Normally when I review a Harley Quinn volume 3 solo comic, I will place the standard and the variant cover beside each other and critique them. If you haven't guessed by the title of this post, I'm gonna do the same with some statues based on their artwork.
But wait, doesn't Guillem March do the covers now? Yeah, but I've already reviewed HIS statue and it's way out of these guys' league. So, we're stuck with John Timm (interior art) and Frank Cho (variant covers).
Already there's a huge difference between these statues.
YEAH, prepare to get butt hurt because I'm talking about Harley's size!
I have mentioned that I'm not a fan of Timm's elongated, skinny ass butt-less wonder serial killer before.
This is not to be mean to women on the skinner side, but Harley - pretty much until the New 52 where she lost a lot of weight/boobs/muscles and started living in her lingerie - had always been drawn on the more slightly voluptuous side, but not like Cho's cheesecakey nostalgia art.
There's no happy medium.
Personally, I liked that she had a normal, not over-sexualised figure in her original form. It really helped lay down that Harley was - despite being a pro-athlete - basically a regular person who just fell into the criminal clown lifestyle. Like, Catwoman - you go around calling yourself a feline, you better be lithe and flexible! Poison Ivy based a large part of her schemes around attracting and duping men, so you better believe she's a bombshell. Harley was different. As long as she could flip around and be clown like, it didn't really matter what size she was.
The problem I had with Timm's interior art was that everything seemed to lose scale. Harley was always drawn like freakin' Plastic Man and her splash panels were always so, so stretched out (and crammed to the brim with exposition-ey speech bubbles) while she literally TOWERED over her colleagues like a slightly more colourful Slender Man and then there was her face.
I get that the art's not there to please me personally - I mean, it would be nice - but honestly Timm struggles with drawing faces. As in, the angles someone's head is turning, as in the crowd Harley is standing in has the exact same faces as everyone else, it's hard to tell what is hair and what's not plus Harley's nose is always red. This bothers me. Is it a cocaine habit? Is it cold? New found cat allergies? Is it too hard to find her nose on her pasty face otherwise? What?!
This is not just me being mean, obviously it's harder to get a direct copy from an image onto a 3D statue, particularly if it's smaller in scale.
But wait, doesn't Guillem March do the covers now? Yeah, but I've already reviewed HIS statue and it's way out of these guys' league. So, we're stuck with John Timm (interior art) and Frank Cho (variant covers).
Already there's a huge difference between these statues.
YEAH, prepare to get butt hurt because I'm talking about Harley's size!
I have mentioned that I'm not a fan of Timm's elongated, skinny ass butt-less wonder serial killer before.
This is not to be mean to women on the skinner side, but Harley - pretty much until the New 52 where she lost a lot of weight/boobs/muscles and started living in her lingerie - had always been drawn on the more slightly voluptuous side, but not like Cho's cheesecakey nostalgia art.
There's no happy medium.
Personally, I liked that she had a normal, not over-sexualised figure in her original form. It really helped lay down that Harley was - despite being a pro-athlete - basically a regular person who just fell into the criminal clown lifestyle. Like, Catwoman - you go around calling yourself a feline, you better be lithe and flexible! Poison Ivy based a large part of her schemes around attracting and duping men, so you better believe she's a bombshell. Harley was different. As long as she could flip around and be clown like, it didn't really matter what size she was.
The problem I had with Timm's interior art was that everything seemed to lose scale. Harley was always drawn like freakin' Plastic Man and her splash panels were always so, so stretched out (and crammed to the brim with exposition-ey speech bubbles) while she literally TOWERED over her colleagues like a slightly more colourful Slender Man and then there was her face.
I get that the art's not there to please me personally - I mean, it would be nice - but honestly Timm struggles with drawing faces. As in, the angles someone's head is turning, as in the crowd Harley is standing in has the exact same faces as everyone else, it's hard to tell what is hair and what's not plus Harley's nose is always red. This bothers me. Is it a cocaine habit? Is it cold? New found cat allergies? Is it too hard to find her nose on her pasty face otherwise? What?!
