It might've been the early 2000s when we first started to see organised fans who'd get together and go out and do community events under a shared banner of a franchise, as opposed to general gatherings for things like Halloween (though Sean Bishop and friends could definitely be considered one of the earliest "proto-franchise"). One of the first U.K.-based franchises (The GBUK Elite) were established by 2005/2006, and they attended an event where Ernie Hudson was signing autographs.
Certainly, by 2008/2009 there were plenty of groups who did events as organised franchises... Some of which even came together because of the release of Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Ghostbusters International used to be one of the first pages to really feature the idea of real-world teams (it used to also feature fanfic teams, but the site administration opted to take things in a different direction circa 2004).
Certainly, by 2008/2009 there were plenty of groups who did events as organised franchises... Some of which even came together because of the release of Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Ghostbusters International used to be one of the first pages to really feature the idea of real-world teams (it used to also feature fanfic teams, but the site administration opted to take things in a different direction circa 2004).
Statistics: Posted by Kingpin — November 2nd, 2024, 10:21 pm