Graham Nolan, Detective Comics #0, Batman in Action

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.

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.

Also:

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, the veteran editor and writer 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.

https://greggoldsteincomicartgallery.com/graham-nolan-widescreen/