More Mary Jane Variant Covers

Meanwhile, as Mary Jane is more and more - and truly - Marvels' girlfriend, the House of Ideas has been peppering most of its titles with Mary Jane variant covers. Some of them follow the infantile illustration style of the books they appear on, but a bunch is still of remarkable quality, eroticaly speaking. And so, let me open up this small collection with a gorgeous new variant cover for THE AMAZING MARY JANE #1 by Shannon Maer. The rest are a selection of the sexiest covers from a bunch of other titles, from which one cannot but highlight Terry Dodson's cover for BLACK CAT #5, Belén Ortega's cover for PUNISHER #16, and Mahmud Asrar's for AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #32.

Covers for: Amazing Mary Jane by Shannon Maer; Black Cat by Terry Dodson; Punisher by Belén Ortega; Amazing Spider-Man by Mahmud Asrar; Loki by Jen Bartel; Valkyrie Jane Foster by Ema Lupacchino; Silver Surfer Black by David Nakayama; Miles Morales by Mirka Andolfo; Fantastic Four by J. Scott Campbell; and Captain America by Adam Hughes

11/20 - Another weak week

It was another poor week for sexy covers. Although I still didn't get to see all the covers, it is by now obvious that DC has been eclipsed once more by Marvel. I choose a single cover from DC, and that one in absolute despair (it qualifies only for having a sexy busomy unconscious Batgirl in the grip of the Talon. Marvel fares a lot better in terms of quantity, but not that much in terms of quality: until now, three covers. I hope the covers for AMAZING MARY JANE #2 will tip the balance definitely. As things stand now, top mark goes to GWENPOOL STRIKES BACK #4. The cover for MARAUDERS #2 sports a sensuously aristocratic White Queen, and EXCALIBUR #2 makes it to the list for being another "Wall of Hands", despite the not so attractive and ogival-breasted Rogue.
The main surprise of the week comes from the independent labels and consists in the non-existence of sexy covers. Only Boom Comics's ONCE & FUTURE #4 makes the roster for its steel-eyed and wonderfull bosomy heroine.

Covers for: Gwenpool Strikes Back by Terry & Rachel Dodson; Marauders by Russel Dauterman & Matthew Wilson; Excalibur by Mahmud Asrar & MatthewWilson; Nightwing by Jonboy Meyers; and Once & Future by Dan Mora   

11/13 - A very, very meeh week

Again with some delay on my part, here are de sexy covers of the week. The small handfull of them. This was a really realy meeh week, with even some of the most sexy titles, like VAMPIRELLA AND RED SONJA, ELVIRA, MISTRESS OF THE DARK, or HARLEY QUINN AND POISON IVY, adorning the comic book racks with lukewarm sexiness. Even J. Scott Campbell doens't go out of perfunctory sketchiness for the BLACK CAT ANNUAL #1. So, VAMPIRELLA AND RED SONJA #3 only makes it into the list by way of a variant FOC Incentive cover by Roberto Castro.

After last week's absence of DC from my selection, this week it's Marvel's turn to be left out. However, instead of the three covers with which Marvel graced DC's eclipse, this week DC barely makes it with a single cover for CATWOMAN #17, but what a wonderful sexy cover with a mirror casting Selina Kyle's reflection as Catwoman. Breasts, buttocks and thighs help erase the somewhat sad and melancholy atmosphere of the cover by David Finch.

Finally, a new title from Mad Cave Comics, RV9, introduces a new heroine with a cover of languid sensuality. Leather jacket, red-headed girl and gun. Enjoy.

Covers for: Vampirella and Red Sonja by Roberto Castro; Elvira by Tim Seeley; Catwoman by David Finch; Black Cat Annual by J. Scott Campbell & Sabine Rich; and RV9 by Nicolas Salamanca. 

Red Sonja and Vampirella meet Betty and Veronica: the Fay Dalton covers

Fay Dalton is my favourite illustrator, bar none. Her work for Dynamite in this past year has been nothing short of outstanding, and I hope she will be among the roster of artists providing covers for Dynamite's coming DEJAH THORIS book. Absolutely talented and looking like someone who could perfectly be the subject of one of her own sensuous covers, Ms. Dalton has me salivating over each and every of her comic book and literary illustration work. In fact, she is that rare artist who can make me buy anything for the simple gorgeousness of her illustrations, with its combination of modern and traditional painting techniques, that contaminates the subject matter of each cover proper. Her work is infused with a painterly beauty that makes it truly timeless, and the unaware reader unexpectedly confronted with one of her covers surely strains his wits as to place it properly in a given epoch. It has that magic attribute that makes us doubt that it is in fact something new: she could illustrate today's news and make us doubt if we hadn't seen such an illustration in the portfolio of past giants like Norman Rockwell or Norman Saunders. She could have painted for the great pulps of yore, as well as she paints for today's comic books. That's how good she is. And I referring to her as painting, instead of illustrating, is no typo: for that's what she truly does. She is a great painter, and I hope someday to have a book collecting her covers next to my volumes on Edward Hopper or Andrew Wyeth.

Ms. Dalton's most recent work for Dynamite comprises not only the currently ongoing VAMPIRELLA titles, but also variant covers for each and every one of the recently concluded run of RED SONJA AND VAMPIRELLA MEET BETTY AND VERONICA. Six absolutely lovely covers that bring to life four classic comic book characters, infusing them with stunning girl-next-door immediacy. So please, enjoy these wonderful covers, and don't forget to visit Ms. Dalton's site, where you can find more out-of-this-world magnificent covers (I never before did, and probably won't do it again, endorsing in this blog commercial sites, but this is, to my view, a unique artist, fully deserving any amount of praise).

