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Empowered #1-3
Empowered Omnibus Volume 1
Of course, it's side-achingly funny. Sure, it's eye-lovingly illustrated. But is it just possibly the best send-up of superheroes yet created? In a word...duh!
Adam Warren's Empowered rattles the capes-and-tights cage in a manner well-deserved for said enclosure, but That's Not All, true believer. There is "genuinely affecting emotion" (Library Journal). And it's for "real, live adults" (MTV Geek News). In fact, Empowered is "a fantastically rendered book on every conceivable level" (Comic Book Resources). Don't be a coward, get Empowered! Collects Empowered volumes 1, 2, and 3.
Adam Warren's Empowered rattles the capes-and-tights cage in a manner well-deserved for said enclosure, but That's Not All, true believer. There is "genuinely affecting emotion" (Library Journal). And it's for "real, live adults" (MTV Geek News). In fact, Empowered is "a fantastically rendered book on every conceivable level" (Comic Book Resources). Don't be a coward, get Empowered! Collects Empowered volumes 1, 2, and 3.
672 pages, Paperback
First published March 13, 2012
19 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Adam Warren
190 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 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 19, 2020
This was more fun than I was expecting. So Empowered--yes,that's her name--is an aspiring superhero. Her suit protects her from harm and grants her abilities like super strength and energy blasts and so on. But if it gets torn--it will regenerate over time--she loses her powers. And, despite its ability to protect her from harm, it's really prone to being torn. Really, really, really prone. As if the intact suit wasn't embarrassingly revealing enough …
It will surprise no one that the character had her origins in some pervy, bondage-themed sketch requests that Warren got at a convention or two. The character definitely starts from fan service, but then Warren gives her a personality and a supporting cast, along with dollops of self-aware humor. What starts from the borderline of outright porn develops fairly quickly into something with character and wit and dimension. It's fascinating to watch it grow.
Although sexual situations and humor abound, it's strictly softcore. Much more is implied than is actually depicted. Even though Emp’s costume gets shredded in all sorts of creative ways, there's nary a bare nipple or pubic area to be seen. Adam Warren is the master of dancing right up to the line without actually crossing it.
Also, the way the characters use language is all kinds of fun. In particular, there's this trapped demon lord whose dialogue makes me giggle every time.
Will you feel like a pervert for reading Empowered? Possibly, but you’ll be enjoying it too much to care. Highly recommended!
It will surprise no one that the character had her origins in some pervy, bondage-themed sketch requests that Warren got at a convention or two. The character definitely starts from fan service, but then Warren gives her a personality and a supporting cast, along with dollops of self-aware humor. What starts from the borderline of outright porn develops fairly quickly into something with character and wit and dimension. It's fascinating to watch it grow.
Although sexual situations and humor abound, it's strictly softcore. Much more is implied than is actually depicted. Even though Emp’s costume gets shredded in all sorts of creative ways, there's nary a bare nipple or pubic area to be seen. Adam Warren is the master of dancing right up to the line without actually crossing it.
Also, the way the characters use language is all kinds of fun. In particular, there's this trapped demon lord whose dialogue makes me giggle every time.
Will you feel like a pervert for reading Empowered? Possibly, but you’ll be enjoying it too much to care. Highly recommended!
February 19, 2021
I had a hard time rating this one- mostly because not only are book 1 and book 3 already wildly different, I also have to confess- I harbor a lot of sentimental feelings for "Empowered". If I let my emotions get to me, I'd spam five star ratings all around- but forcing myself to think rationally, I can still only justify subtracting one star for volume one's... realistically three stars.
Disclaimer, I think I read this series (or the first 5-6 volumes, if I recall?) the first time when I was about 15-ish (don't look at me like that, you also knew how to click "yes, I'm over 18" at a much younger age than 18), and it will forever be one of the first pieces I've read that I would classify as a "graphic novel". As such, it has a special little place in my heart.
