Batman Official Annual 1982 (DC U.K./Stafford Pemberton/London Editions, 1982)

As if warming up for his breakthrough assignment on 1988's Batman: The Killing Joke, Bolland catches the heroic character in a tense pose, anticipating an attack by his mortal enemy, the Joker. And sure enough, that bad rascal is lurking in the near background (lower right). Note the slightly exaggerated tremor in Batman's right hand -- a brilliant touch. The deep-perspective, high-angle composition is a sure-fire vertigo-inducer, calculated to simulate eye-contact with anyone who views the piece. The Batman Official Annual line of handsomely packaged hardcovers combines familiar reprints with new prose-fiction pieces.