Panel 4: That shot of distressed damsel Emp taped to a hand truck (or whatever the hell you call that thingie) is, believe it or not, based on a actual piece of photoreference I dug up online. Golly! (Lord knows how the hell I found said image, though.)

Panel 5: For some reason, this odd reference to Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" amuses me to no end. In an odd side note, I've actually drawn Jackson's white outfit from that music video for a semi-recent San Diego Comic-Con sketch—2018? 2019?—depicting a commissioner's Original Character.

BTW, lemme pour one out for the ol' San Diego con experience, which will be kicking off on the day this webcomic page posts. (Not counting the Wednesday Preview Night, that is.) I actually received my badge for the show in the mail a few weeks ago, but won't be attending this year. Maybe next time around...? (I rather doubt that, but who knows?)

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, vintage con sketches, work stages on covers, "damsel in distress" commissions, life drawings & much, much more—remains available for Patrons' perusal.

-Adam Warren