Now, I realize that when you first open it, what you get is more of a collection of fetish-y drawings about a bondage-prone, sexy superhero in a torn costume, than a novel- and I fully admit, the shorter pieces that are mainly about that get a little old after a while. I know that it's what I can best phrase as "cheesecake-rrific". I know that most of it reeks of the early 2000's, in dialogue and characterization as well as the fashion (oh my god, so many halter crop tops. Ninjette's tan capris with ties/handkerchief crop-top combo in volume 3 haunts my dreams. It's like 2005 threw up on her.). I know there's tongue-in-cheek sexploitation-but-is-it-really all over the place, and Emp being insecure about her objectively beautifully and lovingly rendered backside is kinda ridiculous on its own. But there is just something so charming, so unexpectedly earnest about it, I can't help but love it.
I shouldn't, but I love it, and I refuse to feel guilty about it. I already try not to think of things as guilty pleasures- but this, this is just a joy.
The wordplay is, at times, incredibly clever- the Caged Demonwolf's dialogue (and indeed, his very concept) for instance is dripping with a kind of fun where I know that the author was most likely giggling while writing it, and in turn, I can't help but laugh either. The superhero (or "cape") concepts are clever and funny without feeling like pandering, or like they're trying to be cool- in fact, even the "cool" ones are uncool, but in a very fun way. (I mean, come on- Syndablokk's powerset is probably one of the coolest superhero ideas I've seen in a while, and... he's a dude with a cinderblock for a head.). And it's so heartwarming to see both the characters, their relationships, and the story grow rapidly deeper through these first few volumes into something more than these first few stories suggest. Admittedly, my nostalgia goggles probably help, too- but the difference between the first page and the last is still striking.
And this being a graphic novel, I have to mention the art as well: there is something so alive, so organic about the book's use of pencil drawings, rather than fully rendered, Western-style comic book art. I love that the pages aren't inked and that they're all black and grey- it somehow preserves the energy and momentum of a preliminary sketch, and as someone who wishes she hadn't put the pencil down so many years ago now, they just make me happy to look at.
Also, boobies. The boobies are also great. 10/10. In hindsight, I cannot believe that back in the day, this was the kind of stuff I enjoyed the most, and I still had no idea I was bi until I was in my early 20's. Queer kids can be dense as hell about themselves, huh.
Disclaimer, I think I read this series (or the first 5-6 volumes, if I recall?) the first time when I was about 15-ish (don't look at me like that, you also knew how to click "yes, I'm over 18" at a much younger age than 18), and it will forever be one of the first pieces I've read that I would classify as a "graphic novel". As such, it has a special little place in my heart.
Now, I realize that when you first open it, what you get is more of a collection of fetish-y drawings about a bondage-prone, sexy superhero in a torn costume, than a novel- and I fully admit, the shorter pieces that are mainly about that get a little old after a while. I know that it's what I can best phrase as "cheesecake-rrific". I know that most of it reeks of the early 2000's, in dialogue and characterization as well as the fashion (oh my god, so many halter crop tops. Ninjette's tan capris with ties/handkerchief crop-top combo in volume 3 haunts my dreams. It's like 2005 threw up on her.). I know there's tongue-in-cheek sexploitation-but-is-it-really all over the place, and Emp being insecure about her objectively beautifully and lovingly rendered backside is kinda ridiculous on its own. But there is just something so charming, so unexpectedly earnest about it, I can't help but love it.
I shouldn't, but I love it, and I refuse to feel guilty about it. I already try not to think of things as guilty pleasures- but this, this is just a joy.
The wordplay is, at times, incredibly clever- the Caged Demonwolf's dialogue (and indeed, his very concept) for instance is dripping with a kind of fun where I know that the author was most likely giggling while writing it, and in turn, I can't help but laugh either. The superhero (or "cape") concepts are clever and funny without feeling like pandering, or like they're trying to be cool- in fact, even the "cool" ones are uncool, but in a very fun way. (I mean, come on- Syndablokk's powerset is probably one of the coolest superhero ideas I've seen in a while, and... he's a dude with a cinderblock for a head.). And it's so heartwarming to see both the characters, their relationships, and the story grow rapidly deeper through these first few volumes into something more than these first few stories suggest. Admittedly, my nostalgia goggles probably help, too- but the difference between the first page and the last is still striking.
