Empowered: That's how I feel after reading this volume

Empowered, volume 7
By Adam Warren
Published by Dark Horse Comics



A common complaint about modern superhero comics is their overbearing tendency to shoehorn  "maturity" into what is essentially a children's genre, usually by filling stories with graphic violence and hints at sex, mostly in the form of skimpy costumes for female characters (but not men, since that might inspire icky feelings in the overwhelmingly male readership). The stunted emotional growth of most superhero creators and fans has led to a bizarrely insular, ever-shrinking readership (aging men, for the most part) who can't bear to move beyond the genre they loved in their youth, but want that genre to "grow up" with them, or at least attempt to be as "mature" as the gruesome police procedurals that litter the television landscape. It's gotten to the point where one can pretty much write off the entire genre, sacrificing the rare quality work that appears like pearls that aren't worth searching for among the rest of the swine.

So if I'm so down on the genre as a whole, why do I like Adam Warren's Empowered so much? It's a superhero comic that traffics in exactly those elements, filling its pages with sex and violence, and pandering to the reader with plots manufactured expressly for the purpose of reducing the eponymous heroine to powerlessness and skimpy-costumed titillation. The difference is that Warren isn't just rehashing old plots and characters with added "adult" content, but crafting new stories and constantly developing characters that he created, always moving his series forward and working to give readers more understanding of the characters as realistic, believable people, no matter how mannered their dialogue or crazily action-packed their personal battles. And what's more, the sex isn't included as a snickering attempt at arousal, but as a serious depiction of the issues that people face in a real relationship, and the violence is shocking and permanent, something that hits people hard and affects them deeply, not allowing for lighthearted wisecracks and easy resurrections, but scarring psyches and haunting the subconscious of all involved.

With this volume, Warren adds another tool to his arsenal, that of non-chronological storytelling. The opening chapter consists of a series of non-sequitur panels that appear to flash forward to events not yet seen, sans context, presented as the outside-of-time "memories" of the Caged Demonwolf character, an omnipotent cosmic fiend who has spent almost the entirety of the series trapped in a bondage device on the main character's coffee table, usually providing a belligerent running commentary on whatever the other characters are experiencing (especially their sex lives). This scene is kind of shocking, since it gives several hints at tragic events to come, but it is only a precursor to the storytelling methods used in the rest of the volume, which seems to start right at the climax of the plot, with Ninjette, the main character's best friend, a rogue ninja trying to escape the conflicts of her murderous clan, apparently captured by a group of masked ninjas who intend to either murder her or sell her back to her own clan, which has plans that are just as gruesome. And then, over the course of the rest of the volume, Warren jumps around in time, showing what happened before and after the moment of Ninjette's capture, then bouncing around the series' timeline at will, sometimes catching up on what has happened with Empowered and her friends after the events of the previous volume, then leaping to Emp and 'Jette's training sessions, hopping to scenes of Emp discussing her relationship with her boyfriend Thugboy, and even going back to Emp's early days as a superheroine and Ninjette's early ninja exploits and the beginnings of her rebellion against her clan. Warren even regularly presents "counter-factual scenarios" which seem to depict characters taking actions that are irreversible, usually by revealing information that would change how others view them, then revealing that they were just imagining saying or doing these unthinkable things, yet tantalizingly giving us a glimpse into a future in which these secrets come out. It's bravura storytelling, completely confident that readers can keep up, and still wowing with moments of humor, crazy sci-fi concepts, and heart-stopping action.



In fact, the ninja fight that we see play out in fits and starts over the course of the volume is one of the most exciting and well-choreographed set-pieces that Warren has delivered to date, as well as probably the bloodiest. Ninjette's attackers all wear weird masks that resemble old Japanese artwork, animals, or creepy demons and monsters, which makes their ruthless actions and taunting dialogue much more disturbing, giving them a faceless, expressionless inscrutability that stands in contrast to the barely-surviving Ninjette. This even carries over to Ninjette's ally, a clan-mate known as "Fucking Oyuki-chan" who is usually depicted sporting wide, emotionless eyes and an unmoving mouth, a terrifying murder-machine of the sort that Ninjette is trying to escape, but also a reminder of her own murderous past.



That struggle to escape and atone for her sins is what defines Ninjette's character in this volume, and Warren continues to break hearts as he exposes the depths of her self-loathing, demonstrating her desperate scrabble to keep from sinking into the darkness of despair, a fight that is only barely succeeding due to the love and support of her friends. Surprisingly, the most affecting moment of the volume comes when she opens up to the Caged Demonwolf, who, for what I think is the only time in the series, drops his loud, obnoxious, Yoda-speaking persona and comes as close as he can to declaring his love for her, as much as an immortal, bodiless being can express emotion toward an ever-decaying being with a ridiculously short lifespan. It's a lovely, poetic, emotional scene, as he describes seeing her outside of time, all his visions of her at different moments combining into a beautiful whole, one that he will remember throughout eternity.



That's what is so great about this series: Warren takes the basic building blocks of superheroes and uses them to craft a vision that is singularly his, full of wild ideas and rousing action, but also building characters that seem much more real than the trademark-holders of "mainstream" superhero comics, forming relationships that live and breathe, and finding humor in goofy costumes and silly code-names, but also in the frankness of human sexuality and often embarrassing interpersonal relationships. He's not afraid to follow through on the implications of his ideas, and he approaches the world he created as a whole ecosystem with far-reaching implications and consequences to actions both large and small. It's exciting to watch him continue to build and refine this complex milieu, while playing out full, satisfying character arcs that give said milieu a reason to exist and provide us with compelling drama. There's really nothing like this in current comics, and if all other superhero comics were to suddenly disappear, as long as Empowered sticks around, the genre will deserve to continue existing.
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Bonus: The Caged Demonwolf's rendition of "Baby Got Back":

Random recent reading: I like a lot of things

Elsewhere: The Team Cul de Sac Favorites zine which I contributed to (along with numerous other comics criticism luminaries) is now available for mail order here. It's for a good cause, so please check it out!

Kickstarter link: Eliza Frye's Regalia looks really good, and the incentives are pretty reasonably-priced. Cheap, that is.


And here's some shorter stuff, since I did want to talk about these but can't be bothered to flesh out my thoughts sufficiently:


Anya's Ghost
By Vera Brosgol



Sometimes a YA book comes along that smashes boundaries, attracts readers of all ages and stripes, and gives the descriptor "all ages" true resonance. Unfortunately, this graphic novel probably isn't it, but it's still pretty darn good. Vera Brosgol turns in a nice story about Anya, a girl who befriends a ghost, starting out as a fun supernatural friendship but devolving into a tense showdown as the spirit begins to exert her own twisted personality. What's most interesting though is how the plot conflict manages to expose the worst aspects of Anya's personality, especially her emphasis on outward appearance, adoption of antisocial attitude in order to seem "cool", and rejection of her family's ethnic heritage. Anya ends up being a really well-drawn character, believable as a normal girl faced with both the mundane travails of teenagerhood and a sudden need to defend herself and her loved ones from a threat that only she can understand. Brosgol's art is perfect for the story, with thick, nicely rounded brushstrokes detailing Anya and her friends and family, and a dead-eyed creepiness infusing the ghost from the beginning and eventually turning into a terrifying air of menace. It might not be setting the world on fire, but it's fun, exciting, gorgeously-drawn, and meatier than it seems at first glance, exploring the world of teenagers in a frank, interesting manner, demonstrating how the darkness within us all can break free if we're not careful. Hopefully readers will recognize their own ghosts along with Anya, and the world will become a better place. Or maybe they'll just experience an enjoyable read; that result is also acceptable.
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Wonton Soup 2: Hyper Wonton Soup 2 Twoton Soup: The Quickening 2...Soup
By James Stokoe



It might seem odd to praise a book for its lack of cohesiveness, but somehow James Stokoe managed to turn that into a virtue in this second volume of the adventures of Johnny Boyo, space trucker and sci-fi chef extraordinaire. While the first installment was a fairly straightforward shonen-manga-style competition story with a bit of romance, this one sees Boyo and his cohort Deacon set off on a transport job, get ridiculously high off an alien drug, crash land on a jungle planet, then set off in search of fuel so they can get back to work. That might work well enough as an adventure plot, but Stokoe takes every opportunity to get sidetracked, whether on a wildly psychedelic drug trip, a flashback to Deacon's history of Sex Bear husbandry, or even a scene of political uprising taking place among the microbial life forms in Boyo's stomach lining. Stokoe's imagination is one of his greatest strengths, and he puts it to full use here, detailing all manner of wackiness in his inimitable style and keeping readers highly entertained throughout, such that you don't care what's coming next, you just want to see Stokoe detail it with high energy, dynamic action, and a lighthearted touch. Between this series and his current Orc Stain, he's really demonstrating his essentiality to the comics landscape.
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Psychiatric Tales
By Darryl Cunningham



It can seem pretentious to dub a book "important", but for people with personal investments in mental health issues, anything that might change people's attitudes and educate people in the oft-misunderstood subject is essential, something to be recommended highly. That's exactly what Darryl Cunningham has created here, a collection of stories either culled from or inspired by his time working as a nurse in a mental health facility, covering subjects like dementia, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, as well as discussing famous sufferers of mental illness, the effects of suicide on patients as well as their relatives and caregivers, and Cunningham's own struggles with depression. As an informational book, it's related in a simple and easy to understand manner; Cunningham's experiences were obviously an essential resource for him. The art takes on a simplistic, semi-abstracted style, perfectly capturing the off-kilter, just removed from normalcy struggles of the mentally ill, emphasizing this through the use of altered photographs that are often zoomed in and pixellated. But what's probably best of all is the entreaty to end the stigma that surrounds mental illness, since it is an affliction affecting a part of the body, no different than something like heart disease. Anything that can sway people in the name of this cause is worthwhile, and worth annoying somebody with the aforementioned label. Important? Yes, it certainly is.
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Empowered: Ten Questions for the Maidman
By Adam Warren and Emily Warren

Since the next volume of Adam Warren's "sexy superhero comedy" isn't due until 2012 (sheesh!), it looks like this one-shot will have to tide us over until then, and luckily, it's pretty much the pure stuff, even though half of its contents are drawn by a guest artist. It still works though, because it's all Warren, from his verbose dialogue style, to his goofy ideas, to his loving skewering of superhero tropes, to his exciting action. It's a pure, concentrated dose of Warreny goodness, and I totally dug it, of course. Surprisingly, my favorite parts were probably the section that gives the comic its title, in which the incredibly competent and terrifying Maidman appears for a TV interview, explaining his motives and methods, why he dresses the way he does, and the strategic use of panty-flashing during battle. The latter (and really, the whole character) are a great thumb to the nose of the conventional line when it comes to superheroines and the arguments that are usually trotted out to explain why they dress so skimpily and are drawn to pander to the lingering male gaze. It's a hilarious reversal, one that points out just one aspect of superhero comics' stupidity, and then revels in it.

