Panels 1, 3 & 5: While Empowered might feature largely pencil-based artwork, note that “white-out”—or artists’ “white correction paint,” if you prefer—of varying brands becomes an increasingly significant element, as seen in the wee white sparks swirling across Willy Pete’s shaded areas and the cruciform “glow FX” streaks extending from his eyes. Note also that, down the road, I began using more and more Sharpie marker to fill in black spaces in the artwork, in an increasingly desperate attempt to save wear and tear on my drawing hand. In fact, I’d estimate that maybe a quarter or even a third of the art in the upcoming Empowered vol. 11 is actually ink-based, due to all the nighttime city shots and shadow-based, high-contrast character rendering.

Panel 2: While my own never-ending problems with often underpowered and RAM-challenged computers inspired this scene, I can only imagine the teeth-grinding frustration of dealing with that danged “hourglass cursor” in the face of life-threatening danger like this.

-Adam Warren