This piece, a 1969 page from Jiro Kuwata, marks the first (of many, I hope) manga piece in my original comics art collection. While I'm not saying that I chose this page of all Kuwata pages because it featured a ferocious-looking German Shepherd stalking our protagonists, I absolutely did.
From my first – Kelley Jones (who remains my favorite Bat-artist; come on, we need a CRIMSON MIST, emaciated creature of the night statue) – to my latest – Mike Mignola's GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT Batman – the Batman: Black and White series of statues have become the other manifestation of my passion for being surrounded by plastic people. Reasonably certain that this passion for this particular line comes not only from their stunning physical attributes – seriously, these things are gorgeous – but because the series from which they take its name, BATMAN: BLACK AND WHITE, has remained one of my favorite Bat-projects since its first release nearly 30 years ago: there's little I love more than a well-done short form comics story – especially when those stories are such fascinating experiments in character and taut storytelling.
Bringing that storytelling and design aesthetic to tactile sculpture is catnip to my procurement proclivities: where else can Jiro Kuwata's Bat-manga Batman and Paul Pope's YEAR 100 stand side by side in glorious black and white?