In the weird mélange of reality and fiction, Osama bin Laden will follow in the footsteps of Hitler when he takes on Batman in the upcoming Holy Terror, Batman! graphic novel. The core of the plot is simple: Osama bin Laden, the curiously elusive al-Qaeda leader, charges America with being the “Great Satan” that peddles a culture seeped in aggression and pornography (and the recently released images of torture at Abu Graib jail that occurred in 2003 will hardly damped the fervor of such accusations) and then attacks Batman’s Gotham city, which is modeled on New York City.

Frank Miller, the author of Batman, sees no shame in propaganda, and he recently stated at a comic book convention that “It is, not to put too fine a point on it, a piece of propaganda — Batman kicks al-Qaeda’s ass…It just seems silly to chase around the Riddler when you’ve got al-Qaeda out there.”

The earliest possible publication for the Batman comic featuring Osama bin Laden will likely be next year, but this isn’t the first time that comic books have been employed in the service of political objective — in 2005 the U.S. Army was attempting to create a comic book that would, in theory, have the youth of the Middle East and Islamic world embracing Americanism with open arms. The rationale was that “in order to achieve long-term peace and stability in the Middle East, the youth need to be reached.” Thus, the American government’s Federal Business Opportunities website posted an ad looking for a collaborator for “a series of comic books,” since the medium would provide “the opportunity for youth to learn lessons, develop role models and improve their education.” The comic book would be produced by a new player in the business: the U.S. Special Operations Command based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, home to the 4th Psychological Operations Group.

Any pawns in the escalating war of media propaganda between the U.S. and the Muslim and Middle Eastern world will face stiff competition. The tentacular reach and popularity of the graphic novel now extends to the Middle East with AK Comics’ Middle East Heroes line of comic books, which is the first comic book specifically targeted for the audience in the region. The graphic novel, which is published in both Arabic and English, pits forces of good and evil for control of the City of All Faiths. Al-Ahram Weekly ran an article last year about Middle East Heroes with the cheerful title “My Favorite Superhero,” which quoted a 27-year-old business analyst explaining the appeal of the comic: “The setting is familiar and most characters’ names are Arabic…it’s just easier to connect.”

While jingoistic propagandism on both ends of the conflict will likely find an easy, or at least curious, audience, it will also likely deepen the unthinking rift that cuts through the ideological spectrum.

Mimi Hanaoka