To some people，the idea of reading comic books seems childish．To others，comics are nothing more than （41）___ of their happy childhoods．But for people who love comic books，they can be a（n） （42）___ escape from the realities of modern life．Comics are able to （43）___ readers to brightly-colored，imaginary worlds where superheroes fight with super-monsters，where good can succeed over bad，and where heroes can save thousands of innocent people from the"bad guys．"Comics are published globally，but Japanese and American versions （44）___ the market despite the fact-or perhaps because-they differ in some ways．

One difference is the appearance of the heroes．Manga （[日语]漫画） heroes look smaller，younger，and more immature than their all-conquering American ones who have sport muscles and wear themed clothes．Also，manga heroes rarely look Japanese，and the stories are not typically set within a Japanese（45）___．Conversely，American comic heroes，despite their masks，are proudly American and are admired for their （46）___ to defend U．S．cities．Importantly，in Japan a manga creator can himself or herself become a national hero，becoming almost as famous as the characters．

Probably the biggest difference is the （47）___．Up until the 1950s，American comic books were read by both children and adults，with popular titles such as Superman selling as many as half a million copies per month．The（48）___ of TV，however，led to a long-term decline in sales so that now the average reader of an American comic book is a teenage boy with an interest in superheroes．In Japan，the （49）___ couldn't be greater．There manga sales are still （50）___，reaching as high as 7billion each year largely because readers range from young boys and girls up to middle-aged men and women．A s