Culture Bill Maher slammed for disrespecting Stan Lee, questioning the importance of comic books - Comicbook fans worldwide literally shaking rn

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Bill Maher's blog.
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The guy who created Spider-Man and the Hulk has died, and America is in mourning. Deep, deep mourning for a man who inspired millions to, I don’t know, watch a movie, I guess. Someone on Reddit posted, “I'm so incredibly grateful I lived in a world that included Stan Lee.” Personally, I’m grateful I lived in a world that included oxygen and trees, but to each his own. Now, I have nothing against comic books – I read them now and then when I was a kid and I was all out of Hardy Boys. But the assumption everyone had back then, both the adults and the kids, was that comics were for kids, and when you grew up you moved on to big-boy books without the pictures.

But then twenty years or so ago, something happened – adults decided they didn’t have to give up kid stuff. And so they pretended comic books were actually sophisticated literature. And because America has over 4,500 colleges – which means we need more professors than we have smart people – some dumb people got to be professors by writing theses with titles like Otherness and Heterodoxy in the Silver Surfer. And now when adults are forced to do grown-up things like buy auto insurance, they call it “adulting,” and act like it’s some giant struggle.

I’m not saying we’ve necessarily gotten stupider. The average Joe is smarter in a lot of ways than he was in, say, the 1940s, when a big night out was a Three Stooges short and a Carmen Miranda musical. The problem is, we’re using our smarts on stupid stuff. I don’t think it’s a huge stretch to suggest that Donald Trump could only get elected in a country that thinks comic books are important.
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Read through the comment section on his blog to see the salt... oh lawd, how dare he spoke ill of our lord and savior!

Then USA Today reported some more top tier salt.
Bill Maher is in hot water after making comments that many are calling disrespectful toward the late Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee.

In a blog post to his website Saturday, the late night host wrote, "America is in mourning. Deep, deep mourning for a man who inspired millions to, I don’t know, watch a movie, I guess."

Lee, a cultural icon responsible for many of Marvel’s most popular superheroes in comic books and movies, died Monday at the age of 95.

Maher continued, saying he has nothing "against comic books," but that when he was growing up "comics were for kids, and when you grew up you moved on to big-boy books without the pictures."

"But then twenty years or so ago, something happened – adults decided they didn’t have to give up kid stuff," he said. "And so they pretended comic books were actually sophisticated literature."

Then the late night host brought politics into the mix, mentioning President Donald Trump.

"I don’t think it’s a huge stretch to suggest that Donald Trump could only get elected in a country that thinks comic books are important," he wrote.

Now fans of Lee are taking to social media to slam Maher for his comments:

Comic book artist Greg Capullo tweeted, "I never speak on topics I know little or nothing about. Why? I never want to be the fool. In other words, I don’t wanna make a Bill Maher out of myself."

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"Bill Maher just took a dump on the comic book legend, universally beloved man - Stan Lee who just died, and by extension the whole community of readers and every single person who loved comics growing up," another Twitter user wrote. "On top of being a clueless Berniebro, Bill Maher is truly-a piece of trash."

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"Bill Maher’s trashy, pointless, and bitter sounding 'blog post' is no shock. He makes a living off criticizing and trashing other people‘s work. He’s a 'comic' that people laugh at and agree with and then fancy themselves smart & progressive," another wrote, adding #RIPStanLee.

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"I don't know and don't particularly care who Bill Maher is. I just know that anyone who pisses on people for mourning a man who helped make them happy is a titanic waste of space," another shared.

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"I just read Bill Maher's latest blog," another tweeted along with a photo that illustrated their frustration.

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"Bill Maher sure didn’t mind taking that check to appear in Iron Man 3 tho," another pointed out.
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Personally, I think he's absolutely not wrong. This whole pandering to manchildren, and manchildren in general, has to end.
 
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Bill Maher is wrong many times, but he's right on this one you know...
Edit: ...about comics not being that too important though. He's still a smug asshat though.
 
I'll say this. yes, usually people move on from comics later in life and pick up different hobbies. However, that doesn't change the fact that he entertained children for years and years. He also inspired some pretty great films too. Yet, maher felt he needed to shit on this man.

That to me is absolutely unacceptable. that'd be like shitting on disney because adults watch it. that'd be like saying dr.suess books should be banned because adults sometimes read them. its horseshit. its a bad defense of a man that's bitter and angry that a comic book artist had more influence and respect than he did.

fuck bill maher and the white shit-covered horse he rode in on. i'm glad they're getting dragged over the coals for their bitterness.
 
The Great Chandler said:
Bill Maher is wrong many times, but he's right on this one you know...
Edit: ...about comics not being that too important though. He's still a smug asshat though.
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Thing is, Maher is not an NPC, he actually speaks his mind and he doesn't care if it's problematic for the left to even consider what he says. I remember when he talked about how incompatible Islam is to western culture, and he caught a lot of flak for that, yet he stood his ground.

I kinda respect him for doing that. This time, he definitely nailed it, and judging by the outcry, he is 100% right on the money. Numales and comicbook fandom is absolute trash.
 
The Great Chandler said:
Bill Maher is wrong many times, but he's right on this one you know...
Edit: ...about comics not being that too important though. He's still a smug asshat though.
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He's still the only thing close to reasonable on the left, and that's sayin' a lot.

At least he doesn't meekly backtrack like all the other soyboys do when their allies threaten to be uncivil to them.

And I was expecting something a lot worse than what he said, let's be honest, 15 years ago, this wouldn't even blip radars because it'd be treated like the throwaway joke it was, whether it was funny or not is up to personal taste, and move on, no need to make it political like the right is doing in this case.....
 
Most of the balding 30-something guys that are mad about this probably only watch the Marvel movies anyway.
 
But is Bill Maher wrong? Then again, there are adult comic books out there with nudity and shit. Is he talking exclusively about American comic books, or does this encompass comic books region be damned?
 
I agree that comics shouldn't be taken too seriously but shitting on Stan Lee just felt distasteful especially with how recently he died.
 
Now, I have nothing against comic books – I read them now and then when I was a kid and I was all out of Hardy Boys. But the assumption everyone had back then, both the adults and the kids, was that comics were for kids, and when you grew up you moved on to big-boy books without the pictures.
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Seems to me Bill Maher is so concerned with acting like an adult he forgot to be one. Time and place, Maher, time and place. Stan Lee was a cultural icon and effectively shaped how kids saw society, they wanted to be heroes and good people thanks to him and others like him. You're short sighted if you don't think that matters. That's kinda why you got the manchildren now writing their feel good stories and bullshit about social justice zealotry, they recognize the importance comics had on their lives and they can use that to reach others. Comics still have that potential, it's just the earlier mentioned manchildren are boring to read and kids don't like lectures.

I agree with his sentiment regarding said manchildren, you can enjoy it but you shouldn't obsess over it. That aside... he's being an obtuse ass if he can't recognize Stan Lee's contributions to society -- especially the many charitable things he's done with the wealth he's accrued.
 
I'm kind of split. Calling out manchildren for taking comics too seriously is fine. But, I think it was a dick move to also discredit Stan Lee in the same breath. It would be like if someone had said it didn't matter Mr. Rogers died because he was just some dude that made children's television. Or discrediting Bob Ross for being some family friendly artist.

It honestly seems like the type of thing a highschooler would do to prove how edgy they were.
 
The funny books are by no means great literature, but they have a place as pieces of cultural ephemera.
 
I'm going to make a bold estimate that 99% of the people sperging about this on Twitter don't actually read comic books.
 
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