Irene Matar

Back before the turn of the decade, DC Collectibles was still going by the name DC Direct and had just launched a new statue series, Cover Girls of the DC Universe. Kicked off in 2009, the statues were based on the artwork of Adam Hughes, and featured characters like Black Canary, Catwoman, and Zatanna as full 3D recreations from Hughes' covers from the comics at that time. The statues were some of the most sought after collectibles on the market, as each had a limited run of anywhere from 5000-8000 pieces. After about a half-dozen pieces the line ceased, and as you can imagine, the secondary market demand skyrocketed. Many of those Hughes-designed pieces still fetch absurd prices, which is why it was a bit of a delight to see DC Collectibles would be re-releasing the Adam Hughes Wonder Woman statue as part of its new Designer Series.

In 2005, DC Collectibles (née DC Direct) launched a statue series of artist interpretations of the Dark Knight inspired in part by the Batman: Black and White comic series. For the most part, the line has focused exclusively on Batman himself, though in the past few years DC has expanded the roster of Black and White to include villains like the Joker and Harley Quinn. Now for the first time, another member of the Bat-family will join the ranks in the form of the all-new Batgirl. Last year, Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher and Babs Tarr revamped Barbara Gordon to give her a new home, a new life and a whole new look. The fan response was immediate and loud, and the Batgirl of Burnside became a bright spot in the new DC Universe (and catalog) in a post-New 52 reboot world. However, as big of a success as this new Batgirl was, outside of the comics there was no merchandise to support the surprise hit. That changes this month. Thanks to the talented hands of sculptor Irene Matar, Babs Tarr's version of the character has been given life in collectible form for the first time, and the result is tremendous.

Batman fans who dig DC Collectibles statues and toys, it looks like March and April are going to be your month. Fans of, well, everyone else? You're just going to have to be really happy for your Batman-loving bros and brodettes. That's right, the latest batch of product solicitations from DCC are all about the Caped Crusader and his many incarnations...