sexy superhero comedy (or not)

Freelance writer and artist; creator of the ongoing comics series EMPOWERED; semi-colon enthusiast.

[adamwarrencomics]

Hello! Will you sign trading cards of your work?

Why, certainly! Bring said trading cards to a convention I'm attending, and I'd be happy to sign 'em.

[adamwarrencomics]

just read issue one of the solider of love empowered series. really great work there. How will it be collected in paperback form? its own tiny 3 issue collection,be joined with emp volume 10, unchained 2?

I believe it's just been announced, but EMPOWERED AND THE SOLDIER OF LOVE will be released in its own TPB on June 20, with my B&W EMPOWERED one-shot PEW PEW PEW! rounding out the collection.

[adamwarrencomics]

Hey there. Few things, first congrats on almost 10 years. I have loved Empowered since i first heard about it in psm, and also enjoyed your comics there. Will deluxe edition 1 and 2 ever be reprinted? Possibly during the release of volume 3? I would love to get them without paying 100 dollars each. I just now heard about the Soldier of Love miniseries and am excited for it. when it is done, will it be collected with other one shots in Unchained 2?

Someday we will almost certainly see paperback omnibi collecting the three-volume chunks that make up the EMP DELUXE editions, though likely not with all the bonus material.

Honestly, I wouldn’t be wholly averse to going back to print on the EMP DELUXE hardcovers, even though they were solicited as “one-time-only” collector’s editions. I’m not sure the exclusivity of the single printing added much value; I’ve queried the owner of every EMP DELUXE copy I’ve signed over the last few years at conventions, and not a single one of ‘em seemed to care in the slightest about the “limited edition” status.

On the SOLDIER OF LOVE front, that’s going to be released in its own TPB in June, in a collection that will also include my EMPOWERED one-shot “PEW PEW PEW!”

[adamwarrencomics]

Just out of curiosity, do you still have the keys to that Galacta twitter account? I still can't believe it's been almost a decade since that comic came out, it's one of my favorites and I loved the way it integrated social media into it's marketing.

In fact, I do! I’ve occasionally thought about revisiting that account, but that does seem a tad pointless, given that poor Galacta officially does not exist in Marvel continuity.

For the uninitiated, you can see the Twitter account where I wrote much (if not most) of the stories that made up the GALACTA: DAUGHTER OF GALACTUS one-shot here: https://twitter.com/Gali_girl

And here’s the actual comic, by the great artist Hector Sevilla and yours truly: https://www.comixology.com/Galacta-Daughter-of-Galactus-2010-1/digital-comic/493547

[adamwarrencomics]

You probably get this question a lot, but will you ever do another mini-series of Dirty Pair?

It’s not impossible, but not looking terribly likely right now, either. I certainly wouldn’t mind writing another DP miniseries, but drawing one would probably be out of the question. (That said, I do have several unpublished DP stories I already drew, but are unlikely to ever see print. Perils of not working on fully creator-owned comics, folks!)

[adamwarrencomics]

I was wondering if you've ever considered telling a story with the X-men villains Mojo & Spiral (and the Mojoverse in general). I feel like you could really capture the feel & style of the setting and the characters, both as a writer and an artist.

Can’t say that I’ve considered it, but Mojo might well be a character I’d theoretically enjoy drawing, as (decades ago) I was surprisingly entertained by drawing the not-entirely-dissimilar Jabba the Hut for some STAR WARS pieces. Spiral might be fun, if only for her superficial similarities to an old-school AD&D Type V demon. (But I kid Spiral!)

Gotta say, I’ve (unsuccessfully) pitched some fairly weird-ass stuff to Marvel, but hadn’t really thought about the Mojoverse. That’s mildly surprising, given that I did actually read LONGSHOT in back in high school. 

[adamwarrencomics]

Since my previous art post here was the first of many, many sketch sets based on photoreference that I’ve done during the last 14-odd months, thought I might as well put up a much more recent set (from yesterday, in fact). All are based off of images dug up online or from fitness and bodybuilding magazines. Yay?

[adamwarrencomics]

So you're going back and uploading every page of empowered for the webcomic, and also writing some commentary for each page. What's it like to scrutinise every one of your old pages one at a time?

