Panel 1's "SPLUTCHH" sound FX might well be borrowed from Howard Chaykin's classic 80s indie comic AMERICAN FLAGG!, though I can't say for sure. I do know that the ISP's choked scream of "GYAAAGKK" is not far off from the FLAGG!-derived gurgle of "GUCHKK", which I've used many times throughout my work.

AMERICAN FLAGG! was probably the most personally influential of the Western comics I read during the mid-80s before my all-important exposure to manga, with the series' cyberpunk(ish) SF tenor and wackily satirical tone being especially key to my early material. Chaykin's intensely cynical and deliberately abrasive character dynamics were a bit less influential, though at least a few such characters have appeared throughout my oeuvre on occasion... (Whoever could I be referring to, folks?)

Today’s Patreon update: In an attempt to scratch out more worktime to complete the long-gestating Empowered vol. 12, I've switched over to a Monday/ Wednesday/ Friday Patreon posting schedule that won't feature the fixed content format I previously used. However, my vast archive of years of Patreon posts—extensive Empowered previews, vintage con sketches, work stages on covers, "damsel in distress" commissions, life drawings & much, much more—remains available for Patrons' perusal.

-Adam Warren