Panel 2: Readers may, I hope, remember Spooky’s telepathic ex Mindf**k from the earlier Empowered vol. 4 story “Orbiting Spookums.”

Also, I’m vaguely annoyed to see the spiky points on Capitan Rivet’s word balloons in this panel, a riff which I was never quite able to consistently deploy throughout the series. (Most of the time, we don’t see such spikes.) In truth, I should’ve given all his balloons rounded little rivet shapes along their outlines, but I just never seemed to think of that.

Panel 5: A more-cartoonish-than-usual shot of Ninjette, here, though I do kinda like the exaggeratedly stylistic flourish—one that’s now largely gone from my work, for good or ill. Also, hollow-eyed, dazed-looking Thugboy’s expression worked out well.

-Adam Warren