Since the 1960s, Sports Illustrated has been serving up a mix of fashion, glamour and controversy with its annual Swimsuit Issue, known for its cover shoots featuring models and celebs. Now DC Comics is giving its superheroes the same treatment, peeling our favourite characters out of their capes and skintight suits.
Getting in just in time for the end of summer, the G’nort’s Swimsuit Edition features a range of popular DC characters cavorting at the beach in trunks and bikinis, including Batman, Wonder Woman, Poison Ivy, Nubia, Harley Quinn, Aquaman and, er, the Penguin. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it seems to be a hit with fans (see our character design tips for ideas for your own work).
Superhero costumes often don't leave a great deal to the imagination, but still DC Comics has decided to reveal even more. It says G’nort’s Swimsuit Edition gathers "some of the splashiest, steamiest, swimsuit covers from DC’s best talent, all in one place for the very first time".
There are several variant covers, and fans are being encouraged to recreate one by Scott Campbell and Tanya Lehoux on the beach using Gotham Magazine artwork on the back cover. Each copy also contains a random centerfold which may include Poison Ivy, G’nort himself or Nightwing and Barbara Gordon drawn by Jorge Jiménez.
What? You want stories? Well, there is a new 8-pager called Baewatch that features The Penguin "clad in the tightest bathing trunks you can imagine". That's written by Julie Benson and Shawna Benson with art by Meghan Hetrick, Marissa Louise and Steve Wands.
I finally got my hands on the special edition one-shot of G'nort's swimsuit and it's great!lot of amazing variant covers too, and this is the version with my centerfold of Nightwing and Batgirl with Alex Sanchez colors! on sale next week! so run for your copy! #nightwing #bargirl pic.twitter.com/3WD5sZe3WsAugust 25, 2023
The 48-page comic also boasts art from Michael Allred, Sweeney Boo, Amanda Conner, Derrick Chew, Jeff Dékal, Terry Dodson, Jenny Frison, Megan Huang, Mikel Janín, Joëlle Jones, Stanley “Artgerm” Lau, Hélène Lenoble, Emanuela Lupacchino, Gleb Melnikov, Paul Pelletier, Joe Quinones, Daniel Sampere, Otto Schmidt, Nicola Scott, Babs Tarr, David Talaski, Pete Woods and more.
G’nort’s Swimsuit Edition is released at comic book shops and online today. A Kindle edition is available from Amazon. For more comic inspiration, see our picks of the best graphic novels and the best comic logos.
