demographics

Here's the good news: According to some recent research by FiveThirtyEight.com, the website that applies data to just about everything -- most notably, US elections -- the ratio of female to male characters in mainstream superhero comics is improving, and more LGBT characters are showing up in Marvel and DC's pages. That said, the numbers still aren't great. "Female characters make up only 30.9 percent of the DC universe and 30.6 percent of the Marvel universe," the site's report states. In a world where women are 51 percent of all people, that's not so representative.

Simba Information recently completed a report entitled, "Overview of the US Comic Book and Graphic Novel Market 2009-2010." A press release accompanying the statement highlighted one of the more surprising details of the report: Their claim that one fourth of the comic reading public is over the age of 65...