I think it was a carry on from Amanda Conner's stupid redesign - but I mean look how many years we've had of Harley doing white face and not having a ruby red sniffer? Even the New 52 didn't screw that up which is saying something!
Cho meanwhile - is probably the nearest we've had to the Dodson's art from the original Harley solo run since Adam Hughes. Now they could do faces! Bodies! Humour!!! Oh, please come back to Harley Quinn -- Dodson team!
So... the faces on these statues aren't really done well.
This is not just me being mean, obviously it's harder to get a direct copy from an image onto a 3D statue, particularly if it's smaller in scale.
Timm's has his usual, pointy/bony angular look happening, but I don't understand the expression on the statue is. Like... what is her face trying to say to me except 'HELP, THE WIND CHANGED!'
It's not a look of unbridled glee that she's finally liberated Batman's cowl. It's not parodying Batman's trademark scowl. Cowl scowl? It's not a face that says 'I like the look of this one me' and it's not that she's got the headpiece stuck and can't get out of it. Is she about to sneeze? Maybe she smelt the inside of it - leather, kevlar, justice and sweat can't be a good combination?
Frankly, she looks drunk or drugged or like she's randomly developed an extreme lazy eye. Her lips remind me of a thin lipped character from Guess Who? I assume it's Batman's glove she's wearing, but it fits her like her own opera gloves, which should really not be the case.
Compare this to my Joker bust and Batman cowl.
Yes, he hasn't got the best face either but you get what's going on. You can see the Joker actually doing this and finding it hilarious. This was my first ever Joker only purchase - and it was mainly because of what he was doing with the cowl. The other factors was that I liked the bust style with him coming out of the Jack in the Box and also it was reduced below half price. I'm a simple person haha.
My point is - same concept for these statues. Clownish villain has taken Batman's cowl. Difference is, Joker does something completely in character and hilarious while Harley - well, seeing as how she's normally stealing other character's clothing without asking, I guess this IS in her character now - but the potential falls flat because she's not actually DOING anything with the cowl. Which disappointed me because half of the reason why I started collecting Harley Quinn was that her statues were so unique and interesting.
Meanwhile, Cho's parody of the 1960's Batman with bomb piece has it's own problems.
The face just doesn't seem to be sitting right. I actually don't normally have a problem with Cho's faces so maybe it's just the panicked expression with crazy eyebrows that looks weird. It could be that the black and white contrast too much compared to the colour version. I find it a bit distracting - like the hair that looks like it's been dipped in varying degrees of sewer muck.
I know Harley's running but they seem to have paid a lot more attention to the boob jiggle on this statue than they did her face. That reminds me too much of aforementioned cheescakey Cho art where he'll do some lame joke about a character (like Powergirl) being oversexualised then add someone like SpiderGwen in the background yelling "Outrage!" so he can claim it's just a joke?
Well, I don't think anyone here has won.
Both statues fit the same colour scheme and attempt to parody Batman but neither quite pull it off. I prefer the bold colours on Timm's statue but for everything else it's in Cho's favour. Either way I won't be parting with my money for these ones.
They both seem very run of the mill and lazy.. and a sign that the whole Red, White and Black gravy train is about to derail itself while it goes downhill.
Especially when you read these specs. Who writes these things?
She's not throwing the bomb - THAT'S THE JOKE THEY'RE PARODYING. She's not going to smile when she does something with the cowl - SHE CAN'T EVEN SMILE NOW.
Plus they keep saying that the box contents include a Harley Quinn statue. Uhhhh..
The Red, White and Black lineup from DC Collectables continues with Harley Quinn, designed by Frank Cho! She nerbously chucks a bomb away from a family of innocent ducks on her Harley Quinn-themed base.
7" / 17.78 cm
Polyresin
Based on the art of Frank Cho
Ltd Ed 5000 pieces
USD $79.99
ETA June 2019
Since her debut in 1992, Harley Quinn has been a favourite of both fans and comic artists alike. The Harley Quinn Red, White and Black collection of statues are based on various depictions of Harley re-created in vivid 3D detail. This latest statue comes from famed artist John Timms.
