Mary Jane

Mary Jane (Watson-Parker) is one of the most - if not the most - beloved female characters of the Marvel Universe. Having been in a on-and-off romance with Peter Parker/Spider-Man for over forty years (and married to him for almost half that time, i.e. 1987-2007) it felt as if she was also the girlfriend of all the readers that have grown up with her (in a time, remember, when the overwhelming majority of readers were of the male sex). So, when Marvel launches a new comic book with the daring prefix AMAZING on its title, aping Mary Jane's husband's most famous book, it comes as no surprise that every comic book artist wants to do the cover. And, with almost twenty variant covers to choose from, and with such an enticing subject to represent, one would naturally expect that many of those covers should be extremely sexy. And one is not defrauded. Above all, by the breathtaking Ashley Witter cover. If there is a painting that can make you feel closer to paradise, well... this is it. And then the gorgeous covers by veteran J. Scott Campbell, that encapsulate Mary Jane's evolution through the decades from that distant THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #42 (1966) until today. It's a sassy trip down memory lane. And then both Jay Anacleto and Stanley Lau remind us that inside that fiery red-head lay a diva-class actress, with the sultriness of a fire-heared Lauren Bacall, and the down-to-earth beauty of a...well, why not, Kirsten Dunst. Finally, closing up my selection of covers, Mark Brooks (why does he draw such masculine faces on his females?) evokes a time when both MJ and Gwen Stacy were tearing apart Peter's (and the reader's) hearts. All in all, a well deserved homage for a character that became larger than life...and, more important yet, part of our lives.

Covers by: Ashley Witter, J. Scott Campbell, Jay Anacleto, Stanley Lau, and Mark Brooks

10/16 - Terror Theme

If last week's covers were a poor choice, the present ones are not much different. Again, the sexiest covers come from Marvel, although they're pretty tame and chaste. On my favorite cover, Captain Marvel pulls a full-body Superman shirt ripping, tearing what apears to be a kree uniform to reveal her costume beneath. Although she is presented with full buxom body, it's the expression on her pixie-like face that captivates me the most. The second (and last) Marvel cover of the week is CONTAGION #3's, which presents us a sexy Jessica Jones in tight shirt and tight jeans being menaced by sinister and purulent-looking tendrils from some evil fungus.

DC almost didn't make the final selection this week. Although their titles for October 16 do exhibit some gorgeous covers, only the one from TITANS:BURNING RAGE #3 comes close to looking sexy, thanks to a wonderful Koriander by Alex Sinclair.

Outside the majors, the most sexiest cover comes from Zenescope's GRIMM'S TALES OF TERROR: HALLOWEEN SPECIAL. Death has sometimes been represented as an enticing and erotically charged female figure (when not played by Bengt Ekerot), and never as much enticing as in this wonderful cover by Igor Vitorino and Ivan Nunes, poised as a bird next to the human carrion that is playing the role of the scarecrow.

As we're getting closer to Halloween with each passing day, this week's remaining covers are also horror-themed, comprising the unchecked lesbian orgy from Aftershock's DARK RED #7, the bleeding Cassie from IDW's THE CROW + HACK/SLASH #4, and the in-your-face minimalist pin-up-style cover for Action Lab's AMALGAMA:SPACE ZOMBIE #1.

Covers for: Captain Marvel by Mark Brooks; Contagion by Juan José Ryp & Jesus Aburtov; Titans - Burning Rage by Alex Sinclair; Grimm Tales of Terror 2019 Halloween Special by Igor Vitorino & Ivan Nunes; Dark Red by Meghan Hetrick; Crow - Hack/Slash by Jim Terry; and  Amalgama - Space Zombie by Winston Young.