What This Comedian Said Will Shock You

by Bill Maher

Bill Maher has never been afraid to speak his mind and get under people’s skin.

For more than 30 years, he’s been a television fixture, mixing comedy with politics. For the past two decades-plus, he’s been the host of “Real Time with Bill Maher” on HBO.

The show opens with a Maher comedy monologue, segues into a one-on-one interview, moves to a panel discussion on issues of the day interspersed with comedy bits and wraps with the comedic “New Rules” which incorporates an editorial delivered by Maher.

“What This Comedian Said Will Shock You” collects some of the recent editorials from the past handful of years. The book will be familiar ground for regular, long-time viewers of “Real Time.” It is literally a collection of the materials that conclude each show.

They are broken down into several chapter categories: Media, Knowledge, Free Speech, Cancel Culture, Fragility, Generations, Race, Health, Civil War, Trump, immigration, Republicans and Democrats, etc.

The last two categories are worth noting. For years, Maher targeted Republicans for the majority of his humor and ire; however, he has always invited Republicans to have a seat and a voice on his show. In recent years, however, he’s widened his comedy to target Democrats, too.

His argument is that both parties have ridiculous and excessive policies and personalities. To liberals upset that he now makes fun of and points out inadequacies in the Democrats, he says he hasn’t changed; they changed.

In recent years, conservative media has touted Maher’s conversion to the right. But again, he hasn’t changed. People buying this book thinking it’s a screed against Democrats may be shocked that conservative media has only cherry-picked Maher’s comments. He still ridicules Republicans – more often than Democrats – especially President Donald Trump.

Maher says things that both partisan tribes won’t want to hear but probably need to hear. The biggest takeaway from this book is that people should get out of their preferred media echo chambers and think for themselves on a variety of issues.

Readers won’t agree with everything in this book. At times, they will adamantly oppose things in this book. Astute readers will note Maher doesn’t always agree with himself from page to page.

Readers who enter with an open mind may find something that nudges them out of their comfortable political thinking, that may not change minds outright but may lead them to look at things from another point of view.

And that may be the most shocking thing about this book and Maher.

Batman: The Detective

Batman, the character, has been around for 80-plus years. He’s had thousands of adventures that have been told through comic books, TV shows, radio shows, movies, video games, etc. Hundreds of artists and writers have presented Batman tales, where he is alone, with Robin, with numerous sidekicks, with Superman, with the Justice League and several other super teams.

Still, creative teams keep finding ways to tell new Batman stories that attract new audiences while pleasing long-time fans.

“Batman: The Detective” is one of those new twists on the old Batman story.

Here, writer Tom Taylor, penciller Andy Kubert who inks his drawings with Sandra Hope, and colorist Brad Anderson place Batman into a mystery set in Europe.

For starters, the visuals set Batman apart in this story. While he wears the familiar mask and Bat-emblem costume, Batman also has a pair of goggles ever present affixed to his brow, a trench-style Bat-coat instead of a cape and thicker work-style gloves.

His mission is stopping a group killing people saved in the past by Batman. The different look for Batman is important here since he’s fighting bad guys dressed as Batman.

He partners with Henri Ducard, the man who mentored a young Bruce Wayne in investigative skills and how to capture criminals.

The six-issue miniseries is collected in a volume that includes plenty of variant cover art along with some sketch pages of how Kubert developed some of the characters’ looks.

“Batman: The Detective” keeps true to its name. The book emphasizes Batman’s investigative skills while never forgetting the dynamic action.

Looking for something different from Batman? Here’s a clue. This book is for you.