Five Celebrities of Nerd Culture

Unleash the Fanboy is a site that is part of a larger culture.  Whether we want to call it geek, nerd, or something else it is something set aside from the better known elements of pop culture.  We have slang and speech patterns that are unique and may have to be explained to some people.  That being said with Comic Cons growing larger and shows such as Big Bang Theory, Cosmos, Game of Thrones and Walking Dead becoming massive fixtures; I’d like to take a moment and tout some of our celebrities.   And by tout I mean point out how they are better than the mainstream celebrities because they actually produce a wealth of content to be enjoyed and consumed specifically for our audience. Oh and most of them have their own action figures.

Kevin Smith

The creator of the View Askew Universe, and the man to have Jason Mewes act like Wolverine in his first major studio picture.  Smith is a constant fixture at conventions and with his podcasts and Comic Book Men ‘reality’ show he has become one of our talking heads.

Neil Degrasse Tyson

Even after the new Cosmos aired I bet more people would recognize Kim Kardashian before Degrasse Tyson.  Aside from hosting Cosmos he is an author, runs the Hayden Planetarium and has his own podcast.  When he appears on shows such as @Midnight or The Daily Show he demonstrates that despite being incredibly smart he’s a very funny guy as well.

George Takei

Aside from his obvious Star Trek background, Takei earns a spot here by becoming internet phenomena in his twilight years.  His facebook updates are reason enough to have an account and with the number of friends and followers he has Takei’s proved he’s more influential  than ever.  He’s also written two books, if you’re paying attention all my choices are published authors.

Bruce Campbell

The Chin while not being a huge horror fan himself has fully embraced his audience, and few speakers are as much fun to see in person.  A cult figure in two franchises, and the author of two books he’s a man whose name carries great weight in our circles.  If I meet someone who doesn’t know Bruce Campbell, in my mind they are immediately suspect.

Stan the Man Lee

The original ambassador of nerd culture, Stan Lee was been around for 91 years.  Lee helped to create a new genre of storytelling that 40 years later is beginning to break through to the masses.  His cameos in the Marvel features (and Mallrats) help to mark who is enjoying the film, and who has had deep personal connections to the material for years.

Am I missing any of your favorites, let me know.  Who do you think is geek royalty?