Holy Terror Book

As much as it pains me to say this, I just don't like this book. I've been a Frank Miller fan since I first got into more serious graphic novels and have read Sin City and 300 numerous times. Both of these titles are rightly considered to be comics classics and I have found that the storylines and art are just as relevant and appealing on fifth read as on first. I truly enjoyed Miller's work on Batman and Daredevil as well. I'm such a big fan in fact that I preordered Holy Terror months before it was actually available but, when it finally arrived, I was seriously disppointed.

At the synopsis level, the story of Holy Terror sounded promising - There's a deadly menace on the loose in Empire City and only the Fixer can stop it and save civilisation as we know it. OK, not the most original sounding hook but it still seemed like my cup of tea and so I was expecting great things. However, when I actually got to read the story in full I soon realised that it was a strangely incoherent mash-up of the superhero genre and blatant propaganda.

Holy Terror begins with the Fixer chasing the Cat Burgler (can you tell that this was originally going to be a Batman story?) across the rooftops of Empire City. Their chase is interupted by a series of explosions which cause devistation across the city. The Fixer and Cat Burgler join forces to round up the culprits - a bunch of al-Qaeda terrorists determined to destroy the city on the stroke of midnight. There's lots of violence, mayhem and torture as the Fixer sets out to foil the terrorists' plot at any costs.

Reading Holy Terror and the way Miller portrayed the religion of Islam actually made me feel uncomfortanle in places. This isn't just a bad story, it's like a spoof of right wing propaganda come to life. Like I said though, even if you could ignore the misplaced preaching, the storyline is just dire. It is easy to see why DC Comics didn't want this to be a Batman book. The similarities to a Batman story actually serve to make the whole book more incongruous and disturbing. Even the art is a mess and nowhere near what fans of Miller will expect.

Not only can I not recommend it, I actually feel that I have to write this review to warn people not to bother buying Holy Terror. Stick to Miller's older books, this one will make you nauseous.