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

[BroHomo]

I totally Get Bill Maher's point....the legitimization of comic book culture is kinda showing the many of the kids reading those stories hadn't really learned sh!t about the hero's journey and are now Adults who know nothing about acceptance, Conserving, Equality etc...

Plus Real Comic book fans Don't care we're imperivous to Criticism.

[Sutekh]

Here is CS Lewis's view on this subject:

"Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."

Thanks for sharing. This is a great quote.

Nobody needs my approval to like what they like, to wear, to read, to eat, who to hang out with, etc. And I don't particularly care any more if I have theirs, or if someone out there thinks I'm weird for liking what I like (or for not liking what they like).

[capandkirby]

I totally Get Bill Maher's point....the legitimization of comic book culture is kinda showing the many of the kids reading those stories hadn't really learned sh!t about the hero's journey and are now Adults who know nothing about acceptance, Conserving, Equality etc...

Plus Real Comic book fans Don't care we're imperivous to Criticism.

I agree with you. Comics, themselves, are not childish. In fact, and I posted this on twitter, I've had people try to tell me that comics were childish, and then I show them Steve Rogers' entire speech from Amazing Spider-Man #537 and they quickly shut-up. What's childish is how some fans behave. The constant slew of which character is better because of 'pick a side' marketing or the whole 'such and such character was right' brigade, has led to extremely juvenile behavior in fandom. And not just comics fandom, but all franchise fandoms, Star Wars fandom being the most startling example of poor, tasteless behavior. If you dogpile an actress on twitter with hate simply for playing a role (which is her job), you are not on the right side of ANY argument ever. One need only spend one day on Tumblr to get the impression that comic fans, or superhero movie fans, can act extremely immature. It's unfortunate that we're all being tainted with the same brush as those folks.

[CaptCleghorn]

I agree with you. Comics, themselves, are not childish. In fact, and I posted this on twitter, I've had people try to tell me that comics were childish, and then I show them Steve Rogers' entire speech from Amazing Spider-Man #537 and they quickly shut-up. What's childish is how some fans behave. The constant slew of which character is better because of 'pick a side' marketing or the whole 'such and such character was right' brigade, has led to extremely juvenile behavior in fandom. And not just comics fandom, but all franchise fandoms, Star Wars fandom being the most startling example of poor, tasteless behavior. If you dogpile an actress on twitter with hate simply for playing a role (which is her job), you are not on the right side of ANY argument ever. One need only spend one day on Tumblr to get the impression that comic fans, or superhero movie fans, can act extremely immature. It's unfortunate that we're all being tainted with the same brush as those folks.

Every "fandom" has these immature buffoons. American comics have come from a time when they were geared towards children and for many, that belief hasn't gone away. I read a variety of stuff, collect some and have been at this for a long time. I KNOW a lot of what I do with this hobby is childish. I also know a lot of it isn't. But so what?

If we realize that going to a convention or a movie premiere dressed in tights and a cape can be both silly and cool, we probably are well adjusted.

[capandkirby]

Every "fandom" has these immature buffoons. American comics have come from a time when they were geared towards children and for many, that belief hasn't gone away. I read a variety of stuff, collect some and have been at this for a long time. I KNOW a lot of what I do with this hobby is childish. I also know a lot of it isn't. But so what?

If we realize that going to a convention or a movie premiere dressed in tights and a cape can be both silly and cool, we probably are well adjusted.

True, there are bad apples in every fandom. And yes, cosplaying can be both silly and cool, but to judge all comics under the banner of 'childish', would be the equivalent of judging all full-length novels as such. Comics, like any other form of literature, have genres. And some of the most deeply profound things I've ever read were found in the pages of a comicbook. My father was sent Cap comics, as an adult, when serving in the military, he was the one to introduce me to them, it was a passion we shared. Marvel had this program (I have no idea if they still do) where they sent comics to the troops as a morale booster. In that case the intended audience was adults.

