Adventures in Comic Book Censorship: DMZ 35

Here’s a panel from the beginning of DMZ issue 35. In this storyline the book’s main character, one Matthias Q. Roth, Manhattan war correspondent during the new Civil War (Civil War 2: The Deadly Art of Illusion), has ventured to Staten Island, where it has been reported that the soldiers have ceased fighting and now busy themselves with more party-related pursuits.
The picture depicts Matty peeking in as two soldiers are about to perform a sex act, or have recently completed doing same. I mean, the image isn’t supposed to imply that they’re actually having sex, is it? Because she’s kneeling over his knees in that frame. For that to be full-on sex, his torso would have to be like four feet long.

Okay, now I’m just making fun of slightly awkward art mistakes, which isn’t what I’m here to do. Well, okay, it is, actually, but in a different way. Let’s move on.

The next day, Matty attends a huge warehouse party where soldiers from both sides drink, dance, and make merry. A certain female soldier appears prominently over the next few pages, and she’ll be our focus.

Here she is being snuck into the party. She’s scantily clad in a suggestive fashion. No, I don’t know why there’s a box of colour behind her. Stop asking that. It’s not important.

That’s her again, dancing on the crate, wearing the same outfit.

Now she’s riding a soldier’s shoulders, also wearing the outfit. And not, at the same time. Doesn’t that look a little strange? Let’s move in for a closer look-

Yup, the original intent of the penciller and inker was clearly that the woman riding that man’s shoulders was totally nude. Look at the differences between the hard lines on the edges of clothing in the previous image, and the diffused lines of the underwear. Check out all the detail the B&W artists did on the muscles on her back and the thick line separating her ribcage and breast – all lines that wouldn’t be there if she was wearing a tank top. Compare it to the similar details on her ride's naked back. These are clearly clothes that have been added during the colouring phase of the process.

I know this is a DC title, and they like to keep things fairly tame (except when supervillains are raping the wives of superheroes and getting away with it, of course. Anything goes in that circumstance), but I’d just like to know who over at DC thought that this was acceptable:

But this wasn’t:

Oh, and in a final note, what’s going on with that tarp she’s holding over her head? It’s got the same bizarre colouring problems as the panties (problems that appear nowhere else in the issue). Was it added because the editors couldn’t figure out why the naked lady in the middle of the party might be holding her arms over her head?