Bill Maher tells comic fans, Toy collectors, and game players to "Grow Up!"

[Iron_Legion87]

Honestly, I never liked Bill Maher for several reasons. The guy is one of this arrogant know it all types that thinks he is better than everyone and only HIS opinions and beliefs are correct. Trash talking Stan Lee's legacy after his death just to bring attention to himself is a new low in my eyes. The thing is Stan Lee is beloved by many and his life and legacy will be remembered for decades to come. When Bill Maher dies, not too many people will care nor will he leave behind any great legacy people will care about.

[Iron_Legion87]

Or he is the little kid who screams at the world, "stop liking things that I don't like". It's funny that he is an atheist. Insisting that everyone else has the same; likes, dislikes, opinions, religious beliefs & practices. etc ; is one of the character traits of religious fanatics. Not missing anything by not watching his show.

Yea I am a Christian and I have no problems if someone is atheist. But I do take issue with the ones like Bill Maher. Cool you don't believe in God, no need to be a total douche to those that dare believe differently than you.

[BroHomo]

Just wanted to share an earlier Post....

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.

Yea I am a Christian and I have no problems if someone is atheist. But I do take issue with the ones like Bill Maher. Cool you don't believe in God, no need to be a total douche to those that dare believe differently than you.

Unless you're actively denouncing/stopping the actions of Christians to those that believe/born differently than that particular doctrine this is the epitome of hypocrisy

[TomServofan]

“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.”

― C.S. Lewis

I watch Bill for the guests he has on and the panel discussion. I used to like him a lot, when I was younger, but the older I get, the more I realize what a bitter, smarmy, fake he is. He rides on a wave of 'liberal' goodwill because he mocks those in power, but he also punches down...a LOT. He likes 'making fun of everyone' and thinks that should shield him from criticism when he verbally assaults marginalized people. He is a pretty poor example of an 'adult' when it comes down to it, and has no room to tell anyone else to grow up until he stops acting like that skinny, funny kid in grade school who avoided the bullies by becoming one, himself...

One of my fave quotes of all time, thanks CS Lewis.

[Ron2112]

Honestly, I never liked Bill Maher for several reasons. The guy is one of this arrogant know it all types that thinks he is better than everyone and only HIS opinions and beliefs are correct. Trash talking Stan Lee's legacy after his death just to bring attention to himself is a new low in my eyes. The thing is Stan Lee is beloved by many and his life and legacy will be remembered for decades to come. When Bill Maher dies, not too many people will care nor will he leave behind any great legacy people will care about.

Gonna take exception to this -- Maher does do a good job of bringing on guests who represent "the other side", and the conversations are usually respectful, sometimes even productive. I still say his show is great, even if I don't always agree with him.

A couple non-related points:

1. I'd be interested to see how much literature in general that comic book readers consume in comparison with the average American. I'd bet that the members of this group read more of EVERY genre than is average in this country. Personally, I read sci-fi literature, history, biographies, and science texts in pretty large quantities. Too Kill a Mockingbird is a yearly re-read for me as well.

2. I'm also amused by what's considered "adult". About four (?) years ago, you couldn't go to the neighborhood pool in the Summer without seeing about a dozen copies of 50 Shades of Gray being consumed by the neighborhood housewives. (Perhaps the husbands were too busy with their comic books....?) And yet to be caught reading a comic book is considered childish. And ten years ago, adults were all reading the last Harry Potter book. Yeesh -- why judge? The point Bill Maher should have made is that in today's America, it's probably great when ANYONE is reading ANYTHING, and it's only in a country where so many don't read AT ALL that Donald Trump could have got elected.

[Malvolio]

I think the people who got so personally hurt by Maher's words may be the ones for whom it hit close to home. I'm not that bothered by it because I no longer care if people see me reading comic books in public. I also make a point of reading books without pictures, both fiction and non-fiction. Maybe some of the people most offended by Maher are a little self-conscious of the fact that they read only comic books and nothing else.

[Kirby101]

I think the people who got so personally hurt by Maher's words may be the ones for whom it hit close to home. I'm not that bothered by it because I no longer care if people see me reading comic books in public. I also make a point of reading books without pictures, both fiction and non-fiction. Maybe some of the people most offended by Maher are a little self-conscious of the fact that they read only comic books and nothing else.

I think the "Comics are kid's stuff" has mostly been overcome and a lot of people don't need Maher to pull this Wertham ****. Also he chose to start this bullshit on the day Stan Lee died. He's wrong and tone deaf at th same time.

[BeastieRunner]

Call me when Maher wins a Pullitzer, Peabody, or something. Has he even been nominated for anything?

Other than that, he's just another old white guy yelling at the clouds.

[Scott Taylor]

Meh. I still maintain that the most interesting and relevant thing Maher has ever done was playing the male lead in Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death.

[The Darknight Detective]

Meh. I still maintain that the most interesting and relevant thing Maher has ever done was playing the male lead in Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death.

Man, it seemed like that movie aired five times a day on Comedy Central back in the '90s. Karen Mistal was the cutest little thing!

[goldenknight2018]

Attachment 77723
Humpfrey Bogart, Ringo Starr and even Elvis Presley read comics

more Adult famous people read comics too
check it out https://www.pinterest.com/spyvibe/vi...aders/?lp=true
Maher thinks he too smart, and I hope Maher see Adult famous people read comics in old photos.
HBO should cancel the show immediately.

[edpower]

Oh no. Someone has a different opinion on our hobby then us. They must be evil. :|

[PwrdOn]

Maher might be an *******, but the reaction from the fans to his comments are sort of proving his point exactly. When have you ever heard of enthusiasts of, I dunno, bird watching, crocheting, competitive race walking, or whatever random activity, get all triggered when people insult their hobby? They just go merrily about their business, content to not waste a minute of their time worrying about what others might think of it. The fact that comic, game, and toy fans aren't able to do this speaks to the existence at some level of some shared insecurity about these hobbies, like we all know that there IS something a bit inappropriate and off-putting about them, perhaps not quite a guilty pleasure, but at least something we feel guilty for spending so much time on.

[wjowski]

Maher might be an *******, but the reaction from the fans to his comments are sort of proving his point exactly. When have you ever heard of enthusiasts of, I dunno, bird watching, crocheting, competitive race walking, or whatever random activity, get all triggered when people insult their hobby? They just go merrily about their business, content to not waste a minute of their time worrying about what others might think of it. The fact that comic, game, and toy fans aren't able to do this speaks to the existence at some level of some shared insecurity about these hobbies, like we all know that there IS something a bit inappropriate and off-putting about them, perhaps not quite a guilty pleasure, but at least something we feel guilty for spending so much time on.

Sports fans have literally burned down cities.

[Buried Alien]

Sports fans have literally burned down cities.

...something comic book geeks are yet to do (but there's still time).

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)