For most of the past two years, I’ve had a steady a stream of Diamond Select statues coming through my house. Before the world retreated behind its collective mask, I was reviewing almost everything that was shipping. But then things stopped shipping for a bit!
Well, the world is slowly peeking its nose out, and with it, shipments have begun to resume. I recently got a box of two Bat-friendly Gallery statues from DST, and one of them was none other than the second Robin, post-crowbar, post-resurrection, decked out in his post-Flashpoint costume, wielding a katana. So how did Diamond do? Read on for words and pictures!
Packaging
I’ve really been enjoying the package design for Diamond’s DC line in the past year or so. The color schemes are relatively simple, with those iconic DC logos garnering most of the attention. The Red Hood Gallery features the same colors and yellow oval bat-logo that we’ve seen on everything from the “simple” Batman to the Dark Nights: Metal-inspired armor-bedecked Dark Knight. There’s a picture of the statue on the back, with a little blurb about the piece itself, though Diamond has done away with the more detailed character information that used to occupy this space.
The box also features the same three-window design used throughout the Gallery line, but, in a welcome diversion from most of the rest of the line, this one actually provides a decent view of what’s inside, without too much inner-packaging obstruction. That’s a huge plus, in my mind—especially if you display your collection in-box.
Design
As I mentioned above, the Red Hood aesthetic in play here is pretty much what you’ll find in the comics today—a design that I believe debuted with The New 52. The body armor, the jacket, the mask—all there.
The choice of weaponry is a bit strange, in my opinion. Yes, we’ve seen Jason with swords on plenty of occasions, but when I think of Red Hood, I think of the twin pistols. And, frankly, the twin pistols would have looked more natural in this pose, too.
The base is very simple, which I like; however, it doesn’t really look like any real object, which I don’t like. If you’re going to go for a diorama of any kind, at least make the elements of that diorama convincing—this just looks like a weird pedestal. The simplicity helps prevent it from being too distracting, but it’s still not a plus.
Sculpt
Unsurprisingly, the statue is sculpted excellently. Unsurprisingly, because that’s the standard for the Gallery line. The armor, jacket, and mask are great, the bat emblem, the finer details—all done right. And, though it’s an incredibly minor detail that nobody but me will care about, I was delighted to see treads on the bottom of Jason’s boots, instead of the baby-bottom-smooth surface on some of Diamond’s other pieces.
Paint
The paint is where you’ll most often see the price point of the Gallery line show through, but Red Hood is better than most. There appears to be some misapplied red where the helmet meets the domino mask, but you need to be real close to spot it. The top of the bat emblem has a few spots where black intrudes on red, but the texture of the paint makes it look like natural weathering on the costume, rather than an error in paint application.
Overall
If you’re a fan of Jason Todd—in particular his post-Flashpoint look, then this is a great option for your collection. Just how great an option depends on whether or not you can live without the pistols, but if the sword works for you, you can’t go wrong with this one. You can find it in comic shops and online now.
The Diamond Select Red Hood can be ordered from Amazon, Entertainment Earth, and your local comic book shop.
DISCLAIMER: Batman News received this collectible from the manufacturer for the purpose of review.
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