Empowered, Volume 1 Book

Not only is costumed crimefighter "Empowered" saddled with a less-than-ideal superhero name, but she wears a skintight and cruelly revealing "supersuit" that only magnifies her body-image insecurities. Worse yet, the suit's unreliable powers are prone to failure, repeatedly leaving her in appallingly distressing situations... and giving her a shameful reputation as the lamest "cape" in the masks-and-tights business. Nonetheless, she pluckily braves the ordeals of her bottom-rung superheroic life with the help of her "thugalicious" boyfriend (and former Witless Minion) and her hard-drinking ninja girlfriend, not to mention the supervillainous advice from the caged alien demonlord watching DVDs from atop her coffee table...

From Adam Warren - writer/artist of the English-language Dirty Pair comics (the original "Original English-Language Manga" before OEL was cool), and writer of Livewires, Gen13 and Iron Man: Hypervelocity - comes Empowered, a butt-kicking, bootylicious superhero lampoon that raises the bar for long-john lust and low-brow laughs. Remove all previous notions of superhero entertainment from your puny mind... and prepare to be Empowered!

Steve Raiteri - Library Journal

The latest volume of this sexy superhero satire (Vol. 1, LJ9/15/07) finds the voluptuous but insecure heroine Empowered still frequently trussed up by bad guys when her fragile, form-fitting, power-granting bodysuit shreds and leaves her helpless. In the most hilarious story here, villain vendors even start using her to promote their latest superhero capture and restraint equipment. But though there's still a measure of ribaldry, witty wordplay, and intelligent superpower spoofery, manga-influenced American cartoonist Warren (Livewires; Iron Man: Hypervelocity) ups the seriousness quotient here. Readers learn more about the potential dangers left over from Emp's live-in boyfriend's villainous past, while best friend Ninjette is attacked by agents of the New Jersey-based ninja clan she deserted in a violent, gory episode that showcases Warren's action artwork skills and reveals unexpected powers in Emp's mysterious supercostume. An unresolved tale in which Emp dons her "sexy librarian" disguise to draw out a fetish-fixated poltergeist skirts dangerously close to being mere cheesecakes, but overall Warren balances titillation and humor with genuinely affecting emotion. Multifarious sex-related content easily earns the series a "Parental Advisory" label; this is one for adults.