Customer Reviews

Empowered Volume 4 (v. 4)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of the first of the American manga-imitators, Warren's work stands out from the pack because of his writing, his own, personal knack for simultaneously celebrating, parodying and exploiting multiple elements of pop culture (superhero genre tropes, cyberpunk sci-fi techno-babble, good girl art, hong kong action films, etc.) often on the same page, and even in the same panel. (In this his work recalls' Harvey Kurthzman and Will Elder's gag-filled work for the early Mad Magazine and their "Little Annie Fanny" strip for Playboy Magazine). So long as you can tolerate (or better, enjoy) good-natured cheesecake and copious amounts of fan service without getting enraged, you're almost guaranteed a rollicking good time reading one of his books (Recommended titles include "Titans: Rock Paper Scissors," for DC Comics and "Grunge: the Movie" for Wildstorm Entertainment).

However skilled Adam Warren is as a comic writer, he rarely gets the accolades he deserves for his talent for creating endearing characters, and writing engaging adult-orientated romantic comedy. The first time I noticed these strengths was when I (belatedly) read his tragically truncated run scripting Wildstorm's "Gen13" (with Rick Mays providing pencils). Here Warren managed to make even the most uninteresting secondary characters, Burnout and Rainmaker interesting, and in the latter case, even compelling. It's true that the careful reader can find hints of these talents in his early work (even the utterly mindless delirium of his "Dirty Pair" adaptations) however the sheer amount of fan service, techno-babble and high-speed action he crams into his layouts usually obscures those strengths. Ultimately the problem was that comic book editors rarely gave him writing stints that were long enough for him to display this side of his talent as a writer....

... Until now, with the advent of Warren's presumably creator-owned "Empowered," published by Dark Horse Comics, home of mainstream writer/artists gone independent, like Mike "Hellboy" Mignola and Frank "Sin City" Miller. (May Warren reach similar levels of success: now that audiences are used to comic book movie adaptations, they might just be ready for a movie version of "Empowered," a faithful adaptation of which would go a long way to make up for the lackluster, "My Super Ex-Girlfriend," a well-meant dud if I ever saw one.) Though once again, the book is primarily a genre satire, and, as usual, Warren piles on the manga-esque fan service (primarily parodies of bondage art), the heart and soul of "Empowered," and the real reason (other than the assurance of irreverent comedy) I think readers come back for more, is his appealing characterization of his spectacularly inept, yet unreasonably enduring and good-natured heroine, Empowered (Emp to her close friends), and Warren's ability to convey a convincing of warmth and affection between the members of her primary supporting cast, which includes: the her ever-supportive boyfriend, Thugboy, a former professional Witless Minion-for Hire (by supervillains) who also hides a violent past as a killer of both superheroes and their adversaries, Ninjette, a usually upbeat runaway ninja princess (and borderline alcoholic) with a bounty on her head, and the dangerous, conquest-bent outer-space demon lord, who lies trapped inside a power-draining piece of space-alien bondage gear (a leftover from one of Emp's more embarrassing misadventures) that rests on the coffee table in front of the roommates TV set.

To sum, in "Empowered," Adam Warren's really at the top of his game, infusing the more recent volumes with a surprising and refreshing warmth (so long as you don't mind good girl art - something that declines in emphasis as the story goes on... sort of) as the relations between those near and dear to our plucky heroine take center stage in the third and fourth volumes. For those who can tolerate a lot of good girl-style imagery (which serves instead of stops the story) "Empowered"'s definitely worth a try. (For those doubting Thomas out there, who want to settle the issue quickly, I suggest starting with the third volume.)

Happy Reading Folks,....

