Word: marvellously
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...this year, up from about 190 in 1985. With a combined circulation of roughly 150 million, the comics are more popular than at any other time since the early '50s. That in turn means heftier profits for new publishers and for the comic-book industry's leaders: Marvel (1985 sales: $100 million) and DC Comics (a reported $70 million), both based in New York City, and Archie Comic Publications ($20 million) of Mamaroneck...
...companies like Marvel and DC Comics, the revival represents a sales victory of, well, super proportions. Ever since the late '50s, comics have fought a losing battle with television for the hearts and imaginations of youngsters. Some comic characters, such as Wonder Woman, Batman and Robin, crossed over to the tube, at least for a time, but when the industry hit bottom in the early '70s, it seemed that comic books might become an extinct form...
...sophisticated product innovation. Beginning around 1980, publishers began upgrading their wares substantially, departing from a piecework system of production to grant royalties to writers and illustrators. The target audience changed, from early teenagers or younger to the 16-to-25 age group. Says Jim Shooter, editor in chief at Marvel: "The major market is targeted to followers of Star Wars or Indiana Jones...
...addition, comic-book publishers have boosted sales with special issues that address social causes or depict historical figures and events. DC Comics, in a venture involving First Lady Nancy Reagan and IBM, has distributed issues of the popular Teen Titans in which the youthful superheroes promote drug awareness. Marvel, meanwhile, counts among its strongest sellers a biography of St. Francis of Assisi, which has sold 750,000 copies...
...licensing of comic logos and story lines to outside entrepreneurs has been a major help in bringing profits back to the business. Marvel has licensed Spider-Man and other characters to children's apparel maker Just 4 Kids, Hallmark Cards and Prism Entertainment. Archie Comics is working with a fast-food chain on a restaurant with all-American fare that would feature the faces of the kids from Riverdale High...