The Elusive Dark Knight Returns Statue That You Can’t Purchase

Occasionally I like to share items on my blog from my personal collection of books, posters and statues so today I chose to post the first sculpture that began my obsession with Batman statues.

batman-the-dark-knight-returns-frank-miller-dc-comics

Released in 1996 by DC Comics to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the 4 issue prestige format comic book series, The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, the statue measures 7.5″ tall and is made of cold-cast porcelain. It retailed for $200.

002_big

This beautiful collectible features an older Batman teaching his new protege, a female Robin how to fire a slingshot.

Limited to an edition of 5,500, the statue was sculpted by William Paquet and designed by Frank Miller based on the signature page art from the Dark Knight Returns limited signed edition published by Graphitti Designs.

williams_inking_frank_miller_by_inkist

Paquet is the Creative Director at Quarantine Studio, a company that produces limited edition collectible statues.

In researching, this post I stumbled upon another Dark Knight Returns statue that was also sculpted by William Paquet.

The sculptor writes, “After careful consideration, some friends and I decided to make a limited edition Dark Knight in bronze. Only three numbered copies were created and one is my personal copy.”

The statue which is made of bronze and granite measures 14” tall including the base and weighs 31 pounds.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

My curiosity was piqued as I had never seen this rendition of Batman until today, so I wrote to William Paquet and asked him a few questions about the elusive piece. He was kind enough to respond:

When was the statue created?

In 2009

If there are 3 statues and you have one, who owns the other 2?

Private collectors.

Will it ever be mass produced?

No

What was the reason the you created the statue besides being cool?

I loved Miller’s aesthetic and had a client with the desire and money to make it happen.

Where do you keep your statue? Home, office, display case or in a hidden secret panel?

In my studio

So to sum it up, the statue is awesome, highly desirable, unavailable, will never be reproduced and there are only 3 in the world of which 2 belong to unknown people. That my friend, is a conversation piece!

Published by Larry Fire

I write an eclectic pop culture blog called THE FIRE WIRE that features articles about books, comics, music, movies, television, gadgets, posters, toys & more!

2 thoughts on “The Elusive Dark Knight Returns Statue That You Can’t Purchase

Leave a Reply

Discover more from

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading