Big sales spangle American comic hero's death

Oklahomans' reactions spanned a wide range Wednesday on news of an American military icon's murder - disbelief, sadness, bemusement, and expectations of big sales.

"It was a huge shock; I didn't see it coming," said New World Comics employee and Captain America fan Tadd Austin upon discovering his hero had died in issue 25 of the series, released Wednesday. "I feel like America has just been castrated. We're fighting an unwinnable war right now and we need a hero."

Captain America's death follows a months-long series of stories Marvel promoted under the banner "Civil War," in which the superhero community was divided into two camps: those who believe vigilantes and their inherent powers should be legally registered as potentially deadly weapons and those who see the newly passed law as infringing on their civil rights. Rebellion leader Captain America, realizing how much destruction they were causing in the middle of New York, finally surrendered to arrest. He was being taken to arraignment when he was shot by a sniper.

Marvel's sales throughout the series have been strong, retailers said, often topping rival DC's own yearlong, weekly "52" event. According to Diamond Comics Distributors, "Civil War" titles held three of the top 10 slots for best-selling comics in January; DC's four issues of "52" for the month took positions 10-13. Marvel had estimated sales of $10.11 million for the month, Diamond reported. DC had sales of $7.45 million.

Comic book fans have attributed the difference to Civil War's real-world political overtones. For example, the trigger for the war itself was an explosion at an elementary school that killed hundreds - the exploding villain was later revealed to have been set to the task by a big corporation profiting from cleanup operations following superhero battles.

"Especially before it looked like the pro-registration side was going to win, there was a lot of discussion about the story and both perspectives," said New World owner Brian "Buck" Berlin.

Austin said, "It reflects the exaggeration of fears we have right now in our society."

Travis Preston, an employee at the Speeding Bullet comic book shop in Norman, said that's certainly one of the big reasons the series has been so popular.

"Civil War has been one of the best-selling events of the last 10 years," said Preston. "As for myself, I'm not the most politically minded person, but it seems to be a classic right-versus-left battle. - Freedom, responsibility, culpability - should we force the heroes to be responsible, or only the villains they're fighting? It seems to be the core of what's at stake here."

Marvel has announced a follow-up series called "The Initiative," in which each of the 50 states will receive its own federal government-backed superhero team. "Civil War" series editor Tom Brevoort recently said on an online interview that Oklahoma's team would be decided "after North Dakota, but before Idaho."

Retailers are all too aware that death is not the final word in comic books. After all, Marvel has said it is developing a Captain America movie. The character is too valuable to let lie.

"We'll sell out pretty quickly today, and then you'll see sales drop off over the next few months," Berlin said. "In about a year or so, I expect sales to spike again when they announce his return."

Copyright 2007 Dolan Media Newswires
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