I’m happy to announce that EMPOWERED vol. 5, the latest installment in my ongoing “sexy superhero comedy” published by Dark Horse Comics, has finally “dropped” and is now on sale at your local comics retailer and/or bookstore! Wheeeeeee! Just thought I’d post a journal about EMP 5’s release in case anyone wanted a place to comment after reading the book... though, if you could avoid getting too SPOILERiffic about the end of the book, I’d really appreciate it.



A brief description of the volume:

After saving much of the superhero community from certain doom, costumed crimefighter “Empowered” is dismayed to find that, in the suspicious eyes of her caped colleagues, she may have gone from being merely "an easily distressed pair of training wheels for supervillains” to possibly being a closeted supervillain herself! Meanwhile, our stressed-out superheroine must overcome other challenges aplenty, ranging from gossip-prone cosmic overlords learning Too Much Information from her mother and “cosplay” dress-up disasters at work (and in bed!) to duct-tape-happy catgirls, fiery sociopaths, orbital catastrophes, and even a surprising kiss or two... Not to mention trying to survive an emotionally charged, potentially lethal confrontation with her teammate-in-name-only (and implacable nemesis) Sistah Spooky!



Here's an interview I did with Benjamin Birdie (of THE RACK webcomic fame) for Comic Book Resources, which features a goodly number of preview pages: [link] (Note that CBR gave my throwaway line about not being a "real artist" just a little more emphasis than I intended, but it's no biggeh.) And here's another recent interview: [link] ...plus, "Empowered’s Top 10 Pros and Cons of Being a Fictional Comic-Book Character": [link]



You can order EMPOWERED 5 online at Dark Horse's retail website at: [link] or at Amazon.com: [link] Keep in mind, though, that while Dark Horse's site has the book in stock, bookstores--including Amazon-- may not get it in stock for some time yet. (Comics retailers, including online sites like TFAW, often get EMPOWERED volumes well before the bookstores do.)



Note that both sites have links for ordering previous EMPOWERED volumes, as well; or, you can quite possibly find these volumes on the shelves of your friendly neighborhood comics retailer or bookstore... And if they DON’T carry the books, just ask said retailer to order 'em for you; believe me, they'd be happy to take your money. Given that I paste this paragraph into every EMPOWERED post, it’s likely that no one’s still reading this, but... Sad to say, there’s not much point in complaining to me about your local store not carrying the book; I’m well aware of the situation, but can do very little about it. You, however, can do something about it by actually ASKING your retailer to order the book for you, as I just said. As far as I’m aware, most retailers aren’t telepaths like poor Mindf**k, and can’t read your mind and discover the existence of a secret demand for EMPOWERED... but, hey, you could just speak up and tell them that, y’know! *Steps off soapbox*



Anyhoo, hope you enjoy EMPOWERED 5; presently, I"m off to work on an EMP one-shot dealie, looks like. Have a good one, and I'll talk at ya later.

-AW