So what kind of fan were you?

[Snowdog]

I love this comic!

When the movies were coming... what kind of fan were you? I myself wavered between #2 to #3 with Two Towers, then back toward #2.

[Bêthberry]

from the comic: Fan-spotting

Hahahahaha!

[mark12_30]

Snowdog, the comic was cute; but I like your other categories from Before And After The movies far better (Eldar, Edain, etc.) I was hoping this was a new thread about them...

(hint)

[Encaitare]

Amusing comic; I don't think I really fit into any of the categories though. Perhaps 3. What got me was the name of the site: "Ctrl-Alt-Del," since my friend is in a band of the same name.

As mark said, though, I prefer your categories, they make room for everyone!

[Snowdog]

Originally Posted by mark12_30

Snowdog, the comic was cute; but I like your other categories from Before And After The movies far better (Eldar, Edain, etc.) I was hoping this was a new thread about them...

(hint)

Should I put it here? I didn't want to spam multiple forums .
Ok, per Mark12_30's & Encaitare's request.....

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I break down Middle Earth fans thus:

• Old-School Book Fan:
  They read Tolkien’s books sometime between the release of the Hobbit (1937) & the Silmarillion (1977). They came to know the world of Middle Earth through the released writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, and awaited the release of The Silmarillion to relieve their hunger to know more of Middle Earth. Yet were apprehensive as to whether Christopher Tolkien would do justice to the beloved realm of Middle Earth in print, and were even more reluctant with the Bakshi, Rankin/Bass, & Peter Jackson films.
  
• The New-School Book Fan

Of the New-School Book Fans, there are two sub-groups which I call:

• ~The First-Born ~ This group originally discovered the world of Middle Earth after the books Christopher Tolkien released beginning with The Silmarillion in 1977. They include also Unfinished Tales and any of the HoME series. These are the book readers and would have been Old-School Book fans had they been old enough, or had discovered the Hobbit and/or the Trilogy of Lord of the Rings before the Silmarillion came out.
• ~The Edain~ Also known as The Adopted. They are the ones from the groups below who were motivated to seek out and delve deep into the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien & Christopher Tolkien and learn and love the true history of Middle Earth.

The Edain are the cream from many of the groups below.

• The Bakshi Recruit: They first discovered Middle Earth by seeing the Bakshi and/or the Rankin/Bass cartoons. Many went on to read the books and delve ever deeper into Tolkiens writings, and essentially become one of the Edain.
  
• The “Pre-Movie” Book Fan: They heard there was a Lord of the Rings movie in the making, and after looking into it, decided they wanted to read the books before the first movie came out in Dec 2001. Many go on to become Edain New-School Book Fans.
  
• The Movie Recruit: They went to the theatre and saw Fellowship of the Ring, and loved it so much they were inspired to go and read the books, finishing the Two Towers and Return of the King before the release of the movie of the same name. Many go on to become Edain New-School Book Fans.
  
• The Peter Jackson Recruit: Different from the Movie Recruit in that they did not start to read the books until after they saw all three movies. Their viewpoint of Middle Earth is seen through the eyes of Peter Jackson, and they note the differences in the books. Some may go on to become Edain New-School Book Fans, but to most their reading of the books are more an afterthought and of a desire to fill in some of the gaps in the movie, leaving the movie as the cannonized definitive word on their concept of Middle Earth.
  
• The Hardcore Movie Fan: They went to the movies and loved them! They have no desire to read the books or inclined not to do so anytime soon. The movie is Middle Earth, and they like it as presented. Books are boring. They take too much imagination. Who needs to imagine what Middle Earth is like when Peter Jackson already did it for me? Who reads books anyway?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[mark12_30]

Old School Book Fans-- How about subgroups:

60's: Gandalf For President

70's: Pre-Sil

I'm pre-Sil, myself, having read the trilogy roughly around 1972 or 3.

[Snowdog]

Yeah, I'm 70's pre-Sil. By the time I read the books three times and covered every line of the Appendices, I searched out other books and found a lineparty organizing for the release of Silmarillion. Of course the first part of the Sil I read was The Rings of power bit.

Oh yes, another sub-group here would be: 30's - 50's, The originals

[mark12_30]

OK. So:

Old-School Book Fan:
They read Tolkien’s books sometime between the release of the Hobbit (1937) & the Silmarillion (1977). They came to know the world of Middle Earth through the released writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, and awaited the release of The Silmarillion to relieve their hunger to know more of Middle Earth. Yet were apprehensive as to whether Christopher Tolkien would do justice to the beloved realm of Middle Earth in print, and were even more reluctant with the Bakshi, Rankin/Bass, & Peter Jackson films.

