Broken Frontier

One of the most anticipated new films of the year is Frank Miller’s movie adaptation of Will Eisner’s comic strip, The Spirit, opening Christmas Day. A classic action-adventure-romance, The Spirit tells the story of a former rookie cop who returns mysteriously from the dead to fight crime from the shadows of an urban jungle. Dark Horse Deluxe has channeled the noir mood and exotic images of this Lionsgate release and brought the world of Central City into being with a new range of officially licensed collectibles—including a sculpted bust and statue, a beautiful snow globe, and a unique LED illuminated journal. As the movie opens nationwide, fans will be anticipating the arrival of these fine collectibles with the same eagerness with which they rushed to theaters to see the film.

The Spirit is portrayed by Gabriel Macht, who brings a larger-than-life heroic quality to the role. His performance inspired the initial sculptures: a limited-edition bust, full-size, limited-edition statue, and elaborate sculptural high-end snow globe. He was very generous in his cooperation for these projects, and the results are apparent in the realism of the finished work.

In selecting the creative team for this assignment, Dark Horse enlisted two of the most noted digital sculptors around to create the 3D versions of the moody hero. Hot on the heels of their stunning statues of the characters from the recent Batman smash hit, Kolby Jukes and Oluf Hartvigson have created, respectively, Dark Horse’s statue and bust.

The bust, which is the latest example of what is now a well-established area of modern collecting,  measures 4.30"W  X  3.15"D  X  6.00"H . Packaged in a protective foam cube in deluxe color packaging, this piece is a hand-numbered limited-edition of only 750 copies for worldwide distribution.  The manufacturer’s suggested retail price is  $59.99 and The Spirit Movie mini-bust is scheduled to release on January 28, 2008.

The Spirit Statue presents the masked avenger in full figure (1:7 Life Size).  The dimensions measure 11.21"W  X  7.34"D  X  8.5"H. Peering over a rooftop of Central City, The Spirit is poised and ready to spring. Sculpted by Kolby Jukes, this piece is also a numbered limited-edition of only 750 copies for worldwide distribution, with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $199.00.  It will be released on Christmas Day.

The continual snowfall is a graphic theme in The Spirit, as it as often been in Frank Miller’s graphic stories, and creates a visual atmosphere that oozes drama. Therefore, it was not hard to imagine a beautiful snow globe that would capture and reproduce the effect.  Central City, as depicted in the film, essentially becomes one of the main characters. The detail was focused on the buildings and fire escapes, and the movie’s tagline acts as a rooftop sign. A high-quality 120mm glass sphere encases a liquid sky that is spackled with a miniature flurry of white. Crafting the miniature environment was a technical challenge for Dark Horse and sculptors Jukes and Hartvigson, but the result is a unique collectible that is fascinating. Limited to only 500 pieces, packaged in a foam cube in color packaging, The Spirit Movie Snow Globe has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $99.99, and will be available in retail stores in late November.

Long known for it’s modern artist journal and stationery line, Dark Horse Deluxe has come up with a new journal for The Spirit. A moody silhouette of the hero stands against a snow-spackled night sky.  This cover is enhanced with a dozen or so tiny lighting elements concealed inside the journal’s cover. When activated by a hidden on/off button, the colored jewels in the snowflakes swirling around The Spirit light up as if under a streetlight on an urban winter’s night. The journal itself is 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", with 128 interior pages suitable as a compendium of the owner's secret thoughts . A logo-lettered book spine conceals spiral binding. The publication date for this item is December 6, 2008, just in time for the film release. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $14.99.