Media outlets that would normally ignore the doings of the comic-book industry weighed in with outraged essays demanding Marvel "do better," as Time did. In writing about Manara's painting, in which the hero appears to be flashing an entire city's skyline while wearing no more than body paint, Vox wondered "Why Marvel gave us a sexualized Spider-Woman no one asked for." Elle put it plainly: "The image seems to toe the line of pornographic." The Guardian in the U.K. summed up the controversy thusly: "New Spider-Woman comic cover condemned for 'blatant sexualization.'"

Maurilio Manara ( / m ə ˈ n ɑːr ə/; born 12 September 1945), known professionally as Milo Manara, is an Italian comic book writer and artist. Lccn 2016043985 Ocr tesseract 5.3.0-3-g9920 Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Cyrillic Ocr_detected_script_conf 0.4725 Ocr_module_version 0.0.21 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA-NS-0001602 Openlibrary_editionMilo Manara is one of the few comic artists who manages to make erotic comics and still succeed in keeping a reputation as a genuine artist. This is especially true of his serial, 'Giuseppe Bergman', which is a combination of experimental narrative and explicit sex. Manara is known to be interested in painting in general and the classical painters like Raphael in specific. As a boy, he even ran away from home to see an exhibition of the painter Giorgio di Chirico.

In connection with their joint project Quarantasei, in July 2006, Manara designed a helmet for Moto GP rider Valentino Rossi, specifically made for the Italian GP in Mugello. Rossi declared: In the years that followed, Manara produced erotic works like 'Le Parfum de l'Invisible' (two volumes, 1986 and 1995), 'Candide Camera' (1988), 'Kama Sutra' (1997), 'Le Piège' (1998), 'Révolution' (2000) and 'Piranèse, la Planète Prison' (2002), and also new stories with 'Giuseppe Bergman'.For example he made a stunning set of drawings dedicated to real-life heroes who fought Covid-19 last year. In 2016 Milo Manara used the timeless beauty Brigitte Bardot to create a collection of twenty-five portraits of her. When Marvel Comics unveiled Italian artist's Milo Manara variant cover for Spider-WomanNo. 1in August 2014. there was no shortage of vitriol and condemnation. Besides comics, Manara has produced a great variety of portfolios and illustrations for collections like Glamour Books. He has also done character designs for the animated TV series 'City Hunters'.In 2012 he was interviewed for the documentary 'Sex in the Comics' (2012).

In the U.S. The Ape was serialised in Heavy Metal in the early 1980s and Manara received some exposure through collaborations with Neil Gaiman and other artists. The artist, a master in depicting femininity, gives us an aesthetic picture with ideal forms. Playing with a brush, this virtuoso manages to vary the intensity of light throughout the painting in light and dark areas. An erotic illustration typical of Manaras’ style, expressed in his serials.He was one of several artists to make a graphic contribution to 'Pepperland’ (1980), a collective comic book tribute to the store Pepperland, to celebrate its 10th anniversary at the time. Together with 20 other comic artists ( Zep, Ptiluc, Frank Margerin, Yslaire, Cosey, Philippe Vuillemin, Loustal, Gilbert Shelton, Max Cabanes, Dupuy& Berberian, François Boucq, Gérald Poussin, Thomas Ott, Frank Pé, Frank Le Gall, Riff Reb's, Eric Buche, Enrico Marini and Valott) he illustrated a record single for the project '20 Vraies Fausses Pochettes De Disque Par 20 Vrais Dessinateurs de BD' (1995). Manara chose for a song by Gilberto Gil. Nowadays, the artist’s routine is split in two. By day, he is doing his old job, still dreaming up additions to his catalogue of work.