Or those blockbusters where everyone comes back, like at the end of “Blackest Night.” Say what you will about the story itself, but the dozen characters that were chosen to return certainly had a surprise or two among them for even the most dedicated DC reader.

Nice article, JJ.

On the main topic, it is truly amazing if you add up the number of times the death card gets used in any given comic title. Sure, the big-media-blitz black-bagged events are a little less common, but along the course of regular story lines it happens all the time. Just a few months ago…I think it was in a Mark Millar Fantastic Four issue…Doctor Doom met a fiery end at the hands of a cross dimensional demon. He was burnt to a crisp in plain sight and was DEE-EE-DEE dead…

…until the next issue whereupon he was reconstituted and was fine.

It’s not surprising at all that death has lost its sting as a plot device. What draws a raised eyebrow these days is a major blockbuster story arc in which NOBODY dies!