Archive:Fanboy

For other uses, see Fanboy (disambiguation).

Fanboy is a term used to describe any individual who is devoted to a single subject in an emotional or fanatical manner, or to a single point of view within that subject, often to the point where it is considered an obsession.

History

According to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, the earliest known use of the term "fanboy" in an English-language publication dates to 1919.

In comic book culture, a 1982 reference is to the cover of the "Official Underground and Newave Comix Price Guide". On this cover page are sketched overweight, overzealous comic book collectors wearing T-shirts that state "Fanboys of America," who are describing the extreme measures they would go to, including moving to San Francisco, to preserve their comics.

Also published in 1982, a comic strip appeared in Jim Engel and Chuck Fiala's "Fandom Confidential" comic. In the strip, Jim and Chuck met comic artist/writer John Byrne and collapsed into "mindless paroxysms of adoration." The John Byrne character responded that they were "a couple of fanboys in bondage" (a play on words referring to a Monty Python sketch in which an Elizabethan era character reads what she claims to be a new Shakespeare work called "Gay Boys in Bondage". Another early use is in a smart-alec editorial reply by "Ambush Bug" to a letter in his comic in 1985.

By 1990 the term was being used in popular music and science fiction circlesTemplate:Failed verification, and as electronic entertainment gained popularity, the term became increasingly applied to computers and video game consoles - with people often developing an obsessive loyalty towards one platform or brand.

Current subjects of such obsessive loyalty include areas of: TV shows; movies; music; anime; comic books; cars; sirens; video game consoles, video games and MMORPGs; and computer operating systems, hardware and software. "Fanboy" was added to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary in 2008.

The derogatory usage of the term fanboy has been applied to obsessive fans who unconditionally support a franchise or its creator, despite others' objective opinion that said franchise or creator is overrated. They may also react negatively to objective critical claims that the subject of their fandom is becoming stale or dated. The term fanboy has also been used to refer to what may be perceived as elitism in fan circles. In contrast to the unconditional fan, the term has also been increasingly applied to fans who may exhibit a proprietary mentality towards their franchise, the rationale being that the fans support are what made the product successful or what keep the franchise alive and generate revenue for the creators. This mentality frequently expresses itself among such fans in a variation of armchair quarterbacking.

Fangirl

The term fangirl, while similar, often carries slightly different connotations - often applied to any enthusiastic female fan regardless of obsessive qualities or not, and is often used with overtones of "teenybopper". Depending on context, "fangirl" may be used or perceived as a derogatory label.

Media

Popular depictions of Fanboy stereotypes include the Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons and columnist Larry Groznic from the satirical newspaper The Onion. In the songs of the fannish parody musician Luke Ski, many characters proudly consider themselves fanboys.

Comic books

• Sergio Aragonés' Fanboy
• Galactic Storm's Fanboy

Television

• The Simpsons' Comic Book Guy refers to himself as a fanboy.
• Freakazoid's Fan Boy

Radio/podcasts

• Fanboy Radio
• Fanboy Planet.com[1]

Movies

• Fanboys, a 2003 New Zealand short film
• Fanboys, a 2009 American comedy film

See also

• Addiction
• Brand loyalty
• Cyberstalking
• Editor war
• Anorak
• Astroturfing
• Otaku
• Obsession

External links

• A look at fanboys from the game industry perspective
• Fanboy at Merriam-Webster
• Dissecting the Fanboy Mind - A discussion of the fanboy behavior in regard to video games.
• The trial of the Fanboy - A criticism of the fanboy concept and overusage of the term.