“Death SELLS!” 

Yes. Though I wonder if the proliferation of character deaths has blunted this somewhat. Marvel recently had a story where Ms. Marvel died and no one thought it was permanent.

They turned Hal Jordan evil, killed him off for what seemed like a blink of an eye, turned him into the Spectre, then made a retcon/excuse that let him off the hook.

One of two is one of my absolute favorite heroes ever, and one is a hero whose book I read mainly when he shared it with Green Arrow. I've always found Hal Jordan boring. 

I started reading SPIDER-MAN in the mid-70's, at least a decade after both Betty Brant and Liz Allen made their last appearances.  (There were also plenty of Stan Lee/Ditko & Romita to read, so I knew who everyone was.)  I was surprised when they both returned!  The Liz Allen/Harry Osborn and the Betty Brant/Ned Leeds romances all made sense and were fairly important in the whole scheme of things.  And neither would have been possible if they were killed off.

Steve Gerber was a master at it.  For a while there, Jack Norris was the heart of DEFENDERS.  Same for Richard Rory and MAN-THING.  I really cared when Trish Starr lost her arm.

Other writers also get it.  It was a pleasant surprise when Dave Cox showed up again in CAPTAIN AMERICA, decades after he was last seen.  Moira MacTaggart always seemed an essential part of X-MEN, and of course Alicia for FANTASTIC FOUR.  Is Alicia doomed to one day be killed off or be given super-powers?

Dear lazy writers: If you don't know what to do with a regular person supporting character, just let them wander off.  A better writer will one day show up and make something good come of it.

People still buy "#1" comics because they think all "#1" issues will make them rich, eventually, despite all evidence to the contrary. You'd think all the "deaths" would blunt sales, but don't fool yourself. Too many people are like sheep. I mean, how many times is some third rate character that nobody remembered or cared about suddenly is rumored to be featured in some television/streaming/motion picture project and speculators jump at it like lemmings buying up the comic books appearances thinking they will have some sustained value?

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Hawkman, Aquaman, Hawkman, etc,. all have died and came back...

Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Vision, etc, have all died and came back...

Why would anyone care anymore? Such a lazy, uninspired, and hackneyed story device and marketing gimmick that only cheapens the concept of death and robs future stories involving the resurrected characters of any drama. Ugh.

 

Yep, when it's fiction, nobody is safe at staying dead.