Donald Trump could only get elected in a country that thinks comic books are important

originally posted by: scraedtosleep
a reply to: Oldtimer2

While I strongly disagree with bill here he is no way washed up.

His show real time is amazing.

Used to be, and I used to watch it “religiously”! But that was back when he at least “tried” to have someone intelligent on his panels with opposing viewpoints. Like most of the wannabe political analyst comedians these days, it has become a one dimensional # show, as if Trump is the only comedy available. Funny, though, how they used to all actually be far funnier “before” Trump, when they aimed their comedic barbs equally across the aisle. Now they spend more time aplogizing it seems.

Oh, and if he (or his writers) actually did their research, they’d find a few firsts in comic books relative to social issues.

Who really cares what Maher thinks?

The guy likes to trash Trump...so he used Stan Lee's passing as a vehicle to do so.


He could've just as easily used Brussel sprouts.

a reply to: Lysergic

I like Stan Lee and his comics but i have to say i kind of agree with this Bill Maher character (whoever he is). At the end of the day, they are simply light entertainment. For all i love the Hulk, it is hardly Rene Descartes or Dostoevsky.

That said, i also agree he could have said this at any time over the last 10 years, rather than waiting until Mr Lee has just died.

I not only have a stack of Green Hornet comic books,I also
have a stack of coloring books.I still like cartoons and the 3
stooges.I will turn 64 in January and I voted for Trump!

originally posted by: Flavian
a reply to: Lysergic

I like Stan Lee and his comics but i have to say i kind of agree with this Bill Maher character (whoever he is). At the end of the day, they are simply light entertainment. For all i love the Hulk, it is hardly Rene Descartes or Dostoevsky.

That said, i also agree he could have said this at any time over the last 10 years, rather than waiting until Mr Lee has just died.

Ummm...I totally disagree...

Those comics were a vehicle that transported a malnourished impoverished boy up out of hunger pangs...into realms where imagination fueled by Mr Lee’s created characters carried that boy through into the next day...

There were many days like that...far too many to remember each one distinct from any other...but I always had Thor...and Ironman...the X-men and Dr Strange there to help me cope...to lend me some of that character and strength...

These stories helped me form my own character...where recognition of good and bad qualities are inherent in all of us...Where fight or flight...goes hand in hand with balancing different aspects of an singular persona that further realizes self is a culmination of decisive recognition that all of these inherent qualities are neither good or bad...but parts and parcel of the human condition...

Such insight is never part of light entertainment...but part of that self same struggle faced not just by today’s reader or viewer...but by those also who listened to these same struggles while huddled around a fire...keeping the dark at bay...
No sir...not light entertainment...but escape...and eventual return...with character forged by vicarious hero exploit as one placed oneself within each scenario within the context of those struggles...

So...even though those days where hunger seemed to gnaw it’s way through a frail and sickly body are long gone...lie somewhere in the distant past...I get to experience these companion hero’s and their titanic challenges all over again...
I get to remember what they meant to me...how much I lived through them...through long days and months while lying in a hospital bed...
I am not ashamed of my past...of where I came from...It was what it was...however I want to thank Mr. Stan Lee for helping me...for gifting me entire worlds to explore...for helping shape my character...for helping me glimpse that humanity resides within the human condition...and that there are undercurrents and reasons why persons are who they are...and do what they do...

Perhaps not Descartes or Dostoyevsky...who also reside both within and on my book shelves...but every bit as important...

At least to me...






YouSir

a reply to: Lysergic

Well, we could also say that Donald Trump could only be elected in a country that pays someone like Bill Maher to pretend like his opinion matters, and then people follow him and agree with him and applaud his "importance."

There are always people who will be touched by trivial things in their lives, but who cares? Comic books and cartoons, many of which were based off of said comics, were a part of what inspired me to start drawing as a young child. While I don't draw as much as I would like to, it is a skill that I cultivated quite well and also used my artistic abilities to pursue and be successful in an artistic field (graphic design...although an odd area of design). I have also used my drawing skills to make people smile or to remember loved ones at key moments of their lives (in a better way than a simple photo could do).

Bill Maher just doesn't seem to be able to think very deeply most of the time, and this is another instance of it.

a reply to: YouSir

A thoughtful response, i thank you for that.

