Kingdom Come Superman Deluxe Collector by DC

I’ve been following the art of Alex Ross for a while now and consider him to be the best painter in the comic book industry. I’ve somewhat studied his lighting in illustrations and they are pretty amazing. When I was shooting action figures a few years back I was not aware that my style resembles how Alex draws (or paints) his characters.

I found out about this 1/6^th scale Kingdom Come Superman figure while browsing through one of Jon’s magazines and told him about it. Jon also a Superman fan ordered one and informed me when he finally got it.

I was very excited when he lent it to me (to the point of buying one for myself) because it was by far the best rendition of KC Superman in a toy that I have ever seen. I opened the box with much anticipation and my jaw dropped when I saw the figure. Alex Ross is indeed an awesome artist! The face sculpt of Superman is incredible; it captured the same essence in the comic book line. With regards to the rest of the figure check out my issues below.

Jon bought this for P5, 000.00 (approximately $113.00) locally. It is available online for $99.00 at DC's website (http://www.dccomics.com/dcdirect/?dcd=14180).

If you are a Superman collector then you got to have this. If you are an Alex Ross fan then you got to have this. Enough said.

PhoTOYgrapher’s Perspective:

I did a few light painting techniques to try to duplicate Alex Ross’ style and some fellow flickr colleagues immediately guessed what I was trying to do. I also tried some rim lighting and it worked as well.

Some Issues:

1.) My problem with this figure though is the Mr. Olympia like body and arms. This ruined (in my humble opinion) an otherwise good figure. I can do the famous Superman pose where he puts both hands on his waist but that is about it. I cannot bring down his arms side by side to his body because of the Olympian like pectorals inside his clothing.

2.) The plastic stand looks and feels cheap. Be careful with how you insert the stand to the base because mine slipped and made a slight scratch on the base (sorry Jon).

3.) I would prefer if the head tilts backward so I can do a flying pose.

Superman Classic 13" by DC Direct

When I visited Jon's warehouse a few months ago I saw several boxes in one of his cabinets stacked neatly. I asked him what it is and of course my jaw dropped when I saw them - 13" figures of Superman, Batman, Flash, Shazam and Aquaman by DC Direct. They were all sealed so I did not bother asking if I could borrow them for a photo shoot. 

A few months passed by and when Jon finally bought the KC version of Superman he lent me this and the classic Superman figure.

I got excited when this piece reached my office and was very much anxious to open the package and start taking photos. 

After a few minutes I finally opened the box, removed the plastic wires and took out the figure and the stand. This was the first time I saw a DC DIRECT doll-like figure, much less hold one and the theme song from the movie started playing inside my head. 

It took me awhile to pose the figure and that's when I notice a lot of the flaws of Superman.

I checked DC's website and this has long been sold out and they are making a reissue which is way better than this one (http://www.dccomics.com/dcdirect/?dcd=6173)

PhoTOYgrapher's Perspective:

Action figures are a joy to take photos because of the pose ability. Unlike statues wherein you are limited to angles and perspectives, action figures gives you more flexibility when it comes to phoTOYgraphy. The fabric costume is a nice touch and captured the essence of the Man of Steel very well.

I can already imagine having a Fortress of Solitude or maybe a Hall of Justice backdrop for Superman. However you will need good PS (Photoshop) skills pulling this off. You can probably imitate his flying pose by tying some strings and do several flying poses. What I love is the fact that you can do his trademark pose – hands on his waist.

Superman is my favorite comic book superhero of all time and despite this I have several disappointing issues with this figure by DC Direct.

Some Issues:

1.) The boots is made of synthetic and when I finally opened the box and took him out, a small red patch from his boot got stuck with the plastic so the boot got damaged.

2.) The extra hands that looks like a karate chop pose are worthless if you cannot tilt his head back for a flying pose.  Even with the stand you cannot do a flying pose because you cannot make his head look up.

3.) If you look at the back of the figure, the zipper in his clothes is visible. I would have preferred if the opening of the cape were slightly higher to cover this.

4.) The knee joints are flimsy so it takes a bit of patience to make Superman stand. You can only do very simple poses otherwise he will fall.

5.) The stand feels and looks very cheap. I would assume that DC Direct could have made this better.

6.) Overall, this is a very disappointing Superman figure to me.