The whole issue of new and/or younger readers is an interesting one to me - I'm curious to see where it goes. Like many (most?) I started reading comics as a kid (my first was a Spidey comic when I was 5 - which I still have), and continued until high school. I stopped while in college for the most part, and got back into them shortly after (about when the movies started up I think). I've been going strong with them ever since. The local store I used to frequent has since closed, but I can't say I ever saw kids in there buying comics except for on free comic book day, and even then it seemed more like "comic dads" bringing their kids in.
Comics are just a lot different these days. As much as I love them, I don't know that I would hand the majority of the regular titles to a kid - they just aren't written for that audience as much anymore and are often to serious in tone. Our daughter likes comics (although she can't really read yet), but again, that's because of me I am sure. There are things out there like the Marvel Adventures (or Johnny DC/DC Kids) titles that she looks at, but I'd say that is the majority of kid friendly comics these days.
Again, as far as "new" readers, that's a tough nut to crack. I still think there is a sort of stigma attached to comic books for the general public, and many are "embarassed" to be reading something like that. Things like Graphic Novels, TPBs, and now online options might help that - but it still seems like the industry is going to lose ground overall. With all the success of comic book movies, and now so many of the characters making it to the big screen, now is the time to try and get new readers and still we see comic shops closing, prices rising, and now extreme measures like the reboot(s) as the companies continue to try and capture a larger audience. I hope it happens, because I don't want to see comics go away, but it does seem like a tough fight for them once the 30-50 age group that supports much of their business continues to age.
It might not be a popular opinion, but I think the companies could stand to scale back the number of titles a little bit. Much like collecting, you only have to buy what you like, but the number of titles (especially for a struggling business) is unreal these days. I think that some condensing will eventually happen if sales don't pick up, but otherwise we might (long term) be headed for a market that really only has regular, ongoing books for the "big guns" and maybe limited series for anything else. Again, a long time off, but I could see it happening.