"Sometime Between" means:

30's-50's: The Originals
(does anybody know one?)

60's: The Gandalf For President Party: Child, Pio....

70's: Still Pre-Sil: Lots of us

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Include me in the 70s category of old school book fans - I read LotR in '73, shortly before Tolkien's death, but since I moved to Germany in the fall of that year, I lost touch with the mass phenomenon of fandom. I do remember seeing (a) calendar(s) in that year and being disappointed with the pictures, since they didn't coincide with my own mental images. Years later, I checked out the Sil in German from my local library, but didn't enjoy it until I got an English copy. I've never liked the translations of JRRT's works - they lose too much magic.

Credit the movie hype with my introduction to this site and the renewed interest in the books - being on the Downs has been most inspirational!

[Snowdog]

30's-50's: The Originals

I do, but he isn't here on the internet.

[Sapphire_Flame]

Good heavens, I must be really tired; I cannot, for the life of me, figure out which group I'm in. -,-;;; Can someone give me a hand?

~I was born after Silm came out (nearly ten years after).

~I read The Hobbit when I was about six or seven; immediately thereafter, I wanted to learn more about Middle-earth and its inhabitants.

~Around age 8, I saw the Rankin/Bass version of The Hobbit, and the Bakshi LotR.

~Attempted to read LotR around the same time; failed miserably.

~Started to read LotR in October of 2001; was little, if at all, influenced by the upcoming movie.

~Saw the movie on December 21, 2001; was dumbed with astonishment and amazement which bordered on stupification.

~Restarted LotR, reading the entire book through in three weeks.

~Started into The Silm in November 2002.

~To date, have read The Hobbit 35-40 times, LotR 10 times, Silmarillion twice, Unfinished Tales once, and The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien once. Am currently hunting down the HoME series.

Help? Please? ^^;;;

Abedithon le,

~ Saphy ~

[mark12_30]

Heh.

You're one o' them addicts.

[Snowdog]

Originally Posted by Sapphire_Flame

Good heavens, I must be really tired; I cannot, for the life of me, figure out which group I'm in. -,-;;; Can someone give me a hand?

~I was born after Silm came out (nearly ten years after).

~I read The Hobbit when I was about six or seven; immediately thereafter, I wanted to learn more about Middle-earth and its inhabitants.

~Around age 8, I saw the Rankin/Bass version of The Hobbit, and the Bakshi LotR.

~Attempted to read LotR around the same time; failed miserably.

~Started to read LotR in October of 2001; was little, if at all, influenced by the upcoming movie.

~Saw the movie on December 21, 2001; was dumbed with astonishment and amazement which bordered on stupification.

~Restarted LotR, reading the entire book through in three weeks.

~Started into The Silm in November 2002.

~To date, have read The Hobbit 35-40 times, LotR 10 times, Silmarillion twice, Unfinished Tales once, and The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien once. Am currently hunting down the HoME series.

Help? Please? ^^;;;

Abedithon le,

~ Saphy ~

Easy Sapphire ... you're First Born (Eldar) with a strong Movie Recruit influence! Why? because you first discovered Middle Earth via the Hobbit. But didn't have the drive to read the LotR until you tasted the movie.

Now, you're an addict!

[Reg Pither]

Hmmm....

I'm probably an Old-School fan, having read the books around 75-77 (?), but I think my love for the whole saga was really cemented when the BBC radio version was broadcast (81?), so I don't know what to call myself now.

[The Saucepan Man]

OK, I think we need a new category: The Prodigal Old School Book Fan. To include those such as me who read The Hobbit and LotR way back when and were smitten, but read nothing further until the films came out and resurrected their interest.

I first read The Hobbit around 1975/1976, and then LotR in 1978/1979. I gave up, though, on the newly-published Silmarillion shortly afterwards. Too heavy, differnet locations and, most important of all, no Hobbits. It was thanks to the films that I discovered this site and delved further into Tolkien's writings. So, long-standing history, but only new-found depth.

[Gurthang]

Well, I'm just one of those really new ones, then, having just read the books for the first time a few years ago. Since, I have read LOTR, the Hobbit, and the Silmarillion twice each. I've also scrounged up a couple of his lesser known works, such as Farmer Giles of Ham

Oh yeah, I thought #4 was pretty funny. I wonder if that guy got any food?

