10 Most Disastrous Comic Book Misprints
One little typo or bad drawing is all it takes to ruin the reputation of a comic book forever.
Comic books are an important art form that have influenced a great deal of modern pop culture. Ever since the first golden age of superheroes we've been treated to a medium that embraces risks and paves the way for iconic characters that endure for decades.
With such talented writers and artists having worked on our favourite comics over the years, there's almost endless great stories to look back on and enjoy. There's also some downright embarrassing mistakes...
It only makes sense that out of the tens of thousands of comic books that have been published, some of them will have a mistake that makes the writer or artist look incredibly foolish. Everyone's human, including the editors that these disastrous comic book misprints slipped by.
Whether it's a misspelled word that changes the meaning of a panel, a drawing that's inconsistent with everything that came before it, or a racial slur accidentally inserted into the mouth of the world's greatest mutant, some comic book misprints are particularly ugly when you look back at them.
10. Swamp Thing #15: X-Rated Tentacles
Sometimes a misprint can be right in front of everyone’s eyes and it only takes the wrong colour to bring it out. In this case, that wrong colour was a very fleshy pink on the tentacles of a character called Arcane. Had the tentacles been green or purple, this wouldn’t be an issue, but when coloured in pink the very erect tentacle bears an unfortunate resemblance to a very large penis.
The writer of Swamp Thing #15, Scott Snyder, was quick to put the blame for this one on himself, as he sent it off to the artists and demanded that the page be filled with tentacles. Filled with tentacles it was, including a very large one that – thanks to perspective – happened to be emerging from a monster’s nether-regions and flying in the face of a damsel in distress.
The fleshy tentacle led to Snyder getting a call from his editor telling him that the issue would be pulped; thousands of copies would be destroyed. Synder originally protested, but once he saw the infamous panel he understood right away. Presumably he’ll never ask for “more tentacles” again.