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

[catbellysqueezer]

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?

[Tofali]

I think it isn't about Stan Lee and more about ppl mourning Stan Lee's legacy, adults still reading comics and watching comic book movies.

[WeirdSpider]

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.

[ed2962]

His point seems to be , "Stan Lee died? Who cares? He wrote comic books and I don't read comics cuz I'm an adult." It comes across as a petty way of expressing his smugness.

But keep in mind Bill is the same cranky old man who goes on about how terrible mobile phones are so...whatever.

[cc008]

I dont understand people who think this way. 'Someone beloved by millions has passed away, let me post about how I dont care. Me me me me me.'

Fucking loser.

[DragonsChi]

Should be ignored.

Bill Maher is a man who is fully in love with himself, who believes his opinion is the end all. Even bothering to acknowledge him is to give him what he wants.

[Prof. Warren]

His point seems to be , "Stan Lee died? Who cares? He wrote comic books and I don't read comics cuz I'm an adult." It comes across as a petty way of expressing his smugness.

Yes, that's essentially it. I do find Maher funny at times but he's also smug and condescending about things he doesn't understand. Not really worthy taking seriously or getting worked up over. If anything, it's better to ignore him in this instance because it's only attention that Maher is seeking by making obviously inflammatory comments.

[Rosebunse]

I dont understand people who think this way. 'Someone beloved by millions has passed away, let me post about how I dont care. Me me me me me.'

Fucking loser.

I hate people who are like, "I care so little about something that I'm going to tell everyone how little I care!"

[DrNewGod]

Not everyone sees value in comics. Fine.

A similar argument might have been made about Elvis Presley's death. "Wait!" someone will scream, "His music spoke to a generation, and empowered youth to new forms of expression!"

Sure. And much of what it helped people express were not behaviors worthy of mature adults according to the previous generation either.

Nothing new here.

[Force de Phenix]

I hate people who are like, "I care so little about something that I'm going to tell everyone how little I care!"

There are several threads made by people with that mentality here to be honest...

He should understand that he's ignorant about the matter, and that he ends up writing false equivalencies. Pop culture (comics) is very important and academia recognizes it because it teaches us about the zeitgeist of societies. He's the type of person who reads a headline on Facebook and comments without reading the article, and ends up writing something asinine.

[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.

[kilderkin]

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.

fully agree

He can think what he likes about comics, I don't care

But disrespecting the loss of anyone is out of order

And I don't recall him help found a multi million dollar mythos enjoyed by millions across decades

This suggests a little man with little views in my opinion