And this being a graphic novel, I have to mention the art as well: there is something so alive, so organic about the book's use of pencil drawings, rather than fully rendered, Western-style comic book art. I love that the pages aren't inked and that they're all black and grey- it somehow preserves the energy and momentum of a preliminary sketch, and as someone who wishes she hadn't put the pencil down so many years ago now, they just make me happy to look at.
Also, boobies. The boobies are also great. 10/10. In hindsight, I cannot believe that back in the day, this was the kind of stuff I enjoyed the most, and I still had no idea I was bi until I was in my early 20's. Queer kids can be dense as hell about themselves, huh.
April 3, 2018
Adam Warren truly coming into his own with an original series that absolutely skewers superhero tropes to make fun, insightful, and some surprisingly heartwarming tales in this imaginative world.
December 30, 2024
Redeeming By The End
Maybe a major warning for most feminists, sensitive girls, and other sensitive people.. The jokes and everything are not LOL kind of funny but they are reminiscent of most Western comics. I don’t think you guys will appreciate Ms. Superheroine to be trussed up like a turkey for 75% of the comic, nor will you appreciate the indication of these 3 people always lounging around together casually, but I didn’t hate it? I won’t be buying everything related to this comic or obsessing over it, but I loved how incredibly sexy Emp was and how she found Thug boy in the end. The only thing for me to hate is how much I hate weak protagonists. Why couldn’t she have a power-up in the end or something to make her more formidable? Ugh. Men that’s why.
Maybe a major warning for most feminists, sensitive girls, and other sensitive people.. The jokes and everything are not LOL kind of funny but they are reminiscent of most Western comics. I don’t think you guys will appreciate Ms. Superheroine to be trussed up like a turkey for 75% of the comic, nor will you appreciate the indication of these 3 people always lounging around together casually, but I didn’t hate it? I won’t be buying everything related to this comic or obsessing over it, but I loved how incredibly sexy Emp was and how she found Thug boy in the end. The only thing for me to hate is how much I hate weak protagonists. Why couldn’t she have a power-up in the end or something to make her more formidable? Ugh. Men that’s why.
February 17, 2025
Wildly horny, silly, and a lot more fun than I remember.
Also: yes, the bondage bits got to me way more now than they did originally. That’s what happens when you’re fully actualized and not ashamed of your desires! (don’t read at work tho)
Also: yes, the bondage bits got to me way more now than they did originally. That’s what happens when you’re fully actualized and not ashamed of your desires! (don’t read at work tho)
May 8, 2025
An idea with potential. Might have beat the idea close to death.
September 22, 2025
I wasn’t able to get through all of it before i had to return it to the library but really enjoyed what i read
May 4, 2012
A little too lengthy for me (700+ pages), but still very funny...in a silly, somewhat perverted kind of way. It was an odd mix of comic book superheroine in manga artwork.
The story was much more enjoyable before the point where Empowered meets her criminal boyfriend and starts dealing with relationship drama. But overall I thought it was a fun read.
The story was much more enjoyable before the point where Empowered meets her criminal boyfriend and starts dealing with relationship drama. But overall I thought it was a fun read.
June 4, 2021
I liked it. Definitely went in a underdog direction, with the series continuing in, so far, 11 volumes worth of directions.
I want to see where they go.
If you think this is corny, then please s**k it because this is my review and the corny bits will stay.
Overall, bring on more Emp-power!!
Enjoy :)
I want to see where they go.
If you think this is corny, then please s**k it because this is my review and the corny bits will stay.
Overall, bring on more Emp-power!!
Enjoy :)
May 2, 2014
I loved everything about this. The art, the jokes, the shameless indulgence. The last story had a funny Blade of the Immortal vibe to it.
May 16, 2015
The Caged Demonwolf is easily one of my favorite characters in any medium.
August 15, 2021
Way better than I thought a fun sexy comic could be! The writing pulls you into this wacky world and really makes you give a damn about these pretty f'ed up characters!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews