Drinking his own Kool-Aid: Frank Miller’s graphic novel <i>300</i> (1998) and the slippery slope from history to myth to propaganda

Abstract Both Frank Miller’s graphic novel 300 (1998a) and the movie it inspired, 300 (2007), were phenomenal popular successes and still stand as a major gateway to ancient history for many people today. Scholars have examined external influences on Miller’s vision and also made a connection between his personal perspective and common themes among his works, but they have not fully appreciated the significance of the graphic novel 300’s place as both a chronological midpoint and a creative turning point in the evolution of Miller’s career from the breakout success of The Dark Knight Returns (1986) to the nadir of Holy Terror (2011). I argue that Miller’s political ideology and creative vision underwent a parallel evolution in which he deceived himself into believing that the heroic-mythical worldview that he expressed through the fictional superhero Batman not only applied to the historical Battle of Thermopylae but also to the contemporary reality of the post-9/11 world. Seen in this light, Miller’s mythologizing of history in 300 is not simply a case of harmless dramatic license but rather a perilous step down a slippery slope toward the political propaganda of Holy Terror.