It's an unholy combination of the two. I don't think there can be any doubt about that. If people didn't buy them, they wouldn't get published; if the authors didn't agree with the gender dynamics, they wouldn't be writing them.

Also, the effect that buying and accepting these sort of products has on the younger people who read them. Doesn't it make you mad that people just keep eating this sort of thing up - not just in comics but in popular literature?

This part of the cycle right there is both the most dangerous and the easiest place to make your voice heard. It's the worst part of the cycle because this is where sexual violence and sexism is normalized (I'm thinking of shows like Supernatural and throwing up in my mouth a little). This is where both women and men are learning that sexism is the status quo. It's ALSO the place where consumers can make the most difference by showing their opinions with their dollars. This isn't twenty years ago - as my teenage reading habits proved, you can have a VAST amount of reading material even if you refuse to read anything that doesn't have a female lead or a female in a strong secondary role.

Great icon, by the way.