True, it's where the absence of the musical component of the show is most obvious but I also like that the comics format lets the reader choose how long to linger on a panel. The white out effect they use at the end of The Chain has that intensity partly because its placement at the end of the issue forces you to linger a little but you still choose how long. So swings and roundabouts.

With the specific example you give I actually like that that moment was so fleeting. Partly because it trusts the audience to fill in the gap but also to give it much more weight would have made Xander's reaction to Renee's death look more significant than her death itself, which would have really pushed things over into 'girl in a refrigerator' territory for me.