Marvel Comics EIC Axel Alonso Looks at the History and Future of Comics on 'The Early Show' (VIDEO)

Marvel Comics superheroes have never had a higher profile than they have this summer. 'Captain America: The First Avenger' is about to hit theaters Friday, joining releases of 'Thor' and 'X-Men: First Class' from earlier this year, a popular 'Iron Man' series, and an upcoming 'Spider-man' reboot. 'The Early Show' (weekdays, 7AM on CBS) caught up with Axel Alonso, named editor-in-chief of Marvel in January, to talk about Marvel and the future of comics.

They began in a comic book shop, where Alonso handed anchor Jeff Glor a few books. "These are all little pieces of history you hold in your hands," he said. Captain America, it was noted, debuted in the spring of 1941. At that time, no one could have imagined such a full-color, live action, CGI-enhanced version of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's creation coming to the big screen.

Equally as amazing would have been the idea of comic books downloaded to portable computers. "I think that the emergence of hand-held media like the iPad is going to change things in a major way," said Alonso. "That said, I don't believe that print will ever go away." That's a very hopeful sign for fans of traditional comic books.