[Imladris]

I am a Bakshi Recruit: They first discovered Middle Earth by seeing the Bakshi and/or the Rankin/Bass cartoons. Many went on to read the books and delve ever deeper into Tolkiens writings, and essentially become one of the Edain.

I will not mention how the Hobbit movie totally creeped me out and how I only read the Hobbit because my bro was reading it and how could I let him read something I wouldn't/couldn't read. Ah, the joys of sibling rivalry.

I never saw the cartoon of LotR, but watching the Hobbit (the cartoon) got me hooked onto it.

[Keeper of Dol Guldur]

I'm happy being a "First Born".

If I was around back when any of it was first written, I'd have been hooked. But hey, 1985 was long after most of it was released.

I remember first getting into it. For starters ... I think I HAD seen the cartoon Hobbit movie beforehand ... but I'd totally forgotten about it, as I'd seen it when I was very little and totally forgot.

So in my Freshman year (I think) we read the Hobbit, and I was like ... OOOOOOOH MAN.

Instantaneously into it.

It was like a Ninth Grade reading class (maybe 8th ... memory fuzziness), and instead of reading any of the other books for the class, I managed to con my LOTR obsessed teacher (our school had a class called Trilogy) into letting me read the entire Trilogy for reading, as a sort of independent study which still counted as reading, instead of reading some real crap.

And because I wasn't reading what the rest of the class was reading, I got to read in her Trilogy classroom, which was a small, air-conditioned room with a table, chairs, and walls plastered with LOTR posters.

What a way for a kid to get into it. That was like ... 1998 or 1999.

I was like ... 13, 14.

I'm a youngin' still, at 19. But hey, I'm hooked forever now.

I had NO clue a movie was being made, and I read it like ten times before I found out. That was a pleasant little shock. As far as the movies go ... I guess I'm a fanatic, in that like any other book reader, I knew what was different, and I used to point it out a lot, but I got annoyed by the constant pointing of it out.

So I just like the movies now. A lot.

They stand on their own as awesome.

Of course, they're not the books.

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Keeper of Dol Guldur

but I got annoyed by the constant pointing of it out

Amen to that!

[Mithalwen]

Old amongst the firstborn - I think I read the Hobbit in about '79 - whenever it was screened on Jackanory! I had to read it to fill in the gaps.... I bought the first four volumes of HoME as they were issued in paperback and had to wait until 2002 to complete the set. Eek that date ..... not really old enough for a silver Jubilee - I was a very precocious reader ... in fact I read the Hobbit in utero...

[Sapphire_Flame]

Oh yeah, I thought #4 was pretty funny. I wonder if that guy got any food?

I wanted to try that once, but my mum wouldn't let me...

So I'm one of the Eldar? Much loftiness. Thanks for the help, Snowdog!

Abedithon le,

~ Saphy ~

[Gurthang]

After a little thought, I've decided that I am a First-Born. I don't fit into any of the Edain categories, and was originally influenced to read the books by my cousins, although there might have been some movie influence now that I think about it.

I wanted to try that once, but my mum wouldn't let me...

Yes exactly. And then there's that whole legal thing that always gets in the way on these sort of things.

[Elennar Starfire]

Someone classify me...I can't figure out where I belong!

I was introduced to The Hobbit at four, by my father, an Old-School fan. LotR followed closely. What's the category for someone whose bedtime story every night was a chapter of LotR?

We'd finished by the time I was six for sure, I don't remember exactly. I re-read The Hobbit several times through elementary school, then drifted away to other interests. The movies re-caught my attention, and now I'm addicted.

So, where do I fit?

[Morgul Queen]

Uh...help! Someone classify me, quick, before I turn into a Gollumish character!

~ I first read the hobbit at five.

~Promtly read Fellowship. Finished it. Didn't know there were more books.

~re-read the hobbit twice a year for the next7 or so years.

~heard about this film that some dude was making somewhere down the road from where I was living.

~Heard it was based on a book.

~Bought book thinking 'Yay! A Book I haven't read yet!'

~Realised I had read book.

~Realised there was more to book.

~Holed up in my room for the next few weeks reading and re-reading.

*skips two years*

~Saw Fellowship...etc

Oh, and for the comic thing, I'm Code Orange!

[Sapphire_Flame]

Morgy, methinks you're one of the First-Born, with some Movie Recruit influence. *nod nod* More power to ye, my friend.

Abedithon le,

~ Saphy ~

[Nimrodel_9]

~ I first read the hobbit at five.

That`s great Morgy!

