Effects of using different panel layouts in Dark Knight

When I was reading The Dark Knight Returns,the use of various panel layouts stood out to me. Throughout the comic, different panels are used in a very creative way, and the panel usage seems to reflect the cinematic effects. For example, some panels are shaped in a very creative and unique way to convey the minds or the personalities of the characters. For example, the divided panels on page 15 are used to convey the duality of Harvey. Furthermore, the panels on page 58 are all sized differently, and this difference in the sizing of the panels effectively conveys the emotion of instability and nervousness that police commissioner Gordon is feeling towards the corrupted Gotham city.

Moreover, Miller, Janson and Varley very often use panels to play with the perspectives. For instance, there are many panels that show the news anchor presenting the events in the comic. These panels are shaped in a way that they look like the TV screens from the old days, and the effects of these TV-like panels are that they not only allow the readers to keep up with what is happening in the city or to Batman, but also allow the audience to engage with the story by putting them in the first person perspective; the panel shape makes the readers to feel like they are watching the news that features the events happening in the Gotham city. Furthermore, on page 25, the panels featuring the windowpanes do not have any black outlines, which again bring the reader in the scene and allow them to participate in the events depicted in the comic. 

Last but not least, when the pages reflect the explosion or violence, the panels in those pages usually don’t have any outline, and the text and emanata are written over different panels. and the combination of these adds on to the chaotic effect.