And Warren isn't just doing a Bendis-style talking head segment intended to infodump his character's motivation; there ends up being a reason behind the interview itself, and it all leads to a satisfying conclusion. Emily Warren (no relation) provides the art for this half of the story, and she ably rises to the challenge, detailing her scenes in a satisfying, yet not slavish, mimicry of the other Warren's style, and fleshing them out with some nice color work. The five o'clock shadow on Maidman's face is the winning touch for me, but the doily-filled backgrounds and emphasis on the hero's package are great touches as well.

And Warren himself does his usual thing on the rest of the book, telling a more straightforward Emp tale in which she suffers self-doubt and learns to use Maidman as an example to live up to; it's as fun as ever, and it's a chance for the regular characters (Ninjette, Thugboy, Caged Demonwolf) to all show up and do their thing (drink, fuck, monologue). Really, this is a combination appetite-whetter and existence-reminder, ensuring that readers don't forget about the series during the long wait in between volumes and getting them excited for that next installment to drop already. More series could stand to follow Warren's example, in that aspect and many, many others.

Empowered: She's getting there, slowly

Empowered, volume 6
By Adam Warren

As fun as it is to have Adam Warren create a short story, one-shot, or miniseries like Livewires, Iron Man: Hypervelocity, Galacta: Daughter of Galactus, or Titans: Scissors, Paper, Stone, a long-running series is where he really shines.  Sure, Warren's cool sci-fi concepts, awesome action, dynamic art, eye-catching character designs, and hip, humorous, jargon-packed dialogue can all come out in a shorter work, but with the chance to keep telling stories in a continuous narrative, Warren reveals a wonderful facility for character, working over the course of six volumes and counting to flesh out personalities both central and peripheral, and demonstrating believable growth and change, getting readers invested in their fortunes and occasionally breaking hearts both real and fictional.

This volume continues the fallout from the disastrous ending to the previous installment, in which the villainous Willy Pete fried a number of superheroes, and generally caused a ton of mayhem and destruction.  While the big event came to a conclusion, its effects resonate through the entire volume, provoking revelations about what happens to superheroes that die in this world (Warren cannily avoids use of the word "zombie"), revealing a terrifying enemy for Emp to face, and demonstrating her strength in the face of adversity.  It's crazy, exciting stuff, full of all the usual humor and worldbuilding, pop/nerd culture references (yaoi and scanlation are the highlights this time around), and sexy, sexy, sexiness.  The small moments are what really stand out though, like a scene in which Emp and Thugboy share a tender moment following an argument about her risking her life, or the scenes in which Sistah Spooky continues to reveal the incredibly sensitive little girl that resides under the tough shell of anger and shame that we see has been shattered by the death of her lover.    Her flashback scenes are especially heartbreaking, showing her at her most vulnerable and lonely, demonstrating just how open she was to the coercion of the devil coming to bargain for her soul.  Warren even manages to combine this deft hand for character moments with his innovative sci-fi ideas, showing that Spooky's dead lover, Mindfuck, had implanted a "mnemonic emulation" of herself in Spooky's mind to comfort her in the midst of her worst memory.  It's a touching revelation, demonstrating the depth of feeling Mindfuck had for Spooky, but also incredibly sad, with Spooky stuck with a small comfort, but also a reminder of her failures, a ghost that refuses to let go.

Spooky is fast becoming a favorite character, one that continues to grow and develop, and will almost certainly end up being a key player in upcoming volumes.  Warren is certainly building a long-running mega-plot here, revealing the disturbing depths of his world and planting seeds for future conflicts that promise to be huge.  That's the other thing he does so well with a long-term series, fleshing out a fascinating world that is full of quirks and weirdness.  As volumes continue to be added, he keeps filling in the margins here and there, revealing a simmering conflict between powered and non-powered people, adding in bits of history, and showing the extent to which super-powers have permeated this world through glimpses of TV shows like "Super Dirty Jobs", in which a perky superheroine cleans up "mutagenic poo" and fishing for sea monsters with "anti-cherubim", or a radio show involving superhero fantasy leagues that are based on how popular various good guys are, or how many people the bad guys kill.  It's fascinating to see Warren's mind latch onto some throwaway idea or character design and make it work as part of his cohesive whole.

So, surprise, surprise, this volume was another good one.  By this point, you're probably either in Warren's corner or aren't going to venture anywhere near it, but it must be said, this series just keeps getting better and better.  Maybe it's seeing the main character continue to gain confidence (and getting upset at her when she beats up on herself, since, yes, people have flaws), or learning new details (like her origin, which is one of the most nonchalant in superhero comics history, although there are sure to be more revelations to come), or getting excited when she succeeds, but whatever the case, every panel spent in this world is worth it, enough to make one begin counting the days until the next volume appears.  Let's hope it doesn't take too long to get here...

Pamphleteering: Some new, some not so much

In lieu of actually furthering my quest to finish covering the 2009 books I want to get to, here are some other comics I've read recently (for values of "recently" that include the last few months):

Empowered: The Wench with a Million Sighs

By Adam Warren

I feel like I have to mention most everything that comes out related to Adam Warren's "sexy superhero comedy", but not out of some pointless obligation, but because it's so consistently good.  In this one-shot story, Warren manages to encapsulate just about everything that the series has going for it, including the strong characters, dynamic art, cool ideas, goofy comedy, interesting structure, and the richness of the world that he has built over the course of five volumes and counting.  Here, there's a story about the titular (sorry, I can never resist) heroine going up against a seemingly unstoppable villain named Irresistimovable, who has raided the graveyard of fallen superheroes and taken down everyone else.  In typical Warren fashion, she uses her smarts and experience to prevail, which, unlike most superhero comics, isn't a given; she's one of the few heroes who fails as much as she succeeds (if not more often).  And to add another layer, Warren jumps back and forth between the battle and a scene of Emp's pals (her boyfriend Thugboy, best friend Ninjette, and "pet" The Caged Demonwolf, who resides on her coffee table, trapped in an alien bondage device) as they discuss all the ways she expresses herself via quick exhalations.  It works perfectly as an introductory story for readers unfamiliar with the series, but it all fits together as a cohesive, quick, exciting jaunt into the crazy world of the comic.  One can only hope it brings new readers to the series; it's one of the best continuing comics series on the market (superhero or otherwise), and the more people who buy it and encourage Warren to keep making it, the better.
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The Last Days of American Crime #1

