Here's a page from EMPOWERED vol. 5, the latest installment of my ongoing "sexy superhero comedy" published by Dark Horse Comics, soon to hit the shelves on June 24, 2009.

This one's from "Say That I Deserve This," the 55-page action epic that concludes the volume, wherein our heroine Emp's good intentions lead to disaster (or a whole CHAIN of disasters, really). I posted this page in particular because this may be the first true "Avengers Assemble"-type everyone-blazing-into-action group shot in all of EMPOWERED, albeit with rather goofy-looking superheroes... Particularly the wacky-looking Homunculoid, who's based on the truly freaky-looking "sensory homunculus" concept of what a human would look like if each body part grew in proportion to the area of the cerebral cortex concerned with its sensory perception. Then again, the conjoined angel/ devil twins "Divangelic" are kinda freaky, too.

Note that the "Cry Havoc" line is one of the catchphrases for serious douchecape Major Havoc, who takes his supradouchy treatment of poor Emp to whole new levels in this volume... Ah, but who might this motley supercrue be blazing into action against? Hint, for readers of the first four volumes: His initials miiiiiiight just be "W.P.", if you catch my drift.


In the meantime, you can check out "Empowered’s Top 10 Pros and Cons of Being a Fictional Comic-Book Character," a metatextual text piece wherein our heroine discusses the experience of literally being a figment of my imagination: [link]


I just wrapped up a long, snark-laden, heavily asterisked and parenthetical interview re: EMPOWERED vol. 5, which you can read here: [link]


You can also see a wee preview of the book here: [link] Note that I got the idea for the fake version of EMP's suit having high heels from a real-life EMP cosplayer: [link]

The book's front and back cover can be seen here: [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 of your friendly neighborhood comics retailer or bookstore, though not at MY local Barnes & Noble, annoyingly enough... 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.