Bring Back Captain America

Dear Marvel Comics:

We, the undersigned, demand that the comic-book hero Captain America, who was assassinated in "Captain America #25," be resurrected and allowed to continue his run as a major figure in the Marvel Universe.

Debuting in 1941, Captain America was one of the oldest and most beloved superheroes in the history of comics. Far from being irrelevant in recent years, the iconic hero was a major figure in Marvel's immensely successful "Civil War" series. It is ridiculous to kill off the red, white, and blue super soldier now, when he is more popular than he has been in many years.

However, Captain America's "death" might just be a publicity stunt to increase comic book sales. Comic book companies are notorious for their cheap ploys and gimmicks to drum up business. In 1993 Superman was "killed" in a well-publicized series. Of course, the media hype was misleading and the Man of Steel was resurrected a few issues later.

There is nothing wrong with a story that features the apparent death of a character who at the end of the tale returns to life. What's wrong is leading the media and the public to believe that the character has really bit the dust -- for the sole purpose of creating a buzz and increasing sales. That is an unfair and unethical practice.

We, the undersigned, further demand that the comic book companies stop pretending to kill off popular characters and stop misleading the public for the sake of a boost in sales.

If Captain America is truly dead, the world of comics will be much poorer. But if this is a publicity stunt, please spare us the misleading media blitzes in the future. True comic book fans don't care about these ploys or read a book just because they saw a story on CNN.

We, the undersigned, demand: "Stop killing our heroes!" 'Nuff said.