Controversial, left-wing TV commentator, Bill Maher is receiving a lot of clapbacks on social media for his most recent blog post where he questions the legitimacy of comicbooks as important and effectively insults the recently-deceased comics icon, Stan Lee himself. Maher trashed Americans for wasting their time on “stupid stuff,” and felt like comic fans were overreacting to the news of Lee’s recent death.
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.
Reactions on social media were swift and mostly united in their loathing of Mr. Maher’s opinion.
Bill Maher sure didn’t mind taking that check to appear in Iron Man 3 tho 🤔 pic.twitter.com/mixz8KGuRz
— RGB (@reuelgomezbaez) November 17, 2018
‘Nuff said. pic.twitter.com/FXXpvuzCyL
— Tom King (@TomKingTK) November 17, 2018
I have no idea what Bill Maher said about Stan Lee.
Bill Maher is an unremarkable piece of shit.
That’s all there’s worth saying about Bill Maher.
— tom fowler (@tomfowlerbug) November 17, 2018
I also notice that people who shit on comics as irrelevant don’t usually read them or haven’t since they were kids many decades ago. Kind of like hating opera, even though you can’t name a single one you’ve ever seen or listened to.
— Darick Robertson (@DarickR) November 17, 2018
All I can say about @billmaher and his stupid comments about comics is, in a hundred years from now who is going to be remembered him or Stan Lee? Most people today don’t even know who Bill Maher is.
— 800-273-8255 (@HobbitFromPA) November 17, 2018
All I can say about @billmaher and his stupid comments about comics is, in a hundred years from now who is going to be remembered him or Stan Lee? Most people today don’t even know who Bill Maher is.
— 800-273-8255 (@HobbitFromPA) November 17, 2018
Bill Maher’s an idiot, commenting out of ignorance and assuming that all comics are like the ones he read as a child and there’s noting to them but what he perceived as a child.
But then, that’s what he often does. https://t.co/6QVGqpXO3r
— Kurt Busiek Resists (@KurtBusiek) November 16, 2018
Opinions are like buttholes; everyone has one and yours stinks, Bill. It doesn’t matter which side of the political aisle you’re on, if you’re a fan of comic books, then you know by now that Bill Maher is a loser.
One of our contributors, Tristen Just has also weighed in.