Warren does not disappoint as Volume 4 of Empowered is the best one yet. The pieces of the story are pulling together, making the wait for Volume 5 almost too much to bear. His main characters are deep and complex, and it's always a delight when a particularly clever bit of foreshadowing in previous volumes pays off. His courage in mixing comedy and serious themes is admirable, and he handles this very difficult task well (the villain Willy Pete, a psychotic sociopath, is as utterly terrifying as the overwrought Caged Demonwolf is hilarious).
The incredibly clever names he gives the heroes and villains never stop, with double and even triple entendres. In fact, the sheer explosion of ideas in the book is matched only, in my opinion, by Masamune Shirow, creator of Ghost in the Shell. Make sure to examine the backgrounds at the Capeys...every little figure is wonderful and full of character.
Warren might not appreciate this, but I think Empowered is also a great soap opera...or at least an engaging love triangle.
I suppose one should mention the sex. Yes, despite what the major comic book companies have told you for 50 years, it is indeed possible for comics to have sex in them. (What would you expect when buffed and toned young folks are in close proximity to each other?) And very enjoyable sex at that--past titillating, but less than graphic. Warren's women...and men...are a delight to look at (well, my wife likes the men, anyway). The story "Elephants, Cups, and Canoes" show how a story can be funny, sexy, and and yet inexplicably tasteful at the same time.
Warren's freedom in going to a "straight to complete volume" format pays off in the storytelling, as well. Unconstrained by the requirement of fitting each chapter into 24 pages, he can take as much--or as little--space as he needs to tell the story he wants to tell. It also allows him to put in amusing little vignettes that either cast light on the characters or move the ongoing storyline forward even as he tells self-contained tales.
Warren is also clearly very well read, and the book brims with clever inside jokes. His dialog is sharp and snappy, and his voicings for various characters are consistent and clever. If the Caged Demonwolf doesn't make you laugh, nothing will.
The art, in Warren's trademark ultra-tight pencils, is crisp and clear. He seems to be able to draw just about anything with equal levels of skill, a rare gift for a comic book artist. His panel-to-panel storytelling is smooth and confident.
All in all, it is money well spent and a book that rewards multiple re-readings to catch all the subtleties.
In a just world, Empowered would be outselling tired old characters like Batman and Superman as they trudge through their hundredth similar plotline. We can only hope more and more people catch on to Empowered.

This is the fourth volume of Adam Warren's Empowered, which is absolutely one of the best satires on the comic book super-hero genre ever done. It continues the adventures of the main characters introduced in the first volume: the title character Empowered, the "hotness incarnate" yet insecure-about-body-issues super-heroine with the unreliable supersuit that leaves her vulnerable (and nigh naked) at the worst moments possible; Thugboy, her sweetly loyal and supportive former-badboy boyfriend; Ninjette, her fun-loving and totally kick-ass ninja girlfriend, and last but never least, the Caged Demonwolf, a cosmic demonic overlord imprisoned inside an alien bondage belt who offers priceless on-going commentary on the lives and doings of the other three (always referring to himself in the third person and never by the same name twice, and sounding like a cross between Skeletor and the anime-style version of Teen Titan's Starfire).

This fourth volume continues to build on the plot-lines set up in the first three, and we learn more about Thugboy's past, which it seems is a whole lot darker than he lets on. The satire continues strong, beginning with a special treat, a full-color story called "Who da Ubermensch?" where our heroine shows readers the more practical way to take out a supervillain with a vehicle. "General Hospitality" is a completely over-the-top spoof on TV-drama hospitals and on what a hospital for superheroes might be like, not to mention some hilarious sex-laced speculations on the part of the Caged Demonwolf when Ninjette moves in with Empowered and Thugboy to recuperate from injuries suffered in the previous volume. "Of Maids and Wet Blankets" introduces one of the funniest supervillains ever conceived, a guy with a highly useful power but who is also the biggest killjoy on the planet, so supremely annoying even his fellow villains can't stand him. "My Definition of Team-Up" brings back the flaming (literally) supervillain Willy Pete, previously only seen in Thug-Boy's nightmare flashbacks, in an unexpectedly jaw-dropping scene. Satire or not, this guy is absolutely the nastiest piece of work ever to grace the pages of any comic; he makes most other supervillains look like Walmart greeters. "Orbiting Spookums" is a funny and yet sweetly touching story where we meet Mindf[expletive]ck, a telepathic superhero who knows Sister Spooky far better than she is comfortable with. In "Of Wishes and Mayflies", Empowered agrees to a Grant-A-Wish foundation request for a boy with terminal cancer, only to find out that the boy, Manny, is an aspiring young supervillain and his wish it to tie up a beautiful superheroine. And as so often happens, unintended consequences ensue. (Note: Manny is a unique and fun little supervillain and I'm hoping he'll show up again in future issues). In "Bouncebackalicious", Empowered finds out that her nomination for the annual Capeys' Suprahuman Deserving Of Wider Recognition award is actually a joke, the Caged Demonwolf shows just how much insight he really has into Ninjette's and Thugboy's supposed secrets, Empowered's supersuit shows yet another hidden aspect, and Thugboy has a another nightmare flashback revealing yet another dark episode of his past. And all of these stories' plot elements feed into the truly kick-ass climax "Because This Is What I Am" where Empowered comes into her own at the Capeys Awards ceremony when she, along with Thugboy and Ninjette, manage to save the day when the ceremony turns out to be a trap designed to take out the entire superhero community, a trap planned by a most unexpected villain.

Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys satire, the superhero genre and far more realistic treatment of boyfriend/girlfriend (and in this issue, girlfriend/girlfriend) relationships than you're likely to find in any comic of the genre anywhere.

Adam Warren's Empowered is not what you'd expect. The basic concept is the misadventures of capture-prone D-list superheroine 'Empowered', her boyfriend 'Thugboy' and her best friend Ninjette. And the cosmic demon imprisoned on their coffee table. In this issue Emp is nominated for an award, Ninjette has a crisis of confidence, and we see Thugboy in bed with 2 women and a monkey.

Some stories are funny satires of superhero comics, others are titulating (but never more than PG-13) stories of her misadventures, but some have real feeling behind them. Empowered has major issues with her self-esteem, she's always wanted to be a superhero and now she's one of the worst. Behind all the superhero satire and relationship comedy there's real themes here.

So why 4 stars and not 5? The series is already feeling a bit padded. Adam Warren continues to tease us with imminent threats, mysterious pasts and other strange going ons but even with 300 pages to play with doesn't really move any of them forward. There was a similar problem with Vol 3 where it took the entire book to even learn Emp's real name.

Still it's a great series and a great read. I picked it up and read it in one go. Give it a try.

I got this the other day and literally couldn't put it down. The series has started to move beyond its initial cute humor beginnings and move into far darker territory.

In this volume we have a lot of forshadowing for the next volume and for our heroes. We're given more glimpses of Ninjette's lust/love for Thugboy as well as looks into Thug's dark and bloody past. There's definitely a storm brewing when Emp discovers everything he's done and I'm not entirely sure that their relationship would be able to survive the revelations.

One of the things that really stole the show was the Capeys storyline. Our Emp has finally been noticed for an award, however it's not all champagne and cute little statuettes. There's something else going on behind the award, something that makes even Sistah Spooky hesitate to vote for Emp. (If she thinks the nice thing to do would be to NOT vote for Emp, then it's got to be pretty bad. And it is.)

I have to say that this volume really brings out a lot of Spooky's character and I'm glad for it. I've always loved Emp, but I can't help but feel drawn to Spooky and in a way, feel bad for her. This volume gave us a deeper look into her character and I'm glad for it because she needed to be more than just a mean girl with a bad past.

Absolutely worth owning and it's honestly pretty surprising that this hasn't gotten more attention than it has. It's one of the underdogs of the indie scene.

Very little, but even that's a step up. She helps her friend, `Jette, much to the amusement of the coffee-table demon (who's easily amused). She helps out as a scrub nurse in the hospital for superhumans, and discovers just how annoying an internal organ with an attitude can be. She even gets nominated for a Capey award. "Most Deserving of Wider Recognition" might not be much, but - well it's not much. This has all the makings of a major disaster, but she saves the day with the butterflies in her stomach just before the award ceremony. Oh, and her super-suit's biggest misfeature (it turns invisible, but she doesn't) turns out to have a use after all.

There's a lot more, too, like Maid Man (not made man, I spelled it right), to keep this spoof lively and fun - and just a little bawdy. I'm coming back for more.

-- wiredweird

In a superhero world where being popular and cool is more important than saving the world, this just had to come up: Super Hero Oscars! It's a glorifiyed popularity contest where all of the superheroes have gotten together to make Emp miserable. Amazingly, this volume is where Emp gets to really shine as superheroine. I'm not spoiling anything, but this volume has more than a few interesting surprises for the reader. This is probably the best volume yet.

His first volume was great; a story about a bumbling superheroine. Which was awesome, considering aside from the norm, this superheroine is a grown adult! All comedy aside, the volumes leading up to this were SWEET. But volume 4 of Empowered just takes the cake. Long story short? MOST. EPIC. BOOK. EVAR. Yes, 'evar'.

I have been enjoying the Empowered series. The art is nice, if chaotic at times. The story has been progressing in good fashion with the main character becoming more and more confident in herself. Here in volume 4, Emp really shines, as we get to see how great a heroine she can be when she puts her all into it.

My only problem with this volume has been my problem with the entire series. I object to the Mature Content label when there is no mature content. All of the nudity and swearing is edited. Since this is done, why is there a Mature Content warning?

Very interesting take on the superhero genre, but definitely not for children.