Don't get me wrong, if it has helped you then that is surely a good thing. For me though, they are simply light entertainment and nothing more. I really have no idea who this Maher guy is and why he is trying to link it into Trump - im ignoring that side of this thread! I just think he is correct regarding Stan Lee.

Is our (this age's) literary contribution to human history to be comic books and comic book characters? I think Mr Lee would have been embarrassed to think that.

originally posted by: scraedtosleep

originally posted by: Wide-Eyes
a reply to: Lysergic

The more I see and hear of Bill Maher, the more I want to punch him in the face.

Really ? You don't agree with him here?

I reckon your observations are lost here...judging by some of the replies already!

He is such a pretentious arrogant douche, have no doubt his 50 plus year old ass is saying this because is trying to bang some 22 year old model, that got turned down by somebody at Marvel.

What a costly career though.

He has to sacrifice himself by stirring the pot, as he knows it's going to splatter and burn.

But in doing this he does stay relevant and generates interest, so he has his job locked in for at least a year probably longer.

originally posted by: Lysergic
Yeah dunno why he had to wait to until Stan died if he felt this way, maybe just jealous he didn't get to do a cameo.

Gotta admit, Bill would have made a great Super-Villian...or maybe just a side-kick....

originally posted by: muzzleflash
What a costly career though.

He has to sacrifice himself by stirring the pot, as he knows it's going to splatter and burn.

But in doing this he does stay relevant and generates interest, so he has his job locked in for at least a year probably longer.

Yeah...I'm imagining the reaction panels though! I see great potential for shocked surprise here!

originally posted by: putnam6
He is such a pretentious arrogant douche, have no doubt his 50 plus year old ass is saying this because is trying to bang some 22 year old model, that got turned down by somebody at Marvel.

*12...there. Fixed that for you.

His entire argument is flawed,

He's always been a pompous ass, and he simply saw a way to politicize something in the news, and turn it upon his opposition (i.e. Trump voters).

And, like most such tactics, it backfired spectacularly, because he was actually talking out of his behind...

I still crack up every time I see this....his cocky reaction to Ann Coulter's prediction of Trump.



And listening to the followup, you realize how spot on Ann is, and how wrong everything Bill says is. Even more amazing, when you realize this was in August of 2015, months before Trump was seen to even have a shot, and months before folks really knew much about Bernie Sanders.

a reply to: Lysergic

I'm from a different country.

I also think Stan Lee's comics were important.

They broached subjects that were often controversial and exhibited a high moral tone without ever being 'preachy'.

Good on Stan and his staff at Marvel.

Bill Maher was created by an enema gone bad.
a reply to: Lysergic

He didn't just bash Trump, or Stan, or comic books, he bashed all of America...just in order to more thoroughly bash Trump. Thats how deep his hatred is, he will bite the hand that feeds him (im guessing a Lot of his fans are into comics) just so he can let Trump know one more time that he doesn't like him.



Thats right, Bill. Trump could only be elected in a country like America. Got a problem with that? You got a problem WITH AMERICA?

All I got to say to this sad excuse for a man: Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya. Cause if I see you around I just might take those red shoes, get em shined up, real nice and clean, by a 5th generation shoe shiner who takes pride in his work, then I'm gonna take those nice pretty shoes, and I'm gonna Turn Em Sideways And STICK THEM STRAIGHT UP YOUR ASS!

Of course, taking into account that the elections were legitimate in the first place. We saw it in 2000 and we see it again, voters aren't the decision makers anymore unfortunately, democracy turned monarchy in the digital age. Maher is drunk too

Bill Maher is more concerned with being relevant, that he is with being truthful. People like him, they struggle to keep on top by being edgy and pissing off all the right people, and, -- if they are fortunate -- getting those people to make a dramatic and public statement to further his relevance.

I feel sorry for Bill. He was once funny, and edgy by wit and intelligence.

He doesn't understand nor care to, that Stan was and is an icon of Americana; not only did he give role models for kids of the era to look up to, but he wrangled many cultural ideals within the lines of the comics. Stan Lee is as American -- and more important -- than the Hollywood Star Walk, and as important as music of the age and other variables that helped to shape the American culture. Stan is a hero, an icon and a prophet in some ways, and anyone who dares # on his image is an asshole, and has lost the pulse of the American people.

Screw you, Bill Maher. You once mattered. Once.