Regarding the Image thing, yes, Marvel as at fault. And without getting too into it, I think this is an issue in any business where someone feels like their creativity is stifled. If they get sick of it, they can leave the comfort of having the resources and stability of the big company and go it alone, as they did. But Marvel gave guys like McFarlane the opportunity to break into the business and ultimately succeed or fail at their own businesses. And I suspect they learned important lessons from that period.
Back to my point, though, if you want to give McFarlane some sort of credit for saving comics, I think you have to look at the flip side, as well. This has less to do with Marvel than with his popularity and resulting influence on the business as a whole. As Flosi points out, Marvel went too far trying to exploit the hype, but the entire industry turned to crap back in those days, and McFarlane shares some of that blame.
Also, Spidey > Hulk. Write that ____ down.