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Empowered & Sistah Spooky's High School Hell
Adam Warren teams with Eisner award winner Carla Speed McNeil, creator of Finder, in a hellishly funny superhero smackdown!
Empowered and "frenemy" Sistah Spooky are trapped in a twisted high-school hellscape, with Spooky's blonde, sold-their-souls-for-hotness, ex-classmates plotting ritual murder to claim her magic for themselves! Beset by giant biology-class frogs, deadly emoji, and a monstrous junk-food elemental, Emp and Spooky fight for their lives against straight-fire blonde ambition! Hell is for heroines!
Empowered and "frenemy" Sistah Spooky are trapped in a twisted high-school hellscape, with Spooky's blonde, sold-their-souls-for-hotness, ex-classmates plotting ritual murder to claim her magic for themselves! Beset by giant biology-class frogs, deadly emoji, and a monstrous junk-food elemental, Emp and Spooky fight for their lives against straight-fire blonde ambition! Hell is for heroines!
144 pages, Paperback
Published February 12, 2019
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22 people want to read
About the author
Adam Warren
189 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 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 13, 2019
The best-looking of the "Empowered" stories, thanks to Carla's great art and Jenn's great coloring.
High School is hell. This time literally.
[Disclaimer: I went to High School with Carla in Nachitoches, Louisiana. It was actually a very nice experience.]
High School is hell. This time literally.
[Disclaimer: I went to High School with Carla in Nachitoches, Louisiana. It was actually a very nice experience.]
February 12, 2019
Gets Better As It Goes Along
I wasn't familiar with Empowered or Sistah Spooky when I started this volume, and had trouble developing enough interest to keep going. I'm glad I persevered and I'm happy now to be up to speed on the very interesting Empowered character. (For what it's worth I did a little research, mostly of the Wiki variety, part way into this book and that background helped me appreciate the characters and understand what was going on.)
Backstory, short. Empowered is a fiercely dedicated superhero whose power emanates from her very delicate "hypermembrane" supersuit. Because the suit is very delicate it often is so damaged during superhero confrontations that it fails, and so Empowered is often an object of derision among other superheroes. Is that a great metaphor for body sensitive teen girls, or what? Empowered's superhero frenemy is Sistah Spooky, who is powerful and sarcastic and loves to dump on Empowered.
In this volume those two are teamed up. Sistah Spooky sold her soul to become hot and powerful, and the demon who worked that deal draws Sistah down to a high school based hell. Empowered is unintentionally dragged along, so now the two have to work together. The hook, which is ungainly at first and just barely works, is that Sistah Spooky's school consisted entirely of beautiful blond mean girls who had sold their souls to become beautiful blonde mean girls. Spooky and Empowered have to fight their way through all of those almost identical beautiful blonde mean girls, (al of whom have names that are variations on Ashley), in order to escape. The rest of the volume is like a video game in which the two heroes work their way through mean girl level to mean girl level until the final confrontation with the Boss mean girl.
What made this most interesting is that the levels are based on incidents from Spooky's high school days, and turn more on bullying, mean texts, academic failures, being a social outcast, eating disorders, bathroom confrontations, and so on. The story becomes something like a comic book Dante's trip through all the circles of a teen girl's high school hell. This was much smarter and more insightful than I ever expected, and it just got better and more pointed as it went on.
This is Sistah Spooky's story for the most part, but Empowered is a stand up companion and good for humorous throwaway lines. The two reach a number of understandings about each other and about themselves, and the whole project is way more thought provoking and pertinent, while still being wildly entertaining, than I ever imagined. This was a fun find.
(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
I wasn't familiar with Empowered or Sistah Spooky when I started this volume, and had trouble developing enough interest to keep going. I'm glad I persevered and I'm happy now to be up to speed on the very interesting Empowered character. (For what it's worth I did a little research, mostly of the Wiki variety, part way into this book and that background helped me appreciate the characters and understand what was going on.)
Backstory, short. Empowered is a fiercely dedicated superhero whose power emanates from her very delicate "hypermembrane" supersuit. Because the suit is very delicate it often is so damaged during superhero confrontations that it fails, and so Empowered is often an object of derision among other superheroes. Is that a great metaphor for body sensitive teen girls, or what? Empowered's superhero frenemy is Sistah Spooky, who is powerful and sarcastic and loves to dump on Empowered.
In this volume those two are teamed up. Sistah Spooky sold her soul to become hot and powerful, and the demon who worked that deal draws Sistah down to a high school based hell. Empowered is unintentionally dragged along, so now the two have to work together. The hook, which is ungainly at first and just barely works, is that Sistah Spooky's school consisted entirely of beautiful blond mean girls who had sold their souls to become beautiful blonde mean girls. Spooky and Empowered have to fight their way through all of those almost identical beautiful blonde mean girls, (al of whom have names that are variations on Ashley), in order to escape. The rest of the volume is like a video game in which the two heroes work their way through mean girl level to mean girl level until the final confrontation with the Boss mean girl.
