Just in case you were worried there wouldn't be enough crassness on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, Frank Miller has got you covered. His graphic novel Holy Terror, about a superhero who takes down Al Qaeda, comes out Sept. 2011.
The creator of Batman: Year One, Sin City and 300 originally planned to call this comic Holy Terror, Batman!, and feature the Caped Crusader himself fighting the ultimate terrorist organization. And Batman was originally going to square off against Osama Bin Laden, but that's off the table as well. Instead, a superhero called the Fixer will take on the Muslim terrorists. (Presumably he's not called the Fixer because he repairs their dishwashers and reconnects their cable TV after he kills them.)
The comic is being published on Sept. 14, 2011, by Legendary Comics, an offshoot of Legendary Pictures. And if you go to the Legendary Comics site, you can see an animated version of the above image, in which the Fixer and his Arab combatant move as you mouse over them, although sadly the teeth flying out of the Arab's mouth don't move separately.
Here's what Frank Miller said about this project at Comic Con in 2006, according to the Guardian:
Superman punched out Hitler. So did Captain America. That's one of the things they're there for ... It is, not to put too fine a point on it, a piece of propaganda.
Last year, Miller explained his new character, The Fixer, to the L.A. Times Hero Complex Blog:
He's been trained as special ops and when his city is attacked all of a sudden all the pieces fall into place and all this training comes into play. He's been out there fighting crime without really having his heart in it – he does it to keep in shape," said Miller. "It began as my reaction to 9/11 and it was an extremely angry piece of work and as the years have passed by I've done movies and I've done other things and time has provided some good distance, so it becomes more of a cohesive story as it progresses. The Fixer has also become his own character in a way I've really enjoyed. No one will read this and think, 'Where's Batman?' ... My guy carries a couple of guns and is up against an existential threat. He's not just up against a goofy villain. Ignoring an enemy that's committed to our annihilation is kind of silly. It just seems that chasing the Riddler around seems silly compared to what's going on out there. I've taken Batman as far as he can go.
He also told the Times that the Fixer is "not a tortured soul" in the way that Batman is, but rather he's a "well-adjusted creature" who happens to shoot 100 people.
And here's the full press release, via Comic Book Resources:
LEGENDARY COMICS TO PUBLISH HOLY TERROR GRAPHIC NOVEL BY RENOWNED COMICS CREATOR FRANK MILLER
Comic Scheduled for September 14, 2011 Release
Burbank, CA – June 28, 2011 – Legendary Comics has partnered with Frank Miller, the iconic writer and artist of SIN CITY, 300 and THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, to publish HOLY TERROR, a dark, uncompromising superhero tale for the modern era. The announcement was made today by Bob Schreck, Editor-in-Chief of Legendary Comics.
In HOLY TERROR, join The Fixer, a brand new, hard-edged hero as he battles terror. The graphic novel is a no-holds-barred action thriller told in Miller's trademark high-contrast, black-and-white visual style, which seizes the political zeitgeist by the throat and doesn't let go until the last page.
"It has been my extreme pleasure and honor to have worked so closely with Frank for over 20 years now," says Schreck. "HOLY TERROR finds Frank at the top of his game. A fast paced, biting commentary on our uncertain and volatile times, told with some of the most gut-wrenching, iconic images he's ever produced."
HOLY TERROR is a 120 page hardcover graphic novel with spot-color interiors presented in a 10 x 13 landscape format. Distributed by Diamond Books, HOLY TERROR retails for $29.99 and will be in stores on September 14.