In the new issue of Captain America, the star-spangled superhero takes a bullet in the gut and dies sprawled on a courthouse’s steps. Heavy stuff, especially for comic books and especially considering that Captain America is one of Marvel Comics’s oldest characters, created during World War II and appearing regularly since the early ‘60s.

Of course, this is all a publicity stunt dreamt up by Marvel’s editorial staff to boost sales. Keep in mind these are comic books here, where death is seldom an irreversible event. Remember when DC killed off Superman in 1992?

Still, it makes for good copy on a slow news day. Two reporters covered this latest shocking superhero death. One did it well, the other, not so much.

In The New York Times, George Gene Gustines wrote about this plot twist with a serious yet detached tone. Gustines realizes that these are comic book characters, but he also seems to be aware that these characters are valuable properties – thus the coverage in New York’s paper of record.

Contrast that with Richard Pyle’s approach. Covering the event for the Associated Press, Pyle instantly dashes much of his credibility by opening his article with the sentence “Holy homicide, Batman! Captain America is dead!” What’s wrong with that, you may wonder. This is a fictional death in a juvenile medium, not a real-life murder of a flesh-and-blood public figure. Lighten up.

Well, for starters, Batman has nothing to do with Captain America: Batman is a DC character, while the Captain is Marvel. That would be like making a glib wisecrack about, say, Mr. Spock when covering the Star Wars franchise: yes, they’re related, but they’re different brands, for lack of a better word. It’s Chevy vs. Ford. Apple vs. Microsoft. Macy’s and Gimbels.

Pyle’s opening witticism might be seen by some readers as cute or amusing, but it displays a smug superiority towards the medium that probably wouldn’t have been tolerated by his editor had Pyle been writing about a prime time television series or a Hollywood movie.

And while I’m up here on my high horse, even if Pyle’s Batman/Captain America juxtaposition had been kosher, the callousness of “holy homicide” is grating, as well. I mean, fictional or not, this is a depiction of somebody being shot to death. Try to contain your glee.

Pyle makes things worse by writing, ”It all happens in the latest edition of Marvel Comics, which hit newsstands on Wednesday.” No, it all happened in the latest edition of Captain America, Richard – number 25, to be exact. This “Marvel Comics” of which Pyle types is a publishing company, not a title.

These little tidbits (I like to call them “facts”) could have been easily verified by either calling a local comic book shop, or easier still, by going to Marvel’s web site, which took me less than three seconds. Nice effort there, Mr. Pyle – or should I call you Gomer?

(See what I did there? I made a cheap joke at Pyle's expense because he shares a surname with a fictional halfwit.)

Pyle was obviously out of his comfort zone when the AP assigned the story. He doesn't understand the “Chevy vs. Ford” aspect of comics, and can't even get the name of the actual book where the character (supposedly) dies correct, while Gustines sticks to the basics, gets everything right and otherwise comports himself professionally. Meanwhile, Pyle’s blatant attempt to show his readers that he’s just a little too cool to be writing about comic books merely makes him look like a condescending ass.

Once again I feel compelled to mention that I am fully aware that Captain America and all the other assorted characters in funnybook land, regardless of publisher, don’t actually exist, and I hardly expect that a marketing gimmick in a low-selling title be treated with the same gravity as troop deaths in Iraq, but Jeez Louise, it is asking too much for journalists to exercise a little taste and craft when hacking out their entertainment section puff pieces? Yes, they’re just comic books, but if you don’t respect the medium, at least respect that other people do.