The Superman Statue was sculpted by Randy Bowen in 1993 and released in 6100 samples. It is usually known as the “Seinfeld” statue, from the name of a popular American sit-com of 90s,
in which the protagonist (fan of the Man of Steel) just displayed in his apartment this little masterpiece. The result was that thousands of viewers (even those not interested in
Comics!) asked for information about the possible purchase of the statue and the same Randy Bowen was invited to perform a cameo in an episode of the series. To be honest,
I have never had a particular fondness for this DC character, too invincible and far from that “human context” which Lee & Company have wisely adopted to (re)build the world of
superheroes and I grew up with. Nevertheless, it is impossible not to recognize the special charm of the original inhabitant of Krypton, due to the enormous charisma of the character
in the world of Comics (and not only), his historical relevance and his aesthetic and figurative appeal: qualities that have indelibly marked the costume of the twentieth century.
As the Batman on Gargoyle, also the Superman Seinfeld statue is made of porcelain, with a removable mantle (made of plastic) that fits perfectly on the shoulders of the figure.
The hero is depicted in perfect museum pose: the body is frontally erected with the head slightly rotated, open arms, legs apart and fists clenched.
The sculpt is perfect and highlights
the undisputable talent of Bowen: the statuesque physique is characterized by a powerful and realistic musculature, with a very large rib cage and a superb definition of pectorals,
abdominals, biceps and quadriceps. The overall sculpt is excellent and somehow able to balance the still unripe and too much uniform coloring, devoid of those hues generally adopted
to highlight the muscle contours and which, at present, we are used to. From the technical point of view, the choice of making a removable plastic cloak appears to be particularly
appropriate and well studied.
Through this choice, in fact, Bowen could equip the figure with a good dynamism, by relying on large and curved shapes with a more effective aesthetic
impact and avoiding, for them, the use of more delicate and heavy porcelain. Furthermore, the cloak lies down on the shoulders of the character with an extreme ease and a great
balance, without any joint or forcing. Note the definition of the knuckles, the venous bulges on the hands and the elegant somatic features, with the great and characteristic tuft
on the forehead and the perfect shape of nose, mouth and chin. The coloring, as said, shows the limits of these early products, but, at the same time, the effort
to achieve a high quality; this is demonstrated by the well finished contours of eyes and hair, the large “S” centered on the chest (appearing, in yellow, also backward on the cloak),
the perfect tonalities of the entire figure, virtually identical to those of Comics. The base looks like a bronze plate: it is quite large, gives the piece a great stability and
depicts the classic pseudo-triangular logo of the hero in relief. Also the Superman Seinfeld was released in a further mini-statue version (5000 samples) and the availability of
both variants on the market is quite good; the quotations of the full-scale, however, are always very high (especially in the presence of the original box), confirming the charm
and value attributed by collectors to this great, little piece of history.