Zombies, Mary Jane, and Weird Al

When I read about the Marvel Zombies cover featuring Arthur Suydam's zombified "homage" to Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane#1 and the subsequent debate, three words popped into my brain:

Weird Al Yankovic.

(Bear with me.)

A few years back I watched Weird Al's "Behind The Music" special, and one thing that stuck in my head was how many new artists took Weird Al parodying their songs as a sign that they'd finally arrived.

Could "zombification" be Marvel's version of Weird Al?

Personally, I have no real objections to the cover (except for a minor one I'll get to later). Unlike Heroes For Hire#13, the Zombies book is clearly marked MAX, which tells the discerning shopper in a straightforward manner that it's intended for a much older crowd. The detractors claim the cover is too "sexed up" in contrast to the original cover, but in my own opinion that's nothing more than the transition from an anime-type drawing to Suydam's painted, photorealistic style. (And really, are zombies actually considered sexually attractive?) Others object because the zombified MJ is a teenager, but so is Spidey on Amazing Fantasy#15, another "zombified" cover. My only problem is with the depiction of MJ's "good" eye, which looked a little too superimposed and took me out of the mood of the cover.

My take on the zombie cover is that, like the Weird Al song parody in music, it's a sign that Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane has "arrived".

Too bad the damn thing's getting cancelled.

Another one bites the dust...um... rides the bus.