Marvel Comics, home of Spider-Man and Iron Man, can make a claim to being the No. 1 publisher in its field, often beating its rival DC Comics, famed for Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, in the total number and dollar value of comics it sells each month.
And there will be an avalanche of mass entertainment featuring Marvel characters this year, including movies based on the X-Men, Thor and Captain America.
But these opportunities arrive as the comics industry is still struggling to adapt to the 21st century, and Marvel's core business faces some of the toughest challenges in its history. While its movie business thrives, its print business is contracting, and those responsible for creating its comics are more cognizant than ever of their place within a larger corporate structure.
"If comics is sick, it's not a broken arm, it's diabetes," said Tom Spurgeon, a journalist who covers the industry for the Web site The Comics Reporter. "There's no easy solution."
Marvel has certainly rebounded from the period in the 1990s when it sought bankruptcy protection amid a fight between the financiers Ronald O. Perelman, who had bought Marvel and combined it with other collectibles companies, and Carl C. Icahn, who sought control of it. (A third entrepreneur, Isaac Perlmutter, acquired the company and is Marvel's chief executive.)
Joe Quesada, who last year was named Marvel's chief creative officer, said his strategy during his 10-year stint as the company's editor in chief had been to "focus on writers first, and then bring in the artists."
Marvel has found best sellers in comic book mini-series like "House of M" and "Civil War."
Marvel also benefited more from movie franchises as "Spider-Man" and "X-Men" became blockbusters and brought new attention to its characters. The company reached a turning point during the making of the 2008 film "Iron Man," which was produced by its own Marvel Studios in and that starred Robert Downey Jr.
as the armor-clad hero. Still, during the development of "Iron Man," Marvel invited some of its editors and writers to consult with its director, Jon Favreau. When "Iron Man" went on to sell $585 million in tickets worldwide, its success seemed to validate the suggestions from its publishing talent.
Though Marvel's publishing side does not directly control the content of Marvel films, Kevin Feige, the president of production at Marvel Studios, said the storytelling in the comics had a strong influence on the movies "because it's a hell of a lot less expensive to take a chance in a comic than it is to take a chance in a movie."
What is less clear is if superhero movies influence readers to buy more comics. Rich Johnston, who writes about comics at the Web site Bleeding Cool, said Marvel was just as likely alienating fans by preparing for the releases of movies like "Thor" and "Captain America: The First Avenger" (opening in spring and summer) and "The Avengers" (planned for 2012) with the publication of lots of comic books and graphic novels featuring these characters.
"In order to read Thor," Mr. Johnston said, exaggerating a bit, "you have to buy 10 mini-series for $4 an issue at 22 pages each."
Anticipating a reader's reaction, he added: "You know what? Let's not." A more worrisome problem, Mr. Johnston said, was a sense of "ennui amongst Marvel readers," who have become tired of the publisher's reliance on annual mini-series to shake up the status quo in its narratives while its monthly comics advance these soap operas infinitesimally.
Sales figures seem to bear this out: In 2006 and 2007 "Civil War, "which featured Iron Man and Captain America, sold nearly 300,000 copies an issue. But last year the mini-series "Siege" sold just over 100,000 copies an issue.
From the outside Marvel is buffeted by big-picture publishing crises: the closing of comics shops and bookstores, a downturn in sales lingering through the recession and the increasing threat of digital piracy.
Yet Marvel and the industry journalists said the firm's publishing is still profitable. Mr. Johnston estimated that a comic book that sold as few as 20,000 or 30,000 copies could still make money.
For all that has changed about his industry, Axel Alonso, Marvel's new editor in chief, said he was still thrilled by the sight of newly published comics or simply receiving an e-mail from Stan Lee, the great Marvel writer and former president, congratulating him on his promotion.
"I giggled like a schoolgirl when Stan e-mailed me," he said. "I'm going to frame it."