The resurgence of the popularity of comic books and its progression from a nerdy subculture to a multi-media geek society has boosted the public interest in the X-Men series. Before, it was suspected that the franchise had experienced its peak in 2003 with the release of X2: X-Men United, after X-Men: The Last Stand flopped with critics. But things have since improved with new direction and incorporation of historical elements, leading to the achievements of the latest in the movie series: ‘Days of Future Past’ as a 2014 blockbuster, domestically earning $205.9 million and $661.7 million worldwide. Because movie earnings seemingly correlate with comic book sales, it has been speculated that this is the year that Marvel Comics will experience the highest level in sales thus far. However, movies aren’t the only way to revert attention back to the original media source, the comic book.

In the past, print and broadcast media were enough to sustain the success of a franchise, but with the success of mobile gaming, it has influenced developers to address the growing mobile user market. In a blog post by AlchemyBet, the company that licensed its software to mobile casino Pocket Fruity, it was said that there were equal numbers of men and women that played mobile games, which presented as an opportunity for increased female interest in the comic books series. Uncanny X-Men, the iOS app that was named after the comic book from which the story line of ‘Days of Future Past’ was derived, is a way to focus on the female demographic. Why the focus on female demographic, you may ask?

Eric Stephenson, Image Comics CEO, explains in an article that he believes that females are the fastest growing demographic in the industry. By broadening the market, revenue earned from comic franchises will continue to rise. While there are many ways of restructuring strategies in order to appeal to more women, mobile gaming is the perfect way to attract more females but also maintain the already stable male demographic.

Like the X-Men movie series, comics have had their pitfalls, but the recent victories of ‘Days of Future Past’ exhibit that comic books are resilient. Considering all the comics-turned-movies that exist today, plot lines from those books might just be needed to keep the film industry alive.