I agree that the increase in comic prices, and increasingly dark and 'adult' nature of comics is going to gain less kid fans, and after Dark Knight I feared that this could be a really bad thing for Marvel/DC in the long run, since they aren't "getting them early" like they did with me, and no doubt, many of you guys.
But, there are still Marvel/DC baby toys, cartoons, comics, and even some of the movies that largely appeal to little kids. Even if they never read an issue of Spiderman, every kid knows who he is and what he does. Duke, Cobra Commander? Those aren't embedded into the social consciousness like "superheroes" are. They are something kids of the 80s know, and that's about it (talking of the 3 3/4" variety, of course).
I haven't seen many kids in the comic shop, either, but I sure have seen them picking up Hulk and Spidey action figures at the Wal-Mart/Target. And you always see lots of beat up Marvel Legends on EBay that were really extensively played with. Not so much with Joes.
But even if this weren't the case, I don't know what else would account for the drastic difference in quality between lines. Maybe it just seems better because they are smaller and you can't notice the flaws so much.
