DC Collectibles’ new DC Gallery line of high-quality and mostly life-size props and accessories has thus far been impressive, but a little on the pricey side. Well, this summer that will change with a $30 addition to the line in the form of Two-Face’s double-headed coin.
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“[The coin] is great becuase you can take it with you — it fits in your pocket,” Jim Fletcher, the Executive Creative Director for DC Collectibles, told ComicBook.com.
Other products in the DC Gallery line, such as life-sized Wonder Woman bracelets (that come with a lasso and tiara), a life-sized Joker cane, and a 1/10th-scale, fully-functional Bat-Signal, are a lot less portable, and cost as much as a couple of hundred bucks more.
The bracelets and Bat Signal are available in stores this month, while the cane and coin are out in June and July, respectively. Fletcher promises that there are a number of other products in development that he can’t talk about yet.
During our conversation, Fletcher noted that he has had some experience with this kind of product in the past; he was around when DC Direct did their line of “props” years ago, which included things like Green Lantern rings and batteries, the Key to Hell from Sandman, and Superman’s Bottle City of Kandor. Some of those had well-documented flaws, and Fletcher told ComicBook.com that he wanted the new line to be a bit more durable, with the logic that if you are going to call something a prop, it ought to be something that can be wielded like one, and not just a collectible to never be touched.
That said, they still want them to look good, and the combination of a genuine look and a functional feel is sometimes a challenge.
[Start Gallery Call-to-Action Key=6988]”For the Bat-Signal, it was a challenge because we needed to make sure that it worked the way it was supposed to,” Fletcher explained. “We needed a clean, sharp look to the bat, not just something fuzzy. That took a few tries.”
Once they got it perfected, though, he noted that fans have been excited by a variety of “faces” that can be applied to the Bat-Signal, allowing fans to fly different versions of the Dark Knight’s logo depending on their preference, or the other collectibles they may be displaying along with it.
While Batman is pretty well-represented in the collectibles space, things like the Joker cane and Two-Face coin are new products. Fletcher admitted that when he and others involved in the decision-making process come together to decide what the fans might like to see, they have been making a conscious effort to create products that were not already plentiful. Green Lantern rings, batarangs, and Kryptonite are all cool things that fans would like to own, of course — but there are plenty of opportunities to get them, so they didn’t make it into the first wave of new products.
“We are going for kind of the ideal look” of the items in the line, Fletcher explained. There is no one image from a specific comic book or artist that is driving the look and feel of the props, but a bunch of fans and designers coming together to try and figure out what the most iconic version of the item is, and producing that.
“Of course, you never know — in the future, yeah, we might do a version based on some specific artist or storyline,” he admitted with a little prodding, but signaled that a move like that would still be a long way off, as they have plenty of ideas between now and then.
You can check out the full solicitaiton information for the products below, and see photos in the attached gallery.
- Items in the line include:
- Wonder Woman Bracelets with Lasso and Tiara Prop
- Description:
- This Bracelet/Lasso/Tiara set is a life-size replica of Wonder Woman’s classic accessories
- The WW Bracelets with Lasso and Tiara prop features an intricately designed base and can be displayed as a stunning décor item or can be worn.
- MSRP: $300
- Size: Life-Size scale
- 14.5”H x 10.5”W x 10.5”D
- On sale: November 2017
- Description:
- Bat-Signal Prop
- Description:
- This is a working, light-up Bat-signal that projects approximately 6 ft away. The prop comes with three different bat-signals
- MSRP: $300
- Size: 1:10/7inch
- 12.75”H x 9 x 108”D
- On sale: November 2017
- Description:
- The Joker Cane
- Description: Complete with an intricately designed Joker-themed handle
- MSRP: $125
- On sale: June 2018
- Size Life-size 1:1
- 42.5inH x 1.9inW x 7.2inD
- Two-Face Coin Prop (Exclusive reveal)
- MSRP: $30.00
- On sale: July 2018
- Size: life-size 1:1
- Wonder Woman Bracelets with Lasso and Tiara Prop
