Bill Maher effectively earned the hatred of comic book readers, and Marvel fans, across the world last week. The late night television show host, who hasn't done anything quite as remarkable as Stan Lee, took shots at the deceased comic book creator in the wake of his death. "The guy who created Spider-Man and the Hulk has died, and America is in mourning," Maher wrote. "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." That isn't the worse part though.
"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," Maher continued. Stan Lee’s team at POW! Entertainment wrote an open letter in response to Maher's ridiculous comments. "Mr. Maher: Comic books, like all literature, are storytelling devices," reads the statement. "When written well by great creators such as Stan Lee, they make us feel, make us think and teach us lessons that hopefully make us better human beings."
"But to say that Stan merely inspired people to 'watch a movie' is in our opinion frankly disgusting," continues the response. "Countless people can attest to how Stan inspired them to read, taught them that the world is not made up of absolutes, that heroes can have flaws and even villains can show humanity within their souls." Maher will most likely shrug off the response, but he has done irrevocable damage to his brand with his comments.