No need to apologize. You're new to the hobby, there's no reason you *would* know this stuff, until you ask about it! And the posters here are usually more than happy to help new members figure stuff out. We all started somewhere, right?
Bottom line is this my friend; the industry isn't in a great place. It hasn't been for a long, long time. And people have been saying comics were doomed for an even longer period of time. But we're still here. Now, technology is changing and society is changing with it and eventually comics are going to have to change too. But that doesn't mean they're going to disappear, and the pop culture power of these characters basically ensures that the medium will endure and survive in some shape or form. It might not be recognizable to old bastard fans like me; it might not be monthly floppies or print at all, but it'll be something, and it'll endure just like it always has.