The amazing press reaction to the death of Captain America storyline in Captain America #25 (Marvel listed over 150 national and local media outlets that had picked up the story as of Thursday) has overwhelmed direct market retailers with customers looking for the book.  Even retailers that ordered heavily were selling out quickly, and some weren't happy about it.  Others felt the increased publicity and traffic would pay off in the long run, even if they couldn't give some customers what they wanted this week.  The good news is that we heard of record days on Wednesday from more than one retailer, indicating that Captain America wasn't all that was selling.

Marvel has announced that an 'overprint' will be arriving at Diamond Memphis late Friday to fill backorders.  We suspect that the overprint was printed in advance but not bound until the press pick-up became clear, and that's why there was a gap in Diamond's supply, but regardless, it's a good thing that copies will be available in less time than it would take for a normal second-cover reprint.  There will also be a number of other books tied to the storyline on which retailers will have more time to adjust their orders, specifically the five Fallen Son one-shots and future issues of Captain America (issue #26 is slated to be released May 23rd). 

This type of publishing event has many pros and cons, and time and subsequent events will determine which will carry the most weight this time.  One important issue is whether Marvel is able to get enough copies into the market to dampen speculation.  If the news becomes 'look what this comic from last week/month is worth' instead of 'look at this cool storyline in Marvel comics,' look out.