Following suit with the Batman: Black and White and Superman: Man of Steel signature designer statue lines, Wonder Woman finally got her own line last year. Dubbed Wonder Woman: The Art of War, the series presents full-color depictions of the Amazonian warrior from some of the most iconic artists in DC's employ. These interpretations don't have to be tied to any specific era or version of the character, and merely allow creators like George Perez, Jill Thompson, Cliff Chiang and more to put their own spin on the most powerful woman in comics.

This month, DC Collectibles released the seventh statue in the line, with the design based on the art of David Finch. Now, we all know Finch's appointment as the artist on Wonder Woman was a controversial one, which was made even more curious by his and writer Meredith Finch's comments about the character last year. Whatever your opinion of Finch's art, DC has given him multiple high-profile gigs, and that doesn't appear to be stopping any time soon.

While I'm not personally a fan of Finch's often over-rendered pages and inconsistent character models, the good thing about a statue is that you can't over-hatch it. Thanks to the deft craftsmanship of sculptor Clayburn Moore, the Wonder Woman: The Art of War by David Finch statue manages to be inspired by Finch's work without being limited by the artist's own idiosyncrasies.

Unlike her appearance in recent comic tales, I very much like the concept Finch came up with for Wonder Woman's costume. The outfit is a bit more traditional, in the sense that she's got the starred skirt and golden breastplate we so attribute to the classic look of Wonder Woman. Finch stayed true to the "Art of War" aspect as well, including bracers in place of mere bracelets, pauldrons and gladiator sandals to invoke a more combat-ready version of Diana. The length of the skirt is a bit modern compared to the rest of the aesthetic, but it's still well within the realm of what we've seen the character don in comics, and what we've seen from the rest of the line's designs to this point.

 

loading...

 

The pose she's striking holding her golden lasso, poised for her next move, is relatively strong. With her hair sculpted to appear blowing in a slight gust of wind, you get the idea Diana is at the front of the line, ready to lead the Amazons into conflict. It's a subtle stance, which lacks aggression, but still shows strength and poise. The only real issue I take with the pose is the proportions of the legs to the torso. Diana's legs are a good head taller than her upper body, which makes her look a little too much like Taylor Swift. It doesn't help that she's lacking any true muscle definition, giving off a vibe of a model playing dress-up versus a true warrior on the battlefield.

Moore's sculpt does a great job bringing the line art to life, incorporating subtle detail where necessary to add realism to the statue. There's tailoring on the skirt pieces, there's fine faux-metalworking on the sculpted armor, and there's some great rendering in her flowing locks to make it look like Wonder Woman has an impressive head of hair. Her face is the only spot that loses me a little bit, and that's only due to how closely Moore stuck to Finch's style. When Finch draws a face, particularly a woman's face, they feature incredibly pinched noses and doe eyes that are hard to take seriously. She looks stoic, but there's something just off enough compared to the rest of the piece that it's distracting.

Though your mileage may vary with David Finch's actual comic art, this statue is surprisingly good. It has a few issues, though those are all from a design sense and not in the execution. This is the kind of quality collaboration we've seen from DC Collectibles in the past, with sculptors really bringing out the best qualities in DC's artist stable. It's a shame to see that Clayburn Moore's taken up and exclusive position elsewhere, but if this Wonder Woman statue is his swan song at DC Collectibles, he's certainly going out in style.

 

 

The Wonder Woman: The Art of War by David Finch is available now at your LCS or online retailers like BigBadToyStore for $79.99. This statue was provided by DC Collectibles for review.

 

Learn More About Wonder Woman and Other DC Heroes With These Facts

Impress Your Friends With These Wonder Woman Facts

More From ComicsAlliance