BATMAN ’66 WEEK: Bruce Wayne’s youthful ward — all six inches of him!
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It’s BATMAN ’66 WEEK — celebrating the anniversary of the show’s debut Jan. 12! For the complete index of features, click here.
And, for the DIAMOND BATMAN ’66 INDEX of interviews and features, click here.
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Hard to believe but it’s been almost seven years since the modern-day resurgence of 1966 Batmania. See, the Great Merchandising Deal of 2012 has given fans a Batcave full of officially licensed action figures, statues, props, clothes, costumes, comics and, especially, a beautifully remastered home-video release of the show itself (plus two new animated features).
You name it, companies have made it, and there’s not much left to offer.
But there are still a few new items hitting the market — and Diamond Select Toys has three minibusts due for release in the coming weeks: Adam West’s Bruce Wayne, Burt Ward’s Dick Grayson and Alan Napier’s Alfred.
Designs by Barry Bradfield
The three were first revealed at Toy Fair last year (click here) but now we’ve got your EXCLUSIVE FIRST REVIEW of Ward’s Grayson minibust — which comes complete with a miniature version of the famed Shakespeare bust. (Holy Mini-Me! A bust of a bust! How meta!)
The Grayson bust features Young Master Dick in his classic red pullover with white-collared shirt, a look of narrowed anticipation in his eyes.
Meanwhile, the Shakespeare bust is a dead-on replica of the real thing, though its head doesn’t tilt back. Diamond was smart to include it because a Dick Grayson bust on its own might not be enough of a selling point beyond completists or Robin fans specifically. It’s certainly an added value to the $59.99 list price. (Diamond also made the brilliant, life-size vinyl prop that came out a couple years ago. Click here to check that out.)
Dick, Willie and Robin
Like the rest of the 6-inch resin minibusts in the Diamond Select series, Dick Grayson was designed by Barry Bradfield and sculpted by Jean St. Jean. (Click here for a behind-the-scenes look at how he was created.) And, as I mentioned before, Dick, Bruce and Alfred will be hitting comics shops and other retailers in the coming weeks.
But the big question is what’s next – and the answer is unclear.
The series is up to 17 minibusts — including the forthcoming Bruce and Alfred — but there’s always room for more: The only villain left whose likeness was included in the overall licensing deal is Cliff Robertson’s Shame. And we still haven’t seen an Yvonne Craig Barbara Gordon, a Stafford Repp Chief O’Hara or more variants like, say, Boxing Batman and Riddler.
Yet, it’s down to sales, really. If this ostensibly final wave does well, who knows what may still be coming to the Gotham City of your shelves.
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MORE
— BATMAN ’66 WEEK Index: 2019 Edition. Click here.
— The Making of BRUCE, DICK and ALFRED. Click here.
— The DIAMOND BATMAN ’66 Index of Features and Reviews. Click here.
January 9, 2019
I own most of the busts – I think they’re fabulous. But, I think I’m passing on these – they really don’t interest me. I would probably buy a Shame bust, even though I think he was an awful villain. I would give my right arm for a Lee Merriweather Catwoman/Miss Kitka to complete the trio, but she is not part of the licensing deal. In fact, I would love a series a busts from the movie – Batman with a bomb, Penguin as Commodore Schmidlapp, the Riddler in his green suit & bowler. But, that’s not part of the licensing deal.
January 10, 2019
The Dick Grayson bust has brown eyes, yet the Robin bust has green eyes, A coloring error, perhaps?
January 10, 2019
Totally missed the mark likeness wise.