Marvel Perfectly Parodies Jaws With New Variant Cover

We’re only a few days into the new year, but it looks like Marvel has already put itself in the running for the best variant cover of 2023. On Tuesday, Marvel’s Ryan Penagos shared the first official look at a variant cover for It’s Jeff #1, the print version of the beloved Marvel Unlimited Infinity Comic starring Jeff the Landshark. The collection, which will be publishing in the month of March, will be accompanied by a variant cover by the artist Doaly. The cover pays homage to the legendary poster for Stephen Spielberg’s Jaws, showing an adorable-as-ever version of Jeff swimming towards a tiny version of Namor, who is riding on a rubber duck. 

“I know it’s only January 3, but it’s going to be hard to top this IT’S JEFF variant cover by @Doaly as best comic cover of the year,” Penagos’ tweet reads. “Print issue coming in March by @79SemiFinalist, @Gurihiru, & crew! Also, read the damn great IT’S JEFF Infinity Comics in @MarvelUnlimited!”

I know it's only January 3, but it's going to be hard to top this IT'S JEFF variant cover by @Doaly as best comic cover of the year. Print issue coming in March by @79SemiFinalist, @Gurihiru, & crew! Also, read the damn great IT'S JEFF Infinity Comics in @MarvelUnlimited! pic.twitter.com/hYCHed1LBc

— Ryan Penagos (@AgentM) January 3, 2023

Who is Marvel’s Jeff the Land Shark?

Originally created by Kelly Thompson and Daniele Di Nicuolo in West Coast Avengers, Jeff was a land shark adopted by Gwenpool, who essentially became the surrogate mascot of the titular team. He later appeared in Thompson and Chris Bachalo’s Deadpool run, and even got his own symbiote.

“With Jeff, nobody needed him,” Thompson wrote of the character in her Substack newsletter. “He wasn’t needed for a story. He was just something that happened. But I think that makes his creation even more pure somehow? And it certainly makes his ascension even more impressive. He had no epic stories or books or plans…but people just loved him.”

“The landsharks were just supposed to be a one-off thing for that first story, a fun thing to fight,” Thompson continued. “But in Caselli’s beautiful pages I noticed this very concerned landshark in the background. This guy was CONCERNED. Very very concerned. Like, this guy did NOT want to be here. And I couldn’t stop thinking about him.”

Will you be buying Marvel’s It’s Jeff #1? What do you think of this new Jaws-themed variant cover? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!