Covers by: Fay Dalton 

Luscious Dejah Thoris by Frank Cho

And the sight which met my eyes was that of a slender, girlish figure,

similar in every detail to the earthly women of my past life. She did not see me

at first, but just as she was disappearing through the portal of the building

which was to be her prison she turned, and her eyes met mine. Her face was

oval and beautiful in the extreme, her every feature was finely chiseled and

exquisite, her eyes large and lustrous and her head surmounted by a mass of

coal black, waving hair, caught loosely into a strange yet becoming coiffure.

Her skin was of a light reddish copper color, against which the crimson glow

of her cheeks and the ruby of her beautifully molded lips shone with a

strangely enhancing effect.

She was as destitute of clothes as the green Martians who accompanied

her; indeed, save for her highly wrought ornaments she was entirely naked,

nor could any apparel have enhanced the beauty of her perfect and

symmetrical figure.

Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of Mars, 1912

The above quote marks the first time John Carter lays eyes on Dejah Thoris in the plaza of the dead city of Korad. As is usual in Barsoom, both for red and green Martians, she is totally naked, but for some ornaments, which makes possible the feat of Dynamite's least covered character being covered in excess. Well, I do like Burrough's Martian books, almost as much as I like his Tarzan, and despite some hit-and-miss comics, I do like Dynamiye's Dejah Thoris. So, while we wait for this month's first issue of what will be DEJAH THORIS - VOLUME 5, here is the best and sexiest cover from Volume 4, the issue #1 cover variant by Frank Cho who, I believe, perfectly captures the essence of Burrough's Dejah Thoris:

Cover by Frank Cho

11/06 - Dynamiting the Competition

With some delay on my part, here are the sexiest covers of this first week of this tempestuous November. I guess by now it just goes without saying that there's not much to expect in terms of sexy covers from the majors. Just as it happened last week, DC didn't rate a single cover. Shame on them. Adding insult to injury, this is one week that sees the printing of one of Harley Quinn's titles, an (almost) surefire assurance for covers that leave one's libido positively salivating. Maybe next month.

It is also no surprise that in a week that sees both Red Sonja and Vampirella on the stands, Dynamite literally blows the competition out of the water. First and foremost, with the sublime and supinely erotic cover for VENGEANCE OF VAMPIRELLA #2 by Lucio Parrillo. This is an incredibly sensual Vampirella, drawn in such an exquisite way that not even the claw-like hands or the membranous and sickly-looking wings diminish its sinister seduction. And those hypnotically luscious buttocks make sure one hardly notices such aberrant appendages. Buzz's variant cover gives as a blood-clad, blood drained, Vampirella pin-up that wiold look good in any white stucco wall.

As to RED SONJA #10, Joseph Michael Linsner offers us what looks like a zero-gravity Red Sonja, demonstrating one of the most desirable effects of imponderability over the female anatomy.

Absent DC, Marvel takes the chance to present us with three sexy covers (maybe one should say mildly sexy covers, after Dynamite's) the best one being Yoon's cover for WEB OF BLACK WIDOW, at a time when the covers for #4 and 5 are already announced and guaranteed to make the selection here. At a close second comes X-FORCE #1, with two buxomy classic Marvel characters: Domino and Rachel Grey. Last from Marvel comes the cover by David Finch and Frank D'Armata for SAVAGE AVENGERS #7, which I must confess I hesitated before including here. Elektra is one of the sexiest characters from the Bronze Age of Marvel, and her pose here is suitably striking (pun intended)...however, there's something in the proportions of the figure that somehow seem to be a little off. But, hey, boob-lover that I am, I decided to throw the vote in favor of the defendant.

Finally, we have two covers from Valiant's LIVEWIRE #12 - although the main cover is not unsexy, the variant fashion-cover by Kevin Wada strikes a note of unusual exotism that makes it my choice - and one cover each for Zenescope's GRIMM FAIRY TALES 2019 HOLYDAY SPECIAL and Action Lab's AMALGAMA: SPACE ZOMBIE #2, both of which are included with the solely aim of completism, as they are typical products of their respective labels.

Covers for: Vengeance of Vampirella by Lucio Parrillo and Buzz; Red Sonja by Joseph Michael Linsner; Web of Black Widow by Junggeun Yoon; X-Force by Dustin Weaver; Savage Avengers by David Finch & Frank D'Armata; Livewire by Kevin Wada and Stacey Lee; Grimm's Fairy Tales Holyday Special by Geebo Vigonte; and Amalgama by Winston Young.

10/30 - Late addendum

As has been the case in these past weeks, Dynamite is the latecomer to the gallery of sexy covers. This time, the company that usually brings us the sexiest covers, has joined the bandwagon of poverty, presenting us with a single token of its quality: Greg Hildebrandt's cover for WARLORD OF MARS ATTACKS #5. It's a joyous cover, harking back to the adventure movies Hollywood churned out in the thirties and fourties, by way of pulpy craziness and Tim-Burtonesque nostalgic revival. Besides this gorgeous cover, the book comes with an annoucement for next month's DEJAH THORIS #1, something that, judging by Dynamite's previous record, promises a wealth of wonderfully sexy and erotic covers.

Cover by Greg Hildebrandt