Manga Review: Empowered, Vols. 1-2

Empowered, Vols. 1-2

By Adam Warren
Published by Dark Horse
Rating: 16 +

This two-volume superhero parody comes to us from Adam Warren. Now some folks might be wondering who Adam Warren is and why I’m writing about him for Manga Recon. Well, the long and short of it is that Adam Warren is arguably one of the first pioneers of what would come to be termed “OEL.” For decades his style has had a Japanese bent to it, both in the storytelling and the visual notes (sweat drops, veins on the foreheads). In fact, Adam Warren is probably best known for his work on the Japanese properties The Dirty Pair and Bubble Gum Crisis. That now seems to be changing, thanks to Empowered.

Empowered follows Empowered, a hapless young superheroine, as she attempts to prove herself worthy of her powers. Sadly, however, her powers aren’t that great. She’s a got super suit that makes her stronger than normal, enhances her senses, and allows her to fire energy blasts, but it rips at the slightest touch, and the more it rips, the less powers it grants her. These suit malfunctions often result in her being tied up and gagged while wearing embarrassingly little clothing. To make matters worse, her teammates, the Superhomies, are a gaggle of D-grade freaks who barely tolerate her. Oh yeah, she’s also sensitive about her body image (worrying about her butt size and the like) and her costume is virtually painted on, exposing just about every curve. Poor girl. Things begin looking up for her by the end of volume one. She meets a hot and capable guy in the form of Thug Boy, an ex-minion for supervillians, and gains a female friend in the form of Ninjette, a hard drinking badass who is… a ninja.

While the set-up may sound a bit off-putting, it’s not. Adam Warren walks the exploitation line quite skillfully. What began as a naughty gag strip evolves into something more as Empowered becomes a more nuanced character. Her relationship with Thug Boy is touching, while her friendship with the snarky yet supportive Ninjette is believable and funny. The characters continue to evolve in volume two as we learn more about their back stories, hinting at events in future volumes.

Structurally, Empowered is a bit odd. The first volume consists of shorter strips that range in length from four or five pages to twenty with lots of chapter breaks and shorter gag strips in the mix. Despite the brevity of the stories, Warren still manages to draw you in and keep you entertained. The second volume is more structured, with longer chapters and story arcs. Warren lets the story dictate the length of each chapter, producing chapters of significantly different lengths. Odd though it might seem, this more organic approach to storytelling gives both volumes a wonderful flow and rhythm.

Art-wise, Empowered is really lovely. Adam Warren has chosen to go with a pencils-only style–no toning or inks here, and the results are amazing. The manga influences may look a tad dated, but these Japanese motifs blend well with an American comic sensibility that favors detailed backgrounds, creating a lovely, unique hybrid style. For a few sequences Warren even breaks out the markers, giving a distinctly creepy quality to a scene introducing a character that’s bound to appear somewhere down the line. It’s a good decision though, and shows just how detailed and tight his artwork really is.

Funny, smart, touching, and well drawn, Empowered is one of my favorite new releases from the past year. Here’s hoping it continues for a while to come!

Volumes one and two of Empowered are available now.