Empowered
Adam Warren
Dark Horse Comics

One of the longtime critiques of comics (besides corrupting America’s youth and dulling its minds) has been the medium’s portrayal of women, particularly those in the cape-and-cowl sector. Long, flowing hair, flat bellies, huge breasts, and perfect asses have been the norm virtually since the art’s creation; a norm which is far from typical in the real world. While social commentators and wannabe- psychologists guestimate the effect that this image has on the mind of males and females alike, writer/artist Adam Warren tackles the sexy superheroine syndrome with Empowered, a comedic take on the traditional tights-based comics.

The 248-paged black-and-white book chronicles the details of the eponymous bombshell, a C-level heroine who never quite gets the job done. She’s bound and gagged by baddies in virtually every story in this collection, but it’s no fault of her own; her ridiculously tight super-suit, which grants super strength and energy-projection, rips at the drop of a dime, leaving her powerless, and oft times, semi-nude.

It’s at these moments when Empowered’s insecurities come into play both as a hero and as a woman. As an adventurer, she’s frequently the butt of jokes from her colleagues, the Super Homeys; as a lady, she’s frequently the butt of jokes about, well, her butt (such as when an alien attempts to kidnap Empowered into an intergalactic harem, he scans her figure and determines that her rump is a bit too full for his master’s bidding).

The first half of Empowered offers little in the way of traditional storytelling; many of the tales are simple throwaway shorts that begin with Empowered captured by hornball thugs who either berate her superheroing or make lewd remarks (to be fair, this was before Warren fleshed out the character). It’ s not until Empowered meets her boyfriend (an ex-thug with a heart of gold who appreciates her posterior) around the half-way point of the collection, that she comes into her own as a hero.

She frequently breaks up crime scene tomfoolery instead of being the victim, but this comes mostly when her boyfriend purposefully puts himself in danger, as successful heroics spikes Empowered’s sex drive. Here lies the problem with Empowered: When we first meet her, she’s the insecure sexy damsel in distress who “grows” to become an insecure sexaholic over the course of the book–not exactly empowering. Also, the story feeds into the idea that good girls long for bad boys and that guys look for insecure women for an easy lay–very stereotypical and far from empowering.

Warren’s character art is simply wonderful. His manga-influenced figures, be it the hyper-sexualized Empowered, super-villains, or just street thugs burst with energy and are joys to behold. Granted, there isn’t much in terms of background art, but with such dynamic characters, it’s a minor gripe and keeps you turning pages despite the low-brow humor and shaky dialog.

If you go into Empowered seeking an engaging satire dissecting superheroine sexuality, you’ll be greatly disappointed. However, if you’re into T+A jokes, and numerous gratuitous booty shots of hot women in tight clothing, it’ll satisfy immensely. Still, I’m hoping that by the time Empowered Volume 2 hits shelves, Mr. Warren will flesh out the characters more, an inject some thought-provoking ideas to truly challenge the superhero norm, instead of playing up the most obvious aspects of it.

–Jeffery Wilson