Just like any other creative storytelling platform, the world of comic books also has a lot of bad comics. That is a truth of life. As comic book lovers, you would have read or owned many comic books which were just not good. However, there are some comic books which have been out in the market and are not merely bad, but, terribly embarrassing comics. They are comic books that make readers feel dirty.
Let’s take a look at the six comic books listed here and to see why they are so embarrassing that nobody admits to owning them.
1. LADY DEATH
Lade Death defines what is known as cheesecake comics. The scandalous series depicts a nearly naked titular character that is often found in obscene postures. Over the years, Lady Death covers show her in such poses which are aimed to arouse the readers. You might recall the nearly adult promotional photos published in Wizard Magazine.
Realistically speaking, did you ever come across anyone who buys Lady Death comics? The truth is, you won’t know even if you did. Nobody talks about Lady Death comics or admits to reading/owning them due to a common perception that these are “adult” entertainment stuff.
2. BLACK WIDOW: PALE LITTLE SPIDER
The Marvel MAX series turns the typically family-friendly heroes into darker and adult versions. One such character that was clearly shown to be in adult scenarios was Black Widow. Not the Scarlett Johansson version of Black Widow that we love, but, the other version who is blonde.
Writer Greg Rucka and artist Igor Kordey turned Yelena Belova aka Black Widow into the BDSM realm in Black Widow: Pale Little Spider. There were various remarks in this saga about her black leather costume and vital body parts. There are whips, chains, orgies and all that you can relate to BDSM. Despite being interesting, this is not a series that will adorn the bookshelves of most people.
3. TAROT
Jim Balent is an artist famous for his longtime work on DC’s Catwoman series during the 1990s. He created the Catwoman comics which showed her in an all-purple costume with thigh-high leather boots and the costume somehow grabbed her body as if it was sprayed onto her. His Catwoman run ended when he left DC and launched his own brand with Tarot: Wic of the Black Rose. Tarot was a series merging fantasy with Wiccan history and customs. He consulted actual Wiccans for the series. However, everything gets splashed under the extreme nudity in the series. The female characters were given tiny bits of fabric to cover as little as possible. No wonder, you won’t find people admit to owning them.
4. AVENGELYNE
The comic book collectors from the 1990s would surely be aware of Rob Liefeld’s obsession with pouches, guns and abnormally sized characters. His anatomy-defying depictions are famous online, and his female characters were quite notorious. Avengelyne is the best or worst (according to your taste) work of Liefeld.
A quick Google search of Avengelyne would reveal that this Liefeld creation sold due to two unmentionable anatomical things. But, it enhanced the seduction by depicting real-life women on the covers. In case you find them, chances are at least some of the covers would resemble a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and not a superhero comic.
5. MARVILLE
Have you been in the situation when a person tells you what they think is a funny joke, but, it is not at all funny. That’s what you feel upon reading Marville. The series written by former Marvel VP Bill Jemas, Marvelle started as a challenge with writer Peter David about the prospects of Marville vs. rebooted Captain Marvel. No wonder, Captain Marvel won, but, as an unfortunate side-effect, a lot of people were fooled into buying Marville.
It is supposed to be a satire on the comic book industry, featuring parodies of beloved heroes and celebrities. It had brief stories with famous Marvel characters in crazy scenarios. The jokes were terrible, but, what was even worse was the sexist covers featuring a partly draped or nude redhead drawn by Greg Horn.
6. MARVEL SWIMSUIT SERIES
The Marvel Swimsuit Specials have a unique spot in the history of comic books. After Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issues became popular, Marvel decided to come up with its own version, featuring unrealistic people. The outcome was a comic book featuring absolutely weird scenes.
Imagine seeing West Coast Avengers taking on The Avengers in a half-naked tug of war or Iron-Man wearing swimming trunks over his armor? Still, these were quite popular, and Marvel released many of these, so while there must be a lot of people who bought them, nobody ever owns them up. They are probably all boxed in the ‘private’ sections of people’s collections, never visible to the world.
