DC Collectibles just released the Red White & Black Harley Quinn by Jae Lee, a 7.47-inch poly-resin statue based on the artist's cover to Harley Quinn: Our Wolds at War (2001). This statue is limited to only 5,000 pieces, and it comes with a very nice looking "Harley Quinn" logo base for added stability as well as extra panache.
Review
Here's what the original cover from Jae Lee's Eisner-nominated run looks like:
Here's what the box art to the Red, White & Black statue looks like:
And here's what the actual statue looks like:
To my eye, these three things don't match. The body is too thin, the back too arched, the face too narrow to replicate the original artwork. DC Collectibles seems to have tried to amp up the sex appeal of the character rather than capture the "cry havoc" vibe of the Our Worlds at War cover, and the result is something that doesn't look like a Jae Lee piece. Instead they went with something more sultry, and I actually have to say that I think the design on the box art looks better than a 100% faithful Our Worlds at War statue would have.
However, what's actually in the box doesn't look like that. The statue's lines are not as smooth, the nose is more pointed, the eye makeup lacks shadow on the lids, and her laugh lines are far more pronounced. Deep grooves that were cut cut into the resin are intended to look like ripples/wrinkles in the material of her costume, but instead give the tails of her headdress a gross, sinewy appearance like the eyes of a slug. And the etchings on her stomach and back actually look like Quinn has suffered genuine lacerations! As for the red, white, and black of the collection's namesake... well, these colors bleed together at the faux seams of the outfit.
I'm sure you could buy one of these and end up with one with a better paint job than mine. You might even be able to angle the lighting just right to make the face sculpt and etchings look more like what's on the box art. But at $80.00, is it worth it? I'm disappointed with this product. I like sculptor Jonathan Matthews' design, but poor quality control brings us something that fails to live up to his or Lee's hard work.
Overall
The paint application is sloppy and the sculpt itself is not an accurate representation of Lee's artwork or even the designs seen on the box. Given its small size and mediocre quality, this statue is not worth eighty dollars, especially in a market that's absolutely flooded with superior Harley collectibles available at a comparable price. Of course, if you look through the gallery above and still feel like it's the perfect figure for your collection, you can buy the Red, White & Black Harley by Jae Lee at Sideshow.com.
