Comic book companies, like record labels, have found that the death of a big star is great for sales. When Superman was killed by Doomsday in 1992, DC saw a Cobain-like surge in sales, and the issue was the best-selling in franchise history. However, unlike Biggie Smalls (but very much like Tupac) the character was resurrected. Captain America saw a similar bump after a sniper shot him down in New York last year.

I think this is a horrible marketing ploy, but I guess if it’s going to generate sales for you, I can’t really complain. But then again, if they gave Batman enough time to plan, it would be discovered that he never really died and it was just a decoy.

Kind of a shame that they’re only doing this to appeal to the masses, rather than creating a meaningful and memorable story arc. Shame on you DC Comics.