A Nude Marge Simpson Graces the Cover of the November Issue of "Playboy"

Although Shirley Jones is still waiting for her chance to grace the pages of "Playboy," Marge Simpson will appear in a very, uh, animated layout for the famous men's interest magazine. On Friday, October 9, the Associated Press reported that the blue-haired Mrs. Simpson will grace the cover of the November "Playboy" and three pages inside the magazine. Posing in honor of the 20^th Anniversary of "The Simpsons," Marge Simpson's nudity has been reported to be tasteful and implied.

Since its inception, "Playboy" has always been on the cutting edge, featuring twins and triplets in its famous centerfolds, but this is the first time in the magazine's history that the cover has been turned over to an animated character. By shedding her well-drawn clothing, however, Marge Simpson is not the first cartoon character to go nude or semi-nude:

Cheryl Blossom from "Archie Comics": Fans of Archie Andrews have been in kind of a lather over the red-haired everyman's decision to marry spoiled rich girl Veronica Lodge instead of good girl Betty Cooper. Some readers have forgotten Cheryl Blossom, however, the girl who made young Ms. Lodge look like a saint. In the 1980's, Cheryl tried to start a topless beach trend in Riverdale by shedding her already skimpy bathing suit top, but the beach patrol ended that idea rather quickly with a well-placed blanket.

Jennifer "She-Hulk" Walters: Introduced in the early 1980's by Marvel Comics, attorney Jennifer Walters received a blood transfusion from her cousin, Bruce Banner. Unfortunately, since Banner has gamma-irradiated corpuscles, Jennifer became a large, green and curvier version of the Incredible Hulk. As her alter-ego the She-Hulk, Jennifer was a bit less repressed and enjoyed nude sunbathing on top of the Baxter Building.

In "Fantastic Four #275," the publisher of a very sleazy magazine hitched a ride on a news helicopter and took some revealing photos of the She-Hulk as she relaxed on the roof. Despite Jennifer's legal efforts, the magazine went to press, but the printer color-corrected the shots of the "naked green woman." It was hard for the magazine publisher to prove the shots were really of the "She-Hulk," but Johnny "Human Torch" Storm said he was going to buy a pair of green-tinted sunglasses before looking at the pictorial.

"Omaha the Cat Dancer": During the 1980's, a time when comic books were redefining themselves, Reed Waller and Kate Worley introduced a very adult series called "Omaha the Cat Dancer." Featuring various talking animals, the comic focused on Omaha, an exotic dancer with a very devoted boyfriend. Throughout the series, Omaha and the other characters found themselves in various states of undress as well as some dangerous and erotic situations.

Betty from "The Rocketeer": One of the most well-known artists from the San Diego Comic-Con, the late, great Dave Stevens created a memorable comic book series known as "The Rocketeer." With intriguing stories and eye-popping artwork, Stevens developed a very loyal fan base that became used to his eccentric drawing habits (Stevens once said he agonized over drawing a dog's leg for weeks).

A fan of 1950's Pin-Up Girl Bettie Page, Stevens gave his Rocketeer character a girlfriend called Betty. As drawn by the talented Dave Stevens, however, she looked incredibly like Bettie Page. During some of the early issues, Cliff Secord, the man who found a portable jet pack, discovered his beloved Betty posing for a photographer in a series of "bad girl" shots. Stevens' beautiful, semi-nude drawings of Betty are often credited for reintroducing Bettie Page to a whole new generation of fans.

Resources:

Associated Press, "Playboy turning cover over to Marge Simpson"

http://www.archiefans.com/archies_friends/cheryls_first_appearence-t1108.0.html

http://en.allexperts.com/e/s/sh/she-hulk.htm

http://www.omahathecatdancer.com/

http://www.enter.net/~rocketeer/rock/betty.html