Yes, folks, these are the bloodthirsty ninjas previously seen in “A Hundred Pieces, Artfully Arranged,” a story late in Empowered vol. 2. Oddly, I have no problem with using the Westernized plural “ninjas,” but might hesitate at similar cross-lingual pluralization of less heavily used Japanese terms such as kunoichi (female ninja) or kusarigama (sickle with chain, as used by the fellow at lower right).

Not a fan of the main “dentist” figure, which didn’t work out very pleasingly to my present-day eye; in particular, the arm folds on her coat are not handled well, gotta say. (Can tell you I certainly didn’t look up any reference for this shot, which might’ve helped.) Other elements worked better, though, such as the aforementioned kusarigama-using shinobi in the foreground.

-Adam Warren