The experience is an interesting one, but also notably aggravating at times, as Decade-Ago Me occasionally makes creative choices that frustrate the heck out of Present-Day Me. (Presumably, Present-Day Me is making choices that will, one day, annoy the crap out of Future Me in turn.) Then again, I suppose that’s a good thing, as I can imagine few artistic fates worse than seeing decade-old work and thinking, “Nope, I can’t even IMAGINE a way to improve on this stuff.”

In fact, right now I’m experiencing a bit of a creative crisis about how I handle storytelling and dialogue in my current work, especially the comics I write for other artists to draw. I find myself unsatisfied with my approach on relatively recent(-ish) projects, and hope to shake things up a fair bit with future work. This, too, is aggravating and frustrating, but also rather intriguing and maybe even exhilarating, as I’m really looking forward to branching out with my narrative choices in upcoming projects. Yay?

[adamwarrencomics]

are you gonna make me cry with the next volume of empowered? (please do)

I sincerely hope so! EMPOWERED vol.11 will boast not only Big Action but also Big Emo as well, given that certain points in the volume may feature some of the most ruthless tearjerkery I’ve yet attempted.

(SIDE NOTE: As I haven’t signed into this tumblr account for a good two or three years, it may well be the case that the questioner was wondering about the 2017 release of EMPOWERED vol.10. In that case, hope EMP10 made you cry!)

[adamwarrencomics]

From earlier this month, some life drawing from random pieces of photoreference.

[adamwarrencomics]

Since I’m not doing a whole helluva lot with this account, figured I might as well post some of the life drawing (from photoreference) sketches I’ve been doing this month. This first one’s no great shakes, but the figure studies get more ambitious as the series proceeds. 

[adamwarrencomics]

Mr. Warren, do you still accept commissions?

Only at conventions, I’m afraid, as I don’t have any free time to devote to ‘em when I’m at home. There, any time I spend at the drawing table needs to advance one of my various projects, all of which seem to inexorably slide behind schedule.

[adamwarrencomics]

Y’know, I really should try to draw Ninjette from Empowered with pronounced external obliques like Jade Chynoweth, here, to differentiate her body a bit more from those of the other cast members. (Alas, given that I can barely draw even semi-adequate obliques on slim-hipped dudes, this ain’t likely to happen.) In any event, Ninjette would certainly be a highly skilled dancer as well, even without strong oblique definition...   

[adamwarrencomics]

Since EMPOWERED Vol. 9 was released last year, will an EMPOWERED Deluxe Edition Vol. III be released in the near future? Volumes I & II were great :D

Looks like EMP DELUXE vol.3 won’t be out until some time in 2017, as part of our 10-year anniversary for the series.

[adamwarrencomics]

From Emerald City Comic-Con, my take on the Netflix version of Marvel's Daredevil and Elektra. Easily my best con sketch of the show, yet the only one never picked up by the person who requested it. Ehh, no biggie, as I don't mind keeping it for myself. Besides, I was thinking of tweaking it anyway, by continuing the art for DD's shoulder over to the right of Elektra; right now, looks a little bit unbalanced.

[adamwarrencomics]

Rough sketch(es) and finished pencils for the cover of Empowered vol.10, currently slated for a 2017 release.

The initial rough proposed a bunch of B&W logos for the many, many members of Emp’s team visible in the background, but I thought better of the idea, as it seemed a tad messy and confusing in retrospect. Instead, the only type will be the faux neon sign for “FULL-TIME SUPERHOMEY(!)”, for which I’m commissioning designer Eugene Wang, who created the original Empowered logo. Technically a SPOILER, I guess, but yes, Emp has at last been promoted to full membership in her superteam. Huzzah!

We’ll be doing some very different things with Empowered in 2017, which not coincidentally represents the series’ 10th anniversary. Most of the stuff I can’t yet talk about, as I’m still awaiting approvals on many of the related projects. Still, if you’re an Empowered reader, I’m pretty sure you’ll be pleased with what’s in store. (Er, well, except for a certain plot twist in Emp vol.10, which you might not be pleased with in the slightest.)

[adamwarrencomics]

So, I finally managed to read Empowered vol. 9. Holy shit, that was a crap ton of plot points wrapped up in one issue. Great job, you put in stuff from stories I completely forgot about. Is it safe to assume that 10 is going to be a sort of "Fresh start" with a return to the status quote.

Not exactly... Empowered vol.10 will definitely feature a change or two to the status quo, with its follow-up, vol. 11, featuring considerably more striking changes to said status quo. No, really!