Panel 1: Thugboy's vaguely handwaved musculature is, I suppose, a decent enough visual shorthand for a brawny "liftbro" physique in a mostly cartoony art style, but only a few years later I would take up life drawing in part because I was annoyed at having to resort to such figure-drawing shortcuts so g-d often.

Panel 2: Those hiragana indicate Ninjette is saying the Japanese interjection "ano," which in this context basically means "um." Also, note an early use of the "solid black iris" artistic riff on the girls' eyes in this shot, which is something I started breaking out in medium shots on occasion around this time.

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