http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2006 by the authors Tue, 14 Nov 2006 08:00:09 EST http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/06/19/114749.php#comment-480127 While fanfic really grew to prominence with the Internet, it's been around since at least the 1970s, possibly even as far back as the 1960s. It mostly started out with Star Trek, then grew to encompass other SF/F series, including Quantum Leap and the second Kung Fu series. Back then, when it was being distributed by mail, the focus had to be solely on non-adult content (due to USPS laws regarding explicit content), though Trek slash fic made the rounds via conventions, etc. Based on my own searches around the 'net, I'd say there's about a 50/50 adult to non-adult content ratio. The percentage varies by site and subject matter, though. 480127@blogcritics.org Tue, 14 Nov 2006 08:00:09 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/06/19/114749.php#comment-11431 I'm always amused when the mainstream press catches up on an idea and talks about it as if it's a new phenomenon. Fanfic has been around a very long time. I think I first became aware of via the web when it started being published on it in the early 1990s. Then it seemed centred around <i>Star Trek</i>. Now there are thousands of fanfic sites, all devoted to whatever show/book/etc. the person is into. The amount of <i>Buffy</i> and <i>Angel</i> fanfic sites, for example, are legion. Oh, and fanfic has a huge emphasis on "adult" content. Something for your PBW secion perhaps? ;) Whether fanfic is sanctioned or not by the originators will probably not impact upon these web sites. Playing around with other people's characters is not new, if you look at Alan Moore's <I>League of Extraordinary Gentlemen</i> you'll see that the story is populated with literary characters such as Mr. Hyde, Mina Murray, the Invisible Man, etc. Kim Newman has been doing this for even longer in his <i>Anno Dracula</i> series of novels... though the literary characters are usually secondary characters to the ones he invents. However, in both of these cases Moore and Newman tend to stick to characters whose literary creators are deceased. 11431@blogcritics.org Thu, 19 Jun 2003 14:41:02 EDT