Why Bill Maher Is Wrong About Stan Lee and Comic Books
President Barack Obama

In 2013, then-President Barack Obama sent an e-mail out to activists encouraging them to share their "origin stories" with a non-profit organization in a contest rewarding the winner a trip to Washington D.C.
"I grew up loving comic books," President Obama wrote in the e-mail. "Back in the day, I was pretty into Conan the Barbarian and Spiderman. Anyone who reads comics can tell you, every main character has an origin story -- the fateful and usually unexpected sequence of events that made them who they are."
prevnextRev. Al Sharpton
Immediately following Stan Lee's passing, TMZ tracked down civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton, who spoke to Lee's themes of inclusion dating all the way back to the 1960s.
"He
"He was an inclusive, die-hard person long before it became fashionable. He had a very passionate commitment about poverty, about people that were being marginalized and left out, and he had that to the end."
prevnextNeil Gaiman

Fan-favorite author and screenwriter Neil Gaiman was one of the first to defend the industry immediately following Maher's remarks. While Gaiman did point out this country's First Amendment, he quickly dismissed Maher-backers that said comic books were nothing more than pictures.
"Do you think all the books without pictures have gone away?" Gaiman tweeted. "They haven't. And Maher saying that comics and graphic novels aimed at adults are responsible for Trump getting in is still foolish."
prevnextMichael E. Uslan
Long-time Batman producer and former comic book writer Michael E. Uslan wrote an op-ed for THR in defense of comic books. According to Uslan, he points out that each generation seems to find a medium to blame, saying Maher's attack was "borne out of ignorance."
"Society is always on the lookout for a cultural target for finger pointing when the establishment has issues, especially generationally with its youth," Uslan wrote. "In the '50s, comic books became the easiest target to blame for the post-World War II rise of juvenile delinquency in America because certainly, society never believes anything is the fault of the establishment, itself, nor its parents, teachers, clergyman, politicians, etc. So in the early '50s, comic books were mounted on the cultural crucifix."
prevnextThe Man Himself

There's perhaps nobody better suited than Stan Lee himself to show how comics are important. In
"Let's lay it Let’s lay it right on the line. Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today. But, unlike a team of costumed super-villains, they can’t be halted with a punch in the
“Now, we’re not trying to say it’s unreasonable for one human being to bug another. But, although anyone has the right to dislike another individual, it’s totally irrational, patently insane to condemn an entire race — to despise an entire nation — to vilify an entire religion. Sooner or later, we must learn to judge each other on our own merits. Sooner or later, if
“Pax et Justitia, Stan.”
prev