At $250, it's not cheap, but it is in line with the rest of the series, and does include a rather nifty base/diorama. Of course, the exclusive was the better deal out of the gate - who wouldn't want that Joker utility belt on the wall? - but now that it's long sold out, you'll probably need to settle for the regular, which isn't quite as good of a deal.

Things to Watch Out For -
I had a little trouble getting the metal rod and resin foot peg into the base. There's a rubber insert in the hole that does make it less likely that the metal rod will damage the softer resin material, but it also means you have to push pretty hard to get the feet flat on the ground.

Overall - ***
I love the overall impression of this statue, but I do have some nits with the sculpt and paint. The quality of the paint is my biggest issue, and at this price point I'd like to see them get the quality up closer to what we saw with Catwoman or Batgirl.

They didn't have any additional characters at SDCC, nor have they put any up for pre-order yet. But don't despair - the Penguin was planned for the show, but wasn't quite ready in time. They are still working on King Tut, Bookworm, and Alfred, and if we manage to get those four, it will be one Hell of a run for the series.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - **1/2
Accessories - ***
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***

Where to Buy 
Tweeterhead was the place to pick up this exclusive version with the Joker utility belt, but the small edition size guaranteed a sell out at $250. Online options for the regular release include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other 1966 Batman statues from Tweeterhead include Egghead, Riddler, and the excellent Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and Catwoman.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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