Decompression in comic books

I learned a new word today: decompression, as it relates to storytelling in comic books. I just got done reading the first Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. collection and was reading an interview with its writer, Warren Ellis. He said how he was writing for Nextwave was a reaction against decompression. Below is a, um, compressed version of a longer article from Wikipedia on the subject.

Decompression is a stylistic choice in comic book storytelling, characterized by a strong emphasis on visuals or character interaction and usually resulting in slow-moving plots. It developed a strong presence in mainstream American comic books in the 1990s and 2000s. Decompression is often claimed to be a result of the growing influence of manga on the international comics scene. Manga, traditionally less expensive per page than American comics due to higher circulation and black and white printing, extensively uses decompression as a storytelling style. Decompressed stories have been the cause of considerable controversy and debate amongst the American comics fandom. Many detractors accuse their writers of unnecessarily stretching out the page length of plots, thinning out the content per page in order to earn more sales and money for a limited amount of work. Defenders of the style claim that decompressed stories are not stretched out, but rich in character development and mood rather than plot progression.

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At top right, you can seen an example of decompression from issue #14 of Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday. The two use a full page to communicate Logan's reaction to Kitty and Peter's newly rekindled relationship.