Holy Terror, Batman!

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"Holy Terror, Batman!" is a 200-page graphic novel by Frank Miller, set for a 2007 release.[1]

Contents

[edit] Plot

The plot revolves around Batman defending Gotham City from an attack by the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization. According to Miller, the comic is a "piece of propaganda" in which Batman "kicks Al-Qaeda's ass."[2]

[edit] Inspirations

Miller announced the graphic novel during a panel at the WonderCon comic book convention held in San Francisco in 2006.[3] Later that year, on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, NPR aired a brief memorial commentary by Miller, which provided insight into his inspiration for this project.[4]

  • The title of the graphic novel is a reference to a catchphrase "Holy [word], Batman," used by actor Burt Ward in his role as Robin during the 1960s Batman television series.[5]
    • "Holy Terror" had also been used as the title for a Batman story in the Elseworlds series during the 1990s. However, it had a completely different meaning. In this earlier story, Batman fought against an ultra-conservative Christian theocracy which was controlling America.
  • The use of superheroes for propaganda was a very common phenomenon in the past. During World War II, Captain America punched Adolf Hitler[6]

and battled the Nazi party,[7] while Superman, Batman, Robin and others encouraged Americans to buy war bonds.[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Batman Takes Aim at Osama", ABC News, February 14, 2006.
  2. ^ Harry Mount. "Holy propaganda! Batman is tackling Osama bin Laden", Daily Telegraph, February 15, 2006.
  3. ^ Hilary Goldstein. "WonderCon '06: Holy Terror, Batman!", ign.com, February 12, 2006.
  4. ^ Frank Miller. "That Old Piece of Cloth", NPR Morning Edition, September 11, 2006.
  5. ^ Frank Miller (Interviewee). (2006) Frank Miller's 'Holy Terror Batman' [TV clip]. Canada: SPACE: The Imagination Station.
  6. ^  Jack Kirby (p),  Syd Shores (i). "Meet Captain America" Captain America Comics v1 #1 March 1941  Timely Comics (Cover).
  7. ^ Jason Dittmer. "Captain America’s Empire: Reflections on Identity, Popular Culture, and Post-9/11 Geopolitics." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 95.3 (2005): 626-643.
  8. ^ Les Daniels (1998). Superman: The Complete History. Titan Books. ISBN 1-85286-988-7. 

[edit] External link