Ultimate Storm Bust
Have you ever caught episodes of a tv show out of order, but since each one is complete on its own you were okay? Well, it's happening right now with our coverage of the Diamond Select Ultimate Storm bust. This bust was the first on the series of 'ultimate busts' and while we've covered some of the later products, this one started the line with a bada-boom.
The 'Ultimate Busts' is a double entendre - the busts are based on the line of Ultimate comic books from Marvel and they are the ultimate versions of the characters in a bust. The former is clearly true and the latter is a matter of personal taste. Older readers may find Storm to look a little different than their recollection and you can blame it on failing eyes and Alzheimer's if you like (this strategy is good enough for Charlton Heston), but this isn't the same Storm from Giant Size X-Men #1.
The Ultimate books are a way that Marvel is re-imagining (that's the catchy Hollywood description) its characters in order to remove some of the baggage that goes with continuity and to introduce new readers to both the characters and the format of comic books. The wisdom there may be up for debate, but the sales figures don't lie and the Ultimate books are very popular, which is why the ultimate line of busts was created.
 Storm is a member of the X-Men, but her curves reveal that she's no man. The gender specific name of the team may be misleading, but Storm is all woman and her new costume reflects modern sensibilities combined with the older design but the same sense of sensuality in her rather skimpy costume. Her lustrous white hair flows around her back and then loops around to circle her front and the base of the bust.
The base is similar to the one that Cyclops has, but Storm's is less worn or damaged (apparently she doesn't get as beat up when she fights) with some felt on the bottom. Rudy Garcia is the artist responsible for the Storm bust and he's captured her from just below the waist to the tip of her head (along with both arms) as she is about to unleash a bit of elemental fury, and you can see it in the whites of her eyes. In fact, they are all white, which isn't good if you happen to be on the other end of them.
See the Big Picture
Creating a sculpture isn't easy to duplicate, but the magic of modern technology allows the reproduction of the result of that creation, and Diamond Select has taken advantage of that to make not one, not even two but up to 10,000 copies of this work. And one can be yours for around $40 to $50 USD if you check your local comics shop. They have also made a slightly different version of the same bust but with gold trim (rather than yellow) and made only 500 of those to make it more collectible, which you can get at some of the same places.
With all of these busts, whether gold or yellow, you do get a handy certificate of authenticity suitable for framing (or covering up that small sliver of light that makes it through the window every morning at sunrise to wake you up) signed by sculptor Rudy Garcia and Adam Kubert, because his dad owns a comic book school. Well, he does, but Adam helped re-design Storm and her look for Ultimate X-Men and did a portrait for the bust and box, so he gets his name on there too. And you get some nifty Styrofoam in the box around the bust, and that's just part of the service!
More Pictures of Storm
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