Geek Out Challenge – Day 1

Today for something a little bit different, I thought it would be fun to join in on the 30 Day Geek Out Challenge started by Megan at A Geeky Gal, where a different question will be released each day for thirty days, with the final results being posted on day thirty-one. I plan to participate each question for the full thirty days as both a challenge and as a fun exercise in writing daily while perhaps talking about things other than JUST video games(I assume?). Without further ado…the Day 1 question of the Geek Out Challenge.

What was your first fandom?

For this my answer would have to be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – being among my earliest memories as a kid, being just over a year old when “Turtle-Mania” began. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series premiered in 1987 with the all too catchy theme song; a time when Saturday morning cartoons still existed for nothing other than to sell toys (i.e. TMNT, Transformers, Masters of the Universe). Most of the my earliest childhood memories involve either TMNT, Batman, or Nintendo in one way or another. I had every single one of the original line of TMNT action figures with Donatello(even still) being my favorite turtle(I have always seemed to gravitate towards the “smart” or “nerdy” characters in tv shows and movies…perhaps part of some subconscious desire to be perceived as intelligent?). Toys, VHS tapes, pajamas(which were AWESOME btw!), even boxes of cereal that to this day I still tell people was the greatest. One of my prized possessions as a child was the TMNT Party Wagon or “turtle van” as I called it. I remember my mom bringing my older sister and friends to a concert and promising me that she would bring me home a “turtle van”. I believe I ended up watching the live-action TMNT movie twice that evening just trying to pass the time before she would be home with my present. The next morning I woke up and my “turtle van” was waiting for me in my room. Ninja turtles were everywhere so it probably isn’t real surprising that it’s my first fandom/obsession as a kid, but it did play a very significant part of my childhood years. My favorite TMNT-related memories as a kid would be my “turtle van”, watching TMNT II: The Secret of the Ooze countless times, and playing TMNT IV: Turtles In Time on Super Nintendo.

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One Geek Out question down, twenty-nine more to go! 🙂 What was the first type of fandom you remember as a kid? Let me know in the comments below, or you can join in the 30 Day Geek Out Challenge. Turtle Power!!