The news is here and here and here [foehammer.net]

Let me give a small section of this to you, for those of you who don't want to search through them. Basically

Miller proudly announced the title of his next Batman book, which he will write, draw and ink. Holy Terror, Batman! is no joke. And Miller doesn't hold back on the true purpose of the book, calling it "a piece of propoganda," where 'Batman kicks al Qaeda's ass."

Also

The reason for this work, Miller said, was "an explosion from my gut reaction of what's happening now." He can't stand entertainers who lack the moxie of their '40s counterparts who stood up to Hitler. Holy Terror is "a reminder to people who seem to have forgotten who we're up against."

...Alright, but seriously, what the hell? The part of me that really loves more than the sequential action of comics and really digs the great humanity and amazingly complex stories that comics are able to offer is dying here. Frank Miller has done some great stories in the past, (Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns) but this...

Basically it sounds like a piece of trash to me. A nostalgic look at propaganda comics, which will do nothing to explore the deeper reasons behind the war on terror such as religious rivalry and fanaticism which are found in both areas (the US AND the Middle East). What Miller seems to be doing is reducing his work back to the old days of the 'Hitler smack down' and completely ignoring that comics have been recognized as something more in the last 50 years.

I mean, at least it's not 'Batman Goes to Iraq to Fight and Find Weapons of Mass Destruction' but still...

Well, he has a 99% chance to piss a lot of people off with this politically charged peice of propaganda.

But he also has a 99% chance of having some really cool action sequences.

Which, in the end, would be all I'd hope for out of this.

It just seems absurd that Miller, who helped in part to define comics as a serious genre is now doing something that could help discount comics. It sounds like the man is clouded by recent events, and maybe should take a breather. If a few political cartoons started riots against the Netherlands, who knows what an entire BOOK will do.

Though, I don't think this one thing will discredit comics as an art form/legitmate medium.

You know, at least I hope not... though I will admit it is worrisome as this one thing could cause a whole lot of people to start generalizing comics again.

I do think it may make people think "Miller... I guess he's gone senile."

There's a reason people don't have comic book characters beating up Hitler and other hated groups and/or people. It's stupid and suspends the layer of fantasy that comics are supposed to have.

And politcally incorrect.

Though I remember when I was a kid reading comic books and thinking it was cool that Superman was a real person.

But comic books have really shifted in who their target audience is... but that's a really long off topic thing.

One thing Miller says really sticks out:

"It just seems silly to chase around the Riddler when you've got Al Qaeda out there."

You know what also seems silly? A guy in a bat suit running around at ALL. The thing that makes Batman work is his surroundings. If you put a fictional character in a fictional world which has been designed with that character in mind, then you have a working setting alongside a working character. The two mesh. Trying to put such an absurdity as Batman into the real world is pure storytelling suicide. Some comics with their roots in the fantastic do function well in a world much like our own (Ex Machina comes to mind) but that's because the stories have depth. However with this comic it just seems like he's taking a group from our world, putting it into the DC Universe, and then casting Batman as the hero to take out the real world bad guys. What you end up with is the depth of the real world trying to simplify itself into the 'bad vs. good' world that Miller seems like he's creating here.

I mean, if Al Qaeda was in the DC Universe, wouldn't another hero such as Superman already have taken them down? The whole thing makes no sense.

Well, the thing we have to remember is that it was long ago that Frank Miller drew one fight scene too many and switched over from edgy comic visionary to full-blown right wing nutbar. Besides, didn't he advocate the use of terrorism in The Dark Knight Strikes Again?

Or what if this is just going to be a big satirical piece? I doubt it (let me remind you again: Miller is not exactly politically neutral), but who knows? He could just be faking us out.

~IJ

If it was anyone else planning this I'd be worried, but Miller's got an eye for this kind of thing. I won't say it'll be great, but I trust him to have something up his sleeve.

I sure hope so. But the way he announced it...

ccs1989
One thing Miller says really sticks out:

"It just seems silly to chase around the Riddler when you've got Al Qaeda out there."

Buh... but I like the Riddler....

On a more serious note that really does sound like an awful idea. The only way to incorporate politics into comics successfully is doing is subtley. People can see it if they want... or not.

I agree with you Ccs. Taking Batman out of his element will just look foolish. Bad move on Miller's part... let's hope it's just a joke....

Heh, maybe the Riddler will be working for Al Qaeda?

"It just seems silly to chase around the Riddler when you've got Al Qaeda out there."

-Man that's dumb... It just seems silly to me to have Batman fighting Al Qaeda when you've got the entire US military machine out there. :lol:
Batman should stick to super villians.