Empowered

Warren himself has commented that he can see how the Caged Demonwolf's particular style of speech might get tiresome. I think it's fine in short bits, but whenever he's got anything of length to say, it gets old really, really fast.

You'll note that one of his longest monologues started with him dropping out of it ("I speak a million languages and a billion dialects, I don't have to talk like that"). But there are still some long ones that get a little tiresome.

So. This thread's inactive. I can only assume the comic has been too.

Never did find out why Emp's suit is always tattered after Volume 1 and 2.

Volume 10 is coming out in August, I think. Not too much to talk about until then.

There was a 3 issue miniseries about Emp facing disillusioned Magical Girl the Soldier of Love, illustrated by Karla Diaz. I really liked it.

the new volume is out. fucking cliffhanger

Felt kind of mixed about this volume.

I know that character interactions are a big part of the comic, but the longer it goes on, the more anxious I am to either get a big revelation about some of the longest running mysteries of the comic (Like more hints as to the purpose of the power suit, or what the heck Willy Pete is) or for a confrontation with one of the looming threats of the series. I don't know if Warren has any idea of how many volumes the series might go, but I've always been worried that he might end up trying to cram everything into the last volumes. For example, I figure a confrontation with Willy Pete or Ninjette's father is inevitable, but those are things that really deserve a volume to themselves. At least it looks like we'll be getting a fight with Mindfuck's brother next volume. Although if we go through the whole thing and still don't see his face, I'll be quite cross.

I didn't like Chevalier's story. His dialogue was annoying to read. Also, while the series has always talked about sexism, it used to do so with a degree of humor. These last few volumes have felt more preachy.

And now, for the big one. Emp's confrontation with Thugboy about his Witless Minioning felt really off to me. For one thing, given how much Thugboy has tried to maintain an ideal relationship with Emp, I never expected him to willingly tell her about it. And even if he did, I never would've expected to be so casual about it. The way he went about it felt really manipulative too, pretty much saying "I can accept you with all your flaws, can you accept me with mine?" I've never fully trusted Thugboy, but I wouldn't have expected that from him.

As for what I liked, seeing Emp get a big and seemingly permanent confidence from becoming a full timer was great. Capitan Rivet has always been one of the most moral capes in the series, and I've always wondered how he felt about the behavior of his peers. Did he regret it, or was he oblivious to it? In this volume, we get a line of dialogue that reveals how he really feels about all of it.

And we still don't know the tower headed girl's name. What's the deal with that?

I have noticed that. A lot of chapters have Emp's suit tattered, even when she isn't seen coming from a battle. The series might poke fun at fanservice, but it's never hesitated to indulge in fanservice. I've always figured that the moments where the comic seems to be trying to guilt trip the audience for enjoying fanservice were intended to be playful teasing, because the series would be massively hypocritical if it was genuinely trying to admonish the readers.

My is that it was supposed to symbolize her growing confidence, her suit working because she's forcing it to work or something like that. I'm okay with fanserivce but not having any explanation for this has just been jarring.

I'm not liking most of what you just described about the latest volume.

edited 6th Jul '17 3:57:21 PM by Soble

yeah thugboy is being manipulative but thats because he knows he fucked up and doesnt want to admit it. So he tries to shift it away from him.he probably would have came down and admitted he messed up if he hadnt gotten brainbowed

I'm pretty sure it's playful teasing, given that Emp was born from a series of fan-comissions Warren did at conventions, showing a fan-servicey superheroine in various kinds of bondage.

Still, I think there might be some gentle admonishment there. Which can be hard to really pull off, and can lead to some dissonance. If you're into fan service, you might start to wonder if you're supposed to be enjoying it or not (and if not, who wants to read a comic that's out to make them feel guilty?).

So I'm reading through the empoweredcomic website to see what Adam has to say about his work, and I found one strip where he actually does explain why he rarely draws Emp's suit fully intact. It's because the design is somewhat plain, and he thinks it's more visually interesting when it's partially torn up.

Here's where he explains it.

Oh man, after reading Empowered for so long I only just realized how utterly plain her suit is. Then again the reveal of it having some sort of mecha-skeletal angel wings and laser beams somewhat alleviated that in later volumes.

...I feel like him having a low supply of lead/incoming arthritis is a better excuse than "it's too boring to draw" when he established that the suit doesn't work when it's tattered earlier. But I'd also argue that it's a pretty weak excuse, I mean, I've never heard an artist say "drawing something intact/solid is more stressful than drawing something ripped/tattered/in pieces."

You're presumably doing more drawing it tattered, so would that not cause more strain on the hand?

I'd be fine with it if he just gave a reason in- story. And, duh, it's sexier. Just, like, explain it. Then again I haven't read the last three volumes since that Deathmonger dude showed up and Emp beat him (I think) so maybe he did address it.

edited 12th Jul '17 12:20:01 PM by Soble

The suit not working when tattered is more tied in with Emp's self esteem than with it's actual limitations. The suit was barely holding together when she first used the wings, and from reading Volume 10 after she gets the massive confidence boost from becoming a full time super-homey she is kicking ass even while the suit is damaged with no slowdown.

edited 21st Jul '17 1:22:41 AM by Shaoken

So I'm reading volume ten after years of putting the series down and it's such pure, undiluted joy. The cuddle party. The phone call. The triumph. Every single sex scene with Thug Boy. The sheer warmth this comic exudes is heart-melting.

Oh.

Well it's certainly sex-positive. I think I read through the first few volumes so much the sex actually started to bother me. At first it was enough to make me blush and laugh at how ridiculous it was. Then when it came to the Demonwolf narrating around it I just got annoyed and, yeah, there's sexual tension in the group, but, why should I care? I think they've become close enough friends no one's losing body parts over this love triangle.

It always came off as a Running Gag that was getting worn thin, but hearing that's it still pretty front and center (every single scene, not, that sex scene, as in singular, I get the impression there's quite a bit of it?) tells of a different trope.

edited 28th Sep '17 1:23:58 PM by Soble

That trope about sums it up.

I really liked the Chevalier chapter because whiteknighting is extremely prevalent and commonly used as an excuse to justify sexist behavior, or to gratuitously insult feminism ("I said X and they disagreed, which proves that they all are evil witches unable to understand my innate kindness"). It was a bit on the nose but it is not a topic that is often touched upon within medias - it is more common to have a male start as a clear-cut misogynist to prove a point - so I liked to read it.

As for the tattered suit I did not really realize it. I could imagine it having to do with the tattered version less emphasizing Emp's bottom, which is the one thing she is still quite sensitive about at the moment despite her self-esteem progresses.

It's really interesting when a character is set up to have obviously absurd self-esteem hangups, only for us to root for them to get over it.

While as a reader Emp's issue is silly, because she is drawn to be gorgeous, her having self-esteem problems with her butt does not sound completely alien considering the domination of skinny body types in magazines, mode pictures and ads.

I mean, I won't claim that Warren drew Emp to lampshade the very real issue of anorexia among the youth, but it is actually believable for her to agonize over it. And I am pretty sure that many real women that most would consider absolutely stunning have body image issues caused by the freaking unhealthy standards set by models.

edited 3rd Nov '17 3:10:34 PM by Julep

I haven't checked in on this series since volume 11 back in 2019. I had been following it for around a decade, and it's hard to keep the same level of interest year after year. I assumed there would have been several volumes published since I took a hiatus, only to find out that there hasn't been a new volume since I last looked in and the next one is scheduled for release this year. Funny how things work out.

He's been publishing it as a webcomic, and it's up to volume 11.

it was actually scheduled for July of last year but it got pushed back