Misericordia University History Professor Allan Austin and a colleague have been invited to speak at the 2023 Comic-Con, billed as “the world’s biggest comic book convention.”

The invitation came as a surprise to Austin, even though he has been researching pop culture, including the graphic novel, for longer than a decade.

“Look, I know I do pathfinding work in the area of popular culture, specifically the socially constructed notions consumers form about race and gender as a result of exposure to pop culture artifacts,” Austin said. “Still, I mean, I’m no heavy-hitter. I don’t even have a costume.”

Austin and a colleague recently published “All New, All Different? A History of Race and the American Superhero,” by University of Texas Press. 

The 392-page book is marketed as “an eye-opening exploration of the relationship between racial attitudes and the evolution of the superhero in America over the last 80 years – from Superman’s debut in 1938 through the Civil Rights era to contemporary revisions of the well-known characters of today.”

One Amazon reviewer gushed, “Well written and broken into eras so it is easy to follow. If you are interested in the history of superheroes and want to add some insight into various eras, this is a good book to do just that.”

Providing that insight is a result of years of research and study, Austin said. 

“It’s not easy examining the ways in which Superman’s cape has been redesigned over the years and the effect that has on users and consumers,” he said. “It’s all Alexander McQueen-ified now, really exotic and unsophisticated at the same time.”

Austin has also been at the helm of the podcast, “Even More Mashed Up,” for about a decade. He and a colleague talk about everything and anything related to pop culture on the monthly show, which is recorded by Cougar Radio.

Austin considers the show a challenging delight because it enables him to have spicy and witty disagreements with his colleague about television shows and movies.

“Although we both agreed the last season of ‘Games of Thrones’ was insulting,” he said.

Austin also once famously taught “the comic book class,” which is what students called his class on the graphic novel. He and a colleague stopped teaching that several years ago, he said, because the extra teaching pay pales in comparison to the fees and royalties he receives for his books and audio products.

Austin has also published the 2012 book, “Quaker Brotherhood: Interracial Activism and the American Friends Service Committee,” and, in 2014, he published “From Concentration Camp to Campus: Japanese American Students and World War II.” His work has appeared in journals and anthologies as well as two co-edited projects.

The convention will take place July 19-23 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.