Marvel has pulled two upcoming Milo Manara covers in the wake of a recent controversy involving the erotic artist, Spider-Woman’s butt, and—according to Manara, at least—Islam. Manara, known for his NSFW drawings of women who can’t close their mouths for some reason, was supposed to illustrate variant covers for Avengers And X-Men: AXIS #1 and Thor #2, the second issue featuring the new female Thor. But the company has reassigned the covers to artist Siya Oum and an as-yet-unnamed illustrator, respectively.
This probably has something to do with the backlash over Manara’s Spider-Woman #1 variant cover, considering the Italian artist has done plenty of non-controversial work for Marvel in the past. Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Axel Alonso implies as much in a recent interview with Comic Book Resources where he basically says he likes anatomically implausible superheroines, but doesn’t like getting shit from feminists on Twitter:
“He is a world-renowned artist with a huge fan base, and his variants…are aimed at people who appreciate his art and his style. But we are aware of the growing sensitivity to covers like this, and we will be extra-vigilant in policing their content and how we use them in our marketing.”
However, Alonso also tells CBR that he will definitely hire Manara again, because feminists on Twitter aren’t that annoying. The Spider-Woman #1 cover that Salon describes as “more like a colonoscopy than a costume,” meanwhile, will hit stores as scheduled in November.