Written by Rick Remender

Art by Greg Tocchini

It's always good to see new crime comics on the market, and judging by this first issue (which, with publisher Radical Comics' recent format change, is squarebound and 64 pages long, the first of three in the series), Rick Remender has an interesting take on the genre here.  It takes place in a near-future in which the United States is planning to broadcast some sort of mind-control signal which will remove the human capacity to commit unlawful acts, hence the title.  To draw controversy away from the move, they're also phasing out the use of paper currency, which provides the book's protagonist with the opportunity to commit one last heist.  It's a classic noir-style plot, with a bit of a sci-fi twist and a dash of social commentary.  But those latter bits are secondary; the real draw here is the sordid atmosphere that Remender builds, with a great deal of help from artist Greg Tocchini.  Everything in the book seems dirty, grimy, and blood-spattered, with a big focus on visceral human urges, whether toward violence or sex.  And the language is stylish as well; Remender has the characters deliver lines in a rapid-fire slang, leaving the reader to keep up as best as they can.  He focuses mainly on the first protagonist introduced, the grizzled tough guy who wants to make one last score and get out, but also diverts attention to other characters, including the new partner who isn't telling the whole truth about his motives or intentions and the sexy girl who is playing both of them for her own gain, and possibly other reasons.  At the end of the first third of the story, it seems to be impeccably structured, set up to let the dominoes fall, with plenty of random elements ready to knock them astray into interesting configurations.

Greg Tocchini's art is responsible for at least half the equation here; he's got a stylish line, filling pages with moody colors that aren't the drab, dim hues expected in a noir tale, but still convey the settings perfectly appropriately.  The garish reds, oranges, and yellows of the bar where Graham (the tough guy) and Shelby (the femme fatale) meet is a great example:

As is the nasty bathroom where they end up committing unseemly acts.  Check out the way the smoke circles around Graham's forehead; the pages are full of those sorts of details which might not be noticeable at first glance, subtle gestures and expressions, the insertion of "patriotic" symbols like the white star tattoos on Shelby's chest and shoulder or the flags that hang in the backgrounds.  He uses interesting effects, like mid-panel dissolves to flashbacks, or the framing of panels using negative space:

And when the action and violence occur, it's striking and memorable, not just another background element of this seedy milieu.  It's one nice-looking comic, and if the next two installments are as interesting and eye-grabbing as this one, this will be another series to consider as part of the wave of quality crime comics in recent years.  Be sure to grab your chance before time runs out.

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The Talisman #1-3

Written by Robin Furth
Art by Tony Shasteen

People sure seem to love Stephen King, but if all you read of him is the comics adaptations of his work, you'll probably be hard-pressed to understand what the big deal is.  This series, which adapts a novel King co-wrote with Peter Straub in the early 1980s, follows a young boy named Jack who has the power to "flip" back and forth between the "real" world and a fantasy realm populated by equivalents of all the people he knows in his regular life.  In "the territories", he's a magical warrior on a quest for the eponymous object, whatever that is, which can save his mom, who is dying of lung cancer in the real world but is a sleeping-beauty princess in the world of magic.  There's a mean uncle who is an evil baron in fantasy-land, a magical negro type who provides the means to switch between worlds (drinking some sort of potion), and a bunch of other nonsense that probably makes more sense in the source material.  It all ends up being fairly boring and weird, moving too slowly (as of the third issue, he's barely even embarked on his cross-country quest, which hasn't even been sufficiently explained), and full of extraneous bits that King acolyte Robin Furth probably couldn't bear to excise from the tale.  Tony Shasteen's art is no great shakes either, with characters sporting bizarre, contorted expressions that make them look like inbred freaks rather than humans, whether they're fantasy-world denizens or supposedly regular folks.  He does come up with some decent backgrounds (when they're not marred by intrusive computer effects), but even those often look like models populated with stiff figures rather than real, living environments.  It's got the sheen of slaved-over professionalism, but it's an empty, glossy world, devoid of any soul.  King's work might be excellent, but like most adaptations, this series proves that it is best experienced in its original format.

Empowered: The title is getting more apt

Elsewhere: I reviewed Destroyer #5 over at Comics Bulletin.

Links: Check out this cool Superman puzzle game from way back when, featuring art by Jack Kirby. Sweet.

I generally don't care about Conan the Barbarian, but this fan strip by Paul Maybury is pretty cool.

And: The latest episode of Advanced Common Sense with Tucker Stone is hilarious. Hilarious, I say! Also, my request for the outtakes from the last episode was apparently honored, and I didn't even realize it. Man, that bit at the end still cracks me up.

Empowered, volume 5

By Adam Warren

I don't know how Adam Warren does it, but his self-described "sexy superhero comedy" series seems to get better with every volume, deepening the characters and developing the world, and entertaining the hell out of readers while doing it. It's pretty fascinating how subtly he's been able to create such rich characters and relationships, probably because he covers all that work with layer upon layer of goofy jokes, technobabble, kinetic action, cool sci-fi ideas, cheesecake, frank sexual discussion, and continued worldbuilding. But as enjoyable as all that is, the real pleasure is that foundation of character that everything is built on, and it's what makes the whole series so strong.

