Incoming: Kotobukiya DC Comics The Dark Knight Returns: Batman VS Joker Statue

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is a four-issue comic book limited series comprising The Dark Knight Returns, The Dark Knight Triumphant, Hunt The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Falls, written and drawn by Frank Miller, originally published by DC Comics under the title Batman: The Dark Knight in 1986. When the issues were released in a collected edition later that year, the story title for the first issue was applied to the series as a whole. The Dark Knight Returns tells the story of a 55-year-old Bruce Wayne who comes out of retirement to fight crime, only to face opposition from the Gotham City police force and the United States government. [source: wiki]

IGN Comics ranked "The Dark Knight Returns" #2 on a list of the 25 greatest Batman graphic novels, second only to "Batman: Year One", another Frank Miller work on the character. The website called The Dark Knight Returns "a true masterpiece of storytelling" with "scene after unforgettable scene." In 2005, Time chose the collected four-issues as one of the 10 best English language graphic novels ever written.

Kotobukiya, the respected Japanese model and sculpture company announces their incredible reimagining of one of the key scenes in Frank Miller’s masterpiece, "The Dark Knight Returns: Batman – Hunt the Dark Knight!" with The Dark Knight Returns: Batman Hunt The Dark Knight ARTFX Statue. Sculpted by Junnosuke Abe, The Dark Knight Returns Batman vs. Joker stands nearly 12 inches tall (1/6th scale) on a special display base that really shows off the action of the scene.

This four-issue miniseries released in 1986 tells the tale of a future world in which superheroes have retired. An older, angrier Bruce Wayne puts on the costume once again to save Gotham City and in the process encounters one of his most hated enemies, the Joker!

The return of Batman causes his oldest and deadliest foe, The Joker, to awaken from a years-long catatonic state at Arkham Asylum. Joker goes on a murderous rampage soon after. Batman tracks him down and defeats Joker in a violent showdown but stops short of killing him; however, the Joker twists his own broken neck, seemingly with the intent that the police will charge Batman with murder.

Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns Batman is much thicker and heavier than most representations of the character, and that’s quite apparent here. The bulky Dark Knight kneels over the prone Joker, holding him down with one hand on his collar while pulling the other back in preparation for the final strike! Perfectly recreating the artwork, the statue is intricately detailed with special attention to Batman’s powerful musculature, the rumpled clothing of the evil clown, the furious expression on the dark hero's face, and of course Joker's maniacal laughing. The painting too reflects Miller's artwork with stark colors and bold strokes.

The Dark Knight Returns Batman Hunt ARTFX Statue can be pre-ordered at BigBadToyStore (BBTS). The statue is expected to be released in September 2012.

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