One Panel #176-178: This Means War

This combative entry spans conflicts of all sizes.
From Batman: "The Screaming House" by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson, Detective Comics #37 (March 1940)

Man, I initially read that wrong. Gotta get my head our of the gutter before Golden Age Batman punches my lights out.

From Gary Concord, Ultra Man: "Tor Attacks America Part 2" by Jon L. Blummer, All-American Comics #13 (April 1940)

A strange quirk of "One Panel" is that odd panel layouts get strangely cropped out, as with this futuristic aerial battle.

From Hugh Hazzard and his Iron Man: "War" by George E. Brenner (as Wayne Reid), Smash Comics #9 (April 1940)

But this is the one I love most of all. Though comics historians are forced to "title" the story "War" because it appears in the first panel, it's really just the first word of a prosaic passage spanning four panels, and at the same time, a simple but impactful declaration of the story's context. It's bold and exciting in its minimalism.

Comments