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>> vii Acknowledgments Like the media franchising it explores, the production of this book was an ongoing, iterative process spanning many years in which multiple collaborators contributed across different sites and communities of inquiry, scholarly in this case instead of industrial. Though I may claim authorship (and NYU Press ownership), many other stakeholders should claim this work as well. I am indebted to Michael Curtin, Mary Beltrán, Jeff Smith, Nan Enstad, Julie D’Acci, and especially my advisor Michele Hilmes, who helped set me on this course and guided my PhD research at the University of Wisconsin from 2006 to 2009. Lisa Nakamura, Shanti Kumar, and David Bordwell served as key influences and supporters too. As I continued to develop that research into this book, I depended heavily on the generous advice and good friendship of Jonathan Gray, who was somehow never too busy to share his thoughts long distance. Denise Mann has been a strong advocate for the project, while the manuscript also benefited from the thoughtful comments of Barbara Selznick as well as a number of anonymous reviewers . My friend and colleague Aswin Punathambekar also offered invaluable comments. NYU Press provided an incredibly nurturing environment for this collaborative process, thanks to supportive direction by Eric Zinner and Ciara McLaughlin. Although I joined their series later on, the contributions of series editors Karen Tongson and Henry Jenkins were no less significant, particularly in helping me stand behind my claims with conviction. Henry has long acted as a champion for my work—even and perhaps especially when it has challenged his—so it seems appropriate that my gratitude to him would continue here. Many of the ideas in this book also benefited from having been previously worked through or expanded upon in other publications whose editors also deserve my thanks. Portions of chapter 2 developed out of beginnings in “Will the Real Wolverine Please Stand Up?” from Film and Comics, edited by Ian Gordon and Matthew McAllister (University Press of Mississippi, 2007) and “Franchise Histories” in Convergence Media History, edited by Janet Staiger and Sabine Hake (Routledge, 2009). Elements of chapter 5 built upon ideas iterated in much earlier forms as “The Fictional Institutions of Lost,” in viii > ix of mine, but since she has set the bar impossibly high, I hope my love for her can cover the difference somehow. A book dedication might also help, but unfortunately that honor goes to someone else—our clever, funny, and beautiful daughter Dahlia. Having finished the book, I hope I have not just freed up more quality time for all three of us, but also written something that will one day make Dahlia half as proud of me as I already am of her. This page intentionally left blank ...

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