Whether you love superhero comics, like some of them, are mostly indifferent, or absolutely fucking despise them, they've played the largest role in shaping the face of modern comics in North America, and still account for the bulk of the titles being produced today. It has been said that without the repressive tactics of the Comic Code Authority in the 50's, science fiction, horror, crime, war, and fantasy comics would have continued to expand in the marketplace as they had in the five years leading up to the Kefauver hearings. North America likely would have had a comic scene closer to Japan's or Europe's, with an audience that includes men and women of every age and every 'walk of life'. Nevertheless, even though comics in the West have been made almost exclusively for adolescent males, there have been some very talented people determined to make art from juvenile power fantasies. Working with what they had, the superhero comic became something mature, thoughtful, and even brilliant. In the last twenty-five years, the average age of the superhero-comic reader has been trending higher and higher, settling somewhere in the early twenties. It indicates a declining youth market, as comics compete with video games, endless apps, and sites accessible from phones and tabs; it also indicates that new comic readers are starting older, and staying longer. But the wealth of material available means superhero comics are competing for savvy adult audiences with indie, euro and Japanese comics that are far more cutting-edge. Still, the nostalgia factor is strong, and people who fall in love with the massive big screen superhero epics are going to the comic shop to learn more, and get the back-story on these characters that they identify with so deeply.