This volume sees our titular (sorry, I can't help it) heroine becoming more and more confident in her abilities, which is immensely gratifying after so many angst-filled stories in the previous four volumes. As much as Warren enjoyed humiliating her in the past, the once-inescapable bondage has almost completely disappeared by this point, with only one chapter thrown in, almost as an obligatory conceit. But Warren even works it into the volume's overarching plot, rather than just throwing in a humorous one-off experience. No, the bondage scenes are decreasing, but Warren's obsession with sex is still going strong. As with the last couple volumes, a lengthy chapter here sees secondary characters Ninjette and the "caged demonwolf" having a detailed discussion about Emp and Thugboy getting it on, presumably as a way to further a plot about Ninjette being attracted to Thugboy (and maybe Emp as well), but really because Warren enjoys exploring his characters carnality. At least he makes it funny, through the demonwolf's nonstop alliterative, pompous speechifying:

Luckily, that sort of thing is over with quickly, leaving plenty of room for the main plot of the volume, which sees some pretty major events unfold, and Emp continue to discover untapped reserves of determination and resourcefulness, even discovering new abilities like being able to survive in a vacuum. She also gains a new confidant in Mindfuck, the telepathic (and empathetic) space station resident introduced last volume. Mindfuck is a great character, frank with people and unwilling to put up with Emp's "poor me" attitude, even seeing redeeming qualities in Emp's nemesis, Sistah Spooky (her ex-lover). She comes with a tragic backstory, provides hints at possible upcoming plots, and facilitates what might be a new beginning to the two teammates' relationship. One chapter sees some especially good storytelling, detailing the history of Spooky and Mindfuck's relationship in a short stretch that sees a leap forward in time with each page as they go from meeting, to falling in love, to breaking up. It's surprisingly touching, especially in its fast-forward style.

But the final stretch of the volume is where the real greatness kicks in, as the Superhomeys decide to finally go after Willy Pete, the nasty rapist supervillain who Thugboy once wronged and has been terrified of ever since, worried that Emp is going to bear the brunt of his flame-based villainy. The heroes don't really take him seriously though, so there's nothing close to a resolution with that plot here. Instead, the fight leads to a major tragedy, with several heroes dying and Emp and Mindfuck stranded on the rapidly-disintegrating space station. It's nail-bitingly tense as we watch and hope desperately that they'll be able to make it out okay, with Warren really selling the possibility of major harm and even death:

Emp spends the entire scene talking to herself, doing her best to reassure herself by making dumb jokes or one-liners even though nobody can hear them, and desperately trying to make herself believe that she is heroic enough to save the both. It's astonishing how much Warren makes us want her to make it, and the end result hits like a slap in the face. It's just so well done, the kind of thing that makes five volumes worth of characterization work to put readers right in the character's head, feeling every moment like we're there right alongside her.

Yes, this is absolutely breathtaking work, and I haven't even mentioned the always-excellent artwork, which fills pages to the brim with detail, movement, expression, and humor. Warren is at the top of his game here, and the wait until the next volume is going to be excruciating.

Empowered: Just when I think I'm out...

Links: James Jean's replacement for cover art on Fables has been named, and it's a guy named Joao Ruas.  Never heard of him, but the two covers shown in this article look nice.  We'll see how he does; he's got some big shoes to fill.  Also, he's coming on just as the series is doing a crossover between the main book, Jack of Fables, and a limited series called The Literals.  I don't know if it's that good of an idea to do that sort of crossover with the series (especially if parts of the story will take place in a limited series; what's the point of that?), but we'll see how it goes.

Also, Kyle Baker's "review" of Frank Miller's Spirit movie is pretty hilarious.

Finally, I dug these images of world leaders as portrayed in the manga series The Legend of Koizumi, in which geopolitical decisions are based on the outcome of mahjong matches.

Empowered, volume 4

By Adam Warren

About one fourth of the way into this latest volume of Adam Warren's "sexy superhero comedy", I was about ready to check out and give up on the series.  After the exciting conclusion to the last volume, Warren apparently sees fit to spend some time allowing the characters to calm down and reflect on the situation, which leads to a seemingly endless chapter of whininess and sex talk (Ninjette is too scared to be by herself, so she sleeps in bed with Emp and Thugboy, prompting plenty of commentary from the Caged Demonwolf).  Looking back at those pages, it's really not that bad, but it was really tiresome when I first read it.  I've enjoyed the frank discussions of sex that Warren has inserted into the series, but this stuff seemed to tip over the line into gratuitous tittilation without enough humor to redeem it.

Luckily, Warren quickly turns things around, starting a volume-long plot about Emp being nominated for a "Capey" award for Suprahuman Most Deserving of Wider Recognition.  But while she is initially really excited, she is informed that the nomination was probably done in jest, with the intent to mock her when she goes on stage to accept the award (if she wins).  So it's another example of the constant battle for self-esteem that is one of the main themes of the series.  But while Warren seems to enjoy heaping misery on his characters, he does so with purpose, developing characters and fleshing out their personalities.  He even manages to humanize Sistah Spooky, Emp's main antagonist, by showing how wracked with insecurity she is even though she's such a good superhero.

