It’s funny to read reviewers eviscerating Frank Miller’s latest offering, going nuts over the overt anti-Islamic propaganda and the lack of depth in his treatment of suicide bombers, jihad and the war on terror. It’s even funnier to read readers rushing to Miller’s defence. While I haven’t read Holy Terror yet, there are some things that I want to say, like every comic-book reading webmonkey in the world with time on his hands and an opinion up his asshole.

• Fact: Frank Miller’s writing has stopped being “deep” and “relevant” about 10 years ago.
• I do not mean this in a bad sense at all. I adore his work, and his artistic skill is unparalleled. Be it minimalism, symbolism, layout or design, Miller has been ahead of the curve. Remember – he was the artist Jim Lee tried to imitate – and failed. (Deathblow, part of the first wave of Image comics. Sounds like a horror-porn movie, and has contents slightly more intellectual than that particular sub-genre, but yeah, the art’s completely wannabe-Miller Lee) Curmudgeonly John Byrne, who was at the top of his game before Miller and who crashed and burned way too early, acknowledges him as one of his inspirations. This coming from Byrne, who’s not too charitable about the comicbook industry in general, is a ringing endorsement for Frank The Tank.
• That is primarily because Frank Miller’s art has evolved radically over the years. The Eisner-inspired cityscapes in Daredevil gave way to the Goseki Kojima-influenced inking in samurai-noir series Ronin, after which his style took another leap by the time The Dark Knight Returns came out. He then became more abstract – his Elektra Lives Again graphic novel was more refined than TDKR, and by the time he made his triumphant re-entry into comics, with the chiaroscuro Sin City, Miller had reinvented himself yet again. Miller’s proved time and again that he’s completely fearless in experimenting with format, style and presentation. Contrast the garish, electrifying palette of The Dark Knight Strikes Again with the magnificent dignity of 300, and your eyes will pop in disbelief. Yes, it is the same guy, and yes, he is the best at what he does.
• That said, I do believe that he has his own ‘house style’ when it comes to his writing. His writing is marked by a distinctive rhythm that echo all the way from his characters’ inner monologues to the snappy ironic patter between protagonists. He started it in Daredevil, morphed it into something gut-wrenching by the time he got to his mid-80’s Batman work, and then proceeded to write books that suited his style of writing. By the time Spawn/Batman was out, it was fairly apparent that he could churn out gruff, raspy superhero antics in his sleep. But – that was it. No evolution at all, nothing that might keep pace with the fact that readers were growing up, and that too much of the same thing is not always a good thing.

• With Dark Knight Strikes Again and All Star Batman And Robin (otherwise known as ‘the Goddamn Batman’ saga), Miller crossed over into genuinely provocative territory. One might see his interpretations of iconic characters as  both pro-baiting and fan-baiting taken to ludicrous extremes – “You want to see what I got?”, I imagine him chuckling to himself, hammering away at his word processor, “This is what I got. How do you like them apples?” Some fans took it, others rolled their eyes, most complained about raped childhoods. And yet, all of them bought his books, thereby proving him right. He could afford to do what he wanted, and make a shitload of money out of it.

• That said, I don’t think Frank Miller gives a flying fuck about what his readers think. As far as he is concerned, he has a fan following that will buy his books regardless of what he does or how he does it. Hollywood has given him his fuck-you money, and he has, in the course of his career, earned the right to do exactly what he wants to.

• Ever since the Holy Terror project was announced, Miller has gone on record, time and again, saying how his book will “piss off nearly everyone”.

• It’s been 10 years since September 11 happened, and the guy’s kept at it. He’s possibly gone and redone a ton of art because it used to be a Batman project and no longer is, right now. If I were him, I would already be pretty pissed with the mainstream comic-book industry for making me redo my work. If I was trying to piss people off then, I would have become a seething cauldron of rage by now, someone not satisfied until the book is publicly burnt, banned in 16 countries around the world, and someone issues an assassination order against me. That would validate ten fucking years of thankless work on a project even with movies to direct and starlets to bang. How do you like them apples?

• It’s a fucking superhero comic book. You think there’s been a “relevant” superhero comic book since 1986?

TLDR: Frank Miller does not need to be relevant or politically correct. You will all give him your money anyway. *