REVIEW: EMPOWERED & SISTAH SPOOKYS HIGH SCHOOL HELL #2

Empowered and Sistah Spooky go way back, originally being part of a team of superheroes named the Superhomeys. But in Empowered and Sistah Spooky“s High School Hell, which is a title not nearly long enough, it“s just the two of them – one powerful witch and a sexy mediocre heroine who has a fragile costume and a comparably fragile ego. So says the meta, but this story centers around Sistah Spooky and the fact that she sold her soul for HawtnessÂ (like hotness but you know, much better) back in high school and now the two of them are trapped in a Hellscape with some jealous bitches. Basically. I mean, you got that, right?

At first, I didn“t know if this was going to be some mildly offensive story about stereotypical blonde girls being Mean because the cover could easily come across that way. But at the same time, Carla Speed McNeil“s cover art grabbed my attention with the hateful messages that – tiny violin – I recognized all too well from my own time in high school; and from my time now, probably currently, shut up I“m a woman in today“s society, alright?! But reading along, the story actually illustrates a picture that is full of these stereotypical white “pretty girls”“ spewing racist remarks at Sistah Spooky and going out of their way to bully her. It“s a silly story that“s mean to be kick ass, but though it achieves those things, it also gets a little too real in the best way.

Adam Warren created Empowered way back when in 2007, and from reading a ton of archived stuff online, you can tell that he has kept his original writing voice and style without sacrificing any of the wit that is so prominent in this six-part series. His characters are fully realized and you don“t have to dig for any hidden clues because it“s all presented to you, completely fleshed out without any confusion. It“s easy to fall into this particular story though it certainly is not for the squares, and his point of view on Empowered and Sistah Spooky“s journey through an absurd high school hellscape is cut and clear.

Though I like Carla Speed McNeil“s cover, I do wish Adam Warren would have done the illustrations for this series, and not only because of personal preference. I love his style, but biases are for weenies and I, sir, am no weenie. Carla“s illustrations are expressive, exaggerated without going low brow, and that“s perfect for this story but I do wish the lines were a bit more cleaned up, and many parts of the book come out lacking. Some panels are pretty unique with their layouts, and then others fall completely flat and are easily forgotten. The lettering is also a bit sloppy which disrupts the flow of the story when characters are speaking in a key part of the book. Jenn Manley Lee“s colors seem like they have nowhere to go with the messy lines, and the whole thing ends up looking unfinished, like just another hour of clean up work could have helped the artwork a tremendous amount. Overall, Jenn“s colors are pretty nice and comic book-y, but there really is no depth to them. This could have been a style choice, but the story takes place in a Hellscape, give me some shadow, dammit!

To me, I believe the original Adam Warren creation of Empowered comes out on top when compared to Emp“s adventures with Sistah Spooky. But the book does as it promises with quirky characters in a ridiculous setting battling hating bitches to the death, so take it and love it up.

Story: 4 Stars
Artwork: 3 Stars
Colors: 3 Stars
Cover: 4 Stars

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

(W) Adam Warren (A/CA) Carla Speed McNeil