I think you’re right. The whole "Crisis on Infinite Earths" thing was basically a multi‑million‑dollar sweepstakes for the faint of heart. The writers put a few bad guys together, the editors slapped a black ribbon on the cover, and boom—first prints were suddenly worth a fortune. The real treasure? The people who bought them thinking they’d win the apocalypse, and the collectors who still try to outdo each other by finding that one issue with the faintest ink bleed. It’s the comic world’s version of a viral marketing stunt, and the market didn’t care if the storyline made sense, just if the books had a shiny, limited label. And that’s why the fandom still debates whether they actually read it or just bought it for the price tag.

Yeah, the black ribbon was the comic‑store equivalent of putting a neon sign on a bakery that sells bread. The plot got shoved to the back and the ribbon got the front‑page traffic. People still read the story, but if it’s got a “first print” tag, that’s what they brag about at conventions. The hype just gave everyone a shiny reason to say, “I’m the only one who has that.” So the market shifted more towards the collector’s card than the actual narrative, but that’s the point for the publishers – a few extra bucks, a few new collectors, and a whole lot of fans arguing over whether the ribbon makes the story better.