New ‘Marvel Swimsuit Special: Friends, Foes & Rivals’ Disappoints With Sexless Artwork, Reprinted Pin-Ups From Past Covers
In a disappointing but ultimately unsurprising result, Marvel Comics has fumbled its latest Marvel Swimsuit Special by filling its pages not with titillating beachwear artwork of various Marvel superheroes, but instead what is perhaps the most aggressively sexless collection of ‘pin-ups’ ever put to paper.
The first such special in 30 years, the newly-released Marvel Swimsuit Special: Friends, Foes & Rivals one-shot was touted by its eponymous publisher as “continuing the tradition” of their early 90s swimsuit specials, which ran across the early 90s and were known for presenting readers with page after page of gratuitous Marvel-themed cheesecake, all wrapped in a very loose but fun narrative that served solely to give a passing excuse as to why the featured heroes and villains were hitting the beach instead of each other.
And while the narrative of the latest special, as presented by writers Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs with art from Nick Bradshaw and Rachelle Rosenberg, is admittedly enjoyable, the same cannot be said for a vast majority of its collected pin-ups.
Now, to be clear, this appraisal is not based on an vague idea of some generally accepted ‘sexiness threshold’. After all, as the old adage goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Nor is it rooted in a desire for said pin-ups to be more explicit, as Marvel Comics is still an all-ages publisher and thus it is understood that the content must err on the side of caution when it comes to such risqué materials.
Rather, it stems from the fact that while said pin-ups are all expertly illustrated, most of them are not only less enticing than any of the issue’s covers, but completely devoid of any energy, sexual or otherwise – which is the absolute last thing anyone wants from a swimsuit special.
Take, for example, Aaron Kuder and Jesus Aburtov’s take on the Fantastic Four, which comes off as less ‘exciting’ than it does ‘a photo of your parents’ last summer vacation’:
Or Marguerite Sauvage’s poolside shot of Rogue and Gambit, its sharp line and color work serving a scene that would be more at home in a Disney Channel original movie than any sort of ‘spicy showcase’:
Even David Marquez and Nolan Woodard’s artwork of Cloak & Dagger, easily one of if not the stand out piece of the entire book, features the barest hints of sexuality, despite the two being near-completely nude and making skin-to-skin contact:
Truly, of every piece featured in the Marvel Swimsuit Special, only Mahumad Asrar & Matthew Wilson’s snapshot of Black Cat and Spider-Man comes even remotely close to truly capturing the book’s old-school feel:
Again, all objectively well drawn, but sadly on the whole boring when compared to previous swimsuit special depictions of these same characters, such as Walter McDaniel, Matt Banning, and Tom Smith’s handling of Marvel’s First Family:
Tim Hildebrandt and Greg Hildebrandt’s Marvel Swimsuit Special Vol. 1 #4 cover-adorning shot of Rogue and Gambit:
Or Joe Phillips, John Dell, and John Cebolero’s look into one of Cloak & Dagger’s more intimate moments:
To make matters even more disappointing, in addition to the book’s pin-ups being less-than-eye-catching, rather than its entire gallery being made up of wholly original pieces, three of its entries are actually reprints from previously released variant covers, with Olivier Copiel’s Namor piece having originally been produced for February’s Namor Vol. 2 #7:
Rian Gonzales’s Venom for October 2023’s Venom Vol. 5 #26:
And Adam Hughes’ She-Hulk, which would itself count as the book’s ‘sexiest piece’ if it hadn’t already appeared with a foil treatment on 2023’s Sensational She-Hulk Vol. 2 #1:
All in all, while not the most embarrassing attempt at toeing the sex appeal line ever produced, the Marvel Swimsuit Special: Friends, Foes & Rivals may have just been better off being dedicated to its main objective: Showcasing upcoming skins for Marvel Rivals.
(And hey, at least it also got some great variant covers, including an amazing set from the one and only J. Scott Campbell.)
