The second annual Dragon*Con Academic Mini Conference, in collaboration with the Institute for Comics Studies, presented three panels featuring scholarly studies of comics and pop culture. On Sunday, a panel of three graduate students discussed their work. Sabrina Starnaman (University of California-San Diego) examined Jonathan Hickman’s The Nightly News for his commentary on the struggle for autonomy in an insidiously powerful state. Brian Curtis (Nashville State Community College) discussed how superheroes provide a vehicle for achieving a fully developed psyche. Stuart Lenig (Columbia State) explored the social, political, and economic concerns reflected in today’s television and cinema.