So, the preliminary March sales numbers are in, and it seems that Marvel Comics took back the top spot, while the dollar share and market share numbers tell a slightly different story.  The thing is, Marvel’s #1 comic for March (Avengers Vs. X-Men #1) actually didn’t go on sale until April.  The issue was shipped during March, however, and that was enough to make the House of Ideas once again King of The Hill…

In the call center business, we call this type of chicanery “massaging the numbers,” and I find it to be one of the more unsavory things that my corporate overlords ask of me.  Today’s MS-QOTD is complicated, but boils down to this:  If we assume that Marvel made this decision just to pop March sales numbers, have they acted unethically, or is all fair in love & comic shipping?