[comics] ...er...yeah...

[mrph]

So, Frank Miller will now be writing a story where Batman takes on Al Qaeda...

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."

The response from another notable Batman writer, Grant Morrison, is less than positive...

"Batman vs. Al Qaeda! It might as well be Bin Laden vs. King Kong! Or how about the sinister Al Qaeda mastermind up against a hungry Hannibal Lecter! For all the good it's likely to do. Cheering on a fictional character as he beats up fictionalized terrorists seems like a decadent indulgence when real terrorists are killing real people in the real world. I'd be so much more impressed if Frank Miller gave up all this graphic novel nonsense, joined the Army and, with a howl of undying hate, rushed headlong onto the front lines with the young soldiers who are actually risking life and limb 'vs' Al Qaeda - Grant Morrison

Comments

[paul-sticks.livejournal.com]

I'm inclined to agree with Grant Morrison to be honest :S

[kiaransalyn.livejournal.com]

I'm sitting behind Grant Morrison on this also.

[mrph.livejournal.com]

Yeah. He said pretty much what I was thinking on this one.

[mr-tom.livejournal.com]

Reminds me: http://www.beaucoupkevin.com/2006/08/this-weeks-project.html

[aoakley.livejournal.com]

Um, IIRC al Queda is an idea, not an organisation. One doesn't join, one just reads up and does one's own thing. Is the comic intending to have Batman philosophise on radical Islamist bulletin boards? I can't imagine this being very exciting.

Holy logical fallacy, Batman!

[nova-drzava.livejournal.com]

I hate those comic stories where they try and incorporate superheroes into contemporary political situations. If they are going to get Batman fighting Al Quaeda, why not send the whole Justice League after them? I mean, that's what would happen if they were real, right?
Yeah, right.
This is why I prefer comics like The Authority. These are a bunch of superguys and gals who have decided they aren't going to save the world unless it deserves saving, so they go and do things we'd like to do in the same circumstances, such as kick all the chinese out of Tibet and stage a coup d'etat on the US government so they can implement environmental policies and improve civil rights. These are guys who know they can change the world with their awesome powers and actually do it.
I can pretty much guarantee that batman vs Al Qaeda will result in nothing but a propaganda piece where ultimately he makes little difference to the world at large and Al Qaeda end up merely having some crappy plot thwarted but live to fight another day...call this fantasy? My arse.
I thought superheroes were supposed to be modern day mythological figures who can perhaps give us an inkling of how we might make the world a better place through upholding their ideals and practices. I guess I was wrong.