Interesting that Sistah Spooky’s cowl was depicted as rather more shapeless and fold-intensive than is presently the case. Frankly, I’m not really sure as to why I was doing this back in 2006, but this might’ve been a belated effort to differentiate her from a certain DC comics sorceress. (Or maybe not.)

In panel 2, note the only type of “glitter FX” that I can pull off in the simplified, pencil-based medium of Empowered: vertical and horizontal streaks of white-out over a central circle shape, forming what I call “cruciform glitter FX.” Now, when I’m working in color, I constantly badger my color artists to slather on Photoshop-based glitter FX hither and yon, from cruciforms to glowing “sparklies” aplenty to floating motes of brilliant light, as I am perhaps inordinately fond of such showy and obnoxious affectations. (Along those lines, the color art for current versions of Empowered’s supersuit makes the hypermembrane’s surface look like a Hubble-telescope-worthy view of star-spattered and nebula-rich outer space.)

Note the cryptic but, to me, highly amusing line down in the lower left corner of panel 3: “HARD AS IRON: Bedroom tips from Capitan Rivet.” In retrospect, I’m not entirely clear as to what “bedroom tips” a stainless steel golem like El Capitan could offer to mere flesh-and-blood males, but the idea of such a sexual-advice article is certainly an entertaining one.

I believe panel 4 might be first time that I introduced the concept that Emp was a lowly “associate member” of the Superhomeys, lacking the sweet “bennies” and financial participation of the full-time members. (Though, as Empowered volumes 4 and 5 note, she does have some degree of suprahuman health-care access, which is handy for such an injury-intensive line of work.) As of the present day—that is, after Empowered vol. 9—Emp has finally demanded promotion to full membership status, which seems a reasonable enough request, given how many Superhomeys have left the team and/or perished during the series.

-Adam Warren