Survival of the fittest: The Idaho Statesman looks at the comics industry's attempts to adapt to a changing market and a stagnant economy:

"A survey conducted by the largest comic book distributor, Diamond Comic Distributors, says the dedicated comic book fan is a 34-year-old male with a college degree. The survey was based on the readership demographics of Previews, the company's monthly catalog. It found that 87 percent of readers are male.

"Although this survey does not represent the typical comic book reader, marketing communications director Barry Lyga said he thinks it's an accurate picture of the dedicated fan."

But here's the really interesting statistic: Although a Diamond survey found that just 13 percent of comics readers are female, Marvel's Gui Karyo contends his company's readership is 30 percent female. (Note the Diamond survey covers just the direct market.)