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Hi, everyone. I’m Nick Curtis, the art toy advocate, and back when Hong Kong-based artist
Alan Ng founded Fools Paradise in 2009, he launched the brand with the Handmade12 line.
This series of handmade designer toys depicted the patients of the Fools Paradise mental
hospital, characters that he would later stylize in an assortment of ways. And the fourth piece
in the line was Lowfool, a massive and muscular figure that has since donned a variety of
garbs, such as his Batman-inspired Batlowfool persona, as seen in 2016’s The Last Ride
and The Last Why renditions as well as this year’s The Dark Rise: ’89. In a similar
depiction as those pieces, we have here The Last Hire, which finds Lowfool taking on the
guise of the Caped Crusader’s nemesis, Bane.
For those unfamiliar with Bane, he first appeared at the beginning of 1993 in the Batman: Vengeance
of Bane special issue, with the supervillain becoming infamous only six months later when
he notoriously broke the Dark Knight’s back during the Knightfall storyline. Now this
rendition of Bane had a fanciful appearance with his Mexican wrestler-inspired garb, tubes
flooding his body with the fictional drug venom, augmenting his already brute strength
to impossibly enhanced levels. But this isn’t the version of Bane that The Last Hire is
parodying.
This sculpture mockingly mimics Bane’s appearance in Christopher Nolan’s 2012 film The Dark
Knight Rises. Portrayed by Tom Hardy, this cinematic iteration of the character had more
of a militaristic theme, attired in an armored vest, with a matching pair of black combat
pants complete with knee pads. And instead of a full mask, this Bane donned a metal contraption,
one that delivered an anesthetic directly into his airways that relieved the feeling
of any pain.
Perfectly capturing the look of that Bane in an almost cartoonish manner, Ng’s Lowfool
rendition is gorgeously executed. The piece’s impossibly sized muscles prominently popping
off the form, the exposed flesh coloration given subtle fades of darker highlighting
around each bulging shape. Beautifully contrasting against these light areas is the figure’s
dark attire, a worn and weathered application finishing these sections.
But, of course, the true heart of this parody lies within the character’s hand, which
is grasping onto an ice cream cone, the melting contents oozing upon the figure’s fingers.
And, all the while, this non-articulating form’s gaze peers at this aspect, its menacing
mask not allowing for the treat to be devoured.
But the Lowfool rendition is only half of this sculptural creation, as The Last Hire
comes with a Coin Rides Game component, a tongue-in-cheek rendition of the coin-operated
rides that once cluttered the outside of supermarkets to entertain the kiddies. And like all the
similar pieces from Ng’s Coin Rides Game series, the vehicle aspect resides on two
ball-jointed stands to allow for brilliant side-to-side movement.
Continuing the parody of The Dark Knight Rises film, the vehicle depicted resembles one of
the Tumblers that Bane steals from Wayne Enterprises' Applied Sciences Division, still decorated
in its original camouflaged color scheme. And the jest carries over to the coin box
on the side, Ng’s Punch A Ride slogan having the word Harvey emblazoned above it, referencing
the character of Harvey Dent whose face is suggestively shown in the background. Now
I don’t want to spoil anything for those that haven’t seen the Nolan films, but let
me just say that information about District Attorney Harvey Dent is essential to Bane’s
taking over Gotham City.
Overall, The Last Hire is another stunning sculpture from Fools Paradise, mixing a perfect
balance of Ng’s original creations with obvious pop culture parodies. Unfortunately,
these Last Hire pieces were made to order, limited to a maximum of 398 sets worldwide,
and are no longer available. But for those interested in acquiring works like this one
from Fools Paradise, please visit his website at doublefools.blogspot.com. And make sure
you follow him on Instagram under the username foolsparadisetoys for sneak peaks at future
releases.
Thank you for watching me, Nick Curtis, the art toy advocate.
Agree with me? Disagree with me? Let me know your thoughts on Fools Paradise’s The Last
Hire by commenting below as well as liking — or disliking — this video on YouTube.
And please remember to subscribe to the CoART YouTube channel to be kept up-to-date on my
reviews.