T.C. Ford publisher of United Comics comments on the Obama variant for Amazing Spider-Man #583 and doesn’t think it’s such a bad thing:

I'm probably in the minority here, but if putting President-Elect Obama on the cover of a comic is enough to garner media attention on the scale (so it seems) of The Death Of Superman or The Death of Captain America, and copies fly out the door at whatever price... is it really a bad thing?  I don't think Obama minds being featured -- after all, good sales stimulate the market after a sluggish holiday season.  It's just one more opportunity to market your store -- discount coupons, pre-order deals on 2nd prints (or even the upcoming Youngblood "Obama" issue), copies of Savage Dragon's Obama appearance.

Yes, Marvel dropped the ball in not making copies abundantly available, knowing that dealers would most likely be caught unaware (and we know that most of the speculators really only want that 1st print cover).  I get that.  But honestly, your regular hold customers that pre-ordered their usual copy were probably not left out.

The new faces coming into the store are just looking for "that Obama comic," and of those 200+ (give or take, your location may vary) warm bodies, you might pick up a new customer or two.  Let's face it, of the people who are disappointed that they couldn't get a copy, the majority are going to be people who you'll never see again... until the next "Hot" comic.

I only hope Marvel gives Barack Obama a signed copy (or better yet, the original cover art!) for inspiring the frenzy.

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.