I don`t really know what I am. I had seen the books in the library all the time, and kinda decided I was going to read them some time. I saw The Fellowship of the Ring a month after it came out. My mom wouldn`t take me to see it in theaters. Loved it, read FotR and began reading The Two Towers. I saw TTT in theaters December 31, about 13 days after it came out (Yes, I actually remember the dates I saw all of the films. I still have the ticket stubs from the many times I saw them in theaters. ) Loved it, finished book, and read The Return of the King. I had already bought all of the theatrical versions and later bought the Extended Editions last January. I have read the books several times (including The Hobbit and Silmarillion), have one the books at hand all of the time, and watch the movies constantly. Can`t wait for RotK EE. I can`t really place myself. Any help?

[Laitoste]

First-born here. (But just barely! I finished The Return of the King in October 2001, but had not yet heard of the movie...such is my isolation ) Somewhat introduced by an Old-School fan (my dad). Anyway, out of those other categories, I would probably be Code: Yellow. The Code: Dear God, Get This Kid Some Therapy; The Raving Lunatic was hilarious! My friends might classify me as that...

[Iaurhirwen]

Ah, I am a proud 1st born, having randomly picked up FOTR way back in the beginning of 8th grade, when I was 13, got a little confused, so borrowed the Hobbit from my brother who was reading it for 10th grade English class (so convenient). Read The Hobbit in one day, then promptly continued onto LOTR. Was finished reading that by Christmas and got The Silmarillion for a Christmas present, read that . . . . and so on and so on.

When I heard that a movie was being made I was so syked, but really worried about if it would be worthy. Luckly, for the most part, I have not been let down.

[Lindolirian]

Well I suppose I'm somewhere around the Edain, but I had heard of the books and read them before I ever knew about a movie. I was introduced to the Hobbit by my fifth grade teacher in 1997 and fell in love with Tolkien's writing style and imagination. I immediatly tried to read the Lord of the Rings, but didn't like "Bilbo turning evil" and put it down. It took me until the next fall (of '98) to actually read the, all the way through. Naturally, I was hooked and read and re-read them over and over again. I was on my fourth run-through when I heard rumor of the movies. I was a freshman in high school and had already read LotR 24 times, the Sil and Unfinished Tales by December 19, 2001 when the Fellowship came out.

[Aldarion Elf-Friend]

I like that prodigal first-born category. I read the Hobbit and LotR back in my middle-school days in the late seveties (struggled a bit with LotR - skipped the Council of Elrond entirely). I got completely bogged down in the Silm. I re-read LotR in high school in the early 80s.

Then when the movies came out it rekindled my interest. After the first movie, I went out and purchased the single volume of LotR from Wallyworld and finished it in a month. I then picked up the trade paperbacks of the Silm and Hobbit and have read each twice. I currently on my second read (of this millenium) of LotR following along with the Chapter-by-Chapter discussion (which I highly recommend).

Two funny things - first, the Silm has become my favorite book. I had to set it aside from a third re-read to pick up LotR again.

Second, while the movies really pulled me back into Middle-Earth, and they are visual masterpieces, the more I read and appreciate the books, the less I appreciate the screenplays for the movies.

I think I have Unfinished Tales in my future...

Planning on reading The Hobbit to my two older children (8 and 4) next summer...

[Enorëiel]

I am a Movie Recruit through and through, however, I am becoming a bit of a Edain. Only time will prove where i shall be led. j/k but really... The only different thing is that instead of seeing FOTR in theaters I saw it one day on Starz and thought... hmmm that's not as bad as I thought it'd be! So I went uber nuts and read all the books before I went and saw TTT two weeks later. And well... I suppose the rest of my story is leaning towards Edain-ium.

~ Enny ~

[airetari]

I am of a rare breed, being one of the people who first read The Hobbit when I was about 5 in the 90's and loving it madly. Then reading all of the LOTR books when I was about eight and becoming completely obsessed, proceeding then to read the Silmarillion, The Unfinished Tales, The books of Lost Tales, The Lays of Beleriand, etc. when I was about 13. I am of the Harry Potter generation and I remember seeing the 1st Harry Potter movie in theaters and almost dying because of the sad mutilation that the directors and writers bestowed upon that poor book. I saw that movie and am so scared of it that I can't watch any of the LOTR movies. I know they won Oscars and stuff, but I'm just so scared that they will ruin my interpretation of LOTR, that I've refused to watch them. I think that if you met anyone my age(15) and heard me say "oh I love LOTR" you would probably classify me as the Orlando bloom LOTR fan (the type of fan that ritualistically watches them and fawns over Orlando and refers to him as "the precious"). So I don't realy know where I fit, I would be one of the Eldar, but what type since I haven't seen any of the movies? Maybe the Eldar should be broken into the Vanyar, Noldor and Telerin. The Vanyar being people like me who refuse to see the movies, the pure ones who haven't been exposed to Peter Jackson's Middle -earth. (not that I'm saying it's a bad thing, don't misunderstand me, I'm merely making a connection). The Noldor, people who were fans before the movies and since have seen the movies but aren't completely obsessed with them, and the Telerin, Eldar equally obsessed with the books and the movies. Just a suggestion, I'm just trying to find my place in the world.

