Killing them softly? It took a few days, but retailers are beginning to weigh in at ICv2.com on news of the Barnes & Noble Ultimate Spider-Man hardcover. John Miller of Lost Realms in Boca Raton, Fla., cuts to the chase, saying the limited edition hardcover is "one more way Marvel is killing the comic store."

"Don't get me wrong -- I know Marvel loves us, we buy their comics every month (with no return policy, unlike Wal-Mart stores or bookstores ). We buy them if they are late (Ultimates) or we never get them (anything by Kevin Smith ). And don't forget the months that they ship two books a month, doubling our invoices and giving us less shelf time to sell through. I especially loved it when they publish books every week such as New Mutants and X-treme X-Men, and my customers who come in once a month miss out on some books."