Panel 5: I quite like this in-panel scene transition; I'll have to remember to use this trick again in Empowered vol. 12.

As the volume's narrative wraps up this week, brace yourselves for one last bit of ruthless tearjerkery, webcomic readers! Can't say this is necessarily up to the tearjerking standards of, say, Squid Game's "marbles" episode, but of course Your Mileage May Vary.

In fact, when I watched that Squid Game episode, must note that I was saying to myself, "That's it, that's the stuff," given my modern-era fondness for narratively bludgeoning emotional manipulation. Keep in mind that I'm the kind of freak who nodded approvingly at the storytelling skill of the famous early montage in Pixar's Up, but noted to myself afterward, "That's pretty sad—but not quite sad enough." (The "When She Loved Me" abandonment flashback from Toy Story 2 remains my Pixar fave in that department, gotta say.)

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. So, who knows what today's post might feature? Could be Life Drawing or Distressed Damsels content (both of which are featured at least three times per month), or something in the Work Stages, Vintage Con Sketches or Design departments, or possibly something entirely new. Golly!

-Adam Warren