The California city of Burbank has partnered with one of its most famous businesses, DC, for a 7-and-a-half foot tall bronze Batman statue that is now on display in its downtown area.
The 600-pound statue was digitally sculpted by Alejandro Pereira Ezcurra based on DC chief creative officer/publisher Jim Lee's seminal 'Hush' arc of Batman with writer Jeph Loeb, inker Scott Williams, and colorist Alex Sinclair. The 3D sculpture was manufactured by the local Burbank business American Fine Arts Foundry and Fabrication.
This statue came out of a partnership with Burbank's tourism agency Visit Burbank and DC, whose parent company WarnerMedia is the city's largest employer - even besting the Walt Disney Company, which has offices and studios in the city limits. DC has been based in Burbank for five years, after 81 years in its hometown of New York City.
Since moving to the Burbank area, Lee has done a number of public events - even at one point doing sketches to help his children sell Girl Scout cookies in front of a local grocery store.
"Well, I think comics is about having as much fun as possible. Obviously, there are serious issues to be tackled, but at the heart of it all, it's about writing stories, drawing stories, and having that nostalgic connection with my past. Drawing sketches for young kids and their families as part of a Girl Scout drive is a fun marriage of two things," Lee told Newsarama earlier this year.
"I've trained myself to be able to draw practically anywhere, be it a hotel room, a home studio, work, or a table outside a grocery store. I never wanted to be the person who couldn't create except in the 'right' environment. It's all about being inspired - inspired by the people around you, in the case you brought up. It adds a whole other element."
If you'd like to have a Jim Lee Batman 'Hush' statue yourself, you can… although this one might set you back. DC Collectibles and Kotobukiya have both released a number of Jim Lee-designed 'Hush' era Batman statues in various sizes.
This new bronze Batman statue is on display now at the AMC walkway at the Burbank Town Center.
Read our review of Batman's 'Hush'.
