Funko POP -- The Crow

Funko POP – The Crow

It’s the face that launched a thousand goths – The Crow!

Based on a 1980s comic by James O’Barr (which I really must read eventually), The Crow is the tale of Eric Draven, a young man who is murdered alongside his fiancé by a group of street thugs. One year later, he returns from the grave as the titular Crow and wreaks bloody revenge on those who killed him and his love.

O’Barr had experienced a great deal of pain in his personal life – including his own fiancé’s death – and channelled it into the creation of the work.  Not long after publication, Hollywood came knocking and the film was released in 1994. It will be hard for younger readers to imagine, but in the early 1990s there weren’t actually many comic-based films doing the rounds – aside from the Tim Burton Batman films – so in many ways The Crow was quite lucky to be made. 20 years on we have Guardians of the Galaxy ­(an almost aggressively obscure property) topping box offices around the world and an Ant-Man movie on the way – how things have changed!

Watching The Crow late last year, I was surprised at how dark the film actually was – violent death, teen homelessness, sexual assault, incest and revenge all get a look in. I’d previously seen it when I was about 15, and had forgotten most of this. Or perhaps the version I saw on TV simply cut a few things out, and my own teen angst-based feelings stayed with me more than the actual film had.  

  

Yet for all its darkness, the ending is quite hopeful and upbeat – good triumphs over evil, and justice (or at least revenge) is meted out to the wrongdoers. It captured the public’s imagination, was a big hit on release and has retained an enormous cult following. Unfortunately, star Brandon Lee was unable to enjoy the fruits of his labour – he was tragically killed in an on-set accident.

All of this lengthy backstory naturally leads us to the subject of today’s review – the Funko POP version of Eric Draven, aka The Crow.

There seems to be a POP based on his original comic appearance floating around, though I'm not sure if it's an official release. There's also a glow-in-the-dark version of the one reviewed today – a Hot Topic exclusive, I believe.

Sculpted in one of his most iconic poses, with arms outstretched, he comes complete with his signature leather trenchcoat. The detail that's made its way onto the figure are quite impressive -- his fiancé’s engagement ring is present on around his neck, as is the electrical tape and wire. They've even managed to work in the buttons on his high-waisted pants. 

Though the detail is great, the paint is moving towards sloppy again -- if not quite Wonder Woman sloppy. There's some missing paint around his temples where the hair meets the head, and the right eye is a little fuzzy.The skin colour on the hands is also a little on the thick side. Still, as I've said many times before, this is just how it goes with Funko -- for every Creature from the Black Lagoon, there's many, many others who are a little off the mark.   

Nonetheless, The Crow is a very satisfactory POP. The only thing really missing is the actual crow. At certain points, the movie implies that Draven can transform into a crow, though it also shows him alongside one. It’s never clearly explained, but you just let it go as it's pretty cool. Though the crow wouldn’t have been able to sit on his shoulders, given his massively oversized head, it might have been cool if Funko did a variant where he has one perched on his hands or something. Nonetheless, he's definitely a great figure and a worthwhile investment for any Crow fan.  

But who's really more dark and tortured?