While the award plot is the main undercurrent of the book, plenty of other enjoyable events occur, including the introduction of Maid-Man, a superhero so assured in his sexuality that he wears a frilly French Maid outfit, complete with stockings, garters, and high heels.  There's also a sick young boy who Emp agrees to help as part of the "Grant-A-Wish" program, and it turns out he's an aspiring supervillain whose greatest desire is to tie her up.  But at the same time, he probably treats her more respectfully than anybody outside of her boyfriend and best pal.  It's an interesting wrinkle, and it leads into surprising directions, especially when Warren introduces some of his signature crazy sci-fi ideas, like a disease called Mayfly that destroys the brain with cancerous tumors but has a chance to grant amazing intelligence to those it strikes, or a superhero hospital that traffics in giant cloned alien organs.

And it's all leading up to the awards ceremony, which turns out to be one of Warren's signature action setpieces.  He's been building Emp up over the course of the series, allowing her some actual victories amid the near-constant string of failures and humiliations.  Does he manage it here?  Well, read the book and see, but I'll just say that it ends up being a sweet climax, full of innovative uses of powers (such as Emp's suit's seemingly-useless invisibility that just makes its wearer appear naked) and dynamic action.  It's excellently done, and enough to make me excited for the next volume.

I haven't mentioned the artwork, but that's because it's as nice as always, filling each page with its expressive characters and fast-moving, yet easy-to-follow action.  It's a full package, even given the slow start to the volume.  I should have known better than to doubt Warren; he hasn't disappointed me yet.

Empowered: How many posts- go before this modern?

Okay, I'm starting to try to catch up. Also, I'm on Facebook now, if anybody cares. Okay:

Empowered, volume 3
By Adam Warren



I'm not sure if I have much to say in the way of a review of this comic; I liked it quite a bit, so the same things I said for the last volume continue to apply. I think I've come to terms with what I perceived as a lack of forward momentum in the character-development department; after the character work Adam Warren did in the first volume, building convincing characters, conflicts and relationships on what seemed like such a shaky foundation, I was looking to see that kind of development each time out. Instead, Warren has been delivering enjoyable stories that hit on the usual plot points of comedic bondage, near-constant failure, low self-esteem, and the value of friendship. It's typically good, with the added bonus of hilarious jokes and beautifully dynamic artwork (especially in the incredible climactic ninja fight, which seems to just keep going on and on, getting crazier and gorier on each page). And we do get some hints at future developments of exactly the kind I've been hoping for, which, along with Warren's promise in his Deviantart journal to inject more of his awesome brand of techno-fetishist sci-fi into future volumes of the series, has me salivating for more.

But since I don't have too much of interest to say about this particular volume, I thought I would talk about something that's been interesting me about the series. It's hard to describe what it is about it that intrigues me, but I think Warren has stripped the superhero concept down to the basics of good guys fighting bad guys. It's like a postmodern (or even post-postmodern) take on the superhero, moving beyond the various movements of the past few decades. You had the "realistic" take that (probably) started with Miracleman and Watchmen and still continues, with stuff like The Authority, Wanted, and the present Kick-Ass. Then there was the reconstructionist, humanist stuff, like Marvels or Astro City. You've got the grim-and-gritty, "take us seriously, we've got violence and rape" school, and the "embrace-the-goofiness", "look at the wacky shit I can come up with" camp. But Warren seems to go with an approach I've never seen before; it's not quite metafictional, but the characters all seem to go about their activities with the knowledge of their status as costumed characters. They never seem to actually fight crime or deal with secret identities; all the villains seem to want to do is attack superheroes (and occasionally kidnap and tie them up sexily, if they're female), rather than rob banks or conquer the world. It's like they're a bunch of RPG fanatics or something, going about their fights for the sole purpose of going about their fights, instead of a larger pursuit of justice or subjugation. But after so many decades of superhero stories, it works. The groundwork has been done, and we all know the basics of heroes fighting villains; Warren has just stripped out the extraneous detail and given us the most colorful heroes and goofiest villains he can dream up, engaging in as much mayhem as he can fit on the page.

But then he goes one more step and throws in stuff like sexual hangups, fetishes, and STDs. It's weird seeing adult conceits injected into what could otherwise be children's entertainment, but since Warren is already exploring bondage and cheesecake, it makes sense to look at all the other sexual stuff that might fit into a world where adults dress up in colorful outfits and punch each other for vague reasons. And then there are the "unwritten rules" that characters discuss, in which there is a fine line of violent and/or sexual effrontery (mostly when dealing with female heroes) that villains fear crossing, because they might bring down the full wrath of the heroes. This kind of adds to the idea that everybody is all just playing a game, engaging in "heroism" or "villainy" just for the hell of it. But take it too far, and you'll be punished, at least in a harsher fashion than the usual beatings that come with the regular foiled schemes. This volume has several mentions of the "unwritten rules" (which is the phrase characters use when discussing them), which indicates that violations of these rules will most likely be forthcoming, leading to some examination of the whole idea of these hero/villain conflicts.

I don't know, maybe that's the appeal I find in Warren's comics; he likes to take things apart and examine what makes them work, whether it's futuristic technology or the basics of superhero storytelling. And he makes it fun when doing it, creating compelling characters, dynamic action, and semi-ironic portmanteau-filled language. I'm sure his style of storytelling doesn't appeal to everyone, but I can't get enough of it. Bring on the next volume!

Miscellaneous nonsense

I'm a lazy blogger. I was going to do something last night, but I decided to sleep instead. Maybe I'll get to it tonight, but for right now I'm just going to write about or link to whatever crap I feel like. Feel free to enjoy my crap:

I wanted to note that Adam Warren has an Empowered short story (in color!) up at MySpace Dark Horse Presents. It's a cute, fun little bit that manages to work in the usual bondage and neologisms. Enjoy!

