Imagine my surprise when I found out that it had nothing to do with tasty processed breakfast foods, but instead was all about funky robots. It's POPBOT, although there are plenty of tarts, along with Sherlock Holmes, Andy Warhol and The Maxx making guest appearances.

The brain child of Ashley Wood, the comic is published by IDW Publishing. I read collection one, wanting to be able to explain just who this big character was, in anticipation of reviewing the new large polystone statue from Sideshow Toys.

Ah, but I was merely a foolish mortal. The basics are easy enough--Kitty is (or was) the lead singer of a rock band. He has a robot bodyguard named Popbot, but that's where things stop being easy. I think the best background for this wild ride of a story is on the back of IDW's first POPBOT collection: "Popbot is a postmodern, stream-of-consciousness joyride, a glorious hodgepodge of ricocheting ideas that slowly unravels into a suspenseful story of lust and revenge." How damned cool does that sound?!

If you're looking for the books, you can find them at the IDW Web site. Tonight's review covers a very sharp polystone statue of Kitty and Popbot, to be released early in 2005. This is an early review -- sort of like one of those early reviews Ebert and Roeper do. Retail on this statue is $150, and I have suggestions on where to pick it up at the end of the review.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can always reach me at mwc@mwctoys.com. If you enjoy this review, take a minute to check out my other site at Michael's Review of the Week, and let me know what you think. Now on to the review!

"Popbot by Sideshow Toys"

If you thought you read wrong, you didn't. Kitty is a rock star. Popbot is a robotic body guard. And there's lots of sex, violence, and wild stories. It might take you a little while to start to get into the flow, but that's part of the beauty of this story and these characters. What might seem unrelated and disjointed at first finds a way to make sense when you give it a chance.

While this statue is labeled just Popbot, it includes the infamous Kitty, too. Popbot also has his very large gun, and there was (it's sold out now) a very limited variant version (only 100!) where Popbot has a hook for a left hand. This regular version is also a limited edition, but the final number has not yet been set.

Packaging - N/A
As I mentioned earlier, this is a pre-release review. Because of that, the statue doesn't have its packaging. Therefore, I can't comment on it yet, but if past work is any indication, I'm sure Sideshow will do a great job.

Sculpting - ****
One of the difficulties with Pops is that the artwork of the books isn't exactly consistent. It's not as if the style on every page is, but almost. Some of the artwork appears with the soft lines and style of water colors, while other has the harsh reality of fine pen. That means that while the general appearance of Popbot is consistent, there's a fluidity in the style.

The Sideshow sculptors--this piece was done by James Hakola--have managed to pull off the daunting task of translating this unique style to the three dimensional world. Popbot has the right level of detail to express the harsh metal world--check out the work in the gears of the elbows or knees, or the "intestinal" tubing--and yet capture the feel of the comic book.

The smooth limbs and sculpt give you the impression of a metal man, something that you could find lumbering up the street if you were having a bad day, but Kitty is slightly different. Again, the artwork varies quite a bit, even moreso for Kitty than for Popbot. At times, Kitty is a very realistic-appearing cat, while at others he takes on a much more cartoon-type appearance. Sideshow opted for the cartoon style, which I think works extremely well with the Pops. His smooth lines play nicely with the smooth, square designs of Kitty.

Paint - ***1/2
The paint ops are nearly flawless, although there's only a handful of colors. Both Kitty and his bodyguard are done in very soft earthy colors. There is a darker color used on Popbot to produce a false shadowing on his chest, around his joints, and in other appropriate areas, and it works extremely well, giving him even greater depth and highlighting the detail work nicely.

My only issue was with Kitty, where there was a bit of clumpiness in the paint on his belly and front legs. I suspect it's because it's such a tight fit up there, and it's the only area I noticed any sort of problem. Even the two stars on either shoulder are absolutely perfect and even!

The base comes marked with the usual info, including a print of the artist's signature, and the edition number.

Design/Quality - ****
Each of the Popbots is hand-manufactured. Each piece is hand-cast, hand-painted and hand-assembled. Of course, if one-eyed Louie with the spastic right hand was doing the work, "hand-manufactured" wouldn't necessarily be a good thing. But all indications are that they have people with good eyesight and even better co-ordination doing the work.

The statue comes fully assembled, and I like the style of the base. They symbol on the base is the Popbot logo, and Kitty and he are positioned in such a way as to both be appreciating something off to their left. Both bodies tile slightly in the same manner, giving a nice impression of movement, and breaking away from a more static pose.

While the polystone appears to be very high quality, you'll want to be very careful with your statue. That pose on Popbot means that both his shoulders and hips are at slightly odd angles, and it would be extremely easy to break one of them with just the right move.

Value - **1/2
This is a very tall statue at about 15 inches, and also one of very high quality. On top of all that, the edition size is likely to be pretty small, making the $150 price tag seem a lot less excessive. Oh sure, it's not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but you don't have to be the Trumpster to pick this up. Of course, it helps if you're a Popbot fan. The price tag is also very similar to other statues and busts in the market, so the average value score is pretty fair.

Overall - ***1/2
This is a beautiful statue, and will certainly look good on the shelf of any big Popbot fan. It is *this* close to a four-star statue, but for the slight issues with the paint on Kitty and the slightly high price tag. It's clearly not for the average buyer, but the fans of Ashley Wood and his unique style should be very happy.  And if this statue and its style, along with the idea of a rather interesting read, piques your interest, you can check out the books in TPB format.

I hope we see some further collaborations between IDW Publishing and Sideshow, since they carry some other titles that would make for great statues or figures. Sideshow collectors who are into horror should take note, since IDW has titles like 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, SILENT HILL, and others. And how cool would a statue be based on Clive Barker's THE THIEF OF ALWAYS?

Where to Buy -
Sideshow Toys has these listed for $150. Right now, they are about your only option, and I wouldn't expect these to be cheaper once they hit eBay. Me thinks the big Popbot fans will want to act now, rather than take their chances with the secondary market.