At first glance, the work appears to be a mindless enlargement of a comic book panel. However, the brilliance lies in Lichtenstein’s meticulous technical execution. He did not simply trace a comic; he curated it. By utilizing Ben-Day dots—the small colored circles used in cheap commercial printing—he created a paradox. He used the slow, manual labor of oil and magna paint to mimic the fast, mechanical look of a printing press. This tension between the "hand-made" and the "machine-made" is the heartbeat of the piece.

The Lichtenstein used for this image.

The composition is expertly balanced to create a sense of cinematic movement. On the left, the attacker is sleek, cold, and calculated. On the right, the explosion is chaotic, vibrant, and loud—even though it is silent. The use of the onomatopoeic "WHAAM!" in bold, yellow lettering bridges the gap between image and sound. By stripping away the narrative context of the original comic strip, Lichtenstein forces the viewer to focus on the formal elements: the sharp black outlines, the primary color palette, and the aggressive graphic energy.

How his evolved in his later "Mirror" or "Brushstroke" series.