Holy Terror: Shock And Awe In Black & White 

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this video forgets to get into the drama behind the scenes. Miller's movie fame with Sin City movie being followed by him splitting with wife and longtime collaborater Lynn Varley and Miller taking up with a young heiress from the Hearst family of Citizen Kane fame who was hugely conservative and their whirlwind romance was fuelled with drugs and alcohol that lead to his health deterioration to where he ended up looking 30 years older than he actually was

That one bit with the hundreds of tiny white boxes representing the people lost was very artistic you must admit

4:49 Actually, Superman did indeed punch the evil one on a cover of "World's Greatest". Right next to him was Batman and Robin hitting Mussolini and Hirohito respectively.

I give Miller a lot of credit being able to look back at himself, own his actions, identify his motivation, and understand how he's changed and grown.

The only good thing I like about the GN is that DC was smart enough to not make this a Batman comic.

As a young Muslim kid who had just read, and was blown away by Year One and TDKR; upon hearing about this book almost a decade ago, I was hurt in a way that is very difficult to describe. The man who crafts these stories about my favorite characters thinks I’m the problem? I don’t know, I still feel a sense of that same sting when I think back to it.

Thank you very much for another excellent video!❤

Currently reading the Novel "Frank Miller's Daredevil and the ends of heroism" by Paul young, definitely a recommend if you enjoy his O.G. run & Born Again. Talks about the creative process and analyzes the work in its entirety while touching on other works in passing like Dark knight & others.

Great content as always

Another fantastic, yet succinct analysis. I'd love to see a video that goes more in depth on the development of Miller's style.

all shock no awe

It's hard now, in the cold light of 2023 to properly explain just how much The Dark Knight Returns (and Watchmen), meant to me as an adolescent in the mid 80's, who was on the journey of discovering the foundational works of film, music and art that would go on define who I am today. At the time, I really was too young to properly understand many of the themes and subtexts until subsequent re-readings, but his work very much explored the elements that I search for in my heroes and villains... Honestly, even today, the Batman of The Dark Knight Returns, is MY Batman. As a result, I held Frank Miller in incredible esteem and he was perhaps one of my first lessons in encountering the fallibility and disappointment that is all too predictable when our heroes slip from the pedestals we set them atop. Holy Terror was the final nail in the coffin for me, a fan that had watched the ongoing, ugly slide into Miller's later work and was genuinely surprised at the hate, and seeming lack of effort or grace that was shown across both his words and lines. Funny how things to change though... I was so disappointed and even angry at the time, but as I've grown older and maybe even grown as a person, I now find something almost poetic about the fact, in our real world, it was Frank Miller who also first taught me that our heroes all have clay feet and it's not as simple as just loving or hating them, but a wider understanding of them as an actual human being, working through their own lives and feelings. I still can't abide Holy Terror for what it is, but I also can't take away some of the other influences Miller deeply instilled. Either way, I thank him for the positive elements he helped to sew into me and hope that as an intelligent, creative and thoughtful human being, he is content and happy, having let go of some of the hatred that was driving him at the time.

I always appreciate seeing your videos and I am glad to see some subscriber climb.

The editing on this one is sharp.

Whenever there is a traumatic event in my life I too retreat in to a creative project of some kind or another. But rarely does it reflect my emotional state. It's more like giving my brain something to work on in the foreground, while I process my feelings and and thoughts in the background. It may because of this distraction tactic that I miss out on the output of others doing the same. I greatly respect Mr. Miller and am in continual awe of his body of work. But I think I'm glad I missed this one!

Im glad you continue to cover challenge comics and content that probably wont win you any favors from The Algorithm

I appreciate the inclusion of the more recent interview of Miller

You are the best comic book youtuber in all the platform mate

I'm very excited to watch this one!

Your video, while good, missed one thread which explains part of this story. Bob Schreck was Frank Miller's editor at Dark Horse, then was invited by DC to become the editor of the Batman comics, then became the editor-in-chief of Legendary's comics line. This is an important factor to consider when speculating about the possibility of editorial interference with Miller's work at DC. Miller returned to DC and then went to Legendary when his longtime friend moved to those places.

