Panel 3: In place of "dayuth, despaiah(?) and destruction," I originally considered referencing the old Hee Haw lyric about "Doom, despair and agony on me," but A) No way in hell Emp would possibly know that bit; B) using the lyric regardless would be verisimilitude-breaking, IMHO; and C), the lyric goes "Gloom, despair and agony," not "Doom," as I had misremembered from childhood. (Back in the late 70s, my late father effing loved watching Hee Haw every week, somewhat to my youthful chagrin as a purely Northern variety of hick.)

Panel 4: Okay, the reference to "Fuh Pete's sake" is a bit of a stretch, even for a nine-years-ago twentysomething like Emp. (Then again, perhaps her own late father had heard and used the phrase on occasion.)

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