I’m not generally a fan of grid-based layouts, but they certainly are an effective way to rattle through a fair number of events or dialogue riffs in a hurry. If you told me, “Lay out an 8-panel page, stat,” that would be pretty intimidating if a bunch of differently sized panels were involved. Ah, but think of a uniform 2X4 panel grid, and now that seems like a much easier task, as with this page. Gotta say, though, I find grids far too limited and restrictive to use on a regular basis, and much—nay, vastly—prefer a variety of panel sizes and shapes. This is, by the way, is one of many reasons that I find the Alan-Moore-written Swamp Thing—with its wild and daring page layouts drawn by Steve Bissette and others—to be a far better comic experience than Watchmen and its oft-discussed (and wildly overrated) 9-panel grid.

Panel 5: Yeahp, a reference to the Empowered vol. 2 story establishing that Emp drools in her sleep. In fact, that story’s title was the same as her blurted, inchoate dialogue here: “MmmWHUH.”

-Adam Warren