But yes, some of it is written for children because it is meant for children, like Moongirl and Devil Dinosaur.

There is no one banner that fits all, and to try and put everything under the same banner is a hasty generalization on Maher's part, and a false equivalence.

But you're right, at the end of the day Maher's opinion matters little. I've yet to see one person say, 'well, since Bill Maher hates my hobby, I might as well give it up'. No, most people are, rightfully, insulted. All he's really accomplishing is outrage.

[lordozone]

I totally Get Bill Maher's point....the legitimization of comic book culture is kinda showing the many of the kids reading those stories hadn't really learned sh!t about the hero's journey and are now Adults who know nothing about acceptance, Conserving, Equality etc...

Plus Real Comic book fans Don't care we're imperivous to Criticism.

That. Why do you care what Bill Maher think. And i'm a big fan of comics, I buy almost every comic books every month, but Maher is not totally wrong, it's just that he lacks basic empathy and is too brutal in his reasoning.

[Grim Ghost]

One dude doesn't like comics and doesn't get them okay. What's the big deal? The vast majority of comics are pretty childish. Bill Maher probably doesn't know about/has no context for stuff like Maus or Yummy Fur etc.. It's a hot take on something he doesn't know everything about we are probably all guilty of that at times. And if he hates comics who cares? Books ARE superior to comics he's right there. You can't put the greatest comics up against the greatest books it would be a joke. We have the context to know that some comics do have real merit and he doesn't.

PS I'm liberal and not a big fan of Maher but I think people are blowing one guys opinion out of proportion. Roger Ebert hated a lot of movies I love but I still think he had something to say. It's okay if someone doesn't like or respect comics or whatever else.

[CentralPower]

The other thing to keep in mind is that Maher says any number of things for a reaction. The only times he really gets in trouble is when he mis-steps on something that actually matters, such as he did in late '01. (And, that was quickly dialed back.)


And, comics fans are still an easy target.

The hobby and fandom are not what they were 25, or even 15, years ago. But, it is not hard to find fans who are consistent with the stereotypes depicted on "the Big Bang Theory". (Aside: Am I the only one who has noticed how divisive that show is among the fandom? Some of us love that show, other hate it. When asked to show their work, everybody seems to use more or less the same reasoning, though people who deviate from stereotype tend to lean unfavorably.)

There are the unashamed fans who say that comics should be drivel. They more than justify stereotypes. Then there are the fans who know that comics (even mainstream) comics can pitch higher, but do not have the mic skills to articulate it in a way that anybody outside of the hobby is going to bother listening to.


If we are going self-select in to a group that has valid stereotypes, then we are going to be judged by those standards.

[WebLurker]

But, it is not hard to find fans who are consistent with the stereotypes depicted on "the Big Bang Theory". (Aside: Am I the only one who has noticed how divisive that show is among the fandom? Some of us love that show, other hate it. When asked to show their work, everybody seems to use more or less the same reasoning, though people who deviate from stereotype tend to lean unfavorably.)

Never really watched the show; saw some bits and pieces on occasion and found it really mean-spirited, so I can leave it. (I did get a laugh where Jim Parsons' character was asked if a specific comic book was a good read for a newbie and his answer was yes, if the reader has also read five other unrelated series and stories; I've had plenty of frustrations of my own with situations like that.)

[CentralPower]

I never watched "Big Bang Theory" regularly. But, it never struck me as meaner than any other show.

[LordUltimus]

I never watched "Big Bang Theory" regularly. But, it never struck me as meaner than any other show.

Here's a good video about it.

[parker stark]

Bill Maher, like Donald Trump, is a hateful smug man! Who hurls childish insults, in order to attract attention to himself!

[Chainsaw Vigilante]

My favorite Bill Maher moment was a little after he left Comedy Central to go to ABC when he had a bunch of WCW wrestlers on and Rowdy Roddy Piper scared him s***less because Piper thought Maher was minimizing the pain wrestlers go through (and his cousin and friend Owen Hart's death).