Review: Dick Grayson as Batman by Jock

I’ve been a bit critical of the DC Collectibles Batman Black and White line before, but there are always exceptions to the rule. When I first spotted this Jock designed Dick Grayson as Batman prototype at C2E2 earlier this year, I was amazed at how dynamic they made it. Now that it’s in my hands I can really see how sculptor Michael Locascio knocked it out of the park. Take a look!

The source image for this statue, art by Jock.

Jock is great at capturing the essence of a character simply and without sacrificing his noir aesthetic. Dick Grayson’s stint as Batman was highlighted by his amazing acrobatic ability which made him immediately visually stand apart from Bruce Wayne, but also made him a controversial change in the top selling title.

Jock and Michael Locascio have brought that feeling to the Black and White line, creating a classic Batman who definitely stands apart from the other more static posed Bats in the lineup. Fans new and old will definitely find something to love in this figure.

This figure is definitely made to be placed high up, but if you do you’ll miss a lot of the beautiful ssculpting. Michael Locascio has used his classical training to perfectly blend realistic anatomy with Jock’s rougher style. Rough edges and slightly unfinished muscle structure are definitely intentional here as Mr. Locascio brings Jock’s style to a 3D format, as the sculptor is definitely no stranger to a lot of detail in a sculpt.

This simplicity means less detail for the factory to handle, so the paint job is easier to get just right than some of the other Black and White statues, which definitely suffer from detail loss from prototype to execution. Unless you feel strongly against Dick Grayson, there is very little to find at fault with this statue!

The wire used was packaged very well and little had to be done to pose it well, so props to the packaging guys at DC Collectibles for this one. The details on the glove and the cape could have been a big problem, but my copy had no issues whatsoever.

This figure is ridiculously photogenic. There is just not a bad angle you could pose him at, but he definitely begs to be set apart from other figures so all the details can be highlighted. At 9 inches high including the base and stick, he’s very small!

Michael Locascio is no stranger to action figure sculpting. I would love to see an action figure version of this statue done in the Jock style. Unfortunately it seems DC Collectibles is pretty focused on the New 52 now, so I doubt that’s very likely to happen.

At an MSRP of $79.95 Dick Grayson is nicely priced even for the casual fan. This is definitely a great addition to any collection!

Dick Grayson as Batman Black and White was released in August 2012 and is still available at the time of this writing. Find or order him at your local comic shop or online at Amazon or Big Bad Toy Store.

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