While I'm linking to corporate webcomics, I should point out friend-of-the-blog Manny Trembley's Frankie over at zudacomics.com. I'll be surprised if it "wins", since it's so short and slightly hard to follow, but it sure looks nice, so I'll be pulling for it.
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I wanted to mention, I saw the Tekkon Kinkreet anime the other day, and while it wasn't bad, I thought it wasn't nearly as good as the manga. In fact, if I hadn't read the book already, I might have hated it, or at least found it much harder to follow. It's weird; the events of the movie seem really rushed to try to squeeze the contents of the story into two hours, so you lose a lot of the characterization. But then there's the "psychic battle" climax, which seemed really drawn out and kind of tiresome. Huh. I guess it wasn't a bad movie, but just pales in comparison to the manga. In any case, it was beautiful to look at, especially the backgrounds. They really brought Matsumoto's cityscape to life, and then went even farther by adding tons of color and motion. Really cool. Not as cool: the graphics during the aforementioned psychic battle. Kind of boring, and not nearly as nice as what Matsumoto did with the Minotaur. So, kind of a wash; I wouldn't really recommend it unless you've read the book and want to see it in motion, and then you might just want to stop there anyway.
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On a completely unrelated (to anything I usually talk about) note, I wanted to point out Kyle Ryan's list of The Worst Band Names of 2007 over at The Onion AV Club. He did a similar list last year, and just reading through them always makes me crack up (my favorites from that list were Sh-sh-sh-shark Attack!; Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin; and You Say Party! We Say Die!). So here are my favorites from this year's list:

The Asbestos Tampons
Yo Moma's Big Fat Booty Band
Dyslexic Speedreaders
SuperHeavyGoatAss
Those Fucking Unicorns
Dance Me Pregnant
Ima Fucking Gymnist
Les Breastfeeders
Happy Mothers Day, I Can't Read
Mostly Other People Do The Killing
We All Have Hooks For Hands
Curse This Metal Body
As Your Attorney
Coach Said Not To
AKA Wizard Beard
Algebro
Boneless Children Foundation

Some of those are stupid-funny, and some are just stupid. But they still make me laugh.
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Eh, I haven't done any sort of link-post in a while, but this seems like a prime place for it, so if I find other stuff to point out, this will be the place. Otherwise, real posts will resume later. Maybe.

Empowered: I'm waiting for more empowerment

Before I get started on this, I wanted to announce that I've been asked to write reviews (and possibly other content) for IndiePulp.com, a site that's based right here in Chicago. I'm pretty stoked about it, since they're some really cool guys, and they've got a lot of exciting ideas and plans for future content. I'll be doing original stuff for them, but they've also asked to repost some of the reviews I've done here, starting with my review of Killing Girl #2, which went up there yesterday. I'll have more up over there soon! But for now:

Empowered, volume 2
By Adam Warren



I really dug the first volume of this manga-style graphic novel series; I thought it was a good look at a character with realistic self-esteem issues and a mature sexual relationship. Plus, good art, cool action, and plenty of funny jokes. It was fascinating to see Adam Warren build a character, supporting cast, and whole universe from what began as a series of bondage-themed pinup drawings. I was pretty excited for future volumes, wanting to see more of this story that he was telling. So now that it's here, does it live up to expectations? Well, yes and no. The second volume delivers more silly jokes, plenty of action, and lots of near-nudity, but seems to limit the character development, choosing to hint at future subplots involving supporting characters rather than focus on the titular heroine and her continued growth.

Part of the problem here might be the length of the stories. The first volume had a barrage of short tales, many only a few pages long. While the ones early in the book served mostly as jokes about Emp being easily defeated and tied up provocatively, they eventually gave way to stories about her taking strength from the encouragement of her boyfriend, Thugboy, and her best friend, Ninjette. Here, we get a few shorter stories about topics like Emp being embarrassed by a video of her looking stupid in a fight, Ninjette playing video games, or Emp going undercover as a sexy librarian to capture a supervillain. There are also some longer stories, including one about Emp making her rival superheroine Sistah Spooky jealous by being "the Aryan ideal of shoulder-candy". And it's nice to see some bits where Emp seems to be gaining experience and using her abilities to actually win some battles.

But the largest section of the book is taken up by a chronological series of stories, starting with one in which Emp is so despondent after being defeated that she contemplates quitting the superhero game. Help comes from an unlikely place when the Caged Demonwolf (a supervillain that she defeated in the first volume who now resides in a containment belt on her coffee table) talks some self-esteem into her, tough-love style. It's a pretty amusing bit, with plenty of his verbose dialogue:



That leads into a story in which Ninjette impersonates Empowered in order to go beat the shit out of the villains that humiliated her, not realizing that this might cause her more danger in the future if bad guys view her as a deadly threat. Then, we get two stories in which the Demonwolf interrogates Ninjette about her personal grooming habits (which become obvious when she wears Emp's costume) and Thugboy about his and Emp's sex life. While this was all amusing, by this point, I was ready to move on and see more superheroics, or at least something involving the main character directly. It's not a terrible series of stories, and it does give a hint that Emp's unreliable powers might sprout from her fragile self-esteem, indicating that with more confidence, she might be able to master her abilities and become a true force to be reckoned with in the future. There's also a hell of a fight scene during the bit when Ninjette decides to go kick some ass:



But I shouldn't make it sound like this was a complete disappointment. In fact, it was really only a minor one; I liked the volume quite a bit, but it fell slightly short of expectations (which were probably too lofty anyway). There's still some excellent stuff here, including hints at future plots coming from Ninjette and Thugboy's troubled pasts. There are also a few really good character moments, like the final story, which features Emp performing a real, satisfying act of heroism. Adam Warren's wacky humor and endless stream of ideas are intact, and his art is mindblowingly good, full of dynamic, exciting action; perfectly-realized expressions; and just plain fun designs. And I'm still happy to see a realistically-portrayed relationship, with scenes like this:



I can't get get enough of Adam Warren's comics; I wish the wait wasn't so long between volumes. Here's hoping the plot/character progression picks up a bit in the next installment. I'll be waiting eagerly to find out.

