Review of the Joker - Lee Bermejo Design
Batman Black and White statue

Introduction

The newest addition to the Batman Black and White series isn't Batman at all, but his arch enemy the Joker. This isn't the first Joker we've seen immortalized in this series - a couple years ago we were treated to the funky Jim Lee version. This time around though, it's a Lee of a different style, Lee Bermejo. They've also done another Batman Black and White statue based on Bermejo's designs, one of Batman himself.

This is a 'limited edition', and this is one of those examples where that's about as much of a stretch as you can make, at least in the world of DC collectibles. They produced a whopping 7000 of this guy, so finding one shouldn't be too hard.

He runs for around $70 - $80, depending on the retailer, and I have a couple examples in the Where to Buy section where you can even beat that by a couple bucks.

Packaging - ***
Pretty much the same box we've seen with every release, with different character photos. There's no Certificate of Authenticity, but the edition number is on the bottom of the box and the bottom of the statue. No window either, but that's been true of the entire run.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Mr. Bermejo has done quite a bit of work on the Batman series, including the graphic novel titled "Joker", done in 2008. The sculpt and design here is clearly based on that work. I don't recall this exact pose in the book, but there was a scene very similar where the Joker is leaving Arkham, and it looks like this design is a amalgamation of a couple panels.

And while this is clearly not Ledger as the Joker (the graphic novel was released the same year), you can clearly see the similarities between Bermejo's artwork and Nolan's vision.

I enjoy the realism and sharp detail of Bermejo's work, and the Joker graphic novel is not just a great story, but a great looking one. The talented Jean St. Jean has done a nice job translating the design into three dimensional resin, and has captured the hyper-detail in the wrinkling and scarring of the face extremely well.

Unlike the recent Tony Daniel's Bats, I love this pose. There's just the right amount of dynamic movement in the design, with the blowing coat tails and determined gait. He seems intent on evil doing, and nothing is getting in his way.

The statue and base are one piece this time, so no need to assemble on your end. He's a bit on the larger side, similar to the Bermejo Bats, so he'll look best posed near him on the shelf. These are all in that 6 - 7" scale, some being more in line with 6", some with 7". This guy tends more toward the latter.

Paint - ***
Obviously, the Joker is done up in gray scale tones, although there are some fairly white areas (his face), and others that are very black (his coat).

There's plenty of intentional slop here, particularly on the face paint, where the work is intended to make him look rough and slightly off kilter. It's a bit too heavy handed in this area for me though, with too much dark paint in the detailed wrinkles and scars.

The work from the neck down is excellent though, and there's a great touch that is difficult to see in photos. The interior of the coat, seen only where it is blowing upward, has a gloss black 'lining' that looks terrific in person.

Value - **1/2
At around $70, he's a reasonable, average value compared to other statues currently on the market. If you start paying $80 or more, you can drop another half star off this score. With a **1/2, that means this score has no appreciable effect on my Overall score either up or down.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing!

Overall - ***1/2
For those that like Bermejo's work, particularly those that picked up the Batman Black and White Bermejo Batman earlier, this is a terrific addition. It makes a nice companion to the earlier statue, and gives us a terrific modern age rendition of the clown prince.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has him at $73.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other Batman Black and White statue reviews include:

- just recently, I checked out the Tony Daniel Batman.

- prior to that it was Arkham Asylum.

- back before the holidays, I looked at the cool Man-bat, and don't forget the other black and white Joker by a Lee - Jim Lee.

- before that, we had the Quitely version of Batman, the Bermejo, the McGuinness version, the Dave Mazzucchelli version, the Penguin, Gotham Knight 2 version, the Bruce Timm version, the Ethan Van Sciver version, the Aparo, the Neal Adams and George Perez versions, the Gotham Knight, Bob Kane, Frank Miller, Jim Lee, Matt Wagner, Mike Mignola, and Kelley Jones. *whew*

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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