Panel Design in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

While reading Batman: The Dark Knight Returns I was impressed by Miller and Janson's choices regarding panel design and panel transitions. At the beginning of the comic on page 11, Miller and Janson introduce Batman through the perspective of popular media, utilizing panels in the shape of televisions to emphasize the disseminators of a message. I found this innovative in that the panel design eliminated the need to clarify for readers who the speaker was, and also enforced a duality between various perceptions of Batman and who Batman actually is, creating more complexity surrounding him as a character.

On an unrelated note I also found the panels depicting Bruce Wayne's dream on page 18 particularly striking. Similar to what we saw in Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, Miller and Janson use elongated panels to elicit the dramatic sensations and surrealism associated with dreams. Panels 7-10 are especially effective in emphasizing young Bruce Wayne's feelings of shock and fear. The division of his face across several panels serves to prolong the experience of one moment, creating a sensation of time slowing and a sense of dread.

While reading Batman: The Dark Knight Returns I tended to disregard the role of panel transitions in telling the story and found myself paying less attention to the artwork and focusing more on the plot. But by looking back at pages more specifically it's clear that Miller and Janson were thoughtful and strategic in their use of image and design, and in some cases paid homage to other comics we have read this semester.