Review of Harley Quinn - Cover Girls DCU statue

Introduction

DC Direct is always fishing for the next Batman Black and White series - a series of consistent statues that they can put out over several years, and convince us completists that we need every one. They've failed to replicate the success of Bats B&W so far...but I think they might have hit the jackpot with the Cover Girls of the DCU series.

Based on the artwork of Adam Hughes, a fan favorite with comic book enthusiasts, particularly for his treatment of the fairer superhero sex, and sculpted by the very talented Jack Mathews. This is the team responsible for every release so far. They've clearly hit a winning combination with these two, and the basic concept - creating statues based largely on Hughes cover art - is clearly finding an audience. Earlier releases were done in an edition size of 5000, but Harley has jumped to a whopping (certainly by today's standards on the collectibles market) 8000 pieces.

You can expect to pay around $80 - $100 for Harley, and she's slightly more expensive than some of their other releases and pre-orders. That's likely due to her status as a fan favorite.

Packaging - ***
Decent graphics and a very solid interior foam tray make for an issue free package. There's no display window, but there is an edition number on the bottom as well as a very nice Certificate of Authenticity. The edition size and individual number is also printed on the base of the statue itself.

Sculpting - ****
Harley is posed leaning on her big hammer, covered in fresh blood. One foot is tilted slightly off the floor, hand on a hip, and the head has that tilt that says "I'm so damn cute you'll never see it coming".

The detail work is well done where appropriate, like the texture on the little puff balls. The face is beautiful, and the proportions, while not exactly 'natural', are at least humanly possible. I particularly like the muscle definition apparent through the suit.

She stands on a base complete with her name, and usually I hate that. But this time, she's standing over the letters, which gives it an interesting vibe - sort of like she's breaking through some sort of collectibles fourth wall.

She's done in the same 9" scale as the other lovely ladies in the series, making them quite a bit bigger than something like the Batman Black and White series, but not nearly as big as some of the sixth scale lines. She fits in well with the rest of the series scale-wise, and all her internal proportions are great.

Paint - ***
When I first laid eyes on this statue, I was pretty much overwhelmed. The black and red costume has a very - VERY - high gloss finish. The black and red sections look fantastic, and have a very consistent highly reflective coating.

But once I was able to get past the blinding brilliance of the finish, I noticed some other issues. Edges are a bit sloppy, particularly around the white collar and face. Worse, the eyes aren't quite even, with the left off a bit too far to the left. It's not quite at the lazy eye level, but it's close.

On the plus side, the more matte finish red paint on the hammer is a very realistic blood color, and gives her the villainous edge she deserves.

Value - **1/2
For the purposes of this category, I'm going to assume you picked her up in the $80 - $85 range, which considering the scale and quality is about right. You may end up paying closer to a $100, and at that price I'd pull another half star here, but there are enough options in the lower ball park that you shouldn't be forced to pay the big bucks...yet. In fact, with such a huge edition size, I'm betting you'll be able to get her at a reasonable price for quite awhile.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not at thing, since she comes all as a single piece (no need to attach her to the base), and there aren't any particularly breakable details. At least not any more breakable than you'd expect on a normal resin statue.

Overall - ***1/2
At first glance, I was blown away by this statue. Sadly, some of the paint details were off, however, pulling her down from the highest level.

Still, the high gloss muscle car paint job is an eye catcher, and the sculpt is the usual outstanding work. The paint issues keep her from unseating Catwoman as my favorite so far, but she's still a great addition to the line up.

Along with Batgirl, Supergirl and Poison Ivy, we have armored Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl already announced.  I have high hopes that the increased edition size with this statue is a good indication of the increased demand for this series, and that we'll see it last well into 2012.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has her at $100.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered the full run so far:

- so far there's Power Girl, Catwoman/Wonder Woman, Zatanna, and Black Canary.

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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