Project Fanboy

The Project Fanboy website was launched in 2005 as an independently run promoter of comic books and creators in the comic book industry. A little known site in its first three years, it eventually began publishing interviews and reviews of independent comic books in 2008. The site garnered little interest until May 2008, with the introduction of the annual Project Fanboy Awards.

At the 2009 MegaCon comic book convention the winners of the 2008 Project Fanboy Awards were announced.{{cite web|url=http://www.comicbookconventions.com/index.php?start_from=120&ucat=&archive=&subaction=&id=& |title=notes the announcement of the Project Fanboy Awards at the MegaCon Convention |publisher=Comicbookconventions.com |date= |access-date=2009-06-06}} The awards sparked controversy amongst comic book fans with the announcement of Jim Balent's company Broadsword Comics receiving three of the twenty five awards, for their publication Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose. Websites such as Chris's Invincible Super-Blog published sarcastic praise concerning the outcome of the awards{{cite web|url=http://www.the-isb.com/?p=1299 |title=The Week In Ink |publisher=Chris's Invincible Super-Blog |author=Chris Sims |date=2009-03-25 |access-date=2009-06-06}} while other websites such as Panels on Pages spoke highly of the publication{{cite web|url=http://panelsonpages.com/?p=3439 |title=Panels on Pages on Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose |publisher=Panels on Pages |date=2009-04-25 |access-date=2009-06-06}} which is quoted as saying, "...making it easy to see how it walked away with three of the twenty-five awards at Project Fanboy this past March...".

In the 55th issue of Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose, Broadsword colorist, Holly Golightly appeared adorned in only the three Project Fanboy Awards the company received, again sparking the attention of bloggers and internet users.Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose UPC: 804879149231 ComicBitsOnline spoke with Holly GoLightly after the awards ceremony and showcased a photo of the Broadsword team accepting the Project Fanboy Awards in the interview the site published.{{cite web |url=http://www.comicbitsonline.com/2009/04/16/the-holly-golightly-interview/ |title=Holly GoLightly Interview |publisher=ComicsBitsOnline.com |author=Terry Hooper |date=2009-04-16 |access-date=2009-06-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503034228/http://www.comicbitsonline.com/2009/04/16/the-holly-golightly-interview |archive-date=2009-05-03 |url-status=usurped }}

In 2010 the site started its official comic book podcast, the Fanboy Buzz. In 2011 the podcast partnered with the website Comic Collector Live, making Fanboy Buzz the official podcast of both Project Fanboy and Comic Collector Live.

In February 2012 Project Fanboy and the Fanboy Buzz sites merged and continued all operations under the Fanboy Buzz banner.{{cite web|url=http://www.fanboybuzz.com/contact-us/ |title=About Fanboy Buzz |publisher=FanboyBuzz.com |author=Fanboy Buzz |date=2012-11-15 |access-date=2012-11-15}}

On November 10, 2012, DC Comics artist Ethan Van Sciver announced his intentions of joining the Fanboy Buzz podcast as a host on the show via his Facebook and Twitter pages.{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/scottwilliams32/status/267030264553820160 |title=Ethan Van Sciver joins the Fanboy Buzz podcast |publisher=Twitter.com |author=Ethan Van Sciver |date=2012-11-10 |access-date=2012-11-15}} Van Sciver joined veteran Fanboy Buzz hosts Stephen Jondrew, Scott Williams, Jean Sebastien Heroux and Steve Boyd as a full-time host of the Fanboy Buzz podcast starting with episode 142 of the show.

Comic book editor, writer, and Project Fanboy columnist, Steven D. Forbes is commonly known for his ongoing columns at the site, where he offers advice for aspiring writers as well as offering his professional editorial thoughts on samples of work sent to him by his readers. An established columnist on the site since August 2008, Forbes was interviewed on Jazma Online{{cite web|url=http://www.jazmaonline.com/interviews/interviews2009.asp?intID=349 |title=Interview with Steve Forbes |publisher=Jazma Online |date=2009-04-25 |access-date=2009-06-06}} and has been referenced on sites such as Newsarama, by columnists Randal Jarrell,{{cite web |url=http://blog.newsarama.com/author/rjarrell/ |title=Randall Jarell |publisher=Blog.newsarama.com |date= |access-date=2009-06-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611190932/http://blog.newsarama.com/author/rjarrell/ |archive-date=2009-06-11 |url-status=dead }} and Tyler James.{{cite web|last=James |first=Tyler |url=http://tylerjamescomics.blogspot.com/2009/01/editing-critiques-1-reprisal-by-matthew.html |title=Tyler James |publisher=TylerJamesComics |date= 16 January 2009|access-date=2009-06-06}} Forbes has also been spoken highly of on Today.com{{cite web | url=http://indycomics.today.com | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090529031313/http://indycomics.today.com | archive-date=2009-05-29 | title=Indy Comics Writer }}/2008/09/27/a-site-for-the-comic-geek-in-all-of-us/ by Stacey David, author of the Bluewater Publishing mini-series GearZ.

