Batman Statue Standing 7-Feet-Tall Installed In Burbank, California
It wasn't long ago that Marvel's Captain America received a bronze statue in his hometown of [...]
It wasn't long ago that Marvel's Captain America received a bronze statue in his hometown of Brooklyn, New York. Now DC Comics has immortalized one of their iconic superheroes in a statue in Burbank, California, the home of DC Entertainment. DC Entertainment revealed, in collaboration with the city of Burbank, a seven-and-a-half feet tall, 600-pound statue of Batman located in the city. The statue is based on the artwork of seminal artist Jim Lee, who drew Batman: Hush and All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder. These days the artist is the publisher and chief creative officer of DC. Digital sculptor Alejandro Pereira Ezcurra designed the statue with a team of artisans working at Burbank's American Fine Arts Foundry and Fabrication. You can watch the video officially installing the statue above, and see photos of the statue below.
Lee shared a photo of himself with the statue on Instagram. He writes, "Batman expands his base of operations to Burbank, CA! Thank you to @dougprinz from my team for shepherding this project from start to install, sculptor @alejandropereirastudio and @VisitBurbankUSA for making this a reality! Virtual induction featuring the mayor of Burbank, Danny Kahn from @wbtourhollywood and GBE/DC head honcho Pam Lifford!"
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"It's been an honor to contribute to the legacy of one of the world's greatest superheroes," Jim Lee said. "I've worked in comics now for over three decades and there have been very few characters that I've worked on in my career that have endured for decades like Batman and inspired that next level fervor and passion that you see in his fan base. Batman fans are fan for life, he's not just a character but a way of life and I've seen people literally transform their homes into their own version of the Bat Cave or get Batman tattoos simply because this character means so much to them. While Batman's base of operations is in Gotham City, he truly is a character that is beloved all around the world."
He continued, "It seems hard to believe that it was around this time last year that I was in Tokyo to celebrate Batman's 80th Anniversary on Batman Day and watch fans gather together to see the Bat-Signal be lit and celebrate the Caped Crusader. And now Batman has found another amazing home here in the heart of Burbank, the city in which so many of his stories have been created animated filmed and brought to life. I'm honored that this beautiful larger-than-life Batman is based on one of the iconic poses from a story I drew called Batman: Hugh. The sculptor of this piece, Alejandro Pereira Ezcurra, really captured the majesty and strength of the Dark Knight in breathtaking fashion....While Batman is one of the few DC superheroes without actual super powers, Batman does actually possess the unbelievable ability to bring fans of all kinds together around something they love. And if any superhero deserve a statue raised in their honor in times like this, Batman is that hero, because Batman is truly a hero for all.
"On behalf of Visit Burbank, we're delighted to see this project come to fruition today," said Danny Kahn, Visit Burbank, Chair. "Our original idea was to gain social media exposure with a series of selfie spots around the city using iconic figures created right here in the media capital of the world, and we felt that the best way to do that was to partner with Burbank's large and resourceful entertainment industry whose skills lie in creating content that is seen and admired around the world. So we thank our talented partners in the Batman project, DC Comics and DC universe, home to one of the most popular superheroes and designers of this phenomenal bronze statue. Our hope is to build on this project with other superheroes in spots around the city, encouraging visitation throughout Burbank."