[Snowdog]

Originally Posted by Enorëiel

I am a Movie Recruit through and through, however, I am becoming a bit of a Edain. Only time will prove where i shall be led. j/k but really... The only different thing is that instead of seeing FOTR in theaters I saw it one day on Starz and thought... hmmm that's not as bad as I thought it'd be! So I went uber nuts and read all the books before I went and saw TTT two weeks later. And well... I suppose the rest of my story is leaning towards Edain-ium.

~ Enny ~

You read the books in two weeks? Wow!
I suggest you read them again for surely you will find stuff you missed the first time through, or may see things differently. I have yet to tire of reading them!

[narfforc]

I read The Hobbit in 1973( though I played Fili in a school play in 1969), LotR in 1975 and queued in Oxford St for the release of The Silmarillion in 1977, and I count not one second wasted.

[aelithes]

I would have to admit that I'm an Edain movie recruit, but in fact my first exposure to Tolkien was when I was in middle school about ten years ago and saw my older brother reading The Hobbit. I remember scoffing and thinking how only nerdy boys who play D&D read that kind of stuff. And now look at us! - he is a saavy, politically/socially-connected lawyer, whereas I'm whiling away my hours poring over Tolkien and ancient literature!

[Shelob]

First-Born for me...I first recall hearing the Hobbit because I went up to my dad (old school book fan) while he was reading it and bugged him until he went back to the begining and read it to me, though acording to my mom he had been reading it to me since I was in the cradle and I had just never realized. After that I made him read me The Lord of The Rings (though we only got as far as Shelob's Lair before I was too scared to continue--which is still pretty good for a 6 year old) I finally finished reading the Lord of the Rings a few years later (when I was about 9 years old).

And I liked the comic...I think I know all those people...

[Milady Revenwyn]

First-born here. My mom had read LOtR when she was around my age currently but has since forgotten everything about it. Thus, I discovered them by myself without the aid of any movie/cartoon version. I became a hardcore LOtR addict, having read the books 76 times since my first reading in 1998.
I have also read Silm, Unfinished Tales, HoME series.

[Thinlómien]

I don't really understand this classification, can someone help me?
What am I? To which class do I belong?:
- I was born after The Sil was published
- My father read me aloud the Hobbit, LotR, The Sil and The UT, beginnig from when I was 6 years old
- I saw the Ralph Bakshi's animation when I was small, but I don't remember was it before or after my first touch with the book
- When I was 8 years old I read LotR by myself and fell in love with it. Since that I've been a fan.
- since then I've read the books mentioned before many times by myself
- the movies had no influence on me

[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

Goodness, so many young readers 'round here. I thought I was pretty young to read LOTR at about 12.

This is a clever thread, Snowdog.

I would have to say I'm something of an equal mix of Eldar by Bakshi Recruit (although really more aptly Rankin-Bass Recruit) and First-Born. My mother an Old-School Book fan (of the 70s variety) often read aloud to us during the winters when I was a kid. When I was about 8 years old she bought us the Hobbit book and the Rankin-Bass movie for Christmas and we read it aloud together and then watched the movie afterward. It was magic. Here I am.

I got the Bakshi LOTR and R-B ROTK as soon as I could, and though I always could see what was obviously wrong with them, I still enjoy them nostalgically--and frequently. And I am a firm believer that if a live-action Hobbit movie is made, I won't like it better. *Stubborn* The R-B version is whimsical.

Sophia

[Lathriel]

Well, since I was born in the late 80's I read the hobbit in the nineties at about 8 or 9.
I read LOTR when I was about 12 I believe or maybe I was eleven. Then I forgot about them for a while. (Partly because I was mad at Tolkien for making Frodo leave ME) Then I read it again and enjoyed it. (This time in english) Then a few years later I heard about the movies and I read the book again. Initially my family didn't like FOTR very much. I however felt this need to see the movie again. So when we saw TTT and my family approved my obsession suddenly exploded! And at aound that time I joined the Barrow Downs, got the FOTR EE and it goes on form there.