What made this most interesting is that the levels are based on incidents from Spooky's high school days, and turn more on bullying, mean texts, academic failures, being a social outcast, eating disorders, bathroom confrontations, and so on. The story becomes something like a comic book Dante's trip through all the circles of a teen girl's high school hell. This was much smarter and more insightful than I ever expected, and it just got better and more pointed as it went on.
This is Sistah Spooky's story for the most part, but Empowered is a stand up companion and good for humorous throwaway lines. The two reach a number of understandings about each other and about themselves, and the whole project is way more thought provoking and pertinent, while still being wildly entertaining, than I ever imagined. This was a fun find.
(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
May 9, 2019
Adam Warren is someone who’s easily underrated in the comic book world. In addition to that he’s also underappreciated. His contribution to the Dirty Pair franchise was funny, innovative, looked great, and somehow just kept getting better. And it’s this same unique sensibility that Warren was able to bring to Gen13. In a run that included so many ups and downs, Warren’s issues were consistent high points and some would argue (myself included) that he was the only one that ever understood its characters.
Warren has taken a particularly punk rock approach to his comics over the years, focusing on the completely creator-driven DIY comic Empowered. This has been another high point both for him and comics as it offered a unique perspective and style to the superhero genre which is all the rage these days. It’s really the minutia of being a superhero that can be the most interesting (because it’s what we relate to that always strikes the biggest chord) and something that Warren understands at a deep level: how do superheroes function when they’re not on the clock? Of course, there are plenty of great sequences, intense battles, deep storylines and character development in Empowered that make it such a rich comic.
Empowered and Sistah Spooky’s High School Hell serves as a standalone or “meanwhile” storyline which is really a great way to experiment. It reminds me a lot of the Dirty Pair Run from the Future plotline where our two superheroes have a simple task to complete and encounter colorful characters along the way. Here, our heroines are brought to hell by Sistah Spooky’s IFP (Infernal Service Provider) who gave her her powers in the first place and tasked with battling their way through a recreation of her torturous high school experience complete with all its villains: Sistah Spooky’s evil gorgeous blonde peers. The story is masterfully written of course and knows how to strike a balance between deep and purely visceral. New artist Carla Speed McNeil’s style took some getting used to but after some pages became second nature. Her line-work is so detailed and is really a great compliment for the setting of the comic. McNeil manages to perfectly understand the look of the characters while still making them unique (which is harder than you might think considering the subject).
Empowered and Sistah Spooky’s High School Hell is a great comic, full of colorful characters and a deep story, and is a perfect example of the razor sharp writing Adam Warren does so well.
Warren has taken a particularly punk rock approach to his comics over the years, focusing on the completely creator-driven DIY comic Empowered. This has been another high point both for him and comics as it offered a unique perspective and style to the superhero genre which is all the rage these days. It’s really the minutia of being a superhero that can be the most interesting (because it’s what we relate to that always strikes the biggest chord) and something that Warren understands at a deep level: how do superheroes function when they’re not on the clock? Of course, there are plenty of great sequences, intense battles, deep storylines and character development in Empowered that make it such a rich comic.
Empowered and Sistah Spooky’s High School Hell serves as a standalone or “meanwhile” storyline which is really a great way to experiment. It reminds me a lot of the Dirty Pair Run from the Future plotline where our two superheroes have a simple task to complete and encounter colorful characters along the way. Here, our heroines are brought to hell by Sistah Spooky’s IFP (Infernal Service Provider) who gave her her powers in the first place and tasked with battling their way through a recreation of her torturous high school experience complete with all its villains: Sistah Spooky’s evil gorgeous blonde peers. The story is masterfully written of course and knows how to strike a balance between deep and purely visceral. New artist Carla Speed McNeil’s style took some getting used to but after some pages became second nature. Her line-work is so detailed and is really a great compliment for the setting of the comic. McNeil manages to perfectly understand the look of the characters while still making them unique (which is harder than you might think considering the subject).
Empowered and Sistah Spooky’s High School Hell is a great comic, full of colorful characters and a deep story, and is a perfect example of the razor sharp writing Adam Warren does so well.
March 18, 2023
This is really a 2.5 or 2.75 rounded up.
This one mileage will vary a lot. It seems Adam Warren didn't do most of the art in the last book, and I don't think he did any of the art in this book. This one is fully in color, there are no black and white panels. Art here is ok, not great, not terrible. Not my cup of tea, just isn't much to say about it.
