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Empowered Special #Unchained
Empowered Unchained Volume 1 by Adam Warren (7-Apr-2015) Paperback
With every Empowered Special collected under one vast roof, Empowered Unchained sprays a searing shrapnel salvo of scintillating superhero satire, written by the almighty Adam Warren and illustrated by comicdom's most talented and feared makers of pictures heroic! Featuring graverobbing supervillains! Broom-swinging vigilantes! Slutty cyberangels! Animal crimebots! Boozy ninja! Angry spaceships! And more! And more! AND MORE!
Unknown Binding
First published April 7, 2015
6 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Adam Warren
188 books131 followersAdam Warren (born 1967) is an American comic book writer and artist who is most famous for his original graphic novel Empowered, for adapting the characters known as Dirty Pair into an American comic book, and for being one of the first American commercial illustrators to be influenced by the general manga style.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 13, 2018
Five separate smart and funny parody/pastiches of superhero stories. My favorite involved the hero "Maid Man". Much like Bat Man, he has no actual super-powers. He just dresses in a sexy maid costume and that is enough to discombobulate the homophobic villains.
I actually only read 3 of the 5 stories before returning this to the library, but I liked what I read.
I actually only read 3 of the 5 stories before returning this to the library, but I liked what I read.
August 18, 2018
Extraño y definitivamente para adultos. Pero me gustó.
February 16, 2016
I do love how Empowered swings from gratuitous cheesecake in one breath, to really quite touching and profound character stuff in the next.
January 27, 2017
via NYPL - Solid, but not a standout. Definitely worth it for committed Empowered readers; I wouldn't recommend starting here.
February 26, 2016
My love of the EMPOWERED comic series compelled me to buy this, a compilation of the specials released for various reasons. Interestingly some a good amount were in full color and many were drawn by Guest artists.
Longer review later!
Longer review later!
May 31, 2015
Side stories in the universe of Empowered with interesting development of the side characters.
March 17, 2023
One of the reasons I've avoided, Empowered, up until now is because I always thought it was a black and white comic. Recently my aversion to B&W has lessened, so I jumped it. Make no mistake, I still have an aversion to B&W comics, and while it is mostly B&W, it will have a bunch of full colored pages show up randomly once in a while. I'm not sure I get that choice.
As far as the comic itself, this is more a funny book than any thing. It's kind of like, The Tick, but more raunchy. But it's got that kind of energy where it's mostly poking fun at the concept but may allow a moment here or there where it will take itself half seriously.
(The Tick as I understand it anyway. I never read the original comic, but I saw the cartoon and snippets of the show)
I'll admit I'm kind of dumb and got this thinking it was volume 1. When what it is, is the first volume of specials. Not sure it was a great place to jump in, but I did and it is what it is.
As far as the comic itself, this is more a funny book than any thing. It's kind of like, The Tick, but more raunchy. But it's got that kind of energy where it's mostly poking fun at the concept but may allow a moment here or there where it will take itself half seriously.
(The Tick as I understand it anyway. I never read the original comic, but I saw the cartoon and snippets of the show)
I'll admit I'm kind of dumb and got this thinking it was volume 1. When what it is, is the first volume of specials. Not sure it was a great place to jump in, but I did and it is what it is.
October 4, 2017
A mixed bag of Emp based goodness.
These stories collect a series of one shot comics released in between the main volumes. The stories are of Warren's usual quality and do advance the main plot but suffer from here being out of context but that is a minor quibble in this wonderful series
These stories collect a series of one shot comics released in between the main volumes. The stories are of Warren's usual quality and do advance the main plot but suffer from here being out of context but that is a minor quibble in this wonderful series
June 10, 2016
You want to learn a thing or two about comics, go ahead and read Adam Warren. The man gets punk rock DIY with his “mainstream” comics. Or about as mainstream as one can get without getting jumbled up in the messy tripe that the “big two” are involved with.
I say punk rock, because Adam Warren has figured out how to make it in comics on his own terms, and completely in control of his product. His writing is fresh, interesting, and full of unique ideas. His artwork can be as polished as the best guys in the industry, but his approach to Empowered with high contrast pencils is really what’s been catching my eye. It’s definitely raw and it looks SO good. These might be layouts we’re seeing, and they are tight as fuck. In other words, the man just knows what he's doing.
