Detective Comics #0, October 1994
Graham Nolan delivers an action-packed three-panel page from the peak period of the his and Chuck Dixon’ Batman run in the early 90s. This is of course the same dynamic duo that brought us the supervillain Bane a year earlier.
(I still break into a cold sweat from that page where Bane breaks Batman’s back. But I digress.)
I’m fascinated that 100 percent horizontal panel layouts took such a long time to become more commonplace, especially given the frequent storytelling relationship between comic books and film. Although Hollywood introduced widescreen in the 50s (a marketing ploy primarily to lure audiences away from their TV sets) the square format panel was standard for many years.
Now of course the horizontal panel layout is ubiquitous, but even in 1993 it stood out among the crowd. And this one specifically is a dynamic example of how it can enhance the action.
(All The Batman books had “Zero” issues as part of the broader Zero Hour DC crossover event.)
Fun fact #1:
The first bar I ever (illegally) hung out at as a kid in my Long Island hometown was built by Graham’s grandfather — who had sold it by then. (Pub still there, by the way, hopefully it will survive Covid.)
Fun fact #2:
My pal Joey Cavalieri and I both had an English HS teacher who was a classic barfly at said bar. (Good teacher though).
But these are stories for another day.
