The eponymous heroine of Empowered has a skintight suit that embues her with certain super abilities (never clearly defined, although strength is one of them) but which shreds as it absorbs attacks and, the more it's torn and the more skin it reveals, loses power. Although it will eventually regenerate, restoring both Emp's strength and modesty, it does often leave her at the mercy of supervillains who all, it seems, share a penchant for bondage. And, of course, if Emp were to wear anything more concealing over or under the suit, it wouldn't work at all.

So readers get to see a lot of Adam Warren's titular character, and this, the fourth collection, is no different.

What makes this series fun is Warren's handling of the various characters, from her best friend, the ninja, to her boyfriend, a former witless minion for evil turned generic thug. The other, more competent heroes are awash in their own feelings of ubercoolness, and even the villains have their charms; sometimes, they even seem to feel a little bad for taking advantage of Emp's weaknesses.

Emp herself is a darling, easy to embarrass and quick to blush as her powers are, ahem, stripped away, but dedicated to a heroic ideal that she might never be able to achieve. She's also worried that her butt's too big and that her suit won't allow her to wear a bra, but that's another topic entirely.

Warren's rough, mangaesque style of art is appealing and fun.

Volume four of the series mingles several key storylines, including her boyfriend's sinister past and her best friend's paralyzing insecurities after a recent defeat. Supreme among them, however, is Emp's nomination for a major superhero award -- and her dawning suspicion that the nomination was more sarcastic than sincere. But of course it's Emp's plucky good nature and her unflagging ability to take each setback and keep plugging away that makes her story so appealing, and in this book, finally, we get to see a bit of her at her absolute best. I hope we see more of that side of Empowered in the next edition.

Be warned, for the more purient readers, that while the art never shows everything, it is very solidly an R-rated experience and, while there is a bit less bondage eye-candy than in previous editions, there just might be a wee bit more sex.