Marvel's editor-in-chief, Axel Alonso, has apologized publicly for Milo Manara's alternate cover for its new Spider-Woman launch.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Alonso said that they want everyone, the widest breadth of fans, to feel welcome to read Spider-Woman and they are sorry for the mixed messaging that this variant caused.
Alonso described the Manara cover, which was widely condemned, as "a limited edition variant, which was aimed at collectors.
He said that it would not have been published this as the main cover to the book and went on to characterize the cover as "a collector's item that is set aside or special ordered by completists-and it doesn't reflect the sensibility or tone of the series any more than the Skottie Young variant [which portrays the character as a child] or Rocket and Groot Spider-Woman variants.
Addressing wider charges of sexism, Alonso admitted that Marvel was "far from perfect, but they are trying, and that they always listen to fans' concerns so they can do better by them.
Alonso added that if one opens up the book, they will see that this series has everything in common with recent launches they have done, like Black Widow and Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk and Captain Marvel. It's about the adventures of two women that have complete agency over their lives, and that are defined by what they do, not how they look.