Bill Maher's awful take on Stan Lee's passing and Marvel Comics in general

[Triniking1234]

Someone should shove a copy of mouz or Y the last man or saga or walking dead in his face and ask him if it's for kids only!

He can't read though.

[CaptCleghorn]

Obviously you didn't read Maher's statement. He said comics resulted in infantile-adults hereby creating the current political climate where Trump can become president and threw shade that Lee's work on making comics popular fueled that.

Of course he hurt a lot of people but you're saying that those people are just misogynists and racists. That's completely false. Locally there were people sad about the passing of Mr. Lee because they wouldn't have gotten into reading if it wasn't for Marvel comic and discussed how the presence of comics helped combat illiteracy but Maher wants to make it about American politics and himself.

You're just as out of touch as Maher as well. Roll safe.

There are comic fans who are misogynists and racists. That's a fact. Because they can be very vocal about their beliefs, and because they fit a stereotype too many people hold, they are assumed tpo be the majority.

Maher smugly feeds the stereotype and looks down his nose at fans.

He also has a huge misunderstanding of what Stan Lee said and what his writing was all about.

[JackDaw]

Just had a look at the blog, and have to say some of the posted replies explaining why Stan is important...for example, his continual championing of tolerant humane values over many years, apart from the tremendous fun given to millions...are really impressively put over.

If Bill M has an open mind, given the quality of comments posted to his blog..he might just change his mind. But possibly unlikely?

[Mr MajestiK]

I really don't care what Bill Maher thinks about Stan or comics.

What I do care about is the disrespect that he's showing towards a human being who has just died.

It doesn't matter cause Stan left behind a legacy that will be remembered long after he's gone. I very much doubt that Bill Maher can say the same thing.

I agree with you 100%.

[Raye]

Anyone else filled the niche of UN PC left winger with a tv show? He will be somewhat remembered.



It's a tiny market. Why would you assume that more young people buying would automatically mean less reactionary fans?





Or anything else?... These are people who never read fiction?

My dad is like this, he won't read fiction. at all. I doubt he has read a novel since he was a child. And even with TV or movies, he won't watch anything sci fi or fantasy with the sole exception of Star Wars. (for some reason, not really sure why that gets a pass) rarely anything set anywhere beyond WW2 in the past. And yeah, he doesn't get it, he thinks it is all childish and if I mention I am playing a game or reading or watching something, and I mention it is sci fi or fantasy or whatever just eyes glaze over, sometimes an audible groan. Like, "I'm playing a game called Bioshock, it's set in a city under the sea, and... " *groan* is literally as far as I can get. He just doesn't get why people like it. He is pretty utilitarian, and I think he sees anything beyond what happens in the present in his general location or recent past as kind of worthless to day to day life, because he also sees a lot of other things as worthless like travel or learning about other countries or cultures (despite being an immigrant himself, he is originally from Denmark, though he immigrated when he was about 10 so doesn't remember a lot, I guess) or just anyone not like him, and doesn't understand why people do those things either. And yeah, he is a big fan of Maher. (that makes him sound kind of awful, but he is a nice guy, who did things like create special computers for quadrapalegics free of charge, just he likes his little bubble a lot, and is not interested in looking outside it)

Anyway, yeah, the comments were awful.

[Gaastra]

"all the outrage shows i'm right!" Wow.

"Yeah, fine. I am agnostic on Stan Lee. I don't read comic books. I didn't even read them when I was a child. What I was saying is, a culture that thinks that comic books and comic book movies are profound meditations on the human condition is a dumb f----ng culture. And for people to get mad at that just proves my point."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/bi...cid=spartandhp

[Comic-Reader Lad]

"Yeah, fine. I am agnostic on Stan Lee. I don't read comic books. I didn't even read them when I was a child. What I was saying is, a culture that thinks that comic books and comic book movies are profound meditations on the human condition is a dumb f----ng culture. And for people to get mad at that just proves my point."

I don't know if anyone said comics were a profound meditation on human culture, but I do think, beyond the surface level entertainment, they distilled complex philosophical concepts for the masses. This was especially true in Stan's writing. That's not a bad thing. I don't think that comics should be an ending point to understanding the human condition, but they're not a bad starting point.

As far as entertainment value is concerned, yes, a lot of comics are derivative and take narrative shortcuts because they can piggyback on previously existing works and general pop culture, but the same is true for any piece of pop entertainment. Even the best comic pales in comparison to War and Peace or Charles Dickens, but even the best Beatles song pales in comparison to the worst of Mozart. I think most people DO keep the importance and value of comics in proper perspective, but that seems lost on Maher.

I would also mention that if he's confused about why adults still read comics, it's not because the people are necessarily immature. Since most adults DON'T read comics (or most people in general), and there's a lot of immature adults these days, one thing has nothing to do with another. Adults who still do read comics do so because the storytelling has grown up with them. Comics have grown up in terms of storytelling complexity and have branched out from superheroes since the 80s. Again, this is lost on Maher. He doesn't follow comics, so he's speaking from ignorance. He's making grand proclamations about the state of society and relating it to comics based purely on the stereotype of what a comic book is. Basically, he's today's version of Frederic Wertham, and just as wrongheaded -- although Wertham actually LOOKED at what was being published.

If he doesn't read comics, does he go to the comics movies (besides being in Iron Man 3)? If so, then even he could see that there is a difference between the Adam West/Cesar Romero Batman-Joker story and the Christian Bale/Heath Ledger Batman-Joker. Just as movie-Batman has become more sophisticated and mature, so too have comics. That would seem to be an easy way for him to understand that comics have evolved and why adults still read them without pigeonholing them as arrested adolescents.

