Marvel has been on a role lately with their All-New Marvel NOW! initiative which has given us some refreshing new series, many of which feature women. To say many of these books are empowering and the much-needed “female” touch that’s been missing in comics for some time is an understatement. Many of these series are some of my favorite comics on the market right now.

The latest entry is Spider-Woman, debuting in November, a character who has had numerous series in the past, many of which I’ve enjoyed. However, judging by the first two released covers for the series by Greg Land and Milo Manara, that good will might be going off the rails.

Up first is Land’s cover, which you can see below. There’s so many issues with the cover, from the strange chest out pose of Jessica Drew, her missing lower legs, or the odd contortion of Silk as if she’s purposely trying to show off her ass. There’s a retro vibe about it, but not in a good way.

And if Land’s cover wasn’t bad enough, enter Manara’s entry, going for the whole enchilada of pure sexual exploitation. Manara, an Italian artist, is best known for his “erotic” artwork, and we can see it here with the focus of his image being Jessica Drew’s rear-end. Not only is the contortion of her body odd, the position actually matches Manara’s previous erotic work in Click!. The pose is sexual, unrealistic, the anatomy doesn’t make sense, and generally you have to wonder what the hell everyone was thinking approving either of these.

Marvel has excelled at trying new things when it comes to their female centric new titles, but this just feels like the past grasping to hold on. One step forward, two steps back I guess.