Archive:Fanboy
Fanboy or fanboi is a term used to describe an individual (though the femanine version fangirl may be used for girls or women) who is utterly devoted to a single subject or hobby, often to the point where it is considered an obsession.
History of fanboys and the term
The term originated in comic book circles, to describe someone who immersed himself in the fictional worlds of comics and the culture of comics fandom. The term is often used in a derogatory manner by other less obsessed fans. In the songs of the fannish parody musician Luke Ski, many characters proudly consider themselves fanboys. The term is most commonly associated with adolescent and teen males but can be applicable to any age or sex. Common subjects of reverence by fanboys are TV shows, movies, anime, cars, video game consoles, video games, operating systems, MMORPGs, and software companies.
The stereotypical image of the fanboy is as an unkempt, socially awkward, young man who may be perceived as a loud mouthed pseudo-intellectual. A popular depiction of this stereotype is the Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons. As electronic entertainment gained popularity, the term became increasingly applied to video gamers and television addicts who readily labelled themselves. However, with competition between the video game console makers reaching new heights, the term has almost adapted into a description of what faction of console a gamer sides with.
The earliest use of the word "fanboy" has been dated to 1982, 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," and are describing the extreme measures they would go to, including moving to San Francisco, to preserve their comics. Another early use is in a smart-alec editorial reply by "Ambush Bug" to a letter in his comic in 1985.
Trivia
Fanboys can be a mnemonic for the conjunctions of the English language, "for", "and", "nor", "but", "or", "yet", and "so".
In Media
Comic Book
- Sergio Aragonés' Fanboy
- Doug Holverson's 'Fanboy' (anthropomorphized rotary fan obsessed with comics, who uses his electrical plug for a hand). Dates from the prolific minicomic wave of the 1980s.
Television
Radio/Podcasts
- Fanboy Radio - [1]
- Drooling FanBoy - [2]