The Monster Hunter in Modern Popular Culture

As monsters in popular media have evolved and grown more complex, so have those who take on the job of stalking and staking them. This book examines the evolution of the contemporary monster hunter from Bram Stoker’s Abraham Van Helsing to today’s non-traditional monster hunters such as Blade, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Watchmen. This examination of books, films, television shows, and graphic novels reveals how the monster hunter began as a white, upper-class, educated male and became everything from a vampire to a teenage girl with supernatural powers, now often resembling the monsters they’ve vowed to conquer. For Bram Stoker, there was a clear line between good and evil; modern monster hunters occupy a gray area where the battle is often with their own inner natures as much as with the ‘evil’ they fight. This book features movie stills and excerpts from graphic novels.