Product Description: Costumed crimefighter Empowered is briefly overjoyed to find herself in the running for one of the superhero community's annual Caped Justice Awards (or "Capeys") - only to discover that her nomination was merely a cruel joke by her obnoxious superpeers. But when the masked masses face a cataclysmic reckoning for such previous heartless hoaxes, can our perpetually struggling heroine overcome her resentment and save the day? And can she cope with the further problems posed by crossdressing vigilantes, dying wishes from preteen wannabe supervillains, telepathic "booty calls," a deeply depressed ninja, bedroom "cosplay" conflicts with her boyfriend, and even . . . Hummer® fu? Each volume comes shrinkwrapped with an 18+ advisory sticker.
Empowered 4 is fun 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?
Empowered Volume 4
Very interesting take on the superhero genre, but definitely not for children.
Adam Warren never ceases to amaze me. 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'.
Funny, sexy, even touching, worth picking up 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.
The best volume yet 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.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