Garth Ennis' The Pro is just as racist, and yet no one criticizes that comic, or Ennis

As I recall both 300 and TDK were noted for their not so subtle political slants, each published long before Holy Terror or 9 11

Feedback stuff: Great thumbnail. I have been looking at this all day to watch this.

Every time this channel uploads it makes my day :] one of the few RU-vidrs where I find myself going back and rewatching their videos

Great video and it is great to review work after the fact. Knee jerk reactions often lead to the worst decisions. I feel this video was able to convey that. Bravo and Brilliant work.

I've not followed Miller's work/interviews for a long time due to work like this. It's nice to hear that he's turned a bit of a corner in terms of his beliefs. Gives me hope that people can come back from extremism, which lord knows, we could use that kind of grounding right now.

Also: We're getting a video on All Star Batman and Robin right? RIGHT?!!

Maybe you could make a video on Grant Morrison’s reaction, who took the Batman title explicitly saying he had enough of Frank Millerism both in the character and in Miller himself and, funny enough, of Alan Moore who embraced Ocuppy Wall Street because they used the V mask (from the film he thrashed, but, well, anarchy and magic and all) and at the same time anonymous raised. I always reference the NPR “Old Piece of Cloth” read by Miller himself - after 9/11 Miller stopped writing Batman and hard boiled fictional characters and rather seemed to believe he actually was the goddammed Batman.

I guess I’m on the opposite end of all of his politics but now that I’m a little older I do understand how easy it can be for just about anyone given the right circumstances to fall into bad political ideas that are too extreme. Not trying to downplay or excuse any of his view nor claim that I know where they came from, but I do now understand that 9/11 really scared a lot of people and that the US in particular is filled with media and social influences that can really polarize anyone caught in the thick of it. I’m not old enough to remember 9/11, most just the bizarre confusing aftermath of our reaction to it, but I can imagine someone well meaning being really shocked by it and handling it poorly in the form of unhandled politics. I’d like to hope that a lot of people with Ive reactionary politics, if they got the chance to meet more people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives and had their deeper fears and anxieties confronted might come out a bit kinder.

On my way to work and got the notification for a new strange brain parts video! Today was a good day!

In hindsight, the Martha Washington sequel told me that Miller didn't have anything left in the tank.

Yup, I remember picking this up in a store and flicking through it thinking, 'Is this some sort of weird parody of Dark Knight?". Then I saw who made it and hastily put it back on the comics rack and bought something else. I like Miller, but like any artist or writer, no-one is perfect.

I remember when I first opened this book and flipped through it, the smell of whatever chemicals were used in printing was HEAVY. Between that and the content I was left woozy as if I had spent the day painting an unventilated bathroom.

Your overview of Holy Terror is very good. I don’t really like the story but I always like Miller’s artwork no matter how good or bad it is. I understand how he felt at the time, I think most of us were very angry at the time but when you calm down and look back at it you realize not everything is as black and white as you thought

Where the opening music at? 🥺

good vid thx

Weird that FM admited back in the day that his book was propaganda but then compared it to golden age examples that were above all comedic while his book was 100% serious.

Surprised the name of the book wasn’t changed as it obviously references Burt Ward’s exclamations from the 60s Batman tv series

I personally introduced to the existence of this story by Linkara. Who else was?

When people bring up the propoganda in 40s comics to justify bad and racist takes these days they always bring up Hitler getting punched but never mention when Superman “slapped a jap” and all other blatant racists and xenophobic stuff used to dehumanize the Japanese in comics at the same time. Sometimes you get lucky and Captain America is punching Hiter and everyone with a rationale mind agrees that’s good but that is the rarity in propaganda from any era.

I mostly agree. I valued Miller as an artist and writer. I liked everything he did (RONIN remains one of my favorite series to this day) but then he did DK Strikes Again, and Holy Terror. His slide began. I think the artwork was good on Holy Terror, continuing/returning to his hybridization of American and Japanese comics visually. But the story was so thin. He didn't give us anything to care about really with his two heroes. When he retooled it from Batman and Catwoman he should have done that. It would have improved it. A little. At least.

