The Crow Bust
"People once believed that when you died, a crow took your soul to the land of the dead....but sometimes, just sometimes, the crow could bring that soul back, to make the wrong things right..."
Some movies are well known for being profitable, some have memorable stars or scenes, some have strange trivia or accidents during the filming and some are just cult classics. Every once in a while, there is one that meets all the criteria listed above, and The Crow fits the bill.
Released in 1994, The Crow had memorable scenes, it made money, had a rising young star in Brandon Lee (the son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee) and has become a cult classic. There is one thing about the movie that no one seems to forget though - the star of the movie was killed during filming. Brandon Lee was killed by a blank, and this stopped short a promising career and almost stopped the movie itself.
In a twist where fiction and fact seemed to bear striking resemblance, Brandon Lee's death didn't stop the movie from being completed or him appearing in other scenes. His face was digitally added to a double's body to fill in some scenes that hadn't been completed before his accident, and he got a second chance after death (much like his character Eric Draven) to finish his work.
The movie is about the power of love when a young couple (Eric Draven and Shelly Webster) are killed by criminals on the eve of their wedding. They were to be married on Halloween (probably got a better rate for the reception) in Detroit, but their future was destroyed when Eric was shot to death and Shelly was raped and died later in the hospital. Death might seem a big impediment to living one's life, but a mystical force gives Eric powers and abilities so he can exact vengeance. It also brings him back life, which is quite the trick even if it is a year later.
Eric Draven is a memorable character as he fights to right the wrongs of his life so he can reach eternal rest. He has a crow as a sidekick, but this polly doesn't want a cracker, only justice. Dynamic Forces has created a mini-bust to bring a dead man to life in a smaller package.
 The Crow was created by James O'Barr in the 1980's as a reaction to a tragedy in his own life. He began what would become the Crow while stationed in Berlin Germany with the Marines (being in the Marines may be a tragedy, but it wasn't the one that inspired him). The bust was sculpted by Pablo Viggiano and Martin Canale. About 5.5 inches tall, the bust features the Crow with his crow perched on his shoulder. The Crow's shirt is ripped and has bullet holes, and his eyes are a bit bloodshot, as if he has been up all night fighting bad guys, or returning from the dead. The Crow's face is painted in the black and white pattern as you would expect, but his skin on his neck and where his shirt is ripped is a pinkish fleshtone color.
See the Big Picture
The bust is mostly done in a matte finish, but the crow has a gloss finish on its eyes and claws, creating the illusion that it knows exactly what is going on.
The base is made of two tombstones and two small angel figures: "Eric Draven" is on the tombstone in the front of the base, with "Shelly Webster" (formerly "Sheely Webster") on the tombstone on the back. The two angels fill in the space between the tombstones, and the bust is growing up from the center. The angels have sorrow-filled expressions befitting statuary usually found in cemeteries. The entire base has a paint wash on it to recreate the weathered look of a cemetery.
This bust is limited to 1,994 pieces and it is numbered under the base. It comes complete with two light-as-air pieces of styrofoam and a colorful box to make it complete! Dynamic Forces also created a variant bronze edition bust of 499 pieces. The regular edition retails for around $50 USD, and although the Dynamic Forces site is now sold out, you might be able to find one at your local comic book store. The bronze edition is still available through Dynamic Forces for a bit more than the regular edition.
More Pictures of The Crow
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