Panel 1’s mention of Spooky’s “husky contralto” is an ultra-obscure reference to an late-80s translated interview with the great mangaka Rumiko Takahashi, in which her voice was characterized in such an evocative manner. I can guarantee you that maybe two other people had the necessary background to catch that reference—but I’m reasonably sure it amused them, so what the heck. More importantly, to quote the Craig Ferguson line I’ve brought up a few times before: “I made myself laugh, and that’s half the battle.”

Panel 2 manages to combine the oft-mentioned Mysteriously Intermittent Post-Millennial Torso Glitch that once plagued my artwork with the dreaded “brokeback pose,” in which a female character’s chest and behind are both visible in the same shot. The Torso Glitch was, alas, an entirely unintentional mistake on my part, but the Emp’s “brokeback” posture was drawn that way on purpose, for reasons that might not become clear for new readers until a few more pages yet. (Then again, the scene’s obnoxious narration may have clued some of you in as to the peculiar nature of the story we’re reading.) In retrospect, I should arguably have made the already “cheesecake”-tastic artwork for “The OTHER F-word” even more outrageous and hypersexualized, to suit the soon-to-be-revealed point of the narrative.

Speaking of sexualized depictions, one of the odder side effects of working on Empowered has been a slight shift in how I view fan art of the characters I draw. That is, nowadays, almost every time I see artwork of Emp in particular, I automatically find myself musing, “What would Emp think of this drawing of herself?” In fact, I've long intended to include a plotline—or a scene, at the very least—in which Emp reacts with dismay to how she's depicted within the context of in-universe fan art. As in, "Is that what you see when you look at me? Ewww!" (Then again, Emp would almost certainly be none too pleased by her depiction in Empowered proper, let alone in fan art. Sorry about that, Emp.)

By the way, I get a very, verrrrry mild form of this “is that what you see?” effect on the rare occasions that I see other artists directly imitating my art style. In general this kind of homage is an honor, but every now and then an “homage piece” can look like a wildly distorted, funhouse-mirror reflection of my various artistic foibles and idiosyncrasies. As in, "I don't draw lips that big anymore, dude!" or the like...

-Adam Warren