Zack Kruse

Zack Kruse PhD., is the author of Mysterious Travelers: Steve Ditko and the Search for a New Liberal Identity (University of Mississippi Press, 2021). Currently Assistant Professor of English at Albany State University, he is a scholar of comics, film, and American literature. His scholarly work can also be found in publications such as INKS, Studies in Comics, Source: Notes on the History of Art, and in Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction , as well as multiple book chapters, including a contribution to Attack of the New B Movies , edited by Justin Wigard and Mitch Ploskonka. As a comics creator, his strip, Mystery Solved! , appeared in Skeptical Inquirer Magazine , and he was the founder and sole-operator of the Appleseed Comics and Art Convention in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He has previously served as the panel coordinator for the Michigan State University Comics Forum and as the managing editor for The Journal of Popular Culture . He is also the former marketing director for the largest comics retailer in the U.S, and his voice can be heard on numerous comics and academic podcasts, including Pictures Within Picture, Prerequisites , and his weekly radio program, The Mutant Graveyard .