Professional translators have always considered localizing their translation instead of simply translating it word for word, however, the term "localization" has only been around since the early 1990s.
When travel to all countries is not possible, submersing oneself into a book by a writer from the place and read by many locals can allow another type of visit: mind travel.
The world of comics is a popular and profitable one. All it takes to verify this statement is to observe the amount of merchandise, as well as movies and TV series related to super heroes being released around the world every year.