I am starting to wonder with these books. It keeps presenting liberal and feminist themes and I'm unsure if it's to mock them or promote them. Perhaps it's a bit of both. In this we get a lot of it's tough being a black girl, kill all the blonde white women because they are evil stuff. But, it was enough only to mildly annoy me, not enough to actually tick me off or kill my enjoyment of the work as a whole. With the other two books of specials, I sure it was helpful to be caught up with the story, but I was able to follow along ok without having read any of the main story. And I guess I was more or less ok here too. But it does draw on events that have happened in the main story here, so you'll have much better context, if you have read that stuff.
I mean, it's ok. The story is Sister Spooky literally sold her soul to get magically hotness and her powers. Tons of girls from her high school had also sold their souls for magical hotness, but they didn't get any powers. The demon that made the deal with them all, has dragged them all to hell and created a space to mimic their old high school. He tells all the blonde white girls if they kill Sister Spooky and her buddy Empowered, they will get her magic. Like, there is just a pool of magic that Spooky is hording all of, and it will be distributed to them if they can kill her. And he somehow gives them powers here in hell, while dampening Emp's and Spooky's.
I mean, it's got some pretty crazy shit. It was fun, just the weakest of the three specials collections.
This one mileage will vary a lot. It seems Adam Warren didn't do most of the art in the last book, and I don't think he did any of the art in this book. This one is fully in color, there are no black and white panels. Art here is ok, not great, not terrible. Not my cup of tea, just isn't much to say about it.
I am starting to wonder with these books. It keeps presenting liberal and feminist themes and I'm unsure if it's to mock them or promote them. Perhaps it's a bit of both. In this we get a lot of it's tough being a black girl, kill all the blonde white women because they are evil stuff. But, it was enough only to mildly annoy me, not enough to actually tick me off or kill my enjoyment of the work as a whole. With the other two books of specials, I sure it was helpful to be caught up with the story, but I was able to follow along ok without having read any of the main story. And I guess I was more or less ok here too. But it does draw on events that have happened in the main story here, so you'll have much better context, if you have read that stuff.
I mean, it's ok. The story is Sister Spooky literally sold her soul to get magically hotness and her powers. Tons of girls from her high school had also sold their souls for magical hotness, but they didn't get any powers. The demon that made the deal with them all, has dragged them all to hell and created a space to mimic their old high school. He tells all the blonde white girls if they kill Sister Spooky and her buddy Empowered, they will get her magic. Like, there is just a pool of magic that Spooky is hording all of, and it will be distributed to them if they can kill her. And he somehow gives them powers here in hell, while dampening Emp's and Spooky's.
I mean, it's got some pretty crazy shit. It was fun, just the weakest of the three specials collections.
April 6, 2019
Adam Warren and Carla Speed McNeil team up for another trip into the world of Empowered. An afternoon coffee run goes south when Empowered and Sistah Spooky are dragged down to an infernal high school hellscape. Offering Spooky’s powers to any of the blonde bimbos who manage to slay the heroines, the Infernal Service Provider demon has crafted a gauntlet of teenaged angst. The girls must overcome reanimated biology class, killer texts, singing competitions, public speaking forums, and more in order to survive. As the pool of homicidal girls dwindles, the queen bee and her flunkies pour it on in order to finally make high school a true death trap. Adam Warren sticks to the scriptwriting duties, and does a nice job of showing just how far his protagonists have come since their first appearances. The juxtaposition between bullying and terror also hits home, as the manifestations of words and glares become deadly serious threats - something that continues to be a problem in today’s society. Carla McNeil is given the art chores, which is a hard shift from Warren’s manga-inspired style. The characters are more defined and realistic by way of proportions, but longtime readers familiar with Warren will be asking him to take over both duties once again. Empowered & Sistah Spooky’s High School Hell is a pop culture skewering of the teenaged world and its drama, but holds a deeper message at the heart of its fiendish landscape.
February 1, 2019
Although I’m not the biggest fan of Empowered, I’m deeply and madly in love with Sistah Spooky and Carla McNeal draws the Hell (lol) out of her!! (Tbh, can’t help but relate to Theresa for being the ”odd” and ”different” one in high-school...mine wasn’t this harsh, though.) The ”bury your gays” in this one hurts a lot, so that’s why only three stars. McNeal’s art is 5/5!!
April 30, 2019
Well, it was pretty good. Just a fun romp through Sistah Spooky’s past. There’s just a lot of junk for the most part then really starts to pull together towards the end. This didn’t feel a strong a one shot as the previous side story “Soldier of Love” but s nice moment of bonding for Emp and Spooky.
... but what the heck happened to her arm?!!!
... but what the heck happened to her arm?!!!
February 27, 2019
Didn't care for the story, and while I usually like the art of Carla Speed McNeil I really didn't care for her interpretation of Adam Warren's characters from Empowered. So the graphic novel was pretty meh for me.
March 15, 2020
Missed Adam Warren's artwork.
May 14, 2020
Love the art style, the story was not the best maybe because I haven't read all the empowered comics..
Want to read
April 3, 2021Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews