Jamal J. Elias is a professor of religious studies and South Asia studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He has written on visual religious art in Islam.

Fedwa Malti-Douglas is a professor of gender studies at Indiana University in Bloomington. She specializes in the study of Arab and Islamic culture and co-authored the book Arab Comic Strips: Politics of an Emerging Mass Culture.

Leonard J. Greenspoon is a professor of Jewish civilization and classical and Near Eastern studies at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. A specialist in biblical translation, he wrote “The KJV and the Jews,” an essay at the website of the Society of Biblical Literature, and a 1993 article in Bible Review titled “The New Testament in the Comics.”

Chris Seay is pastor of the Houston church Ecclesia, a congregation that is part of the emerging church movement. Seay frequently writes about faith and pop culture and is co-author, with Greg Garrett, of The Gospel Reloaded: Exploring Spirituality and Faith in The Matrix.

Stephen Skelton is based in Nashville, Tenn., and is the founder of The Entertainment Ministry, which is dedicated to “finding God’s purpose in popular entertainment.” He is the author of The Gospel According to the World’s Greatest Superhero and other books. Read Superman’s Second Coming, an article adapted from the book. It’s posted at Beliefnet.com.

Edward H. Sewell Jr. is associate professor emeritus in the department of communication studies at Virginia Tech. He co-edited (with Matthew P. McAllister and Ian Gordon) the volume Comics & Ideology, a collection of 11 essays.

Jeremy Lott is an author and a contributing editor to Books & Culture. He wrote a July 10, 2006, article in Books & Culture about the movie Superman Returns. He lives in Fairfax, Va.

Matthew P. McAllister is a professor in the department of film/video and media studies at Penn State University in University Park, Pa. He co-edited (with Edward H. Sewell Jr. and Ian Gordon) the book Comics & Ideology, a collection of 11 essays.

The Rev. James McDermott is a Catholic priest and former associate editor of America, a national Jesuit weekly. McDermott writes frequently about spiritual themes in popular culture and takes a keen interest in the comic book culture.