When Frank forgets his Bat Pills.

I was out when I saw the red shoes.

I will always remember Daredevil.

Great coverage of an important but uncomfortable chapter in comics and Frank Miller. Well done.

What do you expect from a guy who famously wears a fedora? That's a cheep joke but it's right there.

9/11 broke Frank Miller's brain and never recovered

5:12 agree with Miller's politics or not (I don't) he's absolutely on the money here.

As an old school fan of Miller starting w/ Daredevil in the late 70s I'm so sad how basically boring his stuff is now. He doesn't remember how to write people.

I remember when this book came out. I remember how near universally hated it was. Coming from the legendary Frank Miller, the blow to his public image was shattering. Personally, I believe Miller's artwork and writing has never been at the same level it used to be starting from TDK Strikes Again and maybe even before that, although I still enjoy 300 and most of his work in the 90's. Maybe 9/11 just finished tipping him over an edge he already was dangerously close to fall over from. We may never know. To tell the truth, I've never read this comic nor do I ever want to. It undoubtedly comes from a place of understandable but misplaced hate, anger and rage. Here we can see Frank Miller at his lowest, channeling his talents in a misguided and mean-spirited way. That's not the Frank that I want to read, the one that gave us the most influential Daredevil run of all time, the one that brought Batman to the new century with The Dark Knight Returns; the Frank Miller that, along with Alan Moore and others, redefined how comic books could be and how they were perceived and, also, fought for the rights of creators in the industry during a time in which all of them, be they veterans or new blood, were treated like fecal matter. That's the Frank Miller that inspired me. I'm glad to see that in recent times he seems to have let go of that shadow and embraced a more comprehensive, joyful and caring nature that was always there in the beginning, even if his artwork and writing haven't exactly "evolved" to the same standards as before. Can't have it all, I guess. Excellent video as always, Overlord. ✌🏻

Hell ya

I like Frank and have a deep respect for him, but holy terror is definitely a low point in his bibliography. Not to mention that him saying it was written like a piece of propaganda from the Golden Age Comics during WW2 kind of strikes me as an excuse. Having read the graphic novel, it reads more like post a 9/11 Revenge fantasy in my opinion.

I haven't read it - probably won't. Of COURSE I was familiar with the broad strokes. Did not know it took him 5 years to complete. Which changes things indeed. Still love ALL his 80s output. Gonna nitpick the exclusion of Ronin (my favorite work of his). Another excellent tour through the 4 color world!

I couldn't get through this. I reached "The Popeye Limit"...

Lol, it was funny!

Inb4 this video gets instantly de-monetized/shadow banned by the crappy RU-vid robots

Between this and all star batman and robin,I think this was the book that killed Frank Miller's career

Imagine Frank Miller doing this during the whole Charlie Hebdo thing. The Fixer: Je suis Charlie!

Holy terrible is more like it... ...I'll see myself out

Love Miller, huge fan of Holy Terror, just not the cover, it doesn't cut it for me.

It's not a good idea to say or publish things when you're either mad or drunk.

It is always the young rebels who become old conservatards. Just look at Raphael in Middle-Aged Mutant Ninja Turtles. Lol

I always thought this was in color...

I mean, Dark Knight Returns is fascist too, I guess it just took that long for people to notice.

One the most satisfying readings from Miller this one.

its a very cathartic comic and im happy he got that catharis out of his system.

Well, I find Frank Miller’s views as reflected in comics to be odd. Like entire Holy Terror (and maybe 300) to be different from Reagan caricature in Dark Knight Returns and even Martha Washington. Dark Knight Master Race have similar contradiction like Trump parody existing alongside with the villain being Kandor cult having Arabic garbs and harem. I mean I compare and contrast him with Roseanne as well.