In May 2009, the site began being used by the industry as a resource when interviews the site conducted with The Original Nutty Funsters author, Stephanie O'Donnell{{cite web |url=http://www.brokenfrontier.com/lowdown/p/detail/the-original-nutty-funsters-part-1-an-inter-review |title=The Original Nutty Funsters, Part 1 - An Inter-Review |publisher=brokenfrontier.com |date=2008-05-18 |access-date=2009-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612001102/http://www.brokenfrontier.com/lowdown/p/detail/the-original-nutty-funsters-part-1-an-inter-review |archive-date=2009-06-12 |url-status=dead }} and Chumble Spuzz author, Ethan Nicolle{{cite web |url=http://www.brokenfrontier.com/lowdown/p/detail/zink-watoom-gazork-an-inter-review-of-chumble-spuzz-part-1 |title=Zink Watoom Gazork: An Inter-Review of Chumble Spuzz - Part 1 |publisher=brokenfrontier.com |date=2008-05-28 |access-date=2009-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612172309/http://www.brokenfrontier.com/lowdown/p/detail/zink-watoom-gazork-an-inter-review-of-chumble-spuzz-part-1 |archive-date=2009-06-12 |url-status=dead }} were cited by the comic book news website Broken Frontier, as a primer to "inter-reviews" they conducted with the same authors.

The site has also appeared as a reference on the Internet Movie Database for an interview they conducted with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator, Peter Laird.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0453556/miscsites |title=2007 TMNT Movie Internet Movie Database Listing |publisher=IMDB |date= |access-date=2009-06-06}}

Articles about the Project Fanboy website have appeared on Indy Comics Today{{cite web|url=http://indycomics.today.com/2008/09/27/a-site-for-the-comic-geek-in-all-of-us/ |title=Project Fanboy, A site for the geek in all of us |publisher=Indy Comics Today |date=2008-09-27 |access-date=2009-06-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090529031313/http://indycomics.today.com/2008/09/27/a-site-for-the-comic-geek-in-all-of-us/ |archive-date=May 29, 2009 }} as well as the e-newsletter for the Diamond Comic Distributors owned, Diamond International Galleries.{{cite web|url=http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=34&s=268&ai=70245&arch=y&ssd=5/16/2008%2012:01:00%20PM |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611021040/http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=34&s=268&ai=70245&arch=y&ssd=5/16/2008%2012:01:00%20PM |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 11, 2009 |title=Scoop e-newsletter: Savvy Sites - Diamond International Galleries |publisher=Diamond Galleries |date=2008-05-16 |access-date=2009-06-06}} Widely known for its reviews of Indy titles, excerpts of the site's reviews have been quoted on the back of numerous trade paper back comics and appeared on comic book news sites such as Comic Book Resources, Newsarama, and Comics Bulletin. The comic book awards the site is host to are listed as one of the main events for the MegaCon Convention in an article on the Comic Book Conventions website and are currently in their second year.{{cite web|url=http://www.comicbookconventions.com/sitenews.php?start_from=574&archive=&subaction=&id=& |title=Project Fanboy Awards to be announced at MegaCon |publisher=Comicbookconventions.com |date=2009-01-12 |access-date=2009-06-06}}

The site is host to the annual event, the Project Fanboy Awards (PFA), which is a fan voted competition similar to the Eagle Awards, where fans decide their favorite writers and artists among several other categories. Geoff Johns' inclusion in a list of the "Top 20 Comic Book Writers of All Time" in an article on Mania.com, was influenced at least in part by the 2008 award he won from the site as "Best Writer".{{cite web |url=http://www.mania.com/top-20-comic-writers-all-time_article_115430.html |title=Top 20 Comic Book Writers of All Time |publisher=Mania |date=2009-06-03 |first=Tim |last=Janson |access-date=2009-06-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606160706/http://www.mania.com/top-20-comic-writers-all-time_article_115430.html |archive-date=2009-06-06 |url-status=dead }}

Image:Jim holly balent.png and Holly Golightly at the MegaCon Comic Book Convention in Orlando, April 20, 2008]]

The PFA began as a monthly honor for deserving fan sites. The Green Lantern Corps fan site was the first winner when it received the award for February, 2008. In May 2008 however, the Project Fanboy Award was restructured and slated as an annual event and dubbed the Project Fanboy Awards(plural). After the restructuring of the awards, they now consisted of twenty-five different categories in which fans are encouraged to nominate and vote on via the Project Fanboy website.

In its first year, nominations in all categories were accepted until November 1, at which point voting began which lasted through the end of December. The same voting and nomination schedule as used for the 2008 awards also applies to following years.

Winners of the 2008 awards were announced Sunday, March 1, 2009, at the MegaCon comic book convention in Orlando, Florida.{{cite web|url=http://www.megaconvention.com/news.asp |title=Project Fanboy Awards announced at MegaCon 2009 |publisher=Megaconvention.com |access-date=2009-06-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090528180632/http://www.megaconvention.com/news.asp |archive-date=May 28, 2009 }}{{cite web|author=|url=http://www.projectfanboy.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2621 |title=Project Fanboy Award Winners Ceremony |publisher=Project Fanboy |date=2009-03-01 |access-date=2009-06-06}} Winners were given commemorative award plaques descriptive in the category for which they were won. Writers from the comic book website Newsarama attended and covered the awards ceremony. Jim and Holly Balent of Broadsword Comics were also present for the ceremony and executive editor of DC Comics, Dan DiDio accepted the award plaque for Geoff Johns for Best Writer.

Following the announcement of the 2008 award winners; in March, 2009 the awards categories were amended, removing the three Best Comic Book to Movie Adaptation categories.

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