4:52pm UK, Tuesday February 14, 2006

Holy terror, Batman! The Caped Crusader is set to take on his biggest fight yet - against Osama bin Laden's less than cartoonish al Qaeda.

Graphic book writer Frank Miller has told a comic book convention in San Francisco he wants Batman to ''kick al Qaada's ass.''

Holy bin Laden, Batman!

Miller, best known for his darker version of Batman and for Sin City, said it was silly to have his hero chase made-up baddies like the Riddler when there were real-life villains to deal with.

''It is a reminder to people who seem to have forgotten who we're up against," he said.

The story is based on DC Comics' famed superhero defending his hometown of Gotham City against a terrorist attack.

It is not the first time real people has appeared in the world of superheroes, he added.

"Superman punched out Hitler. So did Captain America. That's one of the things they're there for," Miller said.

The graphic novel, half of which has been finished by Miller, is expected to appear next year.

"It is, not to put too fine a point on it, a piece of propaganda," he said.