Bonus! Schrödinger's Catgirl!

The feminists might get mad at me for this one

I don't know why it's taken me so long to get to this, but I'm going to do it, dammit! And maybe if I'm lucky, I'll get some linkage from When Fangirls Attack. Anyway, on with the show!

Empowered, volume 1
By Adam Warren



Well, Adam Warren manages once again to craft a fun, wacky story, and he fills it with incredibly energetic, expressive art. The book starts off in a light, comedic, and somewhat exploitative manner, detailing the adventures of the titular superheroine, who has a propensity to get her costume shredded to indecent scraps and end up tied up bondage-style by villains.



We find out later in the book, via fourth-wall-breaking chapter title pages, that the original concept for the comic came from some commissioned artwork that Warren was hired to do of superheroines in bondage. He got bored of the drawings and started doing short comics instead, but then he got interested in the character and developed it into a graphic novel. So that explains why a good portion of the early parts of the book (which mostly consists of short, 4-8 page chapters) are goofy stories in which the main character makes a fool of herself and ends up defeated and tied up suggestively.



But then Warren starts to delve into her character, finding out what makes her tick, not only in terms of powers and abilities but also mentally and emotionally. We see how she gets discouraged at being defeated so often, but pluckily picks herself up and keeps plugging away at the forces of evil. She has self-esteem issues, and she's embarrassed by how revealing her incredibly skin-tight costume is (one slight quibble here: she complains that she has trouble staying in shape, but other than possibly drawing her rear end slightly larger than normal, Warren doesn't make her look any larger than a normal superheroine. It wouldn't have hurt to add a little chunkiness to her waist; that can even be somewhat sexy, in my opinion). You really start to feel for her as she gets discouraged at her perceived lameness.



A turning point is reached when she meets a guy (ironically, a thug working for villains) who encourages her to keep trying. This might seem regressive (a man is the one that gives her the strength to go on), but I think it's actually fairly feminist: he lets her know the good things about her, like her courage and determination. He helps her see the positive qualities about herself; it's really rather sweet. There are some great scenes of the two of them thinking about each other (I love that he's the one that seems especially lovestruck), and when it's discovered by other thugs that he's helping her out, she gets to come to his rescue. Later, she also gets some female support when she makes friends with Ninjette, a martial artist who is also sick of working for villains. Ninjette is ultra-competent, so she's there to help "Emp" learn to use her abilities better.

And then we get into another somewhat controversial area, which gave the book its shrink-wrap and "explicit content" sticker: sex. There are a lot of scenes of Empowered and her boyfriend having sex; it's not merely hinted at. Warren claims that there's no nudity, but there might as well be; a few strands of hair sometimes cover nipples, but when characters are getting it on right on panel, it doesn't make much difference. But in my opinion it's well-depicted. Rather than shying away from the subject or hinting at it, Warren puts it front and center: this young couple, who are in love and living together, are having sex with each other. No need to be coy about it. It's refreshing to see the subject dealt with in an adult manner, (mostly) refraining from juvenile humor. Warren also takes advantage of this "don't hold anything back" atmosphere to cover the little details of superhero life, such as what to do about body hair when you wear a skin-tight costume, or the surprising number of superheroes who got their powers from STD's. It seems like there's no place he won't tread, and that's a good thing.

I haven't really mentioned the comedy aspects of the book, but they're really the main focus here. Pretty much everything is played for laughs, from the silly names of superheroes (Empowered's team is called the Superhomeys, and members have names like Capitan Rivet, Sistah Spooky, Major Havoc, and Glorpp/Protean) to Emp's near-constant state of disrobement. Halfway through the book, she manages to trap a villainous demon lord in a piece of alien technology, and he is left in her care. So he spends the rest of the book sitting in her apartment, watching TV, and commenting on her actions in a typical villainous tone, with lines like, "Costumed wench! Insert the "Mad About You" DVD for my viewing pleasure!" It's hilarious.

And I have to mention Warren's art here. He's celebrated as one of the original U.S. artists to draw in a manga style, but he's really developed that style to fit his own hyperkinetic writing brand of storytelling. I love the dynamic layouts that he puts together, and his action sequences are always great fun. I've also found that he's really good at facial expressions and body language, especially in his female characters. The range of emotions that Empowered shows in this book are all distinctive, making us feel sorry for her when she's sad and laugh when she's angry, frustrated, embarrassed, or confused. Great stuff.

So, it's a book I definitely recommend, although I'll note that it's not for everybody. As he talked about in a recent interview with Newsarama, Warren enjoys jumping back and forth across the line separating titillation/fanservice and the satirization thereof. He definitely enjoys drawing sexy women in various states of undress, but he's also making fun of people that like that sort of thing, and, by extension, himself. But under the surface of the silly jokes, sexy chicks, and superhero comedy is a good story about a girl developing the confidence to do something she loves. If you're so inclined, check it out.

P.S. I thought I would mention that in his journal post on the day Empowered was released, Warren talked about his plans for future volumes of the series (volume 2 should come out in October!) and stated that "If if Empowered fails, then I’m extremely unlikely to ever bother drawing another comic again." Not that you should buy this if you won't like it, but it's something to keep in mind if you're an Adam Warren fan. If you can't find a copy, here's a link to Amazon.