Obits for Captain America

Comics slipped into the news again today. You'd have thought that it was a slow news day or something, like the Scooter jury was still deliberating, like wounded soldiers were getting proper treatment at Walter Reed. But no, apparently there wasn't anything much to talk about than the assassination of Captain America. (Oh, yeah, sorry. For you comics readers who haven't heard yet, there are spoilers in this post.)

But as everybody knows by now, death means nothing in comics. The New York Daily News, which had an exclusive on the story until AP picked it up and then it moved over to TV, made sure it covered that angle.

Comic book deaths, however, are rarely final. Marvel's archrival, DC Comics, provoked a media frenzy when it killed off Superman in 1993, only to reanimate its prize creation a year later.

Joe Quesada, 43, Marvel Entertainment's editor in chief, said he wouldn't rule out the shield-throwing champion's eventual return.

I bet he wouldn't. Really, the only subject worth discussing is how long until Captain America comes back.

No, it's also worth talking about whether or not the publicity stunt worked. The comics store I frequent said that they ordered their normal amount for an issue of Captain America, which they sold out because a number of people came in just looking to pick up the "historic issue." They weren't looking for anything else; they weren't looking for any other comics; they just wanted the one that would put their kids through college. But those were people who knew where the comic book store is. In a comment at The Beat, comics creator Jimmy Palmiotti noted another problem:

was in a theatre before a movie today and a bunch of guys were talking about captain america dying a few rows back…and one guy asked the other…where do we get comics from? and no one knew. it was a really sad exchange

So even if they get a groundswell of interest going, there's a little problem of availability. In addition to that, there's also a problem of a potential shortage. Marvel usually prints to just about cover its orders without a lot of overprinting for reorders on popular titles. A little while back, they told retailers, "Trust us, order a lot of Captain America #25, but we can’t tell you any more than that." I haven't been able to confirm it, but the common understanding is that there are no more issues to be ordered from Marvel. They could always reprint, but whatever demand is there for this issue is there now with all the media coverage. There'll be no interest next month beyond the fanboys who couldn't find it today. So it's possible that Marvel isn't necessarily in a position to capitalize on all the publicity it's receiving.

On a final note, the Daily News has a melancholy quote from 93-year-old Joe Simon, who created Captain America in 1941: "It's a hell of a time for him to go. We really need him now." Don't feel too bad for Joe, though. Dynamic Forces is selling a special edition of the issue signed by Simon and Stan Lee, who was responsible for bringing the character back into public view in 1964. They're asking $299.99 for it.