friendly reminder that the tolkien fandom is what it is today and still going strong not because we get new material to work with and explore, but because of the sheer creativity of the fans and their willingness to continue engaging and analyzing the texts in different and evolving ways
WORD.
Tolkien-based fanworks have been documented since 1958. The fandom is older than that. We have been in continuous existence since then.
In my work as a fandom historian, I have found that the Sherlockians are the only major fandom still around that is older than we are. And their fandom’s energy is largely powered by the show.
All of PJ’s films brought in droves of new fans, and those fans who stuck around almost universally turned to the books rather than remaining film/media-only fans. That’s pretty incredible and unique, and I think that is a testament to the fandom too that makes exploring the books a worthwhile and valuable experience.