Beau Smith, a comics writer and columnist has a piece over at Silver Bullet Comics.com about the term 'fanboy' and how he really dislikes the term. You can check it out yourself by clicking on the headline above.
Personally, I've used the term when referring to myself and haven't really been bothered by it. Maybe because when I was seriously into fandom it wasn't the totally negative expression which it has become. I guess it's right up there with 'geek', but that's a term with a longer and nastier history. As in the short-lived DC comic of that title, the term was used for those lowest of carnival/freak-show performers generally seen biting the heads of chickens or other sub-human behavior. Later it became a term used to label unpopular kids by those who were popular, or at least accepted into whatever cliche happened to rule the school.
"Geek" is used all the time now, especially in movies and TV shows as shorthand for the guy or gal who happens to be the computer whiz. That's, of course, before the 'geek' saves the butt of the same group that had been harassing him or her.
Anyway, I'm cool with being a fanboy, or even one of the "Old Farts of Fandom" (OFF), since I've been reading, collecting and/or writing about comics, SF and other silly stuff before I was even in my teens.
Old Beau could easily kick my butt, but it still wouldn't change my mind.
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