We continue serialization of the 2013 one-shot Empowered: Nine Beers with Ninjette, now featuring artwork on the story's primary narrative by Guest Artist Takeshi Miyazawa. Enjoy, dear readers!

Behold, our first (and, so far, only) B&W Guest Artist story! Takeshi was comfortable working in monochrome as his various manga efforts and this page's screen-tones testify, so I figured, why not? I might also have elected to do so in order to bring his page rate on this project a bit closer to his regular mainstream rate, as we obvsly didn't have to reserve a big chunk of the budget to pay a separate colorist.

Today’s Patreon update: Originally done as a means of scratching 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, work-in-progress updates on developmental projects such as fantasy comics The Chaste and the Chained and The Last Party, vintage con sketches, work stages on covers, "damsel in distress" commissions, life drawings & much, much more—remains available for Patrons' perusal.

-Adam Warren