ESPN's Body Issue — great for autographs?

ESPN The Magazine‘s “Body Issue” has been talked about for some time with its not-so-subtle approach to coverage of athletes.

We’ll make you guess what it is based on the cover above.

And now that it’s set to arrive on newsstands everywhere very, very soon (it has an Oct. 19, 2009, cover date), one more thing is apparent — whether it bombs as a concept or is widely praised and becomes an annual staple.

It should be great for autographs. (If they’ll sign them.)

Based on the clean and clear design of the six different covers, which are free of any blurbs and put the focus solely on the cover subjects — tennis star Serena Williams (above), NBA star Dwight Howard, MMA star Gina Carano, NASCAR star Carl Edwards, NFL star Adrian Peterson and triathlete Sarah Reinertsen.

As with all ESPN The Magazine covers, there already are prints available for $24.95 and up ($109.95 for a 30×36 print) on ESPN.com.

See all of the covers after the jump.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball and Beckett Graded Card Investor. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com.