DC Direct blasts off with Cover Girls Starfire

From one of Marvel’s greatest cosmic villains, we move on to one of the DC Universe’s greatest cosmic beauties. The DC Direct Cover Girls of the DC Universe Starfire Statue brings to life a character with a rich history and a heap of recent controversy.

I have to preface this review by saying that, while I have a very supportive wife in terms of my collecting habits, there are certain things that Mrs AFB draws the line at having on display, especially since we have two AFB-ettes around. Some items I just don’t bother with buying for that reason, while other items have to be positioned at the back of a display. Thankfully, DC Direct has produced enough Cover Girls statues that I am able to “strategically position” Starfire amongst the crowd so that she doesn’t cause any marital strife.

I’ve spent a good deal of time talking about my admiration of this line of statues, and this is instalment is another great inclusion in the Cover Girls line. It’s always great to see lines reach out to new characters instead of repeating the same few over and over, and Starfire is a worthy inclusion.

Having started my comic reading life just around the time that Starfire first appeared, I will always have the George Perez / New Teen Titans Starfire in my head as the ideal representation of Koriand’r. I don’t think that many writers have really grasped the character since Marv Wolfman had the reigns, but that’s a theory for another time.

While this statue gives us a more modern version of Starfire, it captures enough of the Perez-esque elements, particularly around her eyes, to make it work for me and appeal to more Modern Age readers at the same time.

I always prefer the powerful females poses over the cheesecake style set-ups, and while this statue certainly makes the most of Starfire’s...er... assets, with her holding her hair which is draped over her left arm, it still strikes me as a powerful pose in a way. It’s sexy to be sure, but it shows Starfire in control.

The sculpting and paint work on this statue is on par with what we’ve come to expect from this line. I miss the billowy way that Perez always portrayed Starfire’s hair, but the more individual strands as portrayed here are nicely defined. The costume elements, scarce as they are, are all sculpted on. I have no tolerance for cheating by painting lines in on statues of this price point, and this piece doesn’t disappoint.

Apart from some paint slop on Poison Ivy, this line really hasn’t put a foot wrong in the QC department, and Starfire isn’t blotting that copy book. The colour choices for Starfire’s orange skin and orange/brown hair are perfect, and her green eyes work well, although I could have done with the tiniest touch less fluoro. The metallic touch to the purple of her uniform brings depth and light. It’s a great job, and a great piece.

While it seems that we only have Raven to go before the Cover Girls line becomes all DCNu, all the time, and one can always wish for more, this has been an outstanding line of statues. I like that the bases are kept simple and the statues are made at a scale that allows them to be displayed as a large group, so that you can really see the breadth of the DC Universe that has been built through the years.

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the March AFB Comment of the Month Contest!

Until next time!