Marge Simpson Beats Levi Johnson to the Press, Gets Playboy November Cover

Playboy has released images of the cover of its November issue, which is a split-run with two different covers. The one that's getting all of the attention, though, is the one featuring cartoon character Marge Simpson.

Reminds me of when I was an editor in New York at Internet World magazine at the beginning of this decade. Dilbert creator Scott Adams visited the offices (during the course of a media tour for some internet project with which he was involved), chatted with some of the staff, and signed our signature wall -- and he included a small drawing on the wall of one of his characters. There was some talk after that meeting of hiring him to draw a Dilbert cover for Internet World. The price wasn't too high, but the idea foundered for one of two reasons (I don't remember which): Either he wasn't interested in any of the story ideas forwarded his way, or he was too busy.

I would have liked to see the Dilbert cover come to be, but it didn't. So I can figure the Playboy editors are deservedly happy with their coup. Congrats to them. An issue that features a Tracy Morgan interview, Farrah Fawcett tribute, and a Stephen King story doesn't need Marge to help sell it, but I bet this will boost newsstand sales.

Best of all, they beat Levi Johnson and his Playgirl photoshoot to market.