To me, Holy Terror fails at most basic level as a graphic novel. Great majority of the book is occupied by page after page of double-spreads of the terrorist attack, and our 'heroes' only begin to do anything after almost 70 pages. Then another 20 pages of basically nothing, then a huge Bendis-like page of exposition, and then the actual plot is wrapped up in last 30 pages. This is something we see often with Miller's modern work, where e.g. ASBAR also went nowhere for 9 issues, only setting up the inciting incident, and the actual villain's plan BEGINS in issue 10 (and of course, issue 11 was never made). Miller is a huge weeaboo so this might be an attempt to steal 'decompressed' storytelling from manga, but it doesn't work at all.

Glad to see you cover this one! I think your ending thoughts on this is one I also share. I remember reading this like a decade ago and just thinking this was a crater of a book. Everything about it to me was just this ugly piece of work, almost literally hard to look at with the art work. But looking at it now, I have to admit, I do like the look of the book a little more and the strange jumbled postures of the characters kind of stick. The subject matter is still something I’m less enthusiastic to revisit but leaving it in the past is something I’m perfectly comfortable doing. I think a good contrast of how a reactionary work can function, even if you don’t agree with the politics of it, is The Dark Knight Returns. That has plenty of elements that some people find distasteful if isolated or made to reflect real life but in the context of that book and how it’s all laid out, it works. There’s an actual story that helps it for one thing but there are more nuances and times where the characters are allowed to breathe as opposed to the pace Holy Terror goes at. Again, I haven’t read this in a decade so maybe this just looks better from that distance but I’ve softened my attitude towards it, more or less.

A lot of people miss the point of Holy Terror. A review you put on screen nailed it. It's Miller bellowing out a "primal scream" using the only tools he knows. It's his venting platform after being permanently scarred. It's raw emotion, uncaring of who disapproves, frantically vomiting its fury out onto the page. It *is* a work of art, and it's beautiful to see real humanity wailing into the night sky, flaring with wild sparks like bare wires. People love to oversimplify it as "hateful propaganda," instead of realizing its true beauty: pure unbridled rage. We all have that side to us, whether we admit it or not, and even if we never show it, it's still there. Too many people labeled Miller and dumped him, because it's easier to do that than to admit that we all can reach that same place of rage under the right circumstances.

Are you doing a series on canceled/probelmatic creators? If not, it's a good idea.

still no where near as laughable as that recent wolverine variant cover he did lol

Miller has had something of a redemption arc in recent years. His IG shows a lot of very progressive stances, though he posts infrequently. He also comes off as warmer and friendlier in interviews. I don’t know what happened, but it’s nice to see that people can change for the better even if late in life.

Compared to DK2 , Holy Terror is actually not that bad.

I think this book is better then a lot of people give it credit for. Its an amazing statement on the heavy-handed, ham fisted idea that is American superhero comics vs terroism and its impossibly doomed inability to make a nuanced statement on the subject. It's clunky and violent and shows in every way why the genre could never live up to the task. Its also some of Miller's best modern era art. Some wild ink splotches, hardly a clean striaight line in the book and some very interesting stripped down backgrounds. This is also an era that saw the height of Frank's alchaholism that aged the man 20 years in a span of 5. Yes it's a violent, messy critique on Islam and terrorism but in someways its also a satirical criticism of the American concept of punching what we hate in the face. It encompasses all our mistakes in the ensuing war on terror and the zeitgeist in the air after 9/11. In many ways intentional or not, its deeper then you think.

My problem with this book is that Frank Miller let his hatred of muslins take over while working on this thing, and it led to him creating charicatures of muslims, as well as creating 2 unlikable leads, the male lead really is no better than terrorists he is fighting since he employs torture methods, and steals stuff from innocent civilians (He steals a random car at some point) Plus we know nothing about the leads' backstories and why they are the way they are, backstories are REALLY important when working on a story.

