Empowered Volume 10

I’ve never reviewed any of his books before, for which I’m genuinely sorry, as Mr Warren deserves suprapraise for this series. But then I finally cracked open my copy of Deluxe Edition III, which is annotated (I first bought them all in paperbacks but have since gifted all the volumes now printed in Deluxe Version to my BIL, yeah, we’re an odd family :p)Anywho, I was bothered by something he wrote, which led me to review. “Despite the considerable disappointments and frequent, galling failures of being a marginal figure at best in the American comics field, I’ve decided to stick around in an unforgiving, often capricious line of work that has increasingly fewer opportunities for me...” Gosh, sounds like Emp talking about her job. I hate that he’s been discouraged, with such tremendously amazing writing and artistry.I’ve seen his work denigrated online, accused of being a soft porn fan service book. Hey, sometimes it is! But that’s mostly in the very early volumes, before character development kicks in. So if that’s what’s holding you back, let me outline in detail why you’d want to push through that. So, Pros:1. Relatable characters and situations.2. Tons of character development.3. Comedy.4. Unbelievably creative, amusing, and often surreal characters (like a hero with a cinderblock for hands and head).5. Expansive vocabulary usage, puns, and culture references.6. Anime (for those not crazy about superheroes) and superheroes (for those not crazy about anime).7. Addresses the very issues people complain about, like the objectification of women.8. Not shy on the half naked dude, for us gals sick of only half naked women in entertainment media.9. Excellent story. It’s not often a comic can bring me to tears.Okay, some of my Cons:1. Too much bondage and explicit sex scenes, but that’s only over the top in the very early volumes. This is what probably makes some people not continue.2. Black and white. But better a great story in black and white than a crappy one in color. Like Terry Moore’s amazing work.3. Sometimes the art, particularly in battle scenes, is too busy for a non inked and colored book, so I struggle to “get” it all.Thank you, Mr Warren, for sharing this creation with us! I love this comic and your other work. You have this fan for life!

It says something about EMPOWERED that not only couldn't I find this series at Barnes & Noble, but my local comics shop couldn't even order the latest volume for me. "It's a niche book," said a friend who works there. "People don't buy it unless they've been reading it from the very beginning." So Adam Warren is in the unenviable position of having created the most remarkable superhero comic that no one's reading.It's almost impossible to discuss individual volumes in this series without spoilers, so let's just say that after the first year and a half of Emp's checkered career as a superhero (volumes 1 through 9, arguably one massive story arc), volume 10 shows us how much (and how little) our core cast members have matured under fire. That's one of the many paradoxes that EMPOWERED is built on: it's a superhero comedy with frequent detours into gut-wrenching horror; it stars a bondage-magnet heroine who delivers the sharpest feminist critiques of superhero genre tropes in all of comics; it's a showcase for exquisitely rendered black and white artwork that's equal parts manga and Alex Toth; it's adult, but not adults-only. It's the series I didn't know I was waiting for.

If you've read any previous volumes, you know what you're in for: a smart, sexy, progressive riff on the state of superhero comics and the grievances of its most (supposedly) D-list member of the super-community.After the super-seriousness of Vol. 8 & 9, Vol. 10 goes out of its way to have a lot of fun side-stories & one-shots, with everything from lunch with a frenemy to Ninjette getting a magic sword. It's a much more lighthearted volume but with a tensely dramatic lead-in to the forthcoming Vol 11.Although most would suspect the series to be total male-gaze fan service based on the covers, it maintains its quality of being a "sexy manga-style" comic (similar to Cutey Honey, Highschool of the Dead, or Kekko Kamen) but with confrontation of issues mainstream comics seem to avoid. The plights of the Super-Dead mirror a number of issues faced by the differently abled or those with severe body-image issues, while an entire chapter is dedicated to the toxicity of so-called "nice guys" who think they know best.Ultimately, it remains a great follow up, with good self-reflection, fun action & comedy, and as always, a caged demigod on the coffee table. Worth every dollar!

If you are on the fence about this comic series, do yourself a favor and take a gander at empoweredcomic.com. Then, after you realize how fantastic the story is and how Mr. Warren evolves a thoroughly compelling super hero universe, come back and buy all the comics as soon as you can. The more people supporting the comic, the more often we can enjoy more published delights and continuations of this story. I can't lavish praise on these books well enough, for I am not so skilled. Suffice to say that the relationship between EMP and Thugboy is one of the healthiest romantic character progressions I have ever encountered (all things considered in a violent and crazy, superhero world). Her friendship with Ninjette is also fantastic to behold. Don't even get me started in The Caged Demonwolf. For this humble, pusillanimous reviewer could e'er hope to wield prose with such alliterative amalgams and angry assertions about abundantly asinine jackanapes...

Ohmygodacliffhangerneding!!!! The only bad in this is not knowing when the next volume will come out. Can't wait for it.

A fine addition to the series.The ending makes the wait for the next volume nearly unbearable.SJD

Another great volume in a wonderful serie! Can't wait for the next one!

As a huge fan of Empowered, I own ever graphic and one shot, I didn't expect to give this latest instalment a 3, to be honest if not for the end it would have got a 2, but there it is. On the whole, for me, this particular book is a regressive step back to the old short one shot strips. I found much of it to be overindulgent and aimless as it bumbled and dawdled from one chapter to the next, the reason for which became clear at the end. It's filler, no more, no less. It would have been far more interesting and entertaining if all of the issues that carry the main thrust of the overarching story arc, the concerns surrounding the new dynamic being faced by the lead character and her companions, had been dealt with more succinctly and with far less old tat chucked in just to pad it out and buy the writer time. It’s like spinning out a 6 episode TV series that only really has 3 episodes worth of plot. Will I be buying #11? If you’d asked me before I’d read the end I may have said no I’ll stick to the one-shots as AW seems to have run out of ideas, but after reading the end I will definitely be buying the next one. Though be warned AW if it fails to live up to its potential and drags, dithers and faffs about like this one #11 will sadly be the last.

Adam Warren’s superhero caper is easily one of the freshest comic book stories you can read. Funny, sexy, endlessly inventive and often surprisingly moving I cannot recommend this well drawn brilliantly written vibrant series more.