Panel 1: Always been a fan of this "swirly vapor" effect since I first used it to show the aftermath of large-scale teleportation back in Empowered vol.6. No doubt I long ago borrowed the riff from manga, but I'll be dipped if I can recall the original source; then again, who knows, as I do occasionally work up wacky visual flourishes all on my own.

Panel 4: Enjoy yet another brief foray into my beloved high-contrast "harsh B&W" imagery with this panel, on the heels of a similar foray on the previous page's post-teleportation "KRAK KOOM" panel.

Note also the unique "jagged speed lines" used for this as-yet-unseen supervill's zapping powers, which is an interesting flourish well worth potentially revisiting in the future. This particular visual riff is a spinoff of the similar "jagged line" flourish I often use for detailing the ornate surfaces of ultra-tech hardware or structures; I only recently realized where I acquired said riff after rewatching Otomo Katsuhiro's Akira anime, where this peculiar line motif occurs during the ending scene that seems to homage the Stargate sequence from Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Gotta say I was quite taken aback, as I would've sworn that I originally cribbed the riff from a double-page spread in Shirow Masamune's Appleseed vol. 4.

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