I actually agree in part: it is true that any story can be moving if considered on its own terms. It depends on the skill of the creator(s) and on the reader's willing suspension of disbelief.

But that's where the problem lies: with comic-book death being a revolving door, it becomes increasingly difficult to take a story as seriously as when a demise was rare and permanent. The problem is compounded by comic-books now having no continuing timeline, but some kind of moving stasis where the status quo needs to be reinstated on a regular basis. Gwen Stacy and her father died when such things almost never happened, and when a character who really died (as opposed to one who just disappeared in an explosion or a landslide) stayed dead for good. Death in comics back then was indeed pretty much like death in real life, and readers felt genuine sorrow for the loss of a Jean Grey, a Mar-Vell, or even a Karate Kid. (Or a Harry Osborn, or even, years later, a Jim Wilson).

However, the reliance on the death of old characters as ways to give more weight to story lines (and the extremely frequent resurrection of said characters) has made caring a lot harder. Comic-book death, which used to be tragic, became a bother. I can't say I felt sorrow when the Wasp died at the end of Secret Invasion; my reaction was more like "all right, bring her back already since you know you're going to. Why waste time?"

The need to have fresh cannon fodder also means that several good characters just vanished for no good reason. Killing Quartermain to establish Red Hulk as a badass? Ugh. Disposing of Echo, whose potential has barely been scratched? Re-ugh.

I'd really wish death in comics (the death of major characters, I mean) was once again rare and permanent; rare to the point that only a truly, truly outstanding story would justify it. The death of Jean deWolffe qualifies; the first death of Phoenix as well. They're stories that we still talk about thirty years after the fact. I also wish writers would limit the killing to characters they created, as when J.M. Straczynski killed Bill in his last Thor arc. But then if wishes were horses, beggars would ride; as long as there's money to be made by advertising a comic as "the death of a major character", I doubt things will change. The readership is for the most part replaced every few years anyway so only old curmudgeons will complain.

I was reading the Return of Barry Allen TPB (the original one, by Waid) and in the intro he flat-out says that it was the stunt that would put Flash back on the map. Even though Barry didn't actually come back in it, two characters, previously dead, did.

I try to take every story on its own and within its own context. The moment it stops working for me, the moment I start feeling that the motions are meaningless, as you do, Raider, is the moment I decide to take a step back and go read something else until the bug bites me again.

True, things seem to be happening much faster today than when the medium was created in the '30s. (God, we'll soon have to indicate what century we're talking about!!!) I recently joked about previews of the return of Wolverine that would be available online before the issue in which he actually dies comes out.

But death as a stunt comes at a price: it makes it less important. Clearly from the replies on this thread many readers don't mind, and take it all in stride as part and parcel of the medium; personally, however, I can't manage to get emotionally invested in a story or in a character if my suspension of disbelief has been removed... I just can't bring myself to care.  

I think, once you've been around, or on a title/in a universe long enough that stunt deaths are too stunty for you, it's probably just time to move onto something else. Leave the fourth death of Charles Xavier to readers who're green or just mark enough to invest in it emotionally.

Another example, U Go Girl is one of the most affecting deaths I've ever read, but I would kickstarter fund any movement that allowed her to come back for more stories

Some characters just end up having that as part of their thing, you know? People have things. Spider-Man's always gonna quit and then unquit, Batman's always gonna end up pushing away his friends only to learn his lesson, Iron Man's always gonna go back to the drink, Jean Grey's always gonna die, Steve Rogers is always gonna get replaced. That's just their thing.