Hmmm… not concerned about the FTC? How did those review copies arrive at your store, by carrier pigeon? If the CCBS can prevent certain American comics from crossing the border into Canada, what makes you think Homeland Security and the U.S. Postal Service wouldn’t prevent review copies from being sent? (Yeah, it’s an extreme possibility, but postal censorship is not unheard of.)

Ethics and law are not the same thing. One tells us what we ought to do, the other what we must do. As for you bragging about the books, well, that fulfills the publishers reason for sending them to you (partly so you’ll order and sell copies in your store, partly because you’ll discuss it here). You’ve waltzed right into their trap!

Hey… what if I host a blog where people can recommend stuff in the comments fields? People post their reviews with postal addresses, publishers send those people stuff, and all I have to do is post a simple “Read any good Marvel Comics lately?” column! It’s a message board with links to online vendors! I keep the cash, members do the heavy lifting, and the FTC rules don’t apply! ka-CHING!