Comic Books are our modern mythology. It is a genre thriving in periphery and fortunate enough to possess a geeky but dedicated fan base.

Every year new movies might be shot based on the characters in the comic books, but still it does not enjoy the recognition of the mainstream.

But this Oct. 10, Monmouth University is going to change all that.

New Jersey based Monmouth University will confer the world's first fine arts doctorate in comic books on Michael Uslan, the originator and executive producer of the blockbuster Batman movie franchise since 1989, including the recent Dark Knight trilogy of Christopher Nolan.

Uslan's decades of work establishing the genre as an important element of American art and culture played a crucial role in his selection, said Monmouth President Paul G. Gaffney II.

"We are proud to award Michael Uslan an honorary degree in the 'fine art of comic books,' " he said to Chipley Paper.

"Through his work and teaching, he has shown the world that comics are a legitimate art form and uniquely American."

As NBC News points out, a young Uslan saw his beloved comic books go up in flames. Comic books were degraded and Uslan's father did not want his son to be indulged in something so 'juvenile'. Yet, they were part of his childhood memories.

He has narrated his obsession and its positive effect on his life in his memoir, The Boy Who Loved Batman.

He is confident that with the doctorate degree the comic book will receive much deserved recognition.

"This will have a tremendously positive impact on the industry, the fans, the artists and writers," he said.

"With the recognition by academia of comic books as expressions of fine art, we'll see more talented people going into the industry, and they will continue to innovate, refine and redefine this art form and the art of graphic story-telling."

He was also a professor who taught the world's first accredited college course in comics at Indiana University, Bloomington, in 1971 and authored first textbook on comics, "The Comic Book In America."