Kendell Swafford of Up Up & Away! in Cincinnati, Ohio saw the news about retailer problems with Captain America #25 (see 'Death of Cap Press Overwhelms Retailers') and was not surprised or angered by Marvel's handling of the situation:

Wow.  What a week it's been.  I have to admit, I understand my fellow retailers' frustration regarding the debacle that some feel Captain America #25 became.  However, I have to admit to not sharing their anger, and please allow me to elaborate.  Marvel is if nothing else, predictable.  I saw it in the '80s, the '90s and I see it today.  Everyone complains that Marvel keeps repeating the same mistakes, but the retail community at large always seems surprised when Marvel exhibits the exact same behavior as they have in the past.  So, we know for a fact (and have known for years) that Marvel does not have our best interests at heart.  But why should they?  That's my job.

Maybe I was one of the lucky ones.  I ordered Captain America at approximately 4x our typical number.  Why?  Because Marvel said the story would be big, and I was willing to take a chance.  Like I said, lucky.  And yes, while Marvel makes this claim all too often, anyone that followed the Civil War storyline at all could have at least considered giving Marvel the benefit of the doubt on this one.  And yes, like everyone else, I have a back room full of over-hyped product, so I would never fault anyone for not believing in Marvel this time.  Our initial supply lasted most of the day on Wednesday, and I turned away dozens of folks Wednesday evening.  But once Diamond confirmed my reorder on Thursday, I immediately sent out an email distribution letting everyone know that we would be the heroes and have more copies for them next week.  We updated the website within minutes, trumpeting our success in coming to our customers' rescue. By being proactive early, we filled all outstanding orders for Captain America #25, had enough to go on the shelf (which won't last the week) and most importantly, we made money.  Our final Cap numbers will be almost 8x our typical sales on the book. Eight times.

I'm no Marvel zombie.  Personally, I'm a far bigger DC fan, both as a reader and a retailer.  DC would not have only overprinted the book, they would have overshipped it to make sure everyone had plenty.  Marvel was never caught off-guard on this; they promised the exclusive story to the New York Daily News two months ago!  Many are angry at Marvel right now for not trusting us with their little secret.  But like them or not, Marvel made me money.  Marvel published a book that people demanded to buy, and I sold them until I ran out.  And then I sold some more.

The opinions expressed in this Talk Back article are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.