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xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Sometime around the age of eight, my parents banned me from watching Shock Theatre on Saturday afternoons. Shock Theatre brought the black-and-white “famous monsters” of the 1930s and 1940s into the lives of the kids of the 1970s. It also gave me a strange combination of hallucinatory nightmares and intense fascination only matched by my near-religious hysteria over the recent 1977 release of Star Wars. Their ban did not last, as evidenced by the endless stream of comic books, TV shows, and movies that soon came into my life. I appreciate my parents’ sometimes-harassed patience and hope this book helps them to understand why these things matter not only to me but also to the culture in which we live. I sincerely thank them for their unflagging pride in me, even when my work and interests go places they do not always understand. I’ve become a fanboy of Baylor University Press. I would especially like to thank Carey Newman for his unfailing support and indefatigable enthusiasm for the project. Seldom have I had an editor take such a personal interest in a project, including reading and commenting on early drafts. I also very much appreciate the work of Jennifer Hunt, whose helpful, detailed e-mails regarding the book’s production and design answered my concerns and helped prompt new ideas for photographs and images. Thanks to Diane Smith who quickly and helpfully dealt with all my questions and concerns about matters editorial. Acknowledgments / xii Numerous friends and colleagues take an avid interest in my work and have expressed excitement about this project. I would like especially to thank Cara Delay. Cara took time out from her own work on nineteenth -century women’s history to discuss this book with me and read some of the later chapters. Her friendship provides much needed workaday encouragement. Special thanks to Christina Shedlock who created an incredibly detailed and useful index for the book. I look forward to reading her own forthcoming scholarship. I’ve dedicated Monsters in America to my goddaughter, Niamh Margaret Carmichael. She is three years old but has already fallen desperately in love with books. I hope one day she will read and enjoy this one. I am excited to think about how her emerging sense of humor, her developing flair for the dramatic, her love for irony, and her already fiery temperament will respond to my monsters. I should also note that she is lucky to have parents, Noelle and Tim, who are already teaching her that monsters are for story time rather than symbols for religious and political enemies. This book would not have happened without my partner Beth Phillips . Her interest in my work never fails to encourage me. She willingly read every word of drafts, catching errors and making valuable suggestions . More importantly, without her I simply would not always have the courage to make my strange ideas a reality. She makes both my work and my life a good place to be. I love you Beth. ...

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