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

[LordUltimus]

Has he been talking to Alan Moore?

[Tendrin]

Bill Maher is awful and not somebody anybody should listen to. Been saying that for a while.

[CaptCleghorn]

Wait, Real Time with Bill Maher was new last night? I thought it was a rerun of the one where he bitches about Donald Trump and the Republicans.

[DrNewGod]

Of course, Maher got what he really wanted out of it. Too many of us (including me) upped his page's numbers if only to see what the hubbub was about.

[WinterSoldier76]

one of the great things about comics culture is that it is bigger than one person or place's opinion of what it is.

This pretty much sums up exactly how I feel about his comments. I do watch his show and I occasionally agree with his rantings, but his attempted shaming of adults who read comics mean very little to me. Well said Hypestyle.

[Celgress]

Bill desperately wants to be relevant again. Don't feed the troll people. That said, what he did was very disrespectful of human life in general and the value of a beloved man and his medium in particular.

[Ramsay Snow]

Maybe this belongs in the off-topic section, but it is specifically about Stan Lee and his life's work producing comics. I will let a mod decide as this will probably get political.

Anyway, Bill Maher decided to post his opinion on Stan Lee and adults who read comics, and I will let you guys form your own opinions on it:

https://www.real-time-with-bill-mahe...11/16/adulting

I am fairly new to comic books, so I will probably refrain from giving my opinion on this until I have cooled off. How do you long-time comic readers feel about this?

Aside from the fact he was disrespectful toward someone's death (And that someone doesn't really deserve ire from anyone), don't really care. Maher's a blowhard who talks it up to get ratings, and half the time his opinions are off-base.

Plus, his viewpoint on comics is somewhat common in the US, especially with his demographic.

[LordUltimus]

Aside from the fact he was disrespectful toward someone's death (And that someone doesn't really deserve ire from anyone), don't really care. Maher's a blowhard who talks it up to get ratings, and half the time his opinions are off-base.

Plus, his viewpoint on comics is somewhat common in the US, especially with his demographic.

Yeah, but usually they don't go to the "if it weren't for superhero movies, Trump wouldn't have been elected!" extreme.

[Ramsay Snow]

Yeah, but usually they don't go to the "if it weren't for superhero movies, Trump wouldn't have been elected!" extreme.

Didn't Maher have a bit-part in Iron Man 3? I guess by his brilliant rationale, he's part of the problem.

[Conn Seanery]

I enjoy and am entertained by Bill Maher, but there are certain areas where he's out of touch and arrogantly thinks he's the standard to which everyone should aspire to be like. Being a fan of comics & superhero films, something that can be enjoyed by both kids and adults, is one of those areas he just doesn't understand so it must be stupid and wrong. So it's not really surprising that he feels this way, or has no empathy for people who care about someone who passed that he doesn't.

To be fair tho', there are plenty of extreme examples of adults who take comics & superhero films far too seriously that Bill can cherry pick to support his own beliefs on this issue.

[Arsenal]

Nothing to see here folks, just an angry old man yelling at clouds.

[WebLurker]

Yeah, I don't buy it.

A.) The comics industry (Marvel, DC, newspaper comics, whatever) is just another medium for artistic expression. You can make great art in it as well as bad stuff.

B.) Linking fondness for comics to voting Republican is nuts. Case in point, I like comics and superhero movies and I think that electing Donald Trump was a huge mistake. (Frankly, I think he never should've even been considered in the first place.)

C.) Basic respect for the deceased precludes badmouthing them, esp. so soon after the fact.

To be fair tho', there are plenty of extreme examples of adults who take comics & superhero films far too seriously that Bill can cherry pick to support his own beliefs on this issue.[/size][/color][/font]

I think that every hobby has such people. Thing is, in some hobbies, such unhealthy obsession is considered socially normal, e.g. football and other sports. I mean, someone dresses up as a sci-fi character as a convention, lot of people'll look down on them, but painting yourself purple and gold and going to a Vikings game, no one bats an eye despite the two being comparable ways of participating in said activity.

[Pinsir]

Demographic wise though he isn't wrong, the average comic book reader is aging white male and the average Trump supporters is an aging white male. This is the reason why the comic book community is so receptive to reactionary viewpoints.

The adulting thing is obviously stupid though. Yeah, a lot of people my age still like the things they grew up with (Harry Potter, Pokemon, superheroes, etc), but that's been the same for any generation studied in detail. The easiest rebuttal of this is music; children in the 60's and 70's didn't grow out of liking rock and roll and 'adult' into jazz or classical music, they continue to listen to dad rock.

He also doesn't really know anything about the 90's boom, which was largely spurred by adult collectors who were born during the 50's/60's during a time when comic book readership among children was at its highest. He also mixes up people who like superhero movies with people who read comic books, which are almost entirely different people (though yeah, they do share similiar demographics though the movies are a little broader) and there is a dumb jab at academia too.

[skyvolt2000]

I think that every hobby has such people. Thing is, in some hobbies, such unhealthy obsession is considered socially normal, e.g. football and other sports. I mean, someone dresses up as a sci-fi character as a convention, lot of people'll look down on them, but painting yourself purple and gold and going to a Vikings game, no one bats an eye despite the two being comparable ways of participating in said activity.

The sports one doesn't get looked at funny because it's a SPORT and that is one place where a LOT of stuff gets free passes.

No set of comic book fans could destroy a place after Black Panther or Star War movie came out and see a LINE of excuses for it. Now let Kentucky or Eagle win a title and it's accepted.

Comics get the bad rep because the antics of a FEW stereotype everybody. If you got folks who know comic book guys like Simpson's Comic book guy or others-what image do you think they will have about the hobby?

B.) Linking fondness for comics to voting Republican is nuts. Case in point, I like comics and superhero movies and I think that electing Donald Trump was a huge mistake. (Frankly, I think he never should've even been considered in the first place.)

As we have seen since 2015 in comic book industry-when you preach what folks WANT to hear or say what they WON'T say in public-versus what they NEED to hear-stuff like that happens.
What needs to be said gets buried and solutions are lost.

Also for Maher-he FAILS to understand this-you don't know WHO makes a difference in a person's life.

I was in college when Tupac died. You would have though Tupac was President of the USA with the way kids were upset. I saw this again with Michael Jackson, Dwayne McDuffie and Prince.

[iron chimp]

*sigh* why did i click. Enjoy the hit Bill... you clearly need it