Who reads Marvel comic books today?
Generally speaking it’s an audience aged 13 to 30, 70 percent male, 30 percent female. We’re very conscious about further broadening the demographic for our comic books and the Marvel business in general. Did you read comic books as a kid? No, not really. I am an individual who does consumer-product turnarounds. I’ve done seven to date, and in each instance I’ve tried to determine if the brand involved had been destroyed in the eyes of consumers. If not, there was a good chance of recovery. In consumer products, you usually aren’t threatened by some radical new technology from a competitor. Rather, it’s almost always a question of lack of leadership — a lack of courage to make the changes that are needed. I don’t have the same fears about making those changes that most people do. It may come from my experience as a Navy officer on a ship during the Vietnam War. Once you come through a war, your risk-reward profile is changed. We turnaround types are often the wrong person to lead a wel