I don’t have to tell you about Empowered and how it’s a comic about superheroes and anime. It’s also heavily mixed in with pop culture. It doesn't take itself too seriously except when it does. While the ongoing series itself is one of the best comics out there right now, Empowered Unchained collects the one-shots that have been released over the years with backstories to many of the characters. Sort of like a b-sides collection. See? The punkrockness of Adam Warren continues...
Warren does the writing duties here and recruits a wide range of artists to bring his stories to life (with his occasional input). Some work great, and other work best as a one-time thing: like a band recording in different studios. Even though there are some decent stories here, the best was definitely saved for last with Nine Beers with Ninjette (and the killer artwork by Miyazawa) and Internal Medicine (which its sci-fi weirdness).
Empowered Unchained is a nice distraction from the major story going on in the Empowered series right now. Whether it's for fans only is debatable, but it's most certainly hitting a sweet spot with me.
I say punk rock, because Adam Warren has figured out how to make it in comics on his own terms, and completely in control of his product. His writing is fresh, interesting, and full of unique ideas. His artwork can be as polished as the best guys in the industry, but his approach to Empowered with high contrast pencils is really what’s been catching my eye. It’s definitely raw and it looks SO good. These might be layouts we’re seeing, and they are tight as fuck. In other words, the man just knows what he's doing.
I don’t have to tell you about Empowered and how it’s a comic about superheroes and anime. It’s also heavily mixed in with pop culture. It doesn't take itself too seriously except when it does. While the ongoing series itself is one of the best comics out there right now, Empowered Unchained collects the one-shots that have been released over the years with backstories to many of the characters. Sort of like a b-sides collection. See? The punkrockness of Adam Warren continues...
Warren does the writing duties here and recruits a wide range of artists to bring his stories to life (with his occasional input). Some work great, and other work best as a one-time thing: like a band recording in different studios. Even though there are some decent stories here, the best was definitely saved for last with Nine Beers with Ninjette (and the killer artwork by Miyazawa) and Internal Medicine (which its sci-fi weirdness).
Empowered Unchained is a nice distraction from the major story going on in the Empowered series right now. Whether it's for fans only is debatable, but it's most certainly hitting a sweet spot with me.
April 12, 2015
It's a fun read. Adam Warren ' s Empowered character is a send-up of damsel-in-distress characters. Megan Ann Powers "Empowered" is a newbie super hero who gets her powers from an incredibly fragile supersuit that often leaves her in unfortunate circumstances with regards to the super villains she's fighting. She gets no respect from the villains or her supposed super team mates but perseveres nonetheless and generally things go all right though she rarely gets the credit. Her sidekick friends are pretty great and have their own very interesting backstories. This book is a collection of the one-shot special issues and is kinda cool not only. because a lot of it is in color (most of the regular issues are b/w) but also because it has several guest artists illustrating the flashback portions of the stories.
April 1, 2016
Empowered Unchained takes Adam Warren's distressed crimefighter into new territories with this collection of one-shot issues. Warren writes and pens most of the tales within, which again spotlight Empowered's penchant for being captured. He does take an issue to highlight the cross-dressing Maidman, exploring the popular hero with color art chores provided by Emily Warren. The drunken ninja princess Ninjette receives the full manga treatment under the pencils of Takeshi Miyazawa in her own self-contained story. Artists John Staton and Brandon Graham bring their unique styles to the table; Stanton looks to try and match Warren's art while Graham concocts a trippy visual experience instead. Empowered completists will enjoy seeing the different takes on their favorite characters, as well as the opportunity to enjoy the Empowered in color.
June 1, 2015
This is a reprint of previous Empowered One-Shots, with guest artists and Warren's stories, and while I owned them all before, I do like this format much better, so I will not complain much about having to spend money on something I owned already (much).
It's still hilarious and heartbreaking, and damn if Warren isn't good at twisting the knife and reminding us that one of the main cast is going to die sooner than later.
And he definitely is doing it.
Damn him!
It's still hilarious and heartbreaking, and damn if Warren isn't good at twisting the knife and reminding us that one of the main cast is going to die sooner than later.
And he definitely is doing it.
Damn him!
May 12, 2015
Very fun, though the Ninjette beer stories were easily my favourite.
December 31, 2015
Great collection of short stories with fantastic guest artists!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews