Rick Ralsten of The Time Capsule in Chester, Virginia saw Gail Burt's comment on the new cover stock used on the Marvel Ultimate line (see 'Gail Burt of Metropolis Comics on New Marvel Cover Stock') and agreed:

I couldn't agree more with Gail Burt about the new cover stock on Marvel's Ultimate line. The new stock makes the customer feel like they are getting some little ten page pamphlet for their two bucks and change; you know that something is wrong when the 25 cent Daredevil and 10 cent Superman that shipped this week feel infinitely more substantial than the two Ultimate books that also shipped this week.

Now if this was the only complaint about the new stock, it certainly wouldn't be worth the trouble of a letter, since even though the cardstock covers were nice, the customer is still getting the same number of pages for his money with the flimsier cover. However, as Gail pointed out, the problems don't end there, not by a long shot. These new-style Ultimate books are a nightmare to display. The covers will invariable start to droop forward, and no amount of straightening seems to fix this problem. Not only is this harmful for the book, but it makes your rack look downright ugly.

Which leads us into problem number three: damaged books. I have never seen a cover stock so prone to damages as this new Ultimate stock. I had to call in a full 70% of my orders on the last issue of Ultimate Spider-Man as damaged, as the backs had this huge crease down them. Now admittedly, a lot of my customers are readers and are not terribly discriminating when it comes to condition, but I do have several collector-type customers, and this new stock has given them no end of headaches.