Many of you robot-nerds out there are avid comic readers, and if you’re anything like me, you might even be willing to spend your hard-earned cash on statues and maquettes that portray the art in your favorite comics. What you may not think about, is the immense talent that goes into sculpting Mary Jane Watson Parker bent over doing Peter Parker’s laundry. (seen below)

There are many great sculptors that are behind the scenes bringing the comic-artists drawings to glorious 3D life. When you first see a statue or comiquette in Previews or on your comic collectibles website of choice, you might think to yourself, “$89.99 for a statue?” But once you’ve tried sculpting, as I have, you realize that it is quite difficult to take a lump of Super Sculpey, and create something that doesn’t look like it was pushed out of your dog’s backside. Let alone, all the production work that goes into actually producing the statue.

That being said, next time you’re considering purchasing that sweet Batman Black & White Statue, take time to appreciate the dozens and dozens of hours someone spent sculpting it from a lump of clay. Not to mention that all of the great sculptors that I have had the pleasure of corresponding with online (and hopefully meet at the Comic-Con) are some of the nicest and funniest guys you’ll ever talk to. Some of my favorite sculptors whose work you probably see every time you’re in a comic book shop or browsing ebay, are:

Tim Bruckner: one of the founding fathers of the fantasy and comic art genre and a DC Direct exclusive sculptor. Known for his ability to bring fantasy pieces to life. i.e. Frank Frazetta and other artists.

Tony Cipriano: One of the most versatile sculptors in the business. With pieces ranging from angular, cartoon like sculpts, to realistic and life like pieces. Best known for his amazing work for Disney, as well as his ability to sculpt beautiful feminine statues of icons such as Mary Jane, Bettie Page and vintage pinups.

Every week I will be writing a short article about a different comic industry sculptor, so stay tuned!