All well said. There really is no describing just what a piece of utter awfulness this book was, on just about every conceivable level, the lowest of all being " great talent turns into bigoted ranting hack." (never my favorite thing to happen to my heroes and it happens way too often) He seems to have recovered somewhat from that, though I think his talent has been broken ever since. The most charitable(to Frank) way to look at this is as his used toilet paper. Or the toilet he vomited into, before flushing. Because this was nothing but catharsis for his anger, without any real "artistic" intent at all, so to judge it as art is unfair probably. It's a fit of rage, and should be seen as such, and is probably best forgotten, ultimately, except as a missing piece explaining the regrettable shift in his work after 2001.

There's something really ironic about this video coming out when it did because I just finished the planning stage for a Holy Terror rework book, and you might be asking why I decided to do that. Well, it's because of the linkara video on holy Terror and some of the comments there, and it's a great teardown breakdown analysis of holy Terror, and it's so good that it's inspired me to write my own version of holy Terror that's better because I'm a new writer and I'm struggling with good ideas, so I decided why not rob from the worst of the worst and see if I can make it better. Anyway good video

Everyone was scared and angry after 9/11. It was a confusing time. I don't blame Frank for being angry.

Fantastic. At some point I will actually sit and read Holy Terror as punishment.

Frank can do no wrong to me. Greatest modern comic book artist combining his style of graphic arts into the ponderous archive of illustration 👍♥️♥️💯😛

"I'm the Goddamn Batman rip-off"

He was right wing when and where no one else was, also the general cultural zeitgeist of most of the audience didn't aligned with it aswell, there was no way it could work, and I think he did it as his own way of dealing with what he saw happening in 2001 very near to him. Miller's mindset is the last individual of a species that used to be dominant in the culture but that will be extinct after he's gone, unfortunately. It's very interesting and amazing to look at and analyse.

Yeah this comic was just bad at least in my opinion

So.....is Frank okay now?

I had happily not thought about Frank Miller for many, many years, but I do love Strange Brain Parts' work. So to alleviate any confusion, because it took my old mind a while to remember, "The Event" is 9-11. It broke Frank's already rotting brain.

Guys will spend 5 years making a racist comic rather than go to therapy.

"Take your pills frank!!" "i hate woke! I hate woke! I hate woke!"

Hot take: if this was published in '02 or '03, in the peak of post 9/11 world - it would've been viewed as a masterpiece!

Miller is ridiculously overrated

The day we realized Frank Miller hadn't only lost the plot He'd just gone to the dark side.

Well, no one can say Frank Miller is “Woke”.

I think the "Primal scream" review is fairly on point. I might not like it, and its unabashedly racist propaganda, but I think its an important time capsule of the times and the creators psyche. Jingoism swept the country and everything was some reaction to the attacks. Art is inherently political and a reaction to the environment it was birthed in. But i look at Holy Terror in similar light as confederate monuments or Nazi propaganda films. Its imperative to remember them in the context of their creation, their intent, and being able to talk about them with an unsantized view. Ive had classes where we analyzed and talked about anti Semetic art around WWII or anti Chinese art from as far back as the gold rush. I appreciate that Miller seems to have self awareness of its problems and owns it. I never finished it but it even sounds like DK3 used "Master Race" intentionally evoke the problems of that phrase and mirror the issues with Holy Terror. To me that shows character and artistic growth

Never read it, seems like your video was better thought out than the book was.

Frank Miller Dark Knight one was very critical of Regan's America, now Frank simps for America like a lapdog

As gross as the comic and the beliefs behind it were I'm willing to take a wider view of the era and cut old Frank a bit of slack. 9/11 broke a lot of brains and we've been dealing with the fall out of the cultural and political insanity that followed for decades now. Sadly, it'll at least another decade or two before the misdeeds of the opportunistic scum that rose to the top in its wake can get repaired. One man embarrassing himself by wanting Batman to kill some Arabs is comparatively harmless.

It's also really boring. Characters are wafer-thin, have the simplest of motivations and zero character development.

i think frank should sold this book as a parody book then people wouldn't have hated it nearly as much as they do

To me it's one thing to look at 40s or 50s comics and sort of cringe with the eyes of today - specially now with this woke crap taking over. But if something was already cringe-worthy at the time of release well... that ain't good at all is it..? Thanks for the video by the way 🙂