Harley Quinn has come into possession of Batman's cowl, cape and utility belt. While there's surely a great story about how she got it, what's more intriguing is what kind of trouble will she cause with it. Will she frame the Batman in a crime spree? Or sell them to the highest bidder? Whatever choice she makes, it's a good guess she'll be smiling when she does it.
7.28" / 18.50 cm
Polyresin
Based on the art of John Timms
Ltd Ed 5000 pieces
USD $79.99
ETA August 2019
Frankly, she looks drunk or drugged or like she's randomly developed an extreme lazy eye. Her lips remind me of a thin lipped character from Guess Who? I assume it's Batman's glove she's wearing, but it fits her like her own opera gloves, which should really not be the case.
Compare this to my Joker bust and Batman cowl.Yes, he hasn't got the best face either but you get what's going on. You can see the Joker actually doing this and finding it hilarious. This was my first ever Joker only purchase - and it was mainly because of what he was doing with the cowl. The other factors was that I liked the bust style with him coming out of the Jack in the Box and also it was reduced below half price. I'm a simple person haha.
My point is - same concept for these statues. Clownish villain has taken Batman's cowl. Difference is, Joker does something completely in character and hilarious while Harley - well, seeing as how she's normally stealing other character's clothing without asking, I guess this IS in her character now - but the potential falls flat because she's not actually DOING anything with the cowl. Which disappointed me because half of the reason why I started collecting Harley Quinn was that her statues were so unique and interesting.
 |
| USE YOUR PROPS PEOPLE! |
Meanwhile, Cho's parody of the 1960's Batman with bomb piece has it's own problems.The face just doesn't seem to be sitting right. I actually don't normally have a problem with Cho's faces so maybe it's just the panicked expression with crazy eyebrows that looks weird. It could be that the black and white contrast too much compared to the colour version. I find it a bit distracting - like the hair that looks like it's been dipped in varying degrees of sewer muck.
I know Harley's running but they seem to have paid a lot more attention to the boob jiggle on this statue than they did her face. That reminds me too much of aforementioned cheescakey Cho art where he'll do some lame joke about a character (like Powergirl) being oversexualised then add someone like SpiderGwen in the background yelling "Outrage!" so he can claim it's just a joke?
Verdict
Well, I don't think anyone here has won.
They both seem very run of the mill and lazy.. and a sign that the whole Red, White and Black gravy train is about to derail itself while it goes downhill.
Especially when you read these specs. Who writes these things?
She's not throwing the bomb - THAT'S THE JOKE THEY'RE PARODYING. She's not going to smile when she does something with the cowl - SHE CAN'T EVEN SMILE NOW.
Plus they keep saying that the box contents include a Harley Quinn statue. Uhhhh..
Why even include that if there's nothing else like accessories or a certificate? Are consumers thought to be THAT stupid? ...........On second thought, I don't want to hear that answer.
Specs
The Red, White and Black lineup from DC Collectables continues with Harley Quinn, designed by Frank Cho! She nerbously chucks a bomb away from a family of innocent ducks on her Harley Quinn-themed base.7" / 17.78 cm
Polyresin
Based on the art of Frank Cho
Ltd Ed 5000 pieces
USD $79.99
ETA June 2019
Since her debut in 1992, Harley Quinn has been a favourite of both fans and comic artists alike. The Harley Quinn Red, White and Black collection of statues are based on various depictions of Harley re-created in vivid 3D detail. This latest statue comes from famed artist John Timms.Harley Quinn has come into possession of Batman's cowl, cape and utility belt. While there's surely a great story about how she got it, what's more intriguing is what kind of trouble will she cause with it. Will she frame the Batman in a crime spree? Or sell them to the highest bidder? Whatever choice she makes, it's a good guess she'll be smiling when she does it.
7.28" / 18.50 cm
Polyresin
Based on the art of John Timms
Ltd Ed 5000 pieces
USD $79.99
ETA August 2019
BONUS GIF!
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