Detective Comics #595 Page 13 BATMAN VS MISTER FREEZE

15" x 10" image area. Ink, white-out and Zipatone over graphite on Bristol board. Detective Comics #595 Page 13 original art (DC 1988). Roderick Delgado and Jerry Acerno.

I can't remember where I first saw this page but all I recall when I did was "why in the world did I not fight or try for it?". When it came up again, I couldn't believe I had been given a second chance! Winning it was like winning the lottery to me because aside from it being a cool, vintage piece of OA, it had a very powerful message in its narration.

I find every panel a visual gem. That full page left panel with Batman standing on the roof of the S.T.A.R. Labs building is incredible! The detail of the defeated Mister Freeze being hauled away, the pensive Batman close-up, and the final panel with Batman flying off into the Gotham sunset, it's all put together so well. But what really burned into my memory when I first saw this page was the message. And that is what narrative art is all about - when there's a message and it causes you to pause, drawing you into the story, and leaving an unforgettable thought forever to consider. Batman realized that with all that happened to him in his life, seeing his parents being gunned down as a child, he could have easily grown up as a villain, letting that pain and anger rot him from the inside out. Freeze could have been a hero and Batman could have been a villain. It's all in the choices we make in life that define who we become. So true....