Ron Catapano of Comics Plus in Mount Holly, New Jersey felt that Marvel mis-rated The Eternal:

 

I own a comic book store and I'm more than a little concerned about the new title, The Eternal, published by Marvel.  While this title has a 'Parental Advisory' on the cover I think that Marvel should be aware that there is a large difference between a 'mature reader' book and an 'adult only' book.  Much as the success or failure of a movie can be the difference between a PG-13 and an R-rating, so too with a comic.

Books that contain graphic sex scenes are for adults only, this is not only common sense - it's law.  With the 'moral' environment in this country right now, now is not the time to test these laws.  It's bad enough that comic retailers are being arrested for selling regular comics such as Gen 13 or for selling adult comics to adults, do we really need an adult comic that indicates that it is suitable for anyone younger than an adult?

My first and only question for Marvel was, is this book returnable?  This was not solicited as an adult book and the Previews gave no indication as to this type of content. I was told NO!

So I now have a book that has to remain bagged with a sticker on it to indicate that this book will not be sold to anyone under the age of 18.  I'll be lucky if I sell 5% of these books and I will be cutting all future orders.

I would be interested in hearing how other retailers handled this book.