Panel 2: Used a bit of the ol' artistic license on that dent by the dart impacting the soft flesh of Emp's behind, which of course would only appear for a vanishingly tiny fraction of a second, far too quickly for the eye to perceive. I prrrrobably wouldn't bother with this riff nowadays, though I might have used it but attached a caption helpfully if obnoxiously explaining the concept.

Panel 5: That wee, square close-up "headshot" bridging the bigger panels is a visual riff cribbed from a very neat recurring motif in the norror-comic series Outcast by Robert Kirkman and Paul Azaceta. See, I can rip off American comics as as well as manga, folks!

Next week on the webcomic serialization, time for a traumatizing flashback to the good doctor's attempt to pull a "Scared Straight"-type dealie on a younger Emp, as well as the current-day aftermath of Emp's "Ginny-scan."

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. So, who knows what today's post might feature? Could be Life Drawing or Distressed Damsels content (both of which are featured at least three times per month), or something in the Work Stages, Vintage Con Sketches or Design departments, or possibly something entirely new. Golly!

-Adam Warren