Finally, you know what a good example of a "dumb f-ing culture" is? The fact that people get their political news and commentary from standup comedians like Maher, Colbert, Stewart, Kimmel, and Noah.

Does Maher think his show and shows like his give any sort of nuance and depth to complex political issues? Because they sure prance around so smugly as if they think so.

[Alan2099]

"all the outrage shows i'm right!" Wow.




https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/bi...cid=spartandhp

"People are mad at me and that proves they're dumb," that's a new low.

Frankly, I think we're giving this windbag far more attention than he deserves.

[FLEX HECTIC]

Stan Lee called us "True Believers"


Bill Maher is an atheist...


That's to be expected...


Excelsior!!!


(pulls out signed leather-bound collectors edition of Excelsior: The Amazing Life of Stan Lee novel and reviews)

[Snoop Dogg]

This is the part where the child who can't man up and apologize for causing harm because of their own ignorance just doubles down by trashing an entire medium he knows jack about even more. Like a scared puppy barking. Ironically, this is the type of behavior liberal commentators trash all the time. Isn't he supposed to be one of those?

[jetengine]

"all the outrage shows i'm right!" Wow.




https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/bi...cid=spartandhp

Using his own logic his repeated rants against Donald Trump prove that Donald Trump is in the right. Also whilst not all comics are mediations on the human condition, enough are to make them relevant because like any art form you can make both kinds of work

[Red Robe Jaldari]

Just had a look at the blog, and have to say some of the posted replies explaining why Stan is important...for example, his continual championing of tolerant humane values over many years, apart from the tremendous fun given to millions...are really impressively put over.

If Bill M has an open mind, given the quality of comments posted to his blog..he might just change his mind. But possibly unlikely?

Not to agree with Bill Maher, but i am pretty sure that fun vacuum would had been filled someone else.

I don't know if anyone said comics were a profound meditation on human culture, but I do think, beyond the surface level entertainment, they distilled complex philosophical concepts for the masses. This was especially true in Stan's writing. That's not a bad thing. I don't think that comics should be an ending point to understanding the human condition, but they're not a bad starting point.

As far as entertainment value is concerned, yes, a lot of comics are derivative and take narrative shortcuts because they can piggyback on previously existing works and general pop culture, but the same is true for any piece of pop entertainment. Even the best comic pales in comparison to War and Peace or Charles Dickens, but even the best Beatles song pales in comparison to the worst of Mozart. I think most people DO keep the importance and value of comics in proper perspective, but that seems lost on Maher.

I would also mention that if he's confused about why adults still read comics, it's not because the people are necessarily immature. Since most adults DON'T read comics (or most people in general), and there's a lot of immature adults these days, one thing has nothing to do with another. Adults who still do read comics do so because the storytelling has grown up with them. Comics have grown up in terms of storytelling complexity and have branched out from superheroes since the 80s. Again, this is lost on Maher. He doesn't follow comics, so he's speaking from ignorance. He's making grand proclamations about the state of society and relating it to comics based purely on the stereotype of what a comic book is. Basically, he's today's version of Frederic Wertham, and just as wrongheaded -- although Wertham actually LOOKED at what was being published.

If he doesn't read comics, does he go to the comics movies (besides being in Iron Man 3)? If so, then even he could see that there is a difference between the Adam West/Cesar Romero Batman-Joker story and the Christian Bale/Heath Ledger Batman-Joker. Just as movie-Batman has become more sophisticated and mature, so too have comics. That would seem to be an easy way for him to understand that comics have evolved and why adults still read them without pigeonholing them as arrested adolescents.

Finally, you know what a good example of a "dumb f-ing culture" is? The fact that people get their political news and commentary from standup comedians like Maher, Colbert, Stewart, Kimmel, and Noah.

Does Maher think his show and shows like his give any sort of nuance and depth to complex political issues? Because they sure prance around so smugly as if they think so.

I look at books or TV i see much more flexible consumers. I don't think the super loyalty for the big 2 makes comic book fans as a whole very mature.

[Rosebunse]

Not to agree with Bill Maher, but i am pretty sure that fun vacuum would had been filled someone else.



I look at books or TV i see much more flexible consumers. I don't think the super loyalty for the big 2 makes comic book fans as a whole very mature.

I think while most of us here read mostly Marvel, that doesn't mean we have some fanatical loyalty to it. It's more like a favorite sports team.

[Raye]

Stan Lee called us "True Believers"


Bill Maher is an atheist...


That's to be expected...


Excelsior!!!

Hey now, no need to drag all atheists through the mud just because Maher is an *******. Most of us are pretty nice people, it's just that, as with any group, the obnoxious ones get the most attention. (and the 'true believers' thing had to do with the stories, not god)

Also, yeah, what Comic-Reader Lad said, pretty much. No one is saying they are high literature, (though Maus' Pulitzer shows some of them can be) just that there is more to them than what he says. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with having reading material that does give a primer on some issues, which comics do. You don't start by diving right into the heavy stuff, so Gateway pop culture material is important to have, the kinds of things that get you thinking and maybe then you go a bit further with it. But even if you do that, there's nothing saying you have to abandon the pop culture 'lite' material, you can do both...

[Spiderfang]

Obviously you didn't read Maher's statement. He said comics resulted in infantile-adults hereby creating the current political climate where Trump can become president and threw shade that Lee's work on making comics popular fueled that.

Of course he hurt a lot of people but you're saying that those people are just misogynists and racists. That's completely false. Locally there were people sad about the passing of Mr. Lee because they wouldn't have gotten into reading if it wasn't for Marvel comic and discussed how the presence of comics helped combat illiteracy but Maher wants to make it about American politics and himself.

You're just as out of touch as Maher as well. Roll safe.

You took the words I wanted to say and phrased in a much more tactful way than I would. Thank you, I share your sentiments.