From the 40s to the 90s comics appealed to kids, teens and adults of both genders. Note only was it smart business to cast the widest net, but it was a demonstration of skillful storytelling to serve all audiences.
Over the past fifteen years or so, the market has turned its back on kids, served up piles of left-wing slop at teens and catered to a diminishing core of liberal adults who nod appreciatively at this bisexual Catwoman. The rest of us left long long ago.
The result? The comics don’t sell. Once in a while I look at the sales figures. They are the publishing equivalent of MSNBC and that is being kind.
Exactly. Comics were cancellation bait if they sold under 200,000 a month back in the 70's. Now I doubt ANY comic sells that many in a month. They are in a death spiral, and they use stunts like this every now and then for a brief 'dead cat bounce' (ironic in this case); then sales slide downward...again.
One of the more interesting things I found out about Dean Martin was his life long addiction to reading comic books.
He loved them and would send someone out to buy all the latest ones he like, he also loved to read westerns.