'The Numbers' by Tim Doyle

The very first poster released in the original DCAAPB series was The Numbers (a.k.a. Hurley's Curse) by Tim Doyle wayyy back in August 2009. I was there for the release but decided not to purchase at the time.

At the end of the first DCAAPB I ranked the first sixteen posters. The Numbers was number sixteen on my list. I felt the print was garish and a jumbled mess. Which begs the question -- why did I end up buying the poster?

For the past few months I've been regularly checking eBay to see if I might pick up some of the DCAAPB posters that I wanted but missed the first time around. Unfortunately, most of the ones I missed were due to a sell-out, which in turn means they are popular and are still selling at a fairly high price point. When I noticed that bids for The Numbers were quite low near the end of auction, I decided to try for it. As luck would have it I ended up with the winning bid.

After seeing the poster in person I still believe it is one of the lesser prints in the series, but it does have some very cool elements. For example, the background of the poster consists of a repeating series of The Numbers, in an awesome glossy silver finish. Also, the print has glow in the dark elements which are particularly visible under black light.

This print is one of the artist's 50 copies. Tim added an extra doodle onto each of these as an extra bonus to those who bought them.

Here are a few close-ups of the many elements that comprise this print:


I have print #61 of 300.

Even though this isn't one of my favourites I still don't regret the purchase. If I were to re-rank the first 16 posters it would probably rise a few notches. Besides, even the least successful of the DCAAPB prints are special reminders of the DCAAPB project itself and of the show itself.