This is an odd volume that eventually comes good. Ninjette seems to be the focus of this book as we learn more about her backstory and that of Oyuki, plus we see her latest entanglement with the Ayakami clan. She also tries to help Emp with her confidence issues. This extra screen time for ‘Jette is a nice diversion and serves to enlarge and enrich the Empowered world. Plus she isn’t ready to carry off a book of her own just yet.

The other thing you notice is that all sorts of fancy tricks are being played with the timeline. We have premonitions, flashbacks, foreshadowing and blatant out-of-sequence narrative. Whilst this certainly keeps you awake and active, as you are forced to keep reshuffling what you have read into some sort of chronology, it is distracting. The key to the Empowered mythos is “heart.” It’s about letting us know it is ok to be vulnerable. We don’t need gimmicks to grab our attention. If we are still here after seven volumes then we are here to stay.

The art is still as good as ever but the paper has changed to gloss instead of matt and this makes a big difference. Initially it is jarring change, particularly if you have just read the last book, but you get used to it. There is much more contrast as the whites are much shinier and so the page becomes crisper and less grungy.

As always there is a whole mix of cute, sexy, thinky, funny, naughty, fighty stuff all mixed into one massive gumbo that seems to work against all odds. Another Thumbs Up for the fans.

209/156

Tomorrow: Wet Moon – book 1: Feeble Wanderings – Ross Campbell

The pendulum has now swung the other way. We have left gratuitous bondage titillation and moved into serious gripping storyline territory. Trouble is we aren’t used to thoughtful drama. The previous Empowered was squarely in the so-bad-it’s-good area as it had a quirky, original charm all of its own. Now it has gone sombre and hard hitting us readers are a bit confused.

The art is just the same but with more action. Warren gets a chance to flex his artistic muscles. There are some good angles and dynamic poses. The amount of black on the page could be seen as a drawback but the grungy style seems to work.

Other than the growing pains as we transition from base (but funny) comedy to serious drama this certainly gets a Thumbs Up!

208/157

Tomorrow: Empowered Volume 7 – Adam Warren

Once again it is the final tale in this volume that is the true star of the show. It is gripping, dramatic, emotional and even moving. The other stories aren’t too bad with most of them being quite clever or moving the overall Willy Pete and other storylines forward. There is a protracted, gratuitous duct-tape bondage skit and a Demonwolf filibuster that goes on so long your brain shuts down from all the verbiage.

The art is all pencil save for a dramatic double page spread at the end that needs the absolute black of a marker. I am not sure if this is getting better as a whole but that last story is a definite Thumbs Up!

207/158

Tomorrow: Empowered Volume 6 – Adam Warren

Reliable. Predictable. That’s what Empowered stands for. You get your damsel-in-distress fix and then your relationship angst to make you feel less of a pervert. There is a bit of a dark undercurrent with Thugboy’s past which may never come to the fore too. Occasionally you get a glimpse of Warren’s potential with some incredible art or thesaurus exploding wordplay.

It isn’t until the last story in this volume that you get to see Empowered shift into a higher gear. This is the longest story so far and leaves the kink behind for a mainstream cape tale which is actually very enjoyable. It has some touching revelations about a secondary character, moves the Thugboy plot forward, and finally lets Emp kick some, using her brain once more to save the day.

Before this there is the usual juxtaposition of weird themes. A cancer boy whose make-a-wish is for a bit of bondage? Yep! Willy Pete gets even more sinister? Yep! Sexual tension in the household? You know it! Compared to the fetish-fest that was volume three this one is a lot tamer. Apart from the gratuitous busty nurses.

The main art is entirely pencil which is Warren’s undoubted strength. There is a bonus story taken from the Dark Horse website which is in full colour. Like putting Usagi Yojimbo into colour there is something fundamentally awkward about this. Having your kink in colour makes it a little more uncomfortably voyeuristic.

This is a step up from the previous volume. The more mainstream direction really works so it will be interesting to see if a balance can be found in the next instalment. Thumbs Up!

206/159

Tomorrow: Empowered Volume 5 – Adam Warren