November - i. 1, p. 16

Great page.  Talk about a "summation in one page"...!  Dee's identification with the "caged birds" and the joy she derives from releasing them - the joy she cannot achieve herself - is so well-realized here.  The silent "exchange" that goes on between panels 4&5 just kills me.  Who's in the cage from each point of view?  (And come on - the pigeon drawing in panel 4 is just awesome). 

Those pigeons are obviously her spirit creature here; she opens the door for them (which kind of grants freedom to both of them), only to have the birds return (homing pigeons, yo).  It's not their nature to escape, just as she can't bring herself to change her nature and escape.

There are bars or cages everywhere on this page, in every panel except the last one (where she is simply isolated in darkness, but Elsa and Matt were using that "black" 12th panel on a few pages in November's first chapter): shadows thrown across her bedroom wall, the borders in the crossword puzzle, the pattern of her microphone hood, the pigeon's cage, the pigeon's POV, the incredible release of flight and snow (cage in the background), then the cage again, this time separating her from another human person and touch/intimacy. 

It's all about the thirst for - and inability to - escape, beautifully summarized in one page.  It's her entire arc (so far), right there.

Hey!  Thanks for letting me post my 'November' term paper here!  (Sorry, man... :) )