Empowered is one of those works which skirts the boundaries between being exploitive and being a feminist critique thereof. I tend to forgive a lot if it's done self-consciously, but I'm not sure if this work's ironic stance is even enough to make up for the fact that, fundamentally, it's about half-naked women getting tied up so that boys and men (and queer women, of course, but I don't get the feeling they really make up the intended audience) can, ahem, enjoy the art. In many ways, this is the epitome of the comic written especially for the fanboys.

Still, there's a good-intentioned feel to the project, and the story is probably cute more often than sexy--and it does easily pass the Bechdel test (I mean, the female characters do talk about sex and men a lot, but they talk about being superheroes too) without any women in refrigerators (just tied up and gagged), and the main character isn't just an object for male fantasies (or at least, I don't think so) so, overall, from my position of privilege, I'm willing to give it a pass. The humor isn't funny enough nor the satire biting enough to make me want to run out and buy the second (or third or fourth) volume(s), unfortunately, but there are plenty of nice character moments and it was an entertaining read for what it was, and I'll probably turn to it again for a re-read, and the debilitating curiosity as to what happens to these characters may well convince me to want to find out more in the future. ( )