Fanboy is apparently the most unpopular kid in a rural high school. His day consists of checking the internet to ensure Marvel comics superstar artist Brian Michael Bendis will be attending an upcoming nearby convention, talking to his only friend Cal about comic books, working on his own graphic novel and dodging the various bullies and jocks that have made his alienated life a sort of teenage hell on earth.
His homelife is not much better. His mother and step father are just about oblivious to his existence and are more concerned over the upcoming birth of a new baby. His relationship with his father, once strong now seems to be cooling off as the youngster notes more and more that his dad doesn’t seem to be paying much attention during their infrequent telephone chats, and the kid basically doesn’t have any sort of social life whatsoever.
The highlight of his day is when Dina Jurgens’ car is acting up and she winds up riding on his bus. Fanboy is struck on the high school beauty but cannot even bring himself to say anything to her during a chance encounter on the bus.
One day in gym class, while being tormented by a bully, Fanboy notices a strange goth kid watching the proceedings from the bleachers. Later online, an instant message pops up “why do you let him get away with it?”
At first, Fanboy assumes it’s just a spam message.
It isn’t. It turns out that Kyra, the Gothgirl of the title has been not only watching his torment, but has photographs she took on her cell phone.
The two meet and wind up hitting it off due to a shared love of comics, albeit Kyra mocks his love of superhero comics and he satirizes her interest in the off-beat Vertigo titles.
Soon the two are fast friends, riding around in an assortment of odd cars that Kyra quite never explains in a realistic manner and Fanboy starts sharing some of his inner secrets with Kyra, including his hopes for his graphic novel, which he wants to show to Bendis at the upcoming convention. In fact, nobody has seen the work, including his pal Cal, who seems to be moving more and more into the world of the popular crowd due to his participation in sports.
Fanboy also shares his darkest secret. He carries around a bullet he found in his stepdad’s workshop as a good luck charm, and he has the tendency of making a list of people he thinks of as his enemies. Unknown to Kyra, he likes to fantasize about a terrorist attack on his school where Cal and he wind up routing the bad guys only after most of his tormenters have been shot and are suffering gruesome injuries.
Kyra teaches Fanboy how to stand up for himself and slowly he begins to realize that instead of worrying about his permanent record, he can use his instincts, insights and intellect to set things straight at the school when he finally stands up to one of his tormentors.
As his relationship with Kyra becomes more than just shared Geekhood and nerdy interests his friendship with Cal becomes strained. His meeting with his idol Brian Michael Bendis turns out to be less than what he wanted, and he discovers much to his horror that Kyra has emotional problems so great they dwarf his own.
Then a strange thing happens. Cal takes him to a party with the lacrosse team, and he winds up actually kissing Dina Jurgens. He also begins to realize the step-father he has hated for years is not such a bad fellow after all. Are the people in Fanboy’s little world really changing, or is he just growing up and seeing sides to them he never expected?
Lyga’s book is funny, well written, insightful and has a sort of poetic resonance that might be a bit more than its intended audience is used to. Its also a fun read for nerds or geeks of any age, as Lyga’s own obsession with comics and other geek culture topics are straight on
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