Sideshow's Sue Storm Comiquette - as visible as possible, please!

I'm at a bit of a crossroads with Sideshow Collectibles' current crop of Comiquettes. They have a somewhat inconsistent scale, and a seemingly directionless approach to character selection. Most are are often the same size as a Premium Format figure, yet differ from that line in ways that make them hard to mix. As such, I've cut back on my Comiquette purchases quite a bit.

One preorder I'd committed to before I started scaling back was the Sideshow Collectibles Invisible Woman / Sue Storm Comiquette. Now that I've got this one in hand, I'm glad I didn't cancel it. For starters, there's a surprising lack of merchandise dedicated to Sue Storm compared to many other Marvel heroines, and when I look at the other Marvel Ladies that adorn the tops of my display cabinets (where I keep my Comiquettes), it does seem that she deserves a place amongst them.

One aspect of this statue, designed based on artwork by Marvel artist Jelena Djurdjevic (who, among other projects, did excellent work on the covers for the Heralds Mini-Series) that concerned me somewhat from the preview pics was the head sculpt. Sue is sculpted with her hair hanging over much of her face, and I was uncertain as to how this would translate to the shelf. While the design wouldn't be my first choice, it is interesting to look at. Her face is fully sculpted underneath, and you can position her on the shelf so that the majority of her face is visible on display.

This is a well sculpted statue. The form of her body is clean and well designed and proportioned. I'm not completely sold on the pose, which looks somewhat like it belongs on the dance floor, but it does add energy to the piece. This combined with the hair hanging over Sue's face helps give her an air of mystery that she sometimes lacks. The one sculpting quibble I have with the piece is the blocky way that her fringe / bangs (what you call it depends on where you come from) have been sculpted. Real strands of hair are much thinner, and the effect when painted lacks the detail it could have had. Hopefully this was a design choice instead of laziness. That's my sole issue - overall the piece feels like its been lovingly crafted.

Translucence is put to good use in this design. Sue is using her invisibility for her calves down, so the effect starts mid calves and is complete on her ankles and feet. Translucent effects are often lost on me on action figures, but at this scale the effect is really great to look at.

The Fantastic Four outfits have been depicted in countless shades of blue over the years. The hue chosen here is The base is a patterned design that appears to run through all of the Comiquettes designed by Jelena Djurdjevic. While I would prefer character specific bases, the patterned design does work well with the translucent effect on Sue's legs.

Once again, I'm glad I didn't cull this piece from my preorders. It fits nicely with the Hughes and Newman Comiquettes, and it's great to see Sue Storm getting some statue attention. I'm still on the fence about the Mohawk Storm that follows in this series, but am definitely signed up for the Magik that is on the way.

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

Until next time!