I finally got my hands on something I've been looking for (for a reasonable price) since I was just a lowly little level 12 hornball - A "Marvel Swimsuit Special!"
This is the second issue in the series (though the third book of its kind), and it was released in 1993 when... times were different.
The coolest thing about them (other than the totally radical '90s hunkeroos and baberinos in general) is the amount of really talented artists that submitted pieces - So many industry-leading folks putting their spin on the self-aware, low-brow, tongue-in-cheek project.
This first image was by Joe Jusko, a super popular cover artist at the time. I remember his Conan covers the most.
I'll eventually scan the whole thing in high quality, but for now, I'll take some preview pics to show you some of my favorite and/or goofiest pages:
Here is Domino, looking like we might need to race her to a Dermatology appointment. She's apparently tacky enough to wear a swimsuit with a domino print on it.
And check out Cable in the back - Sun's out, cyberbun out! He's ready to catch some waves on a totally-worth-the-money-and-production-time rocket-powered machine gun surfboard.
I really appreciate this artist's commitment to all the "Liefeld pouches" here. I hope they're waterproof, or all those Tic Tacs inside 'em are gonna get ruined. :(
Penciling by Chris Batista, ink by Hector Collazo, coloring by Mark McNaab.
Let's kick off the "after the jump" part properly with this glorious image of Pip. Because this is certainly what people bought this book for.
It just so happens that this fuzzy little asshole narrates the entire issue, so he's to blame for the inherently sexist captions on all the pictures.
Jesus Christ, he's got two big toes on each foot.
Pencilking by Darick Robertson, ink by Andrew Pepoy, coloring by Tom Smith.
I love me some Cloak and Dagger.
Tandy looks as gorgeous as ever. Surely she owns stock in boobie tape by now.
Tyrone, however, is getting so much sand stuck to him right now... I don't think he digs being used as a beach blanket. I'm... not even sure he's ever had to wash his cloak before today! Yikes. He's all like:
Penciling by Joe Madureira, ink by Terry Austin, and coloring by Gregory Wright.
I can't stop laughing at how much Thunderstrike looks exactly like the Genetic Freak, Big Poppa Pump Scott Steiner in this picture:
The work is entirely by Lou Harrison. It may not surprise you to learn he's also a Fantasy artist.
I've always had a thing for Silver Sable, and this page is just fantastic.
That being said, my favorite part is Sandman sitting there, looking like a dope, shaped like a sand castle. Which, while it seems silly, was probably the most challenging and detailed thing I've ever seen him do with his powers. Worth it for the shot, I suppose!
Line work and ink by Steven Butler, a favorite of mine. He did penciling for the "Silver Sable and the Wild Pack" series (which got me attached), but he's also known for designing the Scarlet Spider suit. Coloring by Gregory Wright.
If you thought I wasn't going to Morb out on this post, you were undead wrong.
Just look at that ridiculous batpackage. Also... Is he really serving a cape over a leather jacket, but with absolutely no pants? Damn, dude.
Penciling by Gary Barker, ink by Jimmy Palmiotti, coloring by Tom Smith.
I can spot Adam Hughes' work a mile away, wow. I guess I didn't realize he was doing work for Marvel this far back.
A fierce-as-ever, short-haired Natasha who looks like she got slammed so hard against a rocky wall that it cracked, got up, emptied out the rest of her clip, and still had enough time and energy to pose during a reload.
Black Widow, bay-bayyy. ♫
Oh my god, Ghost Rider is just so naughty. Wearing nothing but his birthday bones.
This scene just looks like it smells awful.
Artwork by Tristan Shane.
Shulkie in a metal bikini (function over fashion?), bursting out of the lava from an active volcano. You wanna talk "hot tub?" Sure, this gets a feature.
Penciling and ink by cover artist Steve Geiger, coloring by Paul... Mounts.
Deezamn, Bishop. Never seen guy looking so buff before.
Instead of just Bishop, this looks like Hank McCoy and Bishop had a child together. Does he have any other mode than "arm vein p-pop?"
Penciling by Dwayne Turner, ink by Mark Farmer, coloring by Gregory Wright.
Ah, one of the more famous '90s Psylocke images that wasn't done by Jim Lee.
This centerfold was used in lots of comic store ads for several years after this issue came out. I remember seeing posters in the shops themselves. Trading cards of this picture are one of the most costly to collect.
It's beautiful, and the colors/lighting/shading are all fantastic.
Penciling and ink by the wonderful Art Thibert, creator of the Raft max security prison and inker of some of the most iconic X-title covers.
Coloring by Paul Mounts, who did the coloring in hundreds and hundreds of just Marvel comics alone - I didn't mention that earlier because I was snickering at his name earlier in the She-Hulk feature. My bad.
Well, this wouldn't be Tumblr without a cat picture, yeah? Or a catgirl picture, I suppose.
This is the most adorable scene in the book. Just Tigra innocently taking a cuddle nap with some... um... wow, I don't know what the fuck those things are. Snuggle up anyway!
Penciling and ink by Amanda Conner, coloring by Gregory Wright.
Huh. Of all the characters in this book, I really didn't expect to see Dr. Cooper... Either which way, the swimsuit under the detective get-up is pretty choice, honestly.
This is, of course, another Adam Hughes line art joint. Ink by Mark Farmer, coloring by Gregory Wright (who did a lot of these, huh?).
What's this? A parody ad that you'd more expect to see in an issue of "What The--?!" that only '80s kids will understand? Yup, totally.
This was in the back of the book and doesn't fit the theme at all, but it gets a mention because of the weird inclusion and also to stall time until I had the final image ready, because I needed time to prepare...
THIS.
This is the one.
How could I not end this little "show and tell" without this beauty right here?
Here, we have remorseless killer Frank Castle flexing his best end-of-catwalk pose in front of a... wrestling match between a bunch of lady demon dinosaurs battling... for his affection? To tip him American cash? Or maybe all those hearts come from their love of beating each other up? I'm not here to judge.
And then there's a sign for 75 cent hotdogs, but it's been covered with another sign for... $20 tooth brushes? What in the shit is going on here?
There is one thing I do know, though. The artist wants you to think that The Punisher has at least $2.75 worth of hotdog under that massive crotch skull.
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Just blacklisted a couple fandoms, just cause I wasn't interested, and got to thinking about how much I genuinely unironically fucking love this website. I've never been on any other platform that gives me this degree of control over what I see - by letting me control who I follow, giving me block abilities, letting me make a list of tags that don't interest me, and more. Yes, some changes that have been made didn't suit me, but I'm sure they suited some percentage of the user base or prospective user base, or else they wouldn't have been made. Even the new dash only took a few days to get used to, and to me the change is a net neutral. Yeah, the tumblr live icon at the bottom is irritating, and I wish the NEW would go away, but I appreciate the snooze for 30 days and again, a layout change can be gotten used to pretty quick.
And then I got to thinking about how many people here seem to virulently hate this website, and it honestly makes me sad. Every time a change is made, some number of folks go off the deep end, screaming how much they hate it, abusing staff, saying they'll leave, harassing other users who say they like it or don't mind it. It's gotten to the point that I'm genuinely afraid to make a post about liking Tumblr, like it's A Cool Kid (tm) marker to ~hate it~ and some bizarre form of virtue signaling to complain about it as loudly as possible every time there's a change. Then there's the HOW DARE THEY ASK FOR MONEY as if websites...don't need money to run...and again abuse piled on other users "don't you have better ways to spend your money shouldn't you support charity blah blah blah" and like. Look. This is a service I use and appreciate. Services need money to exist because capitalism. And I hate capitalism as much as it's possible to hate anything but I'm stuck living with it, so yes, I will vote for something I enjoy using and want to continue using with my dollars, while also trying to support other causes I believe in, and getting myself some cute things and sugary desserts to stave off the morbs, and buying my kids the things they want, and, and, and.
And then the newest thing unrolls, and a quarter of the userbase flips out THIS WEBSITE IS THE WORST I'LL NEVER GIVE IT MONEY STAFF GO DIAF IF THIS ISNT UNDONE IM LEAVING FOR REAL
And buddy. If you're saying that.
Real talk.
Why the FUCK would they want you to stay? What possible reason have you given them to accommodate you? Your data takes up server space, you refuse to chip in a penny to support the service, you're threatening their employees... if this was a fucking Denny's they'd have called the fucking cops on you, "yeah I agree that ACAB but you threatened the maitre d with a butter knife and refused to pay for your meal after eating and told the waiter to 'kys' so you didn't leave us much choice..."
Basically.
I love Tumblr.
But ngl, sometimes I hate the people here.
(Not as much as I hate capitalism and cops, but y'know.)
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