Sunday Trade: Empowered

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Empowered Volume 1 & Volume 2
by Adam Warren

Empowered is a rookie super-hero with an unfortunate tendency to get captured and tied up. A tendency that isn't helped by her super-suit. Sure it enhances her strength and agility, protects her from damage and when she concentrates can generate energy blasts. But if it gets torn or ripped it rapidly STOPS working right. And it gets torn All. The. Damn. Time. But Emp keeps trying, despite the mockery of villains and her team-mates. She even manages to capture the powerful Demonwolf, using a leftover bondage belt she got when she was rejected for capture by an alien harem master for being too "bootylicious". Of course her team-mates then make her keep the Caged Demonwolf at her apartment because of zoning laws...

So its no surprise that Emp has some self-confidence issues. And wild mood swings due to body issues. No matter how often shes complimented by her boyfriend, ex-professional henchman Thugboy or her BFF Ninjette...

Adam Warren is one of the few American artists who takes manga styles and successfully makes it his own. And in so doing he manages to create a series that is cute, sexy and above all fun. Despite it growing out of fan requests for bondage/woman in peril fetish sketches, Empowered is just sweet and funny. You easily grow to CARE about the characters. You WANT Emp to succeed. And when she goes off on a self-doubting kick, you want to give her a hug and pep talk rather than the smack upside the head most emo/angst characters draw from me...

THIS is how you do a cheesecake book. Its sexy without being exploitative. Amusing without being mean. With just enough darkness and secrecy to lend it a sense of conflict and make you hunger to learn more...