I can remember only seeing one female pre-Vertigo at the place I picked up my comics and she would be reading a Wonder Woman comic at the end of the aisle. If you got to close to that end she would start making noises and slapping herself. She was overweight and at best plain looking. She was somebody I worried about and felt bad for. Life couldn't have been kind for her. After Vertigo I not only saw other women in the comic shop but even ran into coworkers that were regular comics buyers.
As to G-man's comment, despite my bitching I did enjoy Sandman and many other titles too but I suspect I would have been more into it if I had been younger. Than again I was pretty much a lost cause when it came to being "hip" at any age.
