This week saw a 47-year-old magazine, considered an institution in the publishing world, facing an onslaught over the cover of its latest issue – with many retailers refusing even to stock it.

The front of the new Rolling Stone magazine features a close-up picture of Boston bomb suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, looking wistfully towards the camera in a pose that would not be out of place in a celebrity photographer’s portfolio. Indeed, some have compared the picture with a previous edition featuring The Doors’ Jim Morrison.

While the magazine must have expected some criticism with a subject such as Tsarnaev, its editors may not have been prepared for the level of condemnation. Boston City Council President Stephen Murphy branded the cover “disgusting”, and added: “Rolling Stone has marketed Tsarnaev as a hero, a misunderstood teen, a product of two incompatible cultures … He is not. He is a coward and a murderer who is appropriately facing the death penalty for his crimes.” Boston Mayor Thomas Menino claimed that the coverage “rewards a terrorist with celebrity treatment”.

It’s not just politicians who’ve taken offence: the publication’s own Facebook page received thousands of critical comments, with long-time customers claiming they were cancelling their subscriptions. A number of major US chains have also now said that they will not stock the issue.

Rolling Stone released a statement saying; “Our hearts go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, and our thoughts are always with them and their families. The cover story we are publishing this week falls within the traditions of journalism and Rolling Stone’s long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day.”

Whether the resulting debate is what the magazine had in mind is hard to say. But as much as it has gained plenty of coverage